Sugar Milk Cafe, Naperville IL
It all begins with an idea.
This week we hit up Sugar Milk Cafe in Naperville - located at the intersection of darling and delightful. Remember that each week, the person selecting the restaurant prepares a conversation-starter question. This week, Sunny’s question was a two-parter: what was your favorite A) Halloween decoration and B) costume. We dug deep for this one, recalling Halloweens of yesteryear and digging through our phones to call up our favorite memories. We go ALL OUT for Halloween, so Sugar Milk Cafe provided the perfect background of artistry and inspiration: clearly these are folks who go the extra mile for their craft.
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QUICK STATS
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ [4/5]
Price Range: $$
Best For: Inspired and artistic souls, connoisseurs of Mexican breakfast fare, lovers of ingenuity and presentation
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BEHIND OUR RATINGS
Food Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
The drinks (coffee concoctions and shakes) are all the words that sound bad but are really good: sick / wicked / insane / madness - take your pick. Literally worth the trip. If you were wondering to yourself, “you know, I wish more places put hohos atop their bubblegum milkshakes” then have I got the place for you! Food was very good - and anything with fruit will be excellent - but nothing can compete with these drinks. If you come here and order water or like a sprite or something, let this be your wake up call to live a little.
Service: ⭐⭐⭐ [3/5]
Very lovely and friendly, 5-worthy server. That said, our drinks and food came out at significantly different times (including entrees), which disrupted our flow. Also, the staff didn't proactively explain the checkout process which isn't immediately obvious and creates a logjam once you’re ready to go.
Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
A+ for what they’ve pulled off here. It's a pretty cozy / tight space, but they've made every inch count. The vibe is floral + diner meets artsy meets joyous meets Frida Kahlo. They didn’t pour a huge reno budget into it and they didn’t have to: it feels personal and quaint and darling. A wonderful place to meet friends for brunch!
Noise Level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
Very manageable conversation volume. Added bonus to the floral ceiling decor in that it dampens the sound. We had zero trouble talking and connecting. And a handful of booths too!
Value for Money: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ [4/5]
The drinks alone are worth the price of admission - they're elaborate, beautiful, and delicious. Food portions are solid. You're paying for artistry and creativity.
Wait Time: ⭐⭐⭐ [3/5]
Mixed bag on waits in general. On the one hand, there was no wait for a family of four to be seated on a Sunday at 9:15am. BUT the bathrooms had quite a wait, as there is only one of each. Some lady was reading a novel in there so I waited quite some time until a server told me to just use the men’s. Checkout was confusing - we waited for a check that didn’t arrive; when prompted we were directed to the register where they calc your check live. It creates a bottleneck under good circumstances; in our case the guy 2 ahead of us was disputing charges so our patience was wearing thin.
Kid-Friendly: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
Happy to report they passed the chicken tenders and fries test. But the real winner? The bubblegum shake, topped with enough candy to rival Sunny’s typical entire trick-or-treat haul.
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WHAT WE ORDERED
Court started strong with the francaise cappuccino - made with chocolate and loaded with donuts and chocolate-covered pretzels. As he described it, "It's like eating a breakfast appetizer just to get to the coffee." The coffee, once he got down to it, was delicious. Smooth, kinda strong, the type for folks who drink coffee all day - really exceptional quality. He also ordered the Azteca burrito, which had a nice kick from jalapeños (spicy in a good way, not overpowering) well-textured potatoes, and a southwest seasoning that hit just right.
Kay went with the amaretto cappuccino (came with a little heart on top - adorable) and the oatmeal bowl. She was skeptical as it looked watery at first glance, but it turned out to be delicious. Loaded with fruit and very flavorful.
I (Bridget) got the double espresso, which was strong enough to fuel a marathon, and my splurge drink was the raspberry chai. Once I worked up the courage to disturb the charming presentation, it became clear I’d found my new favorite. The veggie skillet was good, though had I known the potatoes were bigger and softer than I prefer (I'm a small-and-crispy fan), I’d have gone with one of the baked specialties. Next time.
Sunny gave a solid thumbs-up to the chicken tenders and fries. And, it goes without saying, he crushed that bubblegum shake. “On a scale of 1 to 5, it’s a 99.” We all helped him with it and, well, he wasn’t wrong.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
Our Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ [4/5]
What Made Us Smile: The imagination and artistry of their beverage creations.
What Could Be Better: Tighten the operational screws. Make both restrooms unisex and keep the line moving. Tell people upfront they don’t receive a check - it’s calculated at the register and to approach when ready. Better yet just get a QR payment option (and promote cookies or to-go drinks in your merch as add-ons). We feel these are easily addressable and would flip our 4 rating into a 5.
Will the SSBC Be Back? Most definitely. Thrilled to have found this gem.
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Well, that's a wrap from your SSBC! Don't forget to follow our breakfast adventures on the socials. And get some SSBC merch (holidays are just around the corner ya know). If you'd like to recommend a place for us to visit, drop us a line on our contact page.
Thanks for reading and please endeavor to be as gracious a guest as you expect of your establishment. Mind your manners, tip well, and if you linger during peak times (as we sometimes do), order lots and tip even better.
Darlene’s Breakfast and Brunch - Lemont, IL
It all begins with an idea.
This week we hit up Darlene’s and boy, do we have thoughts. It’s worth noting that each week, the person selecting the restaurant prepares a conversation-starter question. This week’s question was favorite concert (spoiler alert: ABBA Voyage in London ran the board) but we actually spent the bulk of the time talking about the seemingly lost art of a true dining experience, inclusive of great service and what it means to also be a good patron. As you’ll see, Darlene’s was the primo setting for such a discussion.
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QUICK STATS
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
Price Range: $$$
Best For: Folks craving a true experience - high end food, atmosphere, and service
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BEHIND OUR RATINGS
Food Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
Darlene’s is the intersection of creativity and craft. Baked items, imaginative savory dishes, libations (adult and PG) and gourmet brew concoctions simply enamored us. The standard stuff (e.g. hash browns, eggs benedict) was fine, but don’t come here for that. Life is short, just get the frickin waffle flight.
Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
It REALLY says something that you come to a place like Darlene’s and the thing that makes you rave over everything else is the service. The food and atmosphere is extremely hard to outshine but you did it, Josh! While we’ve only begun to document our SSBC adventures, we’ve been at this quite a while and he is a “best of the best” server.
Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
Bright, crisp, witty atmosphere. Comfy couches for waiting, though we didn’t need them. Extra points for the Slay All Day rococo posters in the ladies’ restroom. PS they have a little gaming area, if you’re feeling lucky (we chose not to press our luck after having scored a good parking spot.)
Noise Level: ⭐⭐⭐ [3/5]
If we were in the raised dining room area, their busiest time would have been pretty loud. That said, we snagged a booth on the lower level and had a little sanctuary of our own.
Value for Money: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ [4/5]
Let’s say this: the experience is high quality, and you pay for that. But you get your money’s worth.
Wait Time: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
We had zero wait on a busy Saturday morning, despite the somewhat stern posted policies (party must be together before seating, etc.) that had us bracing for chaos.
Kid-Friendly: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
They passed the rigorous Chicken Fingers and Fries test with flying colors. Also our BFF Josh knew to put the kid’s order in early while we were oohing and aahing over the waffle flight.
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WHAT WE ORDERED
First, we absolutely crushed a waffle flight (and a cake pop from the bakery. Note: popular donuts sell out fast). We all agreed the blueberry & strawberry waffle was best, but it was a photo finish against the coconut chocolate decadence.
For my breakfast, I (Bridget) ordered a chai latte and the veggie house bowl. Chai latte was as satisfying in taste as it was in presentation. Sweet foam chicago, amIright? House bowl aka skillet was simply eggceptional (I’m allowed one egg pun per review). Mad props to Darlene’s for putting feta in the dish; I think we as a nation need to address how feta-deficient our breakfasts have become and put a task force on that.
Court chose the white sheep coffee and the chicken bacon ranch crepes. Coffee was good: very diner-esque. He felt the crepes were unique from the same old breakfast fare and a welcome, flavorful savory option.
Kay went with cold brew coffee & eggs benedict. Cold brew was good but strong. She let the ice cubes melt a bit and it was perfect. Eggs benedict were good, not great. It’s kind of a standard dish and we think Darlene’s jam is more stuff with a wow factor.
Sunny got the kids’ chicken fingers and fries. Get used to seeing that order, as he’s the finickiest of the group. The verdict? “Fries were an 11 out of 10.” Methinks, dear reader, that says it all right there.
Oh and I grabbed a strawberry ginger refresher for the road. It was the perfect accompaniment for walking off our breakfast at the Orland Square Mall afterwards.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
Our Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [5/5]
What Made Us Smile: Josh 🙂
What Could Be Better: sold out of popular donuts by 9:15am. I guess the early bird is sick of worms and now swoops in for Darlene’s chocolate donuts.
Will the SSBC Be Back? Just try and stop us.
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Well, that’s a wrap from your SSBC! Don’t forget to follow our breakfast adventures on the socials. And get some SSBC merch (holidays are just around the corner ya know). If you’d like to recommend a place for us to visit, drop us a line on our contact page.
Thanks for reading and please endeavor to be as gracious a guest as you expect of your establishment. Mind your manners, tip well, and if you linger during peak times (as we sometimes do), order lots and tip even better.