The
Best
Part of
Waking
Up
Yolk gives
Chicago the
breakfast it
deserves
One of Chicago’s most famous breakfast
restaurants, Yolk provides quite the
friendly and welcoming experience for
both the bleary-eyed and wide-awake
morning diner. Walking into the South
Loop location, one is received comfortably
into bright blues and yolk yellows—a
veritable social sanctuary with a row of
tables down the center, each filled with
happy, animated customers.
Huge bay windows look out across Michigan Avenue onto the Museum
Campus—a wonderful spot to watch the sun come up over Lake Michigan.
The high ceilings bring the space a wide-open approachability, and the
high-backed booths allow for more intimacy among friends. A granite-top
counter wraps around the gleaming, stainless steel kitchen, bringing a
modern update to the classic diner. Everything feels fresh and bright.
When Yolk opened in 2006, Owner Taki Kastanis set out to create more
of a high quality ambience for breakfast dining. His idea—that going
out for breakfast can be just as satisfying and rich as any other dining
experience—has certainly gone over well. “You feel like you’ve gone out
and done something,” Kastanis explains. “In this economy you can’t go
out for steak every night.”
“Why not have a bigger place
that serves a larger menu,
where everyone can feel
comfortable?”—Taki Kastanis
by Andy Hume
Yolk cracked over a million eggs last year at their South Loop and River
North locations—a seemingly incomprehensible feat, until you’ve tried the
Eggs Benedict, that is. Yolk’s Eggs Benedict are, quite plainly, the best you
will ever have, and Kastanis calculates that his restaurants serve more
than any other place in the world. With two new locations opening this
year (in Streeterville and Presidential Towers) Yolk is certain to surpass the
million-Benedict mark.
Yolk is a Chicago institution, born and bred. The South Loop’s original
regulars helped shape what the restaurant would become. “They thanked
us for coming into the neighborhood,” Kastanis explains. “Most breakfast
restaurants in the city are smaller and more limited. They do well for
what they serve, but they’re not geared to a wide demographic. Why not
have a bigger place that serves a larger menu, where everyone can feel
comfortable?” A look around the restaurant makes it clear that everyone is
comfortable: old-school locals, students, business people, neighborhood
newbies, and tourists all enjoy the diverse and delicious bites. The scene
is energetic and vibrant.
36
www.diningout.com
37
It’s no surprise that Kastanis got it right. His homegrown concept has
been years in the making. He’s been in the business since birth (literally)
having helped his parents with their own string of family-style breakfast
restaurants in the suburbs: Grandma Sally’s. “I was waiting for a spot
downtown,” he explains. “Yolk was created here and evolved into what it
is now. We took the basics of what a family restaurant is, but with a twist
on everything.”
Among Kastanis’s favorites are the Banana Nut French Toast (one of six
French toasts on the menu), the BLT—with avocado and Swiss—and the
Eggs Benedict, of course. The Banana Nut French Toast is made with
fresh banana bread—sliced, battered, and grilled. Deliciously spongy and
moist, it melts on the tongue, and with fresh, sliced bananas and peanut
butter, it sports a healthful edge. The menu also boasts a huge selection
of omelettes, skillets, frittatas, waffles, and crêpes—truly something for
everyone. The freshly squeezed, strawberry-orange juice is astounding, and
the bakery items—cinnamon rolls, pecan rolls, and a variety of muffins,
all baked fresh on-site—are some of the most sumptuous Chicago, or any
city, has to offer.
Breakfast is not all Yolk does well, however. Deeper into the menu come the
salads, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. The Citrus Blast Salad with mixed
greens, chicken breast, avocado, pecans, apples, raisins, dried cranberries,
Mandarin oranges, and blue cheese crumbles is a healthy favorite, as is
the Sesame-Crusted Salmon Salad. A Dublin Pot Roast Sandwich, a Monte
Cristo with raspberry preserves, and a Yacht Club with added avocado
and ham are great examples of the clever “twist” Kastanis speaks of.
Continuing with his good-natured and experimental ethic, variations and
substitutions are encouraged and generally come free. “If you want to
substitute something like fruit or salad, we’re not going to punish you for
being healthy,” he says.
Owner Taki Kastanis
Deliciously spongy
and moist, it melts on
the tongue ...
Yolk also has a catering menu, popular among downtown business execs.
Or, bring the meeting to Yolk; the South Loop location has an interactivecapable conference room for twelve. And if you’d like to bring a taste of
Yolk home to your own kitchen, their signature syrup, pancake mix, and
specially roasted coffee are available at all locations.
Kastanis is excited for the two new locations, which are certain to bring
to their respective neighborhoods what the other two already have. Yolk
likes to be involved in the community, donating gift certificates for local
fundraisers, sponsoring little league teams, and helping with churches and
the new Children’s Museum. This open-door, participatory tradition is at
the very heart of what makes Yolk the pleasurable establishment that it is
and will, undoubtedly, continue to be for years to come.
38