On the day I left, we only had time for a late breakfast/early lunch. It was to be our farewell meal to Chicago, and we had no plans. As we hemmed and hawed in the hotel room about where and what to eat, I found Beatrix on my Yelp app. It sounded good — casual American food, nice atmosphere, some sophisticated menu selections. We tried it. It was perfect.

Beatrix North River is in a large, open space with modern finishes and has friendly staff and an upscale though not pretentious atmosphere. The lunch menu is sort of American casual, but a step up in classiness. Arugula salad, ahi tuna crudo, herb-roasted chicken sandwich, post roast sandwich, and poached farm egg and truffled pasta are a handful of the selections, with only another handful on offer.

Oh — and they also specialize in fresh-squeezed juice concoctions: blackberry & lychee lemonade, carrot & apple ginger snap, and blueberry & basil smash are just a few of the interesting juices they offer.

We started with a fresh made hummus dish that was really good. I don’t especially love hummus if it’s not homemade, but this one was very flavorful and definitely made the cut.

For my main, I ordered the mushroom and quinoa burger with swiss cheese, baby kale, and sriracha aioli ($13), and Jon had the prime burger with cheddar cheese. They both came with delicious kennebec fries, and were both pretty impressive.

You may know of my search for the best veggie burger and my quest to try all that present themselves. While this one wasn’t top of the list, it was darn good, and I commend their efforts on making their own recipe. Jon, a devoted meat eater, indicated that the burger was one of the best he’d had in a long time.

And to finish it all off, we could not help but stop by the bar of fresh-baked goods on our way out, snagging a chocolate chip cookie the size of my head. A satisfying end to the meal, and to the trip.

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