What we call French toast is simply lost bread to the French. That’s literally true; pain perdu, which is what the French call it, literally means “lost bread.”
French bread, blissfully free of preservatives and such, must be eaten fresh; it dries out in a day. That’s a lot of stale bread to deal with. So, eons ago, people began soaking the bread in a mixture of egg and milk, then sauteeing it. Voila!-I’m sure someone said it at least once-“lost” bread becomes useful once again.
Today’s French toast has evolved far beyond those utilitarian origins; the modern French toast is one of the dressiest items on a good Sunday brunch menu. In search of those who truly were elevating French toast to an art, we asked readers, several weeks ago, to send in their nominees. We checked out those places, added a few of our own, and voila!-now I’m saying it-came up with 10 outstanding breakfast options.
These range from remarkably inexpensive offerings at Lou Mitchell’s and Heaven on Seven, to the fine-dining version at La Tour. Traditional to avant-garde, their sole common quality is their ability to make your mouth water. Enjoy.
Betise
French toast is usually the last thing I’d order for brunch; its rich sweetness has its appeal, but before it’s half gone I’m bored with the one-note flavor and looting my companion’s plate.
But at Betise, chef Kent Buell has juiced up the dish with a filling of pureed raspberries and cream cheese that oozes out from between slices of French bread that have been battered and browned just right. Not only does it look more interesting, but the filling also creates a fun balance of flavors. Try a bite first without maple syrup; you may decide it’s just not necessary.
The atmosphere is bright and airy, and the surrealistic art helps get still-sleepy diners conversing. 1515 Sheridan Rd., Wilmette; 708-853-1711.
Nancy Watkins
Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!
Two thick, 1 1/2-inch slices of eggy bread are the foundation for a tasty “Spanish-not French!-toast,” as it is billed at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!, the popular yuppie-filled Spanish tapas bar.
The $3.25 toast is part of the cafe’s new brunch, featuring tapas and egg dishes on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. But the real intrigue to the “Spanish” toast comes with its filling of whipped mascarpone and cream cheeses and a side relish of orange segments, pine nuts and raisins.
Ba-Ba-Reeba chefs first dip the bread in an egg and cream mixture enhanced with orange rind and Liquor 43, a Spanish orange liqueur. The finished toast is soft and gooey on the inside, but browned on the outside, from a quick grilling and then a slow bake in the oven. Topped with butter and syrup-though neither are really needed-it’s one sweet mouthful. Try it with Ba-Ba-Reeba’s decadent hot chocolate. 2024 N. Halsted St.; 935-5000
Carol Haddix
The Corner Bakery
During the week, The Corner Bakery offers only limited dine-in capability to go with its booming takeout business. But on Sunday mornings, the menu and the seating expand: Corner Bakery takes over the cavernous adjacent space belonging to Maggiano’s Little Italy, and offers a sizeable brunch menu.
Corner Bakery favorites such as homemade granola and European-style mussli are available. But you must try the French toast. The bread, huge slabs of cinnamon raisin bread from the Corner Bakery ovens, is wonderful alone, but cooked just right, with a goodly supply of quality maple syrup, it’s outstanding. Choose from a variety of toppings-blueberries, caramelized bananas, chocolate chips, Granny Smith apples. Our favorite is the three-berry combo, with luscious strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. It tastes better than it looks. 516 N. Clark St., 312-644-7700.
More Top Picks Best 2 In 1 Tablets For College Students
Phil Vettel
DixieQue
When you order French toast at DixieQue you need to forget any stereotypical French toasts you’ve eaten or cooked before. And forget the cute movie scenes where Dad masters the art of French toast making. Most dads (or Moms for that matter) are not up to creating at home the crispy, crunchy, rich and wonderful French toast found at DixieQue.
“Thick, delicious and batter dipped”-that’s how DixieQue’s menu describes the extra thick slices of rich bread, dipped in a sweet batter and then deep-fried to a perfect golden crispness. The result is reminiscent of a homemade doughnut. For $3.95 you get three huge wedges of French toast served with maple syrup. The cost goes up a buck when the slices are topped with a luscious mound of sauteed bananas and pecans in a cinnamon syrup or a pile of fresh strawberries in a strawberry sauce.
French toast and other hearty egg and brunch items, including a mean biscuits-and-sausage gravy, are served on Sundays only, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 2001 W. Fullerton; 312-252-5600.
JeanMarie Brownson
Heaven On Seven
If you work downtown, make a little extra morning time to visit this delightful Loop spot, a small, seventh-floor luncheonette best known for its authentic Cajun/Creole specials. The Cajun breakfast menu offers such mouth-watering treats as an andouille-sausage omelet (which is terrific), but you want the Bananas Foster French Toast with pecans, an intensely caloric indulgence that’ll set you back all of $5.50 (skip the pecans, save $1).
It begins with inch-thick slabs of egg bread, soaked in a bath of eggs, milk and vanilla. Then the bread is dusted with cinnamon sugar and slapped on the griddle, later finished in a fry pan for a crispy exterior. Meanwhile, sliced bananas and fresh pecans are cooking in cream and sugar; when carmelized, the mixture is spread on top of the toast. The toast is crispy edged, creamy soft within; the same textural interplay takes place between the pecans and cooked bananas. Absolute heaven. The sole downside to this dish is the artificial “breakfast syrup” served, but chef/owner Jimmy Bannos says that real maple syrup is on the way. Bring cash; credit cards not accepted. 111 N. Wabash Ave., 312-263-6443.
Phil Vettel
Ina’s Kitchen & Elaine’s Garden
Ina Pinkney means business, especially at breakfast. There are a couple of sausages that go beyond Jimmy Dean’s wildest dreams. And the pancakes ($6.25), whether in a traditional or whole wheat oatmeal version, are substantial. So are her versions of vegetable hash ($6.75) and a robust corn, black bean and cheese scrapple served with eggs and chorizo ($6.75).
It’s hearty fare that attracts a mix of De Paul jocks, neighborhood regulars and refined ladies who delight in the china teapots, the variety of whimsical salt and pepper shakers brightening each table, plus the great assortment of sweets that are the mainstay of Ina’s Kitchen & Elaine’s Garden.
It’s more than decor and the luscious display of cakes that keep them coming to Ina’s & Elaine’s, though. It’s the care with which standard breakfast fare goes a step beyond the basics. Consider the French toast ($6.50). It’s featured only during the week, explains Elaine Farrell, because the cinnamon-sugar used in the preparation plays havoc with the grill during the super-busy weekend menu. But if you visit during the week, give it a try.
Thin slices of bread, imbued with cinnamon, are grilled just until the surface is rich brown and lightly crisped and the interior is slightly creamy. The finish: a light snowfall of confectioners’ sugar, a handful of fresh fruit chunks, a few citrus zests and chopped mint leaves. And, though you might not actually need it-individual bottles of maple syrup. 934 W. Webster; 312-525-1116.
Judy Hevrdejs
Jaxx Restaurant
Corn flakes are the breakfast of champions for many, and at Jaxx Restaurant they also are what makes the French toast different from the stuff served at the corner diner. On the menu in this lovely aerie overlooking Boul Mich, it is undescribed and underbilled, listed simply as “French toast,” thus offering no clue that it cleverly combines two breakfast favorites in one dish.
Slabs of rich, eggy bread-an inch thick and still counting-are soaked in an orange-scented custard then coated with a dense layer of corn flakes. Somehow, they manage to stay in place while the toast is cooked, forming a delightfully crunchy outer crust that stays crunchy even in syrup.
Jaxx is stately and elegant, so of course they’re not just going to slap the toast on a plate. Four half-slices of the French toast are intricately woven together and centered with a compote of fresh oranges and strawberries and a cluster of mint leaves. Even the obligatory shower of confectioners’ sugar looks artistic here. The maple syrup is warmed, too, a nice touch that actually does help keep the toast warm for a while.
The French toast ($7.95) is joined by traditional brunch fare such as omelets and eggs Benedict as well as some decidedly English offerings such as kippers and eggs, finnan haddie and black breakfast pudding. Hyatt Regency Suites, 676 N. Michigan Ave.; 312-337-1234.
Pat Dailey
La Tour
French toast fanatics have a choice of two kinds of French toast at this beautiful dining room with a view (of the historic Water Tower at Michigan and Chicago Avenues).
There’s the cinnamon-dipped raisin brioche French toast ($7) from the regular menu, or the whole wheat French toast-served with raspberry sauce and a yogurt mixed berry fruit sauce ($5)-from the “cuisine naturelle” health-conscious menu.
In the spirit of research, I opted for a combo order of both ($7) and would go it all over again. Both renditions were excellent-not too eggy, not too wet or dry-and my opinion had nothing to do with the fact that they arrived on Villeroy & Boch china and the coffee was from Starbucks.
While I don’t know how many calories were in the brioche, the “cuisine naturelle” menu told me a full order of the whole wheat version would set me back 418 calories (but zero cholesterol!)-assuming I could resist topping the French toast with butter or margarine (I could) and drizzling Canadian maple syrup all over the plate (I couldn’t).
Great way to start the day-albeit a little pricey, but not if you’re having a power breakfast or in the mood for a splurge. Park Hyatt Hotel, 800 N. Michigan Ave.; 312-280-2230.
Carolyn McGuire
Lou Mitchell’s
Lou Mitchell’s is known for such other great breakfasts that the French toast may not get its due notice. But the thick slices of Greek bread dipped in a rich egg batter deserve accolades.
The slices, two large pieces of bread split in half, are firm yet moist and have a hint of vanilla. Real maple syrup just enhances the flavor. An order with fruit brings sweetened strawberries.
More Top Picks Best Premium Nut Butter Gift Sets
And the best part may be that you can now enjoy this French toast on Sundays, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring cash; no credit cards accepted. 565 W. Jackson Blvd.; 312-939-3111.
Linda Bergstrom
Pops For Champagne
One of the most pleasant North Side spots for brunch is Pops For Champagne, with its live jazz music, cheerful decor and wonderful champagnes by the glass. Pops also is home to one of the city’s great French toasts.
French toast changes periodically at Pops. Currently the bread is dipped in a mixture of egg, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier and brown sugar, sauteed to perfection and topped with a melange of fresh berries and Vermont maple syrup. Later in summer, you’ll find French toast with Georgia peaches, pecans and homemade strawberry-rhubarb syrup. In winter, French toast is topped with tropical fruits-starfruit, kiwi, pineapple and mango-and a passionfruit syrup. Which proves that one brunch a year at Pops isn’t nearly enough. 2934 N. Sheffield Ave., 312-472-1000.
Phil Vettel