You need to eat early and often at M. Henry, because the comfortable Andersonville spot is not open for dinner, giving you fewer hours to sample its whimsical food. And if you love breakfast as I do, you may be tempted by lunch.
The room is as refreshing as the menu, with antique windows suspended from the ceiling to serve as room dividers and a giant replica of a vintage postcard over the bar. Even the washroom has charm, with a mini sink fitting perfectly into the narrow space and a vintage weight to pull the door closed.
Sunday Splurges
Sunday brunch is M. Henry’s most sophisticated meal, featuring 10 selections divided between sweet and savory. I pondered whether my love for breakfast stemmed from my love of dessert as I savored mango blueberry blisscakes ($8.25), fluffy hotcakes with vanilla mascarpone cream and a brown-sugar oat crust. Also on the menu are Belgian chocolate and sour cherry hotcakes ($8.25) and the brioche French twist ($7.95), French toast layered with brie, apple butter and green apple slices, baked and drizzled with wildflower honey and sliced almonds.
Those with an undeveloped sweet tooth can opt for a stuffed poblano pepper ($8.50) filled with eggs, black beans, tomatoes and cheddar, or crab cake Napoleons ($9.50) two crab cakes layered with tomatoes, Swiss chard and fontina cheese and topped with walnut pesto.
With the locally roasted organic coffee, it’s hard to imagine a better way to top off the weekend.
Good Eats for Weekday Dining
Fanciful sandwiches come with either Asian sesame slaw or blue corn chips. Vegetarians have many choices, including the veggie Dagwood stacked sandwich ($7.25) with no less than 11 ingredients, not counting the multi-grain bread and olive topper. The neo-classic grilled cheese ($5.95) gives you a choice of Lorraine Swiss or Wisconsin sharp cheddar with about a dozen embellishments, including pear and watercress. Gertrude’s greatest veggie burger ($6.25) boasts of its “meatiness.”
Rounding out the menu are yellowfin tuna ($7.95), jerk chicken ($7.95) and turkey ($7.95) sandwiches, so there’s something for everyone. And that’s not even considering the generous peasant bowls ($5.95-$6.25) with rice, beans or noodles, punctuated with either Asian or south-of-the-border ingredients.
But back to breakfast. The glory is in the details: steaming coffee, not bitter and over-roasted like the ubiquitous takeout places; fabulous toast, in this case ciabatta, baguette, sour dough and multi-grain, and the option of pomegranate syrup, not that the maple isn’t delicious.
And I admire the gumption to go over the top, like with the vegan epiphany ($6.75), organic tofu scrambled with red and green peppers, yellow onions and spices, served with house potatoes and yuba, a savory crispy concoction made from the cream that rises to the top of soymilk when making tofu. Top that with a killer fried egg sandwich ($7.95), black bean cakes with spicy chipotle sour cream and a homemade crepe with warm seasonal fruit ($5.50), and we all can eat breakfast for every meal.
The Final Word
Timing is indeed everything and at M. Henry the early bird gets the dulce banana rumba French toast ($7.95), or at least a table by the window. One Sunday I arrived at 10 a.m. and had my choice of seats. A half hour later people were lined out the door. Once you’re situated, be sure to check out the photos of owner Michael Henry Moorman during his hippie era. Then it’s all clear where the inspiration for the creative menu comes from.
M. Henry, 5707 N. Clark St., Chicago, 773-561-1600, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday. Smoke free.
Janine MacLachlan is a freelance writer, cooking school owner and breakfast aficionado who seeks out restaurants that focus on well-raised food. Her website is www.rustickitchen.com.