Brunch at Little Branch Cafe

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The scene: If Little Branch Cafe were a residential property, realtors might shudder. The one-and-a-half-year-old counter-service cafe violates all three rules for successful sales: location, location and location. Tucked away on the ground floor of a South Loop condo building on a street that sees scant foot traffic, it’s almost impossible to stumble upon. If you seek it out—which you should—be prepared to hunt for parking.

But inconvenience has an upside. If Little Branch were located on a high-traffic street, we’d predict Bongo Room-esque popularity or at least Toast- or Orange-like brunch crowds. As it is, weekend brunch, which launched in November, draws a steady but not overwhelming stream of young couples, families and singletons, mostly from the neighborhood. And that’s more or less what the cafe’s owners, sisters Soo and Sang Choi and partner Kevin Heisner, had in mind when they opened the place.

Though the space is relatively compact, Little Branch manages an airy, modern vibe. A sleek wood-paneled coffee bar set with sturdy tree-trunk stools designed by Soo, a fashion designer, and Heisner, known for his design work at nightspots such as Bar DeVille and Empire Liquors, runs the length of the cafe, while floor-to-ceiling windows keep things bright and open.

The cuisine: Hold off on those lunch plans, because this isn’t your typical coffeehouse fare. Sure, you could go Starbucks style with a scone and a latte. But with entrees that hold their own against just about any table-service brunch spot in town, why would you? Besides, Little Branch just received a liquor license, and you’re going to need more than a scone to stand up to that bloody mary.

The easiest path to syrupy satisfaction is the mascarpone-stuffed French toast ($7.50), two pieces of brioche toast with a layer of mascarpone spread between them—sort of a French toast sandwich—luxuriating in vanilla creme anglais and sprinkled with candied pecans and fresh berries.

Little Branch offers more than a half dozen panini on the lunch menu, and the breakfast frittata sandwich ($7.50) is a testament to the kitchen’s panini prowess. Our bacon and tomato frittata, layered with melted cheddar, was neatly pressed between two slices of steaming ciabatta spread with roasted red pepper aioli.

Almost everything is made from scratch daily, so offerings change frequently. The huge slices of quiche ($5.75), for example, might include chicken sausage, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions and parmesan one day, and bacon, tomatoes and gruyere the next. It’s all enough to make you want to move to the South Loop just to be that much closer when something new comes out of the oven. If that’s too extreme, well, it’s at least worth a trip out of your way.

M. Kathleen Pratt is the Metromix dining producer. kpratt@tribune.com

Loved it: Smoothies ($5.75) made with gelato

Brunch time: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

Cost: $10-$15 per person

Wait: None

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