Atwood Cafe

At 1 West Washington, the Atwood is part of the Hotel Burnham and is a lovely restaurant if you are looking for light. So many large windows on all sides of the room made this location a photographer’s dream.

I was there at 8 AM when they opened. One observation: Showing up when a restaurant opens works for me. Not only do you get great service but the staff has time to chat and you often get some of their will kept secrets.

This dish, a Southerner’s delight, came with a double dose of BBQ pork on a base of cornbread.

I actually made something very similar last year from leftover ribs.

I liked my recipe because the ribs were not as saturated in BBQ sauce but Atwood’s version was really delightful because the cornbread was so sweet.

Tells me I need to work on my corn bread recipe.

Bon Appetit!

 

BBQ Ribs Benedict

1/2 rack ribs
Hickory-hoisin sauce
Corn bread
2 eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
Sliced scallions

Take a half rack of ribs (enough for two) and heat it in a 350-degree oven for ten minutes, and then shred the meat off the bone.

Meanwhile, make hickory-hoisin sauce: Bull's-Eye hickory smoke sauce and Lee Kum Kee's hoisin sauce, mixed in a two-to-one ratio.

Toss the meat in the sauce — not a lot, since the corn bread is sweet — and set it on top of a couple slices of corn bread.

Poach a couple of eggs by gently cracking them into a pot of aggressively simmering water with a couple teaspoons of white vinegar. After about two minutes, remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place on top of the pork.

Finish with some sliced scallions.