South Side Eats: Ms. Biscuit

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Apr 14, 2014 4:00PM

Photo credit: Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist

During my days as a bartender I became a "band mother" for Osaka-born blues pianist and singer Yoko Noge and her merry band of pranksters, the Jazz Me Blues Band, throughout their Monday night residency at the late, lamented HotHouse. It was Noge and her comedic foil, the late trombonist, singer and actor John Watson (his best known role was Uncle Pete in the film Soul Food) who turned me on to a little diner on South Chicago Avenue and 67th Street called Ms. Biscuit. (It was located next door to Mr. Biscuit's Hand Car Wash and Auto Detail.)

The biscuits were even more amazing than Noge and Watson described: flaky dreams of buttery greatness among the best biscuits I've ever eaten. Ms. Biscuit left its old location years ago and I believed for the longest time the diner, like many in Chicago, was consigned to live with the ghosts of other classic Chicago restaurants of yore.

Then I discovered Ms. Biscuit hadn't closed, they only moved on up to the restaurant equivalent of a deluxe apartment in the sky—a large, beautiful, modern space near Washington Park. The newer space is full of exposed brick, large windows allowing ample amounts of ambient light to filter through and nods to the 21st century: waitresses will no longer playfully chew you out for ordering a bagel or raisin toast. (Why one would when the name of the restaurant is "Ms. Biscuit" is beyond my comprehension.)

The biscuits are as I remembered and I could have eaten a half-dozen easily with nothing more than butter and jelly. They also make perfect tools for sopping up the remains of sunny-side up eggs, omelets and skillets. If you're on the go you can order a dozen for $18.90 and that may be one of the best values in town. Ms. Biscuit also has a wide array of fresh-squeezed juices for customers looking to get some tasty raw food goodness into their systems.

Ms. Biscuit's menu has something for everyone but as their waitresses told me 15 years ago, "the name of the restaurant is Ms. Biscuit."

Ms. Biscuit is located at 5431 S. Wabash Ave. 773-268-8088. Open seven days a week from 5 a.m. until 6 p.m.