Cafe Selmarie

Cafe Selmarie is an adorable little bakery/restaurant in the heart of Lincoln Square. I'd been wanting to go for years and I finally made my way there for breakfast yesterday. I met my friend, Dyan, at about 10:00 and there was no line!

The decor feels kind of french; there's a bakery shop in the front end of the store and the restaurant is tucked into the back. There are windows lining one wall that face onto a cute little square, where tons of adorable young families with kids and golden retrievers walk around on sunny Saturday mornings. It's really kind of idyllic.

I ordered a small orange juice and the breakfast burrito with salsa, guacamole and sour cream on the side - plus it's served with a side of hash browns. The burrito was really big and was filled to the brim with scrambled eggs and cheese. It was tasty, but best when combined with the toppings. The hash browns were really well-seasoned.

Dyan ordered the chilaquiles casserole, a fresh baked casserole of eggs and corn tortillas in a spicy chile sauce with pulled chicken breast and queso fresco; topped with avocado, sour cream and cilantro. As usual, I couldn't resist a bite of my companion's meal and it was delicious. A little spicy for me in the morning, but delicious.

I would definitely recommend this cute spot - especially in the summer when the outdoor seating opens.

Tab: About $9 for a breakfast entree

Egg Harbor

I committed a cardinal sin this weekend: I went to a breakfast place and ordered lunch. What was I thinking? I immediately regretted my decision.

For Mother's Day brunch this Sunday, my family went to Egg Harbor in the southwest suburbs. The restaurant has multiple locations, but I've only been to this one. It was packed - and we waited an hour for a table.

When we finally did sit, I decided on strawberry-orange juice and a chicken salad sandwich. The juice was super sweet, but really good. The sandwich was okay - too much cheese and over-buttered bread do not make a great sandwich. It was served with a side salad doused with a far too generous portion of poppy seed dressing and mini potato pancakes. This amounted to an odd and disappointing combination of foods. Basically I spent the entire meal pining over the egg, ham, mushroom, cheddar cheese and potato skillet my sister ordered. Alas, I'll know better next time.

Egg Harbor is not my favorite brunch place, but it is pretty good. Also, compared to city prices, everything seems really affordable here.

Tab: About $9 for a skillet

Prasino

Prasino is a new restaurant in the suburb of LaGrange where I grew up. It serves seasonal, organic and local food for breakfast, lunch and dinner - and it's becoming really popular. I tried it for breakfast with a friend yesterday.

The decor is really nice and matches the organic focus with clean, modern materials and colors. I started with the specially made veggie-fruit juice of carrot, lemon and orange. It was really tasty! Then, I ordered the veggie omelet which is served with a side of roasted potatoes and either pancakes or toast - I got the pancakes. The omelet was good, but truly nothing special. It's way too big; I think they probably used five eggs to make it and they were kind of skimpy with the veggies. The pancakes were good, but again not really impressive. The potatoes were the best part of the meal since they were really well seasoned.

My friend got the healthy french toast on multi-grain bread. I didn't try any, but she said it was good. Towards the end of our meal we had a surprise visitor: we found a spider on the french toast plate. We let the manager know and he gave us complimentary raspberry sorbet and organic pistachio ice cream. These turned out to be the best part of the meal - by far! The pistachio in particular was really great - and I'm not even usually a fan of that flavor.

I'd go back to Prasino again, but I'd rather try lunch or dinner and I'd definitely save room for dessert.

Tab: About $9 for a breakfast entree

Topo Gigio

Mark and I took his mom for dinner at Topo Gigio before seeing a show at The Second City last weekend. For those unfamiliar with Topo Gigio, he was a silly mouse puppet character on an Italian children's show in the 1960s (that's an image of him above). The Italian restaurant is named in his honor and features his likeness in a few of its decorations.

We headed to the Old Town hot spot and started with an appetizer of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and balsamic vinegar. I have a bit of a love affair with buffalo mozzarella (see here) and this appetizer was really fantastic. The restaurant also provides some bread for dipping and it was a great start to the meal.

For dinner, we decided to get three things we would all share. I ordered the Petti di Pollo Fiorentina - chicken breast sauteed with pancetta, spinach, and mozzarella. It was served with roasted potatoes and asparagus. It was a good meal, but would have been better with less cheese.

Mark's mom ordered the Eggplant Parmesan. I'm a snob when it comes to this dish because my Grandma makes a version that no restaurant compares to. Topo Gigio's version is breaded too heavily and is loaded with too much cheese. Plus, the portion is out of control. I like eating a lot, but this crossed the line to wasteful.

Mark's dish was the best of the night. He ordered the homemade linguine pasta served with a perfectly spiced red cream sauce and is topped with a generous serving of shellfish, including a bit of lobster and lots of scallops. It was a really delicious sauce, the pasta was perfection and I love shellfish. I would absolutely go back to order this dish.

While our meals weren't all perfect, the appetizer and pasta dish are enough to make me want to return sometime.

Tab: About $15-20 per entree