'atta girl

-Grubbing in Chicago
French-Canadian Favorites reappear in Logan Square

As some of you may remember I declared Logan Square the best food neighborhood in the city last year and that remains true here today. While restaurant closings have hit the neighborhood pretty hard over the last six months there’s no sign that the openings are slowing down. When Dos Urban Cantina (RIP) closed last June, ‘atta girl was open in the same space by the beginning of December. 

Recently Opened in Logan Square 

At first it was a joint project between the Table, Donkey and Stick team and a chef that calls themself “Bunny.” Chef Bunny was a chef at Cafe Marie Jean in Humboldt Park which closed in 2020 after a five year run in which they drew a cult like following for delicious French-Canadian-ish comfort food. The good news is many of the dishes on the menu at Cafe Marie Jean are now being served at ‘atta girl but the chef that calls themself Bunny has already left after an unknown dispute. According to the TDS team the kitchen is still being ran by many of the same cooks from Cafe Marie Jean who also worked under Bunny during their short collabo at 'atta girl. I’ve dined there a few times since it’s a short walk from my spot. The most recent of those visits was after they announced Chef Bunny was no longer a part of the operation and I didn’t notice a difference in anything. It was the exact same staff as when they were there as far as I could tell. I didn’t notice anything different about the beloved ham, butter and pickle sandwich that starred at Cafe Marie Jean either. It was as luscious as it’s always been with every ingredient of it coming from the top shelf of the respective food groups. 

Ham, Butter, Pickle at 'atta girl 

On my previous visit in they were out of that ham and butter sandwich due to a busy weekend but that ended up being a good thing as it forced me to try the burger. It wasn’t really on my radar but after trying one it’s become one of my favorite burgers in the city. It’s a single smashed patty with smoked tomato jam, butterkase, thin sliced onion and housemade pickle on an everything bun. The smoked tomato jam plays so well off the beef as do the onion and pickle. It’s the most surprised I’ve been with a burger in some time in that I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. Chef driven burgers often fail to hit the way this one did. It was both beefy and smoky and it was greasy in a good way. 

Cheeseburger Marie-Jeanne at 'atta girl 

When I first heard there was a connection between ‘atta girl and Cafe Marie Jean I had my fingers crossed that the meat and frites dishes from CMJ would be included on the menu at ‘atta girl and of course they were as creations like the duck frites were one of the biggest draws to CMJ. So far I’ve had the chance to try both the smoked duck and the smoked chicken. I slightly preferred the chicken as it was a bit juicer and more substantial although the duck does come with a few pieces of foie gras pate sitting atop a plate of perfectly cooked fries. It’s all drenched in a semi sweet French style gastrique sauce which at it's core is caramelized sugar mixed with honey, wine and or vinegar. The sauce is outstanding and takes everything up a notch. It’s warm you up comfort food on the coldest of winter days so now’s the time to go. Although do be aware that the service seems to be a mixed bag, ours was fine on my three visits if not a little bit nonchalant but at the end of the day the food that I’ve had from here is reminiscent of Cafe Marie Jean and maybe the service is too. They also do brunch Sat.- Mon. and you can get the frites or more morning forward options like a breakfast sandwich. 

Smoked Chicken and Frites 

'atta girl
2829 W Armitage Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
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