Walking into Maple & Yolk, we were greeted by an LED sign begging us and fellow customers to “espresso yourself.”
Tone set.
Maple & Yolk, on north Lincoln Avenue in Urbana, opened in March after more than 30 years as Urbana Garden Family Restaurant.
The breakfast and lunch restaurant features an expanded menu from its predecessor, while still keeping classic customer favorites like the cinnamon swirl french toast and the M and Y special — a combination of the former’s early bird and garden specials.
With such a wide array of delectable options, picking just one to order was arguably the most difficult part of the dining experience.
But first, coffee.
Maple & Yolk stocks Lavazza Coffee and offers a wider array of brewed options than the average brunch menu — caramel macchiatos and nitro cold brew, all prepped from a full coffee bar visible just behind the host’s stand.
The food menu offers a very large range of options, with opportunities for everyone to find something to their taste.
Traditional breakfast items are punctuated with fun creations such as Nutella Biscoff pancakes, blueberry cheesecake french toast and a Liège waffle (a fun regional variety of the classic Belgian) sandwich.
While the selection was tempting, we opted for the lunch menu to give some of Maple & Yolk’s more savory staples a try.
(Photo by Maaike Niekerk)
The strawberry bistro salad was a fun, fresh and flavorful plate loaded with strawberries, carrots, feta cheese and a full chicken breast. The colorful fruits and veggies brought a brightness to the meal, and chicken did a nice job bringing the dish together.
We also opted for the turkey pesto panini, a filling sandwich entree served with french fries. The fries paired beautifully with a kick from the restaurant’s house hot sauce, which was waiting for us at the table. An amalgamation of spices, white vinegar, chipotle pepper and brown sugar, the heat hit the sweet spot.
(Photo by Sam Gregerman)
The panini got the job done, and wasn’t too heavy or messy. We’re enthusiastic to return and try some of the restaurant’s more adventurous sandwich options like their Nashville hot chicken and “BL double T” sandwiches.
Surprisingly, the chicken and rosemary soup was the dish that blew us away. Included as a side with the salad, the menu advertised an unspecified soup of the day, and Thursday’s couldn’t have been better. The broth was creamy and the soup had chicken, orzo and rosemary needles, providing a perfect palate cleanser.
(Photo by Sam Gregerman)
Exceptional service complemented our time at Maple & Yolk, truly rounding out the experience. Servers and hosts alike could always be found smiling and chatting when not assisting customers, and we enjoyed some friendly banter with our server as well.
When it comes to going out for a meal, we want the full experience. We are looking for delicious entrees, comfortable atmospheres and memorable interactions — it is safe to say, Maple & Yolk delivered. This will be a new go-to spot for whenever we want to “espresso” ourselves.
Sam Gregerman is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini.
Maaike Niekerk is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the managing editor of The Daily Illini.