Meli Cafe

Meli Cafe

301 S Halstead

6am-4pm

My dude and I hit this place up for breakfast today. I found it on Urban Spoon, we checked it out online and thought it looked amazing. We rolled in around noon and the place was packed. Apparently this is common, because they have those awful buzzer boxes that tell you when your table is ready - kind of ridiculous when the waiting area is about 10 square feet. But whatevs.

The menu is extensive, and incredibly appealing. In fact, there were so many delectable options that we were on the verge of ordering three breakfasts. Thankfully good sense prevailed. In addition to omlettes, skillets, benedicts, pancakes, french toasts, crepes, and lots else, there's also a fresh juice bar. There's a juice drink made cabbage and wheat grass. If you try it, let me know if it's good. 

The coffee, Lavazza, is fabulous, but they don't seem to be into refills, which is unfortunate. The prices are on the steeper side of affordable, but they're not outrageous. But an entree and coffee will probably put you in the $15, rather than $10, range. 

Now, the food. I ordered the classic benedict, which was incredibly disappointing. I'm coming to realize that I don't know of any places in Chi-town that do a truly amazing classic eggs benedict. I LOVE the Eggs Bite at Bite, and the prosciutto benedict at Toast,  but sometimes you just want plain old eggs benedict (if you're in DC and have such a desire, I highly recommend The Diner in Adams Morgan - marvelous). But anyways, back to Meli's take on the problem. The canadian bacon was super thick cut which, as you may recall, is not really my thing. Strike one. Strike two, the Hollandaise was really lemony - again, something that a lot of people like, but I'm more into the buttery variant with a hint of lemon, myself. So yeah, the eggs didn't really do it for me. The potatoes that came with it were good, but not amazing. I mean, they were tasty and all, I just wasn't particularly blown away by them.

My man, being the genius he is, ordered the Down at the Farm skillet, and that, dear friends, was everything a skillet ought to be. Bacon, ham and sausage with onions peppers and tomatoes, blended in blissful harmony with potatoes and lots of cheese, two eggs on top. It was fantastic. I persuaded him to let me eat half of it. It was great.

So Meli's, I think I'll need to revisit. I'm interested in sampling their french toast and crepes, both of which look fabulous. I think I'll definitely avoid going on weekends, when I suspect the wait is unbearable, and meanwhile, I'll continue my quest for the perfect eggs benny elsewhere.