Few foods elicit more joy — or drooling — than a flaky biscuit fresh out of the oven. Whether slathered with honey butter, doused in gravy or used as an alternative to sandwich bread, when it comes to comfort food, biscuits are king. If you think authentic biscuits can only be found down South, think again. These Chicago restaurants are putting their own Midwestern spin on melt-in-your-mouth, old-fashioned biscuits.
Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits
Since debuting in Logan Square back in 2013, Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits has become one of the most popular spots in the city for an old-fashioned slice of pie and spectacular biscuits. Bang Bang actually has an entire menu of biscuit sandwiches for your dining pleasure, including such indulgent delights as the Bacon, featuring candied bacon, collard greens, hot sauce and a sunny-side-up egg, and the Mexican-inspired Huevos, with black beans, chorizo, salsa verde, two sunny-side-up eggs and queso fresco. Best enjoyed with a mug of coffee in Bang Bang’s spacious picnic-table-lined backyard. 2051 N. California, Chicago, 773-276-8888
Big Jones
Big Jones is a Chicago institution and consistently sets the gold standard for traditional Heirloom Southern cooking in the city. Their biscuit recipe is no exception, incorporating house-rendered leaf lard (the highest quality and most flavorful type of lard) and cultured buttermilk to create a lighter-than-air final product. Try them straight-up alongside some spicy five-pepper jelly or in the Biscuit and Debris Gravy special, which includes a fresh-baked biscuit, pork gravy, voodoo greens (a play on collard greens) and two poached farm eggs. How could your day not go splendidly after a breakfast like that? 5437 N. Clark St., Chicago, 773-275-5725
Sweet Maple Café
Every neighborhood needs a great, cozy café, and Little Italy’s Sweet Maple Café is just that. In addition to a staggering breakfast/lunch menu, they roll out some of the best biscuits in town. Choose from either a cornmeal or sweet milk variety and pile on the toppings like softened butter and jam or spicy sausage gravy. Or, for a breakfast of champions, go big and try the Egg & Cheeser, a biscuit sandwich packed with scrambled or fried eggs and your choice of cheese. 1339 W. Taylor St., Chicago, 312-243-8908
Solstice Restaurant
Solstice Restaurant centers their menu on what they call “cuisine for the seasons,” seasonally driven food with as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. Their biscuits are no exception, made from scratch using local butter and milk. Try them with a medley of housemade jams or plated with pork sausage gravy and scrambled eggs. If you’re there for brunch, don’t miss their menu of biscuit sandwiches, especially The Fried Chicken Biscuit, with buttermilk chicken, a sunny-side-up egg and house pickles, and the Bacon, Egg & Cheese, with house-sliced bacon, cheddar and a sunny-side-up egg. 800 Hillgrove Ave. #104, Western Springs, 708-505-4684
Little Goat Diner
“Top Chef” alum Stephanie Izard has created a cult following here in Chicago with her debut restaurant, Girl & The Goat, her newest spot, the Chinese American Duck Duck Goat, and the casual Little Goat Diner. Like any diner worth its salt, at Little Goat breakfast is served all day, which means homemade biscuits from sun-up to sundown. Although the biscuits are perfectly delicious on their own, Izard’s pork sausage and mushroom gravy is the ultimate accompaniment and not to be missed. Add a side of house-cured bacon from Publican Quality Meats, Cheesy Grits, and farm eggs done any way you’d like and you’ve got the best of Chicago on a plate. 820 W. Randolph St., Chicago, 312-888-3455
Prairie Joe’s
Prairie Joe’s is a one-of-a-kind diner that has been fulfilling hungry customers’ comfort-food cravings since 1991. While the menu can skew a bit eccentric when it comes to daily specials, the classics never change; case in point, the biscuits and gravy. Prairie Joe’s takes a no-frills approach to their biscuits, served simply with a generous ladleful of creamy, meaty sausage gravy. Simple, but oh so delicious! 1921 Central St., Evanston, 847-491-0391
The Roost Carolina Kitchen
This country kitchen with locations in Lakeview and River West pays homage to the from-scratch Southern cooking that owner Joe Scroggs grew up with in his home state of North Carolina. Although the fried chicken has garnered Roost much of its critical praise, the buttermilk biscuits are shining stars in their own right. Enjoy them as is or sub them in as the bread option on any of the sandwich offerings like The Original, with fried chicken, cucumber coleslaw, dill pickles, chipotle buttermilk ranch and your choice of cheese. 455 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, 312-877-5738; 1467 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago 312-261-5564
Biscuit Man
If biscuits are your game, Biscuit Man, a pop-up spot located within the Long Room restaurant in Irving Park, is the place for you. The house biscuits are superb on their own or loaded up with homemade tomato jam and goat cheese, but biscuit sandwiches are the real specialty here. Try the B.L.T. Biscuit packed with smoked bacon, arugula, tomato jam and aioli or the Ham & Cheese with smoked ham, Swiss cheese, Dijon mustard and herbs. 1612 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, 773-665-8210
Hoosier Mama Pie Company
Hoosier Mama Pie Company’s founder Paula Haney has built a pie empire here in Chicago with her reach now expanding outside of her original Ukrainian Village location to a Chicago Avenue outpost in Evanston. In addition to a wide assortment of seasonally driven sweet and savory pies, Hoosier Mama churns out a mean buttermilk biscuit. Fluffy and light with that characteristic buttermilk tang, these biscuits sing with a spread of butter and jam and serve as a luxurious bread substitute for a breakfast egg and cheese sandwich. 1618 1/2 Chicago Ave., Chicago, 312-243-4846; 749 Chicago Ave., Evanston, 847-868-8863
Windy City Pie Co.
As a child, Sara Montmerency, owner of Windy City Pie Co. in Wilmette, savored time in the kitchen with her grandmother. It was there that her love of baking blossomed and she discovered her true passion for feeding others. Today, Windy City Pie Co. houses an impressive selection of sweet and savory treats — handmade pies, scones, sandwiches and sensational biscuits. Montmerency’s buttermilk biscuits are beautifully simple on their own or served with fresh berries and whipped cream for an elegant treat. 415 4th St., Wilmettte, 224-408-2460
