O’Rourkes- called a classic by my friends Neil and Sandy, favorited by my aunt, and given top marks by my highly critical sister for preparing her an off menu vegan meal, deserves five stars for all of the above.
However when I visited I made the mistake of sitting at the “family table” next to a chatty Cathy whose gleaming eyes and over eager exclamation of “Wow you’re from Chicago! Ever been to the Field Museum?” set my experience off on the wrong foot.
It didnt help that the waitress clearing that half of the table dropped a pile of plates and the resulting explosion launched hollandaise sauce into my aunts hair. Not much of an apology, nothing taken off of check.
Also the waitress was not able to identify much past waffles on my $16 one-of-a-kind breakfast. “I haven’t been here the past few days, I don’t know what that is,” she said pointing to a beige lump that I had just lost interest in eating.
My aunts great eggs, bacon, potatoes and brown Irish bread were indeed classic. Classic, yes, & always room to improve.
Happy birthday sweet el!