Tired of putting money in your gas tank? Why not fill up for $7 at Bevo Mill? The recently re-opened historic restaurant is now serving breakfast, brunch and lunch seven days a week.
After a revamp of the kitchen and a sprucing up to match the brighter, less formal menu, Bevo Mill, a South Side landmark, is back in business for daily dining. It’s still owned by Anheuser-Busch Inc. and operated by Patrick’s Restaurants (part of the Hanon Management Group).
Its breakfast menu is extensive and, as my vegetarian cousin happily pointed out, there are several appealing meatless options. On the lunch side, a selection of sandwiches is available, as well as traditional German favorites – sauerbraten, bratwurst and knockwurst. And it’s family-friendly. For $3.95, kids have their choice of five menu options and a drink. To keep them occupied when there’s a wait on the weekends, Bevo offers bubbles, sidewalk chalk and hula hoops.
Creative omelets kick off the menu. As promised by the name Bacon and Avocado, crisp bacon, creamy avocado and Monterey Jack cheese ($6.50) are folded into three eggs. Sour cream and salsa give it a smooth and spicy flavor. Most egg and omelet items are served with Bevo Potatoes, lightly seasoned and sautéed till golden brown (tasty and not the least bit greasy), as well as toasted English muffins (with a nice selection of Smucker’s jams).
The Windmill Scramble ($6.25) – eggs scrambled with spinach, tomato, ham, cream cheese and hollandaise – was served on a flaky croissant.
The veggie crêpe ($6.25) was filled with broccoli, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, celery, onions, Provolone cheese and Bevo house dressing (a light sauce flavored with celery seed). The crêpe was whisper-thin and didn’t overwhelm the fresh ingredients, although they weren’t heated thoroughly and the cheese wasn’t quite melted. The Brittany ($6.95) featured one of my favorite flavor combinations: spinach, asparagus, finely chopped honey ham and Havarti cheese, but this crêpe, too, suffered from barely warm ingredients.
For the Salmon Cake Benedict ($6.95), salmon was combined with ginger, onion, habañero peppers, garlic and cilantro, then breaded and sautéed. The flavor was fresh, but I didn’t necessarily taste the individual elements of the dish. The salmon cake sat atop an English muffin, layered with sliced tomato, a poached egg (the yolk was overly cooked) and hollandaise sauce.
Bevo Mill’s building is unmistakable – the windmill can be spotted for blocks. Inside, vaulted, beamed ceilings; carved stone gnomes; a massive stone fireplace in the main dining room; and stained-glass windows add to the Old World charm. If you’re seated in the Mill Room (or even if you aren’t), be sure to check out the original tiled murals. In each, try to find the tile that’s been inverted.
Service is fast and friendly. Tables are set with pitchers of ice water with lemon and hefty coffee mugs, details reminiscent of First Watch. A carafe of Kaldi’s coffee is delivered upon request. Later, I learned the manager, David Gilbert, had opened several First Watch restaurants in addition to many small, independent restaurants, and some of the menu items reflect his West Coast background. Others, like San Diego French Toast, which incorporates a frozen custard base in the egg wash, are a nod to St. Louis favorites.
Bevo Mill has enough options to make the breakfaster happy, and all for the price of a couple of gallons of gas.
This article appears in Jun 1-30, 2006.