Ella's Restaurant

I first went here more than 10 years ago, when it was about half the size. When it was so small, on weekend mornings folks would start waiting in line about half an hour before it opened, hoping they'd slip in for the first "seating."

It's great to go on weekends, since there's a custom menu every weekend, with a bit of everything: some tasty variant of pancakes or french toast, several scrambles/omelettes, chicken hash. I usually get a scramble... looking at their web site, last week's brunch included "bacon scramble with mushrooms, grilled onions, rosemary and gouda." Or maybe "potato scramble with grilled fennel, braised leeks,
lemon roasted onion, thyme and havarti." Oh YEAH!

Also, part of the seating area has a great view of the kitchen.. it's fascinating to watch the whole staff busily preparing everything from scratch.

Then again, my perspective on great breakfast spots in the city isn't exactly up-to-date.. are there better spots I should know about?

comments

I love Ella's! I used to live a block away from there and would race down on weekends to put our name on the waiting list. The home-made peacan sticky buns are the best!

#1 - posted on May 6, 2008 (6:34 pm)

I used to live really close to there (on Parker) so would go often. It's great especially for breakfast but their desserts are awesome.

My main beef was it used to be so damn crowded. I don't think I've ever waited less than 45 min to sit down.

Haven't lived in the city for almost 8 years now so the old breakfast spots are getting fainter in memory, but I used to like:
-Judy's on Chestnut
-Home Plate on Lombard
-Tyger's & Higher Grounds in Glen Park (I used to live close by so I'm biased)

Breakfast seems to be a bigger thing on the peninsula so it feels like there are more/better choices.

#2 - posted on Aug 2, 2008 (7:59 pm)