Ya Ya’s Comfort Food

Go for: huge portions of delicious cooking made from scratch + the breakfast, OMG!

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Ya Ya’s Comfort Food is a locally owned restaurant at the end of Hickory Avenue right before you get to the train tracks. It is a little hard to find but definitely worth it once you step inside. The interior décor shows Chef Conner Mullins has worked under Chef Frank Brigsten and that he is a local River Ridge fella. Check out the pictures and artwork on the napkin containers on each table. Adorable.

From the outside, this restaurant looks like something you would pass by without a thought to going in. Trust me….go in. If the place or the address looks familiar, that’s because it’s been home to a restaurant for many years. The space, formerly Hillbilly BBQ, is now home to one of the best casual restaurants in the area. Note: Hillbilly still kicking, just a few doors down for take away and catering only.

I went to Ya Ya’s Comfort Food for breakfast with three of my friends on a Saturday, and we were treated like family. It’s like they were welcoming us back with open arms.

The menu is chalk written on the wall in delicious detail. It was tough to decide what we wanted.  Once we ordered our food at the counter, got our own beverages and settled at our table, the staff was already bringing out the goods.

And good they were. I got the sweet cream buttermilk pancakes with a side of crispy thick sliced pecan wood smoked bacon. Hooray, Bacon! And if that was not enough,  I added a homemade biscuit topped with triple sausage gravy. I will have to go back and try their cinnamon rolls (served only on the weekends). It was soo good, I had to be rolled to the car.

Ya Ya’s offers only breakfast on the weekends, so get there early. During the week, it is breakfast and lunch. Chef has a hot lunch special every day that is priced extremely reasonable. Looks like I will be going back to try their lunch dishes.

Bon Appétit – Christine Sory