Last month I had such a great dinner experience at Hutch in Lakeview, that I thought it might be fun to give them a try for Brunch. After heading online and checking out their jaw-dropping menu, I was 100% sold and booked my reservation.
The biggest issue I had going into this meal was that I wanted to try SO many things and I honestly couldn’t decide. That’s why I brought a group of friends with me who were down to dine “family style”, so that we could try a few different dishes.
Now…I’ve had a lot of brunch in my day (especially given that I’m a big foodie), but brunch at Hutch moved quickly to the top of my favorites list. Honestly, if I were ever to have one of my last meals, some of their dishes would be on it (because my last meal would probably consist of 25 courses).
The meal started off too perfectly with their signature Bloody Mary called the, “Starsky”, that our server, Melissa recommended. It has smoked jalapeño and garlic infused vodka, house-made BBQ bitters and bacon sea salt rim. Believe it our not, it’s actually even better than it sounds (yes it’s possible).
The “Starsky” Bloody Mary from Hutch
When going over what to order, we decided to let Melissa (our server) take the lead since she already killed it with her Bloody recommendation. Of all the dishes we tried, it’s hard to narrow it down to my favorite, so here are the 5 things you need to order when you go:
1) Monkey Bread ($5): Do you remember eating this as a little kid? Well, Hutch has their own version and it’s pretty freaking good. It’s soft and tastes of sweet cinnamon and sugar. Not as sticky as the one I had when I was a kid, but this refined version is the perfect starter while your waiting on brunch. It’s smaller than I expected, so I would order 2 if you’re with a group of 4 people. Oh, and the icing is to die for!
2) Croissant French Toast ($8): Never in my life have I even thought about making french toast out of croissants (despite the fact that it’s one of my favorite pastries in the world). If this idea is already blowing your mind, prepare yourself. Hutch actually stuffs theirs with oodles of creamy mascarpone and tops it with sweet strawberries. This filling literally explodes from the french toast and I bet you will be thinking about this dish long after the plate is licked clean.
3) Chilaquiles ($11 w/ chorizo & avocado addition): Ever since going to Mexico last year, I’ve been craving great chilaquiles. It wasn’t until brunch at Hutch that I finally found a delicious authentic version! If you don’t know, most chilaquiles consist of fried corn tortillas in some sort of sauce with and eggs. The version at Hutch elevated this classic with some traditional chihuahua cheese, salsa roja, sour cream, chorizo and avocado. They are perfect and I couldn’t recommend them more.
4) Fried Chicken + Corn Waffle ($12): I don’t even know if I can do this dish any justice by describing it, but I will surely do my best. Let’s start with the waffle. This thing is crispy on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside. It’s filled with hatch green chiles and cheddar cheese giving it such a unique flavor. The boneless tenders on top are perfectly breaded, juicy and well matched with the corn waffle. Oh…and it gets better. The dish is topped with bacon butter. Bon apatite!
5) Totchos ($8): This is hands down the most inventive dish on the menu. Basically, Hutch combines crispy tots with all the toppings you’d get from an amazing plate of nachos (hence “tochos”). Their version is topped with a tangy pico de gallo, truffled cheese fondue,and topped with a perfect fried egg. Remember how I said some of these dishes would be included in my last meal? Well this is for sure one of them. Pure heaven.
If these five dishes haven’t convinced you to go to Hutch for brunch, I honestly don’t think we can be friends (because I couldn’t trust your judgement). So make your reservation and head over to Hutch at 3301 N Clark Street this weekend! Make sure if you go, post a photo to Instagram with the hashtag #everythingerica!
Love always,
Erica
