Sweet Maple Café

Author & Photographer: Fiorella Robinson

Near UIC’s college campus is a quaint restaurant called Sweet Maple Café that boasts an extensive and filling breakfast menu. As a new breakfast lover – previously a diehard lunch fan – I was more than excited to fill my stomach with both savory and sweet foods from Sweet Maple Café. This Black-owned business has been in Chicago since the owner, Laurene Hynson, decided to open the breakfast place in 1999. The menu consists of her family recipes that add a personal touch to the café. The early closing time of the restaurant, 2pm, has been implemented since the beginning, as a way for Hynson to raise her children while managing a business. This café is known for its pure Vermont Maple syrup and grade AA butter, which I gladly consumed with the Holiday French toast. My teeth sunk into its spongy bread that bursts with the aroma of nutmeg. The butter and syrup indeed finished the job of transforming this breakfast meal into a sweet dessert. 

I also ordered a savory breakfast staple, the restaurant’s signature Sweet-Maple-Opolis omelet. The omelet is a perfect yellow, and with one bite, my mouth was filled with blended cheeses of feta and mozzarella, as well as various vegetables. This omelet can provide anyone with a filling and nutritious way to start the day with its sun-dried tomatoes, sautéed red bell peppers, and spinach and onions. Although the omelet is a daunting $14, it comes with two sides to compliment the main entrée, a broad indicator that this meal will not only be enjoyed initially, but as a leftover as well. The options for sides are either home fries or grits with a choice of biscuits or toast. Of course, I had to pick their famous sweet milk biscuits. These biscuits would make the Popeyes’ franchise embarrassed, and no drink is needed to eat this biscuit as it has just the right amount of moisture. 

Although this restaurant is takeout only during the pandemic and Chicago’s restaurant ordinance, there is a beautiful park two minutes away where you can enjoy your breakfast picnic-style on a nice day. If Sweet Maple Café is too far away from you, Hynson has graciously posted a video of how to make her biscuits at home for you to enjoy your next breakfast with a biscuit on the side.

This café menu is diverse in its options and perfect for either a brunch date or a large family outing. My experience was definitely hindered by the pandemic's limitations. Still, the friendly staff, traditional family recipes, and beautiful neighborhood certainly helped make this restaurant one worth going back to the following year.