Finding the French Toast of My Dreams at Jam in Chicago
"With each bite, tender threads of custard unravel on your tongue and melt away down into your gullet."
Until now, there has been no Ferran Adria or Thomas Keller of breakfast here in Chicago. There are great places that serve straightforward classics, including my favorite Benedict at Meli Café and even slightly innovative sweet-skewing spots (Butterfinger pancakes, anyone?) like Bongo Room, but real innovation and elegance has been missing from morning fare.
Jam, owned by Jerry Suqi (Chickpea) and helmed by Jeff Mauro (Charlie Trotter's and North Pond) aims to fill that void. The dish that encapsulates my experience at Jam and is the building block for what could likely be a breakfast renaissance is the malted custard French toast.
With most places focused on serving heavy brioche or Challah-style vanilla-flavored gut bombs as the standard, Jam's airy cotton candy-like interior is a revelation. With each bite, tender threads of custard unravel on your tongue and melt away down into your gullet. The lime-infused mascarpone and the spicy, fruity pop of pink peppercorns and brightness of house-made peach preserves tempered the creamy richness of the custard. It's a balanced playful breakfast presentation that displays a refinement that's a whole lot more Charlie Trotters than Denny's.
By starting meals off with amuses like tender mini biscuits topped with chive cheddar butter, and making fried egg sandwiches with beautiful braised beef cheeks and eggs, Jam is definitely on its way to reinventing the first meal of the day.
Jam
937 N Damen Avenue, Chicago IL 60622 (map)
773-489-0302; jamrestaurant.com
About the author: Michael Nagrant writes for Serious Eats from Chicago, where he also publishes Hungry magazine. Michael never met an organ meat he didn't like. He hopes to meet many more.
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5 Comments:
Wowsa!
lemons at 9:56AM on 10/15/09
I was not as enthusiastic about Jam when I went, shortly after it opened. Perhaps because it is unairconditioned, and it was summer, and it was tough to enjoy a decent brunch while sweating profusely. I will have to give it another try and order french toast this time. Chickpea, however, was another story. Hands-down the best hummus I have ever eaten, topped with drizzles of mysterious, amazing green sauce that Suqi's mom (yep, she makes the food and chats customers up!) said she made from jalapeno, but that tasted like some sort of citrusy crack that I could eat every single day and never get bored.
marinelm at 11:28AM on 10/15/09
When I'm in Chicago, it's always a toss-up between Ann Sather's or the diner across from the Sutton Place hotel for breakfast. Do I want potato pancakes and gooey cinnamon rolls, or a massive, fluffy omelette with perfect hash browns? I end up so full, I can barely choke down two hotdogs or an Italian Beef for lunch. And I'm still feeling it when I sit down at Malnati's for dinner...
NotAmerican at 12:22PM on 10/15/09
No way! I'm showing this post to my boyfriend RIGHT now....he lives reallllllly close to Jam and we have yet to go there! The menu "doesn't interest him". I'm going there this weekend, I don't care what he says! :)
Chew on That at 2:24PM on 10/15/09
When my girlfriend and I went to Jam over the summer, we were unimpressed by the food. I ordered the French Toast. The bread had barely been soaked in the egg and was very dry. With the small amount of food served to us, we left hungry and went to Sweet Cakes Bakery next door.
peglar at 9:32AM on 11/12/09