Chancellor's

Hotel restaurants are frequently overlooked as good dining destinations because they are usually, well, unspectacular.  They have been many notable exceptions, however. Having worked in a hotel, I always felt for our hotel executive chef, because his ambition and talent far surpassed the credit he got in the "omelet station buffet" type of service, even this particular upscale hotel. Admittedly, I have a soft spot for hotel restaurants.

Banana-walnut Pancakes

I also have a soft spot for Chancellor's, which served my family many meals while we were seemingly permanent visitors in my father's cancer ward. The restaurant, in all it's modern splendor, was a welcome respite from fluorescent hallways, hand sanitizer, endless mechanical beeping and medical jargon. Even though that ache in the pit in your stomach when someone you love is approaching their earthly end never truly goes away, little things (like great meals) can make all the difference. We had many of them here, mostly late-night dinners (when Dad was trying to sleep) or late-afternoon lunch breaks when our visiting shifts would change.

Steel-cut Oats with Blueberries

I had not been back to Chancellor's in the 3 years since my dad passed, and never for breakfast. Mother's Day brunch seemed a great opportunity to try it again; we were ready. I'll try to be as objective as possible, but obviously there are emotions involved here. We chose Chancellor's because we forgot to make reservations until Saturday and wanted to avoid the typical Mother's Day brunch mayhem as much as possible. We also weren't up for an enormous buffet, so their menu looked great.


I'll get the bad stuff out of the way early. Service was pretty awful. There were only a few other tables in the whole restaurant, and everything was not only slow, but lacking in attention. For instance, we had to ask (three times) for refills. We needed to remind them about our side order, and we were long finished with our food and drinks before we could even find someone to ask for the check. If they were slammed or understaffed I'd get it, but that was not the case.

Omelet / Turkey Sage Sausage, Mushrooms, Cheddar and Hash Browns

The food, however, was great. There menu has a decidedly local, Indiana flavor with just enough twists to make everything interesting. I ordered steel-cut oatmeal (a steal at $3.50) with a side of Turkey & Sage Sausage, homemade on-site. The oatmeal came with fresh blueberries, brown sugar and raisins. The sausage, though a tiny bit dry, was bursting with flavor. It was awesome. The omelet that my mom ordered was also delicious. Perfectly prepared, with cage-free eggs, the perfect ratio of fillings to eggs, and not bathed in butter. The potatoes on the side were super crispy (Waffle House-style... if that offends anyone they are clearly missing out on the beauty of WaHo hash browns). My brother ordered the Banana Walnut Pancakes and raved about them (and the Applewood Bacon that came on the side). Jeff ordered a breakfast wrap and was not completely enthusiastic but enjoyed it. 


This is a tough rating to give. Great food, poor service. I'll go with 3/5, because the food is more important than the service. I hope the staff gets a little more enthusiastic about serving. I'll go back to Chancellors's for the healthy, seasonally-inspired food and reasonable prices regardless. Cheers!