The Berghoff Café Cookbook: Berghoff Family Recipes for Simple, Satisfying Food by Carlyn Berghoff with Nancy Ross Ryan (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $24.99)
One of Chicago’s most famous restaurants began more than a century ago with a corned beef sandwich, a bottle of beer, and a pickle. Herman Joseph Berghoff, a Chicago brewer, opened a small café in 1898 when he was refused a license to wholesale his beer to restaurants and hotels. The original Berghoff Café had a long mahogany bar with a brass rail, spittoons, and stools. Even though the business was located in the middle of a downtown shopping district dominated by department stores patronized by women, Berghoff had a policy that only men would be seated at the bar, a rule that remained unbroken until 1969.
To attract customers, the Berghoff Café offered a free lunch with a ten-cent stein. That free lunch generally consisted of three choices: corned beef, boiled ham, or a frankfurter. As the business grew and expanded, the café established a solid reputation for food that was honest, simply, and satisfying.
Carlyn Berghoff, the great-granddaughter of Herman Joseph Berghoff, shares many of her family recipes in a remarkable new cookbook. The 85 delicious recipes in her new collection represent the full range of Berghoff Café food and is divided into eight sections: Bar Snacks, Food for Drink; Soups, Big Bowls’ Sandwiches, Something of Substance; Salads, To Make the Meal; Sides, Scene Stealers; Berghoff Plates, Daily Specials; Café Pizzas, A New Tradition; and Desserts, Yesterday and Today. There are metric conversions and equivalents in addition to creative variations.
This cookbook deliciously underscores the three principles on which most café food is built: reuse, recycle, and reinvent. For example, potatoes can evolve into Lyonnaise Potatoes, Potato Soup, and countless other exciting dishes. Even the chocolate chip cookie can be tweaked and is limited only by your imagination.
This is a superb collection. The recipes are accessible and fairly simple to prepare. I tested three recipes and all were superb. The Grilled Chicken Breast made with teriyaki sauce and sherry was moist and succulent. The Berghoff Potato Soup hearty and satisfying. This Navy Beans and Bacon uses canned beans so there is no need for overnight soaking. The end result is a mouthwatering meal that was a perfect pairing with freshly made corn bread.
NAVY BEANS AND BACON
Serves 8
Ingredients
1 lb bacon
2 Tbs reserved bacon fat
1 c shopped yellow onion
1 c chopped celery
1 tsp chopped fresh garlic
1 and one half c chicken broth
4 (15-ounce) cans small white or great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
In a 8-quart pot, saute the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pot and drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Coarsely chop the bacon and set aside. In the same pot, heat the reserved bacon fat over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté until translucent but not browned, about five minutes. Do not drain. Add the broth, beans, and bacon, and simmer for about ten minutes over medium heat. Season to taste with pepper.

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