Journeys to Pilsen
On Sunday, April 17, M and I ventured to Pilsen, the heavily Mexican-influenced neighborhood southwest of the Loop. This week’s brunch spot was my pick, and my lab partner kindly recommended a place called Dusek’s. Fun tidbit: Dusek’s slogan is “board and beer,” the latter heavily emphasized on the weekly menus as well (quite a choice selection, despite the fact that I don’t really know much about beer!). While neither M nor I are very fond of beer, we set off with high hopes and expectations for a yummy brunch.

Pilsen is a neighborhood that I’ve visited (for Chicago Art District’s Second Fridays, where multiple art galleries and performance centers open their doors to the public for free), but have not yet explored to my heart’s content. I suppose one could argue that the Chicago Art District is not really Pilsen, but let’s not get bogged down by semantics, shall we? I would like to explore Pilsen on a lazy Saturday, and really understand and see the neighborhood and all of its nooks and crannies. I’d also like to try its Mexican restaurants, as on multiple occasions delicious aromas have wafted out of restaurants as I walked by.

On this particular day, M and I depart for Dusek’s with the intention of making brunch a quick pre-library-hibernation boost. The restaurant is quiet and we are seated at a hightop table with a very attentive server who eagerly refills our water. To our server: thank you for keeping us hydrated!

I order the omelet, with truffled ricotta, wild mushroom, and asparagus, and accompanied by house potatoes. M decides on a danish pastry and a side of potatoes as well. The omelet is an interesting consistency when it arrives, almost a spongy texture, but let me tell you — the potatoes were absolutely heavenly. Just incredible. Perfectly flavored, not too chewy, not too dry, you name a desirable potato quality, I guarantee Dusek’s potatoes had it. (In fact, I’m coming back to edit this post as M has just declared Dusek’s potatoes the best ones she’s tasted so far in our Freshman Fifteen adventures. -W, June 2016)

Blurry picture of my omelet and potatoes.

Overall, Dusek’s did not excite me to the degree where I foresee returning here for brunch, for two reasons: I prefer my omelets to be more hefty in texture, and I’d like the food options to be more expansive (quite a lot of menu space is taken up by beverage choices, a tradeoff I don’t favor). However, if someone were to ask where the best brunch potatoes are, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell them immediately about Dusek’s.
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['Brunch', 'Food', 'Chicago', 'Reviews']