Prune

There's not a wrinkled plum in sight at this American bistro, but chef Gabrielle Hamilton's childhood nickname indicates the sort of unpretentious home cooking at which she excels, a grab bag of eccentric, multicultural influences that is, at heart, American. Prune's phenomenal weekend brunch alone is worth the trip just to read her truly inspired menu. After you've chosen from ten variations on the Bloody Mary theme (the "Chicago Matchbox" contains homemade lemon vodka, a skewerful of pickled vegetables and caperberries, and comes with a beer chaser), you've got an embarrassment of beyond-eggs-Benedict dishes to contend with: a marvelously peppery spaghetti carbonara, a killer Monte Cristo with a side of fried eggs and red-currant jelly and grilled lamb sausages with Malpeque oysters