Jose Jaime started working in restaurants at age 14, working his way up from a busboy to dishwasher to chef.
“It’s the only thing I know how to do,” said Jaime, who dreamed of owning his own restaurant.
The bosses where he worked, Maxfields in Schaumburg, did more than encourage Jaime’s dreams. They told him to start his own place and let him use the name and the recipes.
Jaime has owned Maxfields in Aurora for the past six years after working in the Schaumburg kitchen for 14.
“My dad was a chef there,” said son Jorge Jaime, who also works at the Aurora breakfast and lunch place with his father, sister Elizabeth and brother David. “He said, ‘I can do this myself.’ And the owners were nice enough to let him borrow the name. It’s really a cool story.”
Jose Jaime counts among his most popular dishes the skillets, omelets, French toast, skirt steak, steak and eggs, cheese blintzes and crepes, especially the spinach crepes, which combine fresh spinach blended with cheddar cheese and minced onions, topped with hollandaise. “They’re very popular,” he said.
Popular lunch items include chicken and steak fajita wraps, hamburgers and turkey burgers.
Jose Jaime said he made the decision to only stay open for breakfast and lunch for “less headaches, more life! We make a living.”
On the menu: Breakfast and lunch with Mexican, Greek, Hawaiian and Swedish omelets, skillets and crepes.
Philosophy: “For me, it’s really the face to face with the customer,” Jose Jaime said.
Favorite dish: “Short stack and eggs, but also I like the fritta skillet” with chorizo sausage, jalapeno peppers, onions, salsa and cheddar, Jose Jaime said.
We’re different because: “We offer pancakes as a side. A lot of places you have to pay extra for that,” Jose Jaime said. “But here you can get a $10 skillet and a side, too.”
Price range: Egg dishes from $4.69 to $8.99. Skillets from $7.59 to $8.99. Crepes and blintzes from $5.29 to $8.69. French toast, waffles and pancakes from $5.99 to $11.99. Biscuits and gravy are $3.59 and $4.99. Lunch: Burgers from $7.79 to $8.99. Sandwiches and wraps from $6.49 to $14.29. Salads from $7.99 to $9.99. Kids’ meals from $4.29 to $6.29.
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Maxfields Restaurant is at 2290 Ogden Ave., Aurora. Hours are 7 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. Contact 630-820-1177 or go to maxfieldsofaurora.com/.
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.