\u201cI\u2019m seeing so many cheffed-up breakfast sandos, and not just in Chicago, but everywhere,\u201d said Andrew Lim, chef\/partner at Downtown restaurants Perilla Steakhouse and Perilla Fare. \u201cI think we will see a lot more global influences on the traditional breakfast sandwich.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lim admits he has a soft spot for McDonald\u2019s egg McMuffin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not proud of this, but 100 percent of the time when I\u2019m traveling, I\u2019ll get one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
So when Lim decided to create a breakfast sandwich for Perilla Steakhouse<\/a> in the L7 Hotel, 225 N. Wabash Ave., he took the fast-food classic and ran with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n It took three months to perfect the recipe, Lim said.<\/p>\n The first element Lim worked on was the bread. He modeled his on the celebrated English muffins from northern California\u2019s Model Bakery<\/a>. After proofing the dough, Lim bakes the muffins, then slices and sears them in butter on the grill.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we are making them at the restaurant, it smells so good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Inside each English muffin goes a folded omelet-style egg, a hefty house-made pork bulgogi sausage patty and melted American cheese. A punchy pickle pepper aioli helps cut through the fat, Lim said.<\/p>\n The sandwich, which debuted in May, is served with a hash brown on the side. It\u2019s available at Perilla Steakhouse for breakfast during the week and brunch on weekends.<\/p>\n Crispy, Crunchy, Cheesy<\/p>\n At The Loyalist, 177 N. Ada St., in the West Loop, head chef Brian Francis recently introduced a breakfast sandwich that embraces the restaurant\u2019s French vision but in a more laidback way.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think the large influx with cheffy breakfast sandwiches has to do with the fact that it is, in a certain essence, \u2018comfort food,\u2019\u201d Francis said. \u201cIt is easily relatable for the everyday breakfast\/brunch customer.\u201d<\/p>\n Francis loosely bases his off the bodega breakfast sandwiches he ate while working in California.\u00a0 He starts with a boudin noir sausage from Paulina Market smashed on the plancha with bacon fat-charred onions until crispy. It\u2019s topped with a crunchy house-made pommes paillasson \u2014 a French term for hash brown, he said \u2014 American cheese and a fluffy steamed egg.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m big on textures, and having something crispy in a mix of mostly soft food is fantastic,\u201d Francis said.<\/p>\n The sandwich is served on a Martin\u2019s sesame seed bun and topped with house-made onion aioli and chili crisp, the latter emulating the splash of hot sauce many people put on their breakfast sandwiches, he said. It\u2019s available 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays at The Loyalist, the casual lower-level sibling to three-Michelin star Smyth.<\/p>\n Texture was also top of mind when Taqueria Ching\u00f3n\u2019s co-founder\/chef de cuisine Angel Guijosa started putting together breakfast ideas for the restaurant\u2019s Fulton Market opening<\/a> late last year at 817 W. Fulton Market.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve always been big on flavors and textures here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For the taqueria\u2019s breakfast burrito, crunch can be found in two places: the crispy hash brown inside and the lacy layer of chihuahua cheese on the outside.<\/p>\n Guijosa makes a souffle-like egg inspired by his former Allez Caf\u00e9 neighbors at the original Taqueria Ching\u00f3n location<\/a> near the Bucktown-Logan Square border.<\/p>\n \u201cWe treat it like flan and cook it low and slow in a water bath in the oven,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n An 8-inch flour tortilla from a local purveyor is schmeared with refried beans and topped with house-made chorizo verde, pico de gallo, a hash brown and a baton of that fluffy egg. Once folded, the handheld is put on the griddle and rolled in grated cheese until golden. A vegetarian version is also available.<\/p>\n Guijosa also created a breakfast taco and is working on a breakfast egg pambazo, the latter something his family has been making and selling for years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to bring more soul into the neighborhood,\u201d he said of his morning meal offerings.<\/p>\n Going Global<\/p>\n Sarima Caf\u00e9\u2019s breakfast sandwich represents the heritages of Zubair Mohajir and Jacob Dela Cruz, the chefs behind the year-old Wicker Park spot at 1924 W. North Ave.\u00a0Mohajir\u2019s other restaurants include Coach House, Lilac Tiger, Mirra and Mariela.<\/p>\n A squishy Martin\u2019s potato roll holds an egg, crispy hash brown and pickled shallots, plus tocino chicken bacon and sweet-and-sour garlic achar aioli. Achar is a favorite condiment of Mohajir, who is South Asian, while tocino references Dela Cruz\u2019s Filipino background.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a way to share our stories between bread,\u201d Dela Cruz said.<\/p>\n And it resonates with Sarima\u2019s customers: Dubbed the THICC Sando, it\u2019s the restaurant\u2019s best-selling item, with 100 or so sold every day.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we first opened, I had a breakfast sandwich every day for two months,\u201d said Dela Cruz, who admits his cholesterol went up a little bit.<\/p>\n For those looking for a lighter and gluten-free start to their morning, Sarima offers a handheld lentil batter dosa filled with an egg, curry leaf potato, mint chutney and malagapodi, a fiery South Indian dry spice mix also called gun powder.<\/p>\n At Lao Peng You, 2020 W. Chicago Ave., in Ukrainian Village, co-owners\/chefs and brothers Eric \u201cChops\u201d Wat and Daniel Wat didn\u2019t have to look far for breakfast sandwich inspiration. Their uber-popular scallion and sesame bing bread \u2014 a crispy, crepe-like Chinese flatbread \u2014 is the star of their morning sandwich, which debuted in late April as an off-menu item.<\/p>\n \u201cPlus, Slagel Farms has such rich and delicious eggs, so it seemed like a great match,\u201d Eric Wat said.<\/p>\n Available 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, the sandwich starts with a fried egg topped with a spice blend of sand ginger, coriander, brown peppercorns and white pepper that\u2019s used in their beef noodle soup, along with chopped scallions. The bing bread is plopped on top.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe tend to eat this ourselves, and we wanted to share it with everyone,\u201d Daniel Wat said.<\/p>\n Kimski Convenes The Breakfast Club\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps no place in the city is elevating breakfast sandwiches as much these days as Kimski, 954 W. 31st St. in Bridgeport, which turned 10 in May<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n As part of the restaurant\u2019s new Breakfast Sandwich Club, chef\/partner Won Kim and partner Ed Marszewski bring in a pop-up or restaurant noon-3 p.m. Saturdays to create their version of the handheld morning meal.<\/p>\n Kim credits Kasama in East Ukrainian Village with kickstarting the breakfast sandwich craze in Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cThis entire event is dedicated to them because they inspired my love of breakfast sandwiches,\u201d Kim said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s upgrading their breakfast sandwich game like with burgers.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20240627-IMG_0187-1024x683.jpg\")
Inside the kitchen service window at Perilla Korean American Steakhouse. Credit: Jeremy Yap<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/PerillaBFSando-1024x650.png\")
The breakfast sandwich at Perilla Steakhouse layers an omelet-style egg, pork bulgogi sausage patty and melted American cheese in a house-made English muffin. Credit: Facebook\/Perilla Steakhouse<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/072525-Sarima-Cafe-Colin-Boyle-5424-1024x682.jpg\")
The breakfast sando at Sarima Cafe, 1924 W. North Ave., in Wicker Park on July 25, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSC_0405.jpg\")
Brothers Daniel Wat (left) and Eric \u201cChops\u201d Wat pictured in 2019 in the dining room of Lao Peng You in Ukrainian Village. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kimski-043026-10-1024x768.jpg\")
Chef Won Kim stands for a portrait in the kitchen at Kimski in Bridgeport on Thursday, April 30, 2026. Credit: Jim Vondruska for Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n