Breakfast Anytime
On the corner of Montrose and Sheridan, across from the Jewel, there’s this place called Jake’s that “serves breakfast anytime”. Its windows are painted with crazy characters resembling food - from corn and fish to burgers and hot dogs – and I’m pretty sure it’s been there longer than my parents have been alive. It’s also a place you can tell has seen all the changes that the neighborhood has gone through. This is Jake’s…chicken specials advertised on the window, offering all things fried and deep fried, and most importantly, breakfast anytime.
We stopped by one morning to check things out. First, be warned. Uptown is just different (for lack of a better word), and even though we were there at 9 a.m. there were still plenty of ”interesting characters” from around the neighborhood up and functioning (or not-functioning in public places) at that time. But along with the “locals”, you’ll find city workers getting in a late breakfast, the coffee drinkers reading their papers, and people just stopping in before going to do whatever they do at that hour. They also have a pretty good selection of 25¢ machines, and claw games – even one that promises a win every time if you’re up for it.
Jake’s serves the basic breakfast foods that you would find anywhere else in the city. Bacon, eggs, toast, sausage, biscuits, pancakes, and they serve them in dishes, 2-this, 2-that, and 2 of these or that. But they also have breakfast sandwiches that are served wrapped to-go . I’d take a real cooked breakfast sandwich from this place over Mickey D’s, any day, because you know it’s not pre-made. You have to wait for it, and it’s greasy enough to take care of that last glass of beer you shouldn’t of had the night before.
We opted for the same sandwich, the bacon, egg, and cheese, served on two pieces of toast. We weren’t let down. I’m not saying they do anything special or different at this place, but it’s just the fact that it was a real breakfast, with real products, served the right way — and that was enough for me to write about it. We ate ours in the outside patio which consisted of four black iron mesh tables, enclosed in a black rod-iron fence. The streets provided the entertainment.
Go to Jake’s at least once in your life, but don’t expect a Starbuck’s crowd. This is Chicago, the real deal Chicago, and this is Jake’s greasy little snack shop.
I’ve driven by this place 1000 times on my way home from work, and I’ve never stopped in. Next time I wake up a little worked over from the night before I’m stopping in. Sometimes you gotta get a little grease to get going.