Breakfast at Chicago French Market

By the time my friend Michele mentioned the Chicago French Market to me last Friday, there’d already been a lot of buzz on it (plus more specific calls to us as individuals: an e-mail to me and a handed-out-on-the-street coupon to Michele) but neither of us had yet been to visit, so we declared 9 AM on Saturday morning the perfect time to do something about that.

An image of the facade of the Chicago French Market.

Part of the MetraMarket at Ogilvie Train Station in the West Loop, this market dubs itself as a European-inspired marketplace, filled with products from local farmers and artisans — sort of a year-round indoor farmers’ market that’s easily accessible for commuters.

Various scrumptious and delicious looking pastries on display.

And while it turns out to be more like an upscale version of a shopping mall food court than an indoor version of a street in France (think fluorescent lighting and shiny grocery-store floors), it does have some notable features.

Beautiful and delicious pastries and sweets on display.

Like, for example, bakery:

Fresh apples and various produce on display in the market.

Fresh produce:

A hand holding a single red bell pepper.

(including some of the largest red peppers you’ve ever seen:)

An image of fresh pineapples.

All-natural Amish chicken ($5.99/pound):

A number of packaged chicken meats for sale.

Prepared foods:

an image of a counter filled with processed meats, olives, herbs and spices, and more.

And vendors like RAW, which sells all 100% organic raw vegan foods:

A counter filled with various packaged goods in plastic containers.

Chicago Organics, which features 100% certified organic produce, meats and dairy products:

An image of a hanging signage named Chicago Organics.

and Pastoral, which Chicagoans may recognize from their Loop and Lakeview locations:

An image of a hanging signage of a store selling artisan cheese, bread, and wine.

The market is quiet on Saturday mornings, so we walked around and after one of us (ahem) took incessant photos (for you! it was all for you!), we ordered made-right-in-front-of-you all-natural whole wheat crepes from Flip:

An image showing a man waiting for his order of healthy wheat crepes.

Like we did when we were in Colorado, we ordered two to split: a sweet (nutella/banana) and a savory (ham, cheese, bacon), $5.50 each:

An image of a healthy wheat crepe in a foil.

and also bought fresh-squeezed orange and freshly made carrot-apple juice, $3.50 each, from Juicy Orange.

An image of freshly made carrot-apple juice in a plastic cup with another cup of orange juice at the back.

We ate under the Eiffel Tower, which was almost as magical as it sounds.

An image of a restaurant setting with a number of tables and chairs with an Eiffel tower theme.

And then headed home, full, happy and, at least, no longer curious.

An image of a menu board with various menu available.

(Have any of you been to the market? What were your thoughts?)

Chicago French Market
http://www.frenchmarketchicago.com/
131 North Clinton
Chicago, IL
Open Monday through Saturday | 312-575-0306

About Shanna Mallon

Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.

25 thoughts on “Breakfast at Chicago French Market”

  1. Ohhh, I’m so jealous! I’ll definitely have to get out there sometime. I’m a sucker for a good market. And look at all that NUTELLA!

    <3

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  2. You have a pic of my fav jam product on display.
    I am not much for sweets but I absolutely love a bakery display.
    I could however spend a little time in the cheese dept.
    Looks like a fun place to shop & nibble.

    Reply
  3. I love Chi-town and am always looking for new and interesting spots….cant wait to check it out next time I am in town. Thanks for exploring and sharing!

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  4. I’ve been several times for lunch as it is only a couple of blocks from my work! I love the crepes and pastoral sandwiches. I also am so giddy over the new fritestand with Belgian fries and dipping sauces, since that has always been one of the things Chicago has been missing, and I always crave the ones I’ve had in New York and Amsterdam!

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  5. I went there shortly after it opened and it wasn’t fully completed. I could see it being great now that everything is finished in there (most restaurants weren’t operational when I visited). I think I’ll give it another shot!

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  6. Just went for the first time recently. Really nice to have a butcher downtown- the City Market guy put veal and pork tenderloin through the grinder for my meatball recipe. Totally agree on the neon light though…I guess I was expecting more charm? And definitely more of a local, seasonal focus (pineapples are delicious but not either). That said, great representation on the pastry and cheese front. On a daily basis, I suppose that’s as French as most people need.

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  7. If only it were located at my train station, I could see myself lingering there before the commute home. Once the weather warms up, I’ll definitely make the trip over there one night after work.

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  8. Lauren, It’s definitely fun to stop by if you’re in the area!

    Ashley, Ha! I know, right? And the jam!

    Whitney, Yeah, I def felt that way. But if you were looking for lunch and in the area, go.

    Celeste, I know, right? Those croissants looked amazing.

    Allison, That sounds like so much fun!

    Sheila, Absolutely!

    Val, The frites did look good – and I’ve heard all good things about Pastoral, so maybe next time I’ll try one of their sandwiches.

    Caitlin, Yeah, and they make them right in front of you, too, which is cool.

    Scott, I’d love to hear what you think after a second visit!

    Kim, Seems like most fun things involve food, doesn’t it?

    ToKissTheCook, You hit it on the head – I expected more charm. And yes! about the lack of seasonal focus through most of the vendors; I forgot to mention that. Even Pastoral’s cheese are largely imported… but there was a Wisconsin dairy represented at another booth – just a little pricey for me.

    Vicki, Yeah, def wait until the weather warms up. I’d love to hear what you think!

    Reply
  9. While I’m sure this place has nothing on the streets of France, it looks lovely! From the gorgeous produce to the mouth-watering pastries I wish I lived near by to visit, but I am on the other side of the country. I want one of those Linzer cookies right now =)

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  10. Nastassia, Those cookies did look good, didn’t they? And you’re right – this place was nice to visit.

    Michele! I forgot about your bread! Which vendor was it from? Necessity Baking?

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  11. Sweet baby jesus this looks amazing. I haven’t been to the french market yet but I cannot wait to go. I fear the overeating that will happen. Love your photos.

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  12. Hi Shanna.
    Todd and I went grand opening weekend-shopping mall food court sums it up. We were pretty disappointed-it’s only redeeming quality for us was Pastoral, but we’ll stick to their Lakeview location.

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  13. Rachanee, My thoughts exactly – and do you guys get to Pastoral often? That’s pretty close to Adam!

    bodelou, haha don’t expect too much magic, but it’s fun if you’re in the area.

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  14. Yes, in the summer it’s one of our most favorite places to grab and go. Their Panino Di Prosciutto and a bottle of San Pellegrino are perfect starters for an afternoon picnic. Along the same lines and very much worth mentioning (if you haven’t been their yet)is Fox & Obel in Streeterville. Let me know what you think.

    Reply
  15. Rachanee, That’s fantastic! I asked Adam about Fox & Obel and he said he’s heard good things, so we’ll def check it out soon. PS he also wanted to know if you’ve tried Goddess & Grocer? He’s a big fan.

    Reply
  16. Hello Again. I have not even heard of Goddess & Grocer, but I will check it out and very soon. Thanks for the suggestion. Here’s another one for you. It’s called Southport Grocery and Cafe. We went there for the cupcakes (which in my personal opinion are better than Molly’s and Swirlz, we tried all three on the same day for comparison purposes) but we were very much delighted with the cafe as well and new that we had to come back with friends next time.

    Reply
  17. Cool, thanks, Rachanee! My heart still belongs to Swirlz but only for the frosting and to be fair I haven’t tried Southport’s cupcakes yet. I passed the info to Adam and he said he’ll go soon. Thanks so much!

    Reply

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