Cheap Eats: Sweet Maple Cafe

3 forks (out of four)

Fork ratings key:
4: Don't miss it
3: One of the best
2: Very good
1: Good

Sweet Maple Cafe is just that: a charming, cozy eatery tucked next to a bakery on Taylor Street, a few blocks east of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus and some big-name Italian restaurants.

It is unpretentious, comfortable and blessed with a menu of tasty breakfast eats, as well as a lunchtime lineup. If that wonderful aunt of yours -- the one who makes great fluffy biscuits and slices slabs of ham off the bone for breakfast -- opened a cafe, this would be it.

Leaf decals and a few pictures line the walls. Below a chair-rail, yellow paint adds its sunshine. The tables, a baker's dozen, are covered in heavy plastic cloth. A chalkboard behind the counter-cooler combination lists the day's specials.

Breakfast is the big draw at Sweet Maple Cafe for good reason: The portions are good-sized and nicely prepared. The coffee is Seattle's Best. The muffins are baked at the restaurant.

Take the Taylor Street omelet. It is perfectly cooked outside and in -- the fontina cheese runny, not tough; the basil, tomatoes and Italian sausage pieces dispersed throughout. It's $7.25 with the sausage ($6.25 without) and a side of chunky home fries and a cornmeal biscuit or toast. Other omelet contenders (also with potatoes and choice of biscuit or toast) include a three-cheese omelet (Cheddar, Swiss and fontina; $5.95); sunrise omelet (sausage, onions, Cheddar; $6.50) or a make-your-own with four ingredients ($6.95).

A chunky, well-flavored corned beef hash served with two eggs (we order ours over easy and they arrive as runny as we like 'em) and a biscuit ($6.50) has a can't-stop-eating-it delicious flavor. The holiday French toast ($5.25), made with thick-sliced challah bread dipped in a nutmeg- and vanilla-flavored custard, meets a similar fate at our table. We drop an extra $1.50 for a slice of bone-in ham and are happy we did.

Other breakfast items include two eggs, biscuit with a side of bacon or country sausage ($4.50); eggs Alex (two eggs, corn tortillas, black beans, Cheddar and salsa; $6.50); as well as five types of pancakes, ranging from buttermilk ($5.25) to blueberry ($5.95) and chocolate chip ($5.75).

Sides worth considering, besides that bone-in ham, include country sausage (patty or link; $1.95); biscuits with spicy sausage gravy ($2.95); cup of grits ($2.25; with cheese, $2.75 -- and the extra 50 cents is a worthwhile expenditure).

The lunch menu also is a pretty good effort. The sandwiches, served with habit-forming (though under-salted) home-made potato chips and a pickle, make up the bulk of the menu; the fried chicken sandwich ($6.95) with an herbed or roasted garlic mayo is our favorite. We try ours on a bollo (a crusty roll) with the garlic mayo.

The grilled chicken sandwich ($6.95), with the same choice of mayos and breads -- onion, bollo or wheat bun -- is fine, though drier than we like.

Isaiah's tuna salad ($6.25), a slightly sweet mix with low-fat dressing, carrots, celery and apples on wheat toast, offers a nice change of pace, but it's a bit runny.

There are a variety of coffees, including regular-size brewed ($1.50), cappuccino ($1.90) and caffe mocha ($2.65). Espresso starts at $1.35 for a single shot. Teas (hot or iced, $1.65), fresh orange juice ($1.85 small) and soft drinks ($1) are also available.

We also try blueberry muffins ($1.50 each), though the blueberries are sparse. Now if only we had room for the lemon poppyseed or orange-cranberry variations. Looks as if we may have to return.

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Sweet Maple Cafe
1339 W. Taylor St.
312-243-8908

Hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. daily; breakfast until 11:30 a.m. Mon.-Fri.; breakfast only all day Sat. and Sun.
Entree prices: $5.95-$6.95
Credit cards: A, M, V
Noise rating: Conversation friendly
Other: Wheelchair accessible (a small step at the entry); free parking across the street

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