Star Chef Iliana Regan’s Adorable Bakery Returns Today

Chef Iliana Regan of Michelin-starred Elizabeth has brought back her adorable pastries after a three-year hibernation. Regan’s Bunny the Microbakery and Workshop returned Thursday morning inside Kitsune in North Center. The new incarnation of Bunny features breads, caneles, gougères, and doughnuts, as well as breakfast and lunch entrees.

Customers will find a sidewalk sign as the only indication Bunny is open from the outside of Kitsune, 4229 N. Lincoln Avenue. It’s counter service inside using Kitsune’s seating.

For many fans, the biggest news may be the return of Bunny’s foie gras toast, an item that became a sensation shortly after the original Bunny’s debut in Lakeview. Not only is the sweet and savory item back in all of its glory, but the foie gras topping now comes in different shapes. For opening day, customers may see a miniature brain sitting on top of their jam and brioche. Regan has plans to incorporate other shapes such as Darth Vader and Stormtroopers from Star Wars. They’re not available immediately. At the Lakeview shop, which closed suddenly in 2016 despite success, the foie gras was shaped like an owl.

Ashok Selvam/Eater Chicago

Other items include thick-cut bacon and eggs. Two tartines and other breakfast items are available for those who don’t get to the bakery early enough to scoop up a pastry. Those baked goods are in limited quantities; the caneles sold out shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday. There’s also a lunch menu with a ramen of the day (that’s convenient as that’s one of Kitsune’s specialties), a spatzle with bone reduction, and pasta carbonara.

Regan has been waiting for the right time to bring back Bunny and earlier in the year the chef launched a Kickstarter to help bring the dream to a reality. It raised more than $36,000, about double the $18,000 goal.

As one of Chicago’s most respected chefs, Regan’s been busy. She just released a memoir, and is opening a bed and breakfast in Michigan. In the middle of that chaos, she’s brought back one of her passion projects. Bunny is back in town, giving Regan’s Kitsune space a little more hop for the mornings and afternoons. Check out the menu below.

Bunny The Microbakery and Workshop, inside Kitsune, 4229 N. Lincoln Avenue, open 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.