The Loop's 1923 Route 66 Breakfast
Lou Mitchell's on West Jackson has been the Loop's breakfast institution since 1923. And is officially designated as the starting line of Route 66. The format is the proper American diner-breakfast: fluffy double-yolk omelettes, hand-cut potatoes, the doughnut hole and Milk Duds the staff hand out at the door.
The cooking is uncompromising American breakfast. The omelettes are fluffy in the proper diner manner; the potatoes are hand-cut and properly griddled; the coffee is refilled without asking.
What to Order
The fluffy omelette. The dish the kitchen has been refining for a century. The hand-cut potatoes; the Greek yoghurt with honey as a starter. The doughnut hole and Milk Duds are handed out at the door.
The Tradition
The Route 66 starting-line designation is part of the institution's identity. Photos of the route's western progression cover the walls; the regulars give the room its rhythm.
Best Occasion: Solo Dining
Lou Mitchell's is one of Chicago's most natural solo-dining rooms. Counter seating handles a single cover gracefully; the format is unintimidating; the price point sits in the bracket where a daily breakfast is genuinely possible.