Delicious Mediterranean Cuisine at Andies Restaurant

Last Sunday morning, we ventured off to Andersonville to show my in-laws that unique part of the city. Andersonville is a neighborhood in Chicago with a very interesting ethnic mix; there's a large Swedish presence there as well as a thriving Middle Eastern community. So on the main street through Andersonville, you'll see the Swedish Bakery, the Swedish American Museum and Erickson's Delicatessen alongside Persian restaurants, Middle Eastern bakeries, and places like Turkish Cuisine and Bakery. We were in search of breakfast but didn't have a specific place in mind. How lucky we were to bump into Andies Restaurant!

Andies Restaurant refers to itself as a Mediterranean, Lebanese, and Greek place. Its large dining room is bright and sunny and its staff is welcoming and warm. On Sundays Andies offers an amazing brunch buffet alongside its standard menu. While we were tempted by the buffet option, Win's parents and I decided to order off the menu and let Win sample all the buffet had to offer. Win's Dad went with the Lebanese Omelet, Win's Mom chose the Greek Vegetarian Omelet, and I had the Spinach Crepes. All of these dishes were absolutely delicious and presented beautifully.

At the buffet, Win found lamb, dill rice, more hot and cold salads than I can even begin to describe, blueberry crepes, a vegetarian lasagne, various kinds of eggs and breakfast meats, loads of fresh fruit, and an impressive array of desserts. It is a very large buffet with a really nice assortment of offerings. Not your standard American breakfast buffet fare; everything is prepared in a Mediterranean or Lebanese or Greek style. Win loved everything he sampled and he would have tried even more of the offerings if he hadn't gotten too full.

At the end of our meal, our waitress came over and handed Lima a little toy beauty kit as a gift. It included a tiny hairdryer, comb, brush, toy lipstick, a compact, a mirror, rollers and a bottle of pretend perfume. This was such a sweet gesture and totally unexpected. I put some curlers in Lima's hair and she was very thrilled to look in her new mirror and check this all out (while applying her new lipstick, of course). I don't know if Andies regularly gives little toys to children or if perhaps this was a holiday thing, but it was extremely sweet and it made Lima's morning.



To be honest, I probably never would have chosen Andies if restaurants with more traditional breakfasts had been open. While I like it, this type of cuisine isn't usually on the top of my "must try" list. Andies won our business because it was open when we needed it and boy am I glad they were. Their food is delicious and we will definitely be back. They won us over instantly and if you're in Andersonville check them out.

Andies Restaurant
5253 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60640
USA
Telephone: 773 784-8616
Web: http://www.andiesres.com/

* The first photo in this post comes from the Andies Restaurant web site. I was disappointed that I didn't have my camera with me for this breakfast, hence no decor or food photos of my own this time.