Mystery Diner: Buttermilk restaurant modernizes favorite down-home dishes

GENEVA – A platter-sized plateful of down-home-inspired decadence sat before me. An open-faced buttermilk biscuit was layered with buttermilk chicken-fried chicken and two fried eggs, smothered in sausage gravy and topped with crumbled hickory-smoked bacon, cheddar-cheese and a side of perfectly-crisped fried potatoes. The Chicken N’ Biscuits is a signature item at Buttermilk, the newest edition to the State Street dining scene in Geneva.

Using ingredients sourced locally from Heritage Prairie Farm in Elburn, Buttermilk serves breakfast and lunch in a relaxed atmosphere.

High ceilings, exposed ductwork, white walls, painted murals showcasing the Buttermilk bottle logo and a coffee bar that looks as if it was plucked out of a Pottery Barn catalog make Buttermilk a place you want to be. And dining on a Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. for breakfast, it seems a lot of people had similar intentions. The place was packed, but luckily we had to only wait mere moments for a table to be cleared to grab a seat.

Designated with a milk-bottle on its menu, some signature items from Buttermilk include The Smokehouse Benny ($10.99) – slow-roasted pulled pork, arugula and poached eggs on griddled cornbread topped with smoky barbecue aioli; The Goat omelet ($10.99) – organic chicken sausage, sun-dried tomato, spinach and herbed goat cheese; Nuttin’ Bacon waffles ($9.59) – a Belgian waffle with crumbled hickory smoked bacon and sugared pecans; the Red Rooster skillet ($10.99) – roasted sweet potatoes, chorizo, jalapeños, onions, avocado slices and crumbled queso fresco; and Cinnamon Roll pancakes ($9.99) – cinnamon-infused pancakes, topped with ooey-gooey cream cheese icing.

My dining companion ordered the Butcher’s Block omelet with griddled country ham, sausage, hickory smoked bacon and cheddar cheese, with a side of powdered-sugar dusted pancakes and crisped potatoes. In addition to the Chicken N’ Biscuits, I ordered the Cinnamon Roll pancakes to share.

The restaurant’s specialty coffee-bar menu has caffeinated concoctions, such as a Toasted Almond Latte and Mocha Coconut, and a cocktail menu with a few brews from Penrose Brewing Co. in Geneva, as well as wine and brunching beverages, such as a mimosa and Bloody Mary.

The Vanilla Latte I ordered was so delicious that I may go out of my way on my morning commute to work to grab a cup of joe to go from Buttermilk. That may have something to do with the “Bentley of espresso machines,” owner Pete Kostopoulos said he bought in a previous interview for the Kane County Chronicle.

Cutting into the fried eggs over the Chicken N’ Biscuits, an oozing layer of yoke soaked my crisped potatoes, and the peppery sausage gravy teamed perfectly with the chicken fried chicken, making each bit a perfect blend of stick-to-your-ribs loveliness.

With so many unique, contemporary twists on traditional breakfast favorites, choosing what to order will be a difficult decision, but that may just mean that you’ll have to become a repeat customer.

If you haven’t had a chance to try Buttermilk in downtown Geneva, shake up your morning routine and hunker down for a country-style breakfast you will not soon forget.

• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at the Kane County Chronicle. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a different restaurant every other week and then reports on the experience. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a review.