“I do have a chef. He is kind of . . . likes to be kept secret,” says Mike Grivas, the owner of City Dough (2955 N. Sheffield Ave., Lake View, 773-747-3100), an elevated comfort-food spot with a walk-up window near the Wellington Brown Line stop open for about two months month now. It’s John Bubala, a veteran of Marché, Quartino, and Thyme and its similarly named successors Thyme Cafe and Timo.
To weekday lunch and weekend brunch, the restaurant will add dinner starting Wednesday, then weekday breakfast. City Dough’s menu selection caters to a varied clientele. “There are a lot of youth in baseball caps in the neighborhood,” Bubala says. He cites the Potato Boat, a scooped-out baked potato restuffed with cheesy eggs, either andouille, Italian sausage, or barbecue pork, and topped with poached eggs. “There are [also] million-dollar homes around here. You want those customers too. Over easy and hash browns, you can have that, but we have eggs Benedict and eggs Florentine too.”
Sorry to blow your cover, John. We’re just not very good at keeping secrets. Best not to tell us what’s in that Italian sausage.