The Dawson is a Michelin rated gastro-pub in Chicago's Fulton River District neighborhood. In the late fall of 2015, I finally made it there for brunch with a few of my girlfriends. While I've been there several times in the past, I'd been wanting to check it out as they had a fairly new chef, Shaun King who started in early 2015. I'd heard the food is even better than it was before and I was not disappointed!
I actually had the opportunity to meet Shaun before he started as the executive chef. Sometime in 2014 I was sitting at the bar at The Dawson with a few friends having after-work drinks and he was sitting next to us. We started talking and he told us he was "interviewing" and he shared a little about his vision of the menu. Being a bunch of foodies, we were pretty excited to hear about what might be coming to the menu in the future!
The Dawson's brunch menu is a nice mix of egg-based dishes and some really creative options. Things like pork mac & cheese with a fried egg on top, a vegetable hash with swiss chard, tofu and squash, Eggs in Purgatory which is eggs with ranchero, cheddar, chipotle lime crema + tortillas, and chicken fried lobster - just because they can! I wish I could say I tried the lobster but they were out the day we were there so I can only use my imagination to dream up how good it must be. What a perfect excuse to go back again!! The menu changes seasonally so there are always new options to check out
I had the B.E.A.L.T. because what's better than egg and avocado added to a traditional BLT?! The Steak and Eggs were definitely a winner at our table too! I was with a friend who is vegan and they had a couple of options that worked for her with minimal to no modification, which is always a plus.
Any brunch menu that uses the words "day drinking" is right on point in my book!! I'd personally recommend the Grand Ave Bellini though one of my friends had the Irish Coffee and would probably argue for that option! They have a beautiful patio, so in the warm weather months it's definitely worth it to request a table outside!
The Dawson is located at 730 West Grand Avenue in Chicago's River West neighborhood.
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