Lula Cafe Dinner with a side of Dunlay's on the Square

Lula Café has been on my radar since NPR’s American Life conducted a social experiment there. The idea was a waitress who was about to quit because she made too little in tips because she was too nice. Once she dropped the nice to become surly and unpleasant her tips shot up. The working theory on tip increase was customers attempting to make her like them.

Since I am not particularly hip, I had a vision of Lula Café as a bright, sunny café with red checked plastic tablecloths and airy sheers on the window. Budget allowed plastic flowers in pressed glass vases because fresh flowers are expensive and silk flowers just don’t have longevity. The vision the mind paints sometimes can be quite divorced from reality.

A few weeks ago, EatChicago posted about the chicken, which opened the door to the outing JiminLoganSquare recently planned to Lula’s Café. This was quite a whirlwind of planning with numbers at one point reaching as high as 20, finally settling on 9 diners. All the time Jim was sure we’d be overwhelming this little restaurant which accepts no reservations might obligate us to sit at scattered tables. Ultimately they did respond to JiLS’s request and set aside a table aside for us.

I pulled up a few minutes after 7, to find JiLS’ car with rock star parking in front. I got the next best parking spot directly across. I immediately spied JiLS in the window holding quite a large martini glass. A bar? In this cute little café? Crash, my minds eye met reality and gulped. It may call itself a café, though not what I was thinking, but one of “Eclectic artistry in food, drink, and community.” My checked tablecloths over sensible formica tabletops morphed into stainless steel tables, black and white checkerboard floor was now hardwood and the walls were decorated with art. Flowers? Votive candles scattered on the table.

So now that I arrived to the land of the hip, I went along with the current. For an appetizer, I shared with JiLS the “artisanal cheese plate with sweet grass dairy’s ‘myrtlewood,’ cypress grove ‘humboldt fog,’ and panforte.” What arrived was a slice of a fairly hard cheese, a very creamy mild cheese, a long narrow wedge of a densely fruited bread and an early season peach, which was perfectly ripe. Nipping pieces of cheese and mixing with the bread and peach was a lovely experience.

Since chicken was one of the driving forces for this evening, I ordered the “Gunthorp roast chicken with red potatoes, sauteed spinach, and pan jus.” The organic chicken used was a true roasting chicken, which is substantially larger than a fryer. When the half a chicken was cut in half and stacked with the leg section on top, you were presented with more food than you would normally choose to eat for dinner. On the bottom of the plate was perfectly roasted potatoes and freshly wilted spinach with lots of garlic in the pan juices. Someone, not I, joked this might be a Chicken Vesuvio candidate! I ate half of this delicious chicken with the larger breast half taken home for the next day. I did not leave any of the vegetables behind, they were well executed by themselves and the addition of the pan juices made them too good to eat warmed up the next day. Some things just don’t take to reheating very well.

Mrs. JiLS ordered her favorite, “pasta yiayia bucatini with moroccan cinnamon, feta, garlic, and browned butter.” Mr. and Mrs. JiLS both commented it is a polarizing dish, you either love it or hate it. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but Mrs. JiLS did allow me to taste it suggesting I take some feta. I fall into the ‘like it’ camp and will likely have it next time or to make it at home.

As much as I like dessert, I don’t usually order dessert. However the desserts sounded so intriguing, I ordered dessert: a goat cheese tart with lemon sauce in a pine nut crust. Lemon was the strongest taste, the presence of the goat cheese was more texture than flavor and a crust made of pine nuts struck me as a pointless exercise. If you cannot taste the pine nuts, then a simple crust or pate sucre will do. Sorry I am reverting to pie maven mode. My critique aside, I still enjoyed this dessert.

During dinner JiLS advised we were just round the corner from Dunlays on the Square, which he wrote a memorable post about just as he was diagnosed with pneumonia. I suggested we return to the scene of the crime to check out the Trixie-waitresses hanging out by the hostess station instead of servicing their stations. We were past the dinner rush, so the Trixie’s were pretty mellow. We sat around listening to the teacher war stories of Ms. Food Nut and soon-to-be Mr. Food Nut. We exchanged stories on eerie coincidences and invoked the ghost of Kevin Bacon talking about 6-degrees-of-separation relationships we all enjoy. Someone made the awful mistake of checking their watch, the bewitching hour was near, we all had early meetings, it was time to return to the world without LTHforum.

What can I say? Another fine evening spent with people I would never have met otherwise except through these food boards!

Thanks JiminLoganSquare for your efforts corralling us for dinner.

Regards,
Cathy2

Dunlay’s on the Square
3137 West Logan Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60647
Tel: 773/227-2400

Lula’s Café
2537 N. Kedzie Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60647
773.489.9554

you can listen to the experiment mentioned above from the following page (provided you have real player, but most do)

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/pages/d ... 3/245.html

My chicken was also very, very good. I know chickens that size can be problematic to cook evenly; most of it was done just right, a few spots here and there seeming just a tad undercooked, the skin just a little less browned, though not to any point that I had an issue with it. I asked the waiter for a wine recommendation and he offered a red (wasn't taking notes, sorry) that worked very well with it. Had the house salad to commence, fresh but uninteresting, and the creme de pot to conclude, also good yet unremarkable.

Can't comment on Dunleavy's food or drink, was there just for the LTH company, didn't have a problem with the place itself other than that it doesn't fit in that neighborhood. As Jim said, once the condos next door are filled up, its residents will enjoy having a high-end outlet only a few yards away.

I was in the Logan Square neighborhood yesterday about the same time as you guys…unfortunately, I was not so lucky in my choice of restaurants.

I was with The Wife and kidz, celebrating my oldest daughter’s big move into a new apartment, so after some merrymaking on site, my daughter wanted us to go to her favorite local restaurant, so I acceded. The place is El Cid, and it was godawful. Pretend Mexican, a sham, a shame, a joke. To wit:

• Lifeless and likely bottled salsa (except for an uninspired tomato/onion/cilantro mix) served with what seemed like Jay’s tortilla chips, drizzled with oil.
• Guacamole that I don’t believe actually contained avocado – my middle daughter later confided that she thought it might have been made with “guacamole helper,” some synthetic green substitute that got the color right but tasted a lot like nothing.
• I had a shrimp/oyster cocktail with a sauce that would not dare show its weak ass in an actual Mexican restaurant. Also, the oysters were old and slimey – inedible.
• Tostadas covered with unmelted cheese, just sheared off the block and plopped on store-bought tortillas (but what the hell did I expect?).

The place is “famous for Margaritas.” Enough said.

(I’m not printing the address in case someone, scanning this thread, mistakes it for a place they might want to eat. Believe me, you don’t).

The price for dinner? About the same as I had paid the night before at Taqueria La Oaxaqueña for an immeasurably more satisfying dining experience with my favorite psychologist (made even more enjoyable when, by “LTH Coincidence,” I was surprised to receive a peck on the cheek from GWiv, who happened in with Madame GWiv just as we were finishing our apps).

Anyhow, I didn’t mean to hijack this good vibe thread with a stormy review of El Cid, but I gotta tell you: it sucked big time.

Hammond

At least there always seems to be an LTHer's kid living in the neighborhood.

Too bad about El Cid. I know lots of people like it, but I don't know anyone whose palate I trust who likes it.

Anyway, put your foot down next time and go to Lula. Or make the trek due east and go to Think or Ixcapuzalco's new location. Tango Miel is near fullerton and western and also isn't half bad.

And, of course, she's just a hop, skip, and a bus ride from Hot Doug's.

I want to live in Lula's space...

the chicken was indeed good, but not ecstatic. my carrot ginger soup reminded me of Chinese cold remedy my mom used to cook up (brown sugar + ginger). so funky and yet so reasonable. the meal + company made me wish i lived closer...

It was quite a nice evening. I chose the scallops appetizer and the pork special. The scallops(3) were quite nice, and the pork perfectly prepared. Both were rather skimpy for the price, $10 and $20, respectively. I imagine it was the organic ingredients which drove up the price, which is fine. The desserts I thought above average with a nice variety to choose from. The Pinot Gris was terrific, as was the glass of bubbly I had pre-dessert. Dunlays felt like what it is, a bar that serves food. It was quiet, which was nice for the conversation. My school woes might not be over soon, as my resignation has now led to an interview at the school 1 block from my home.

Thanks for listening everyone....It was great to chat once again....

Food Nut wrote:I imagine it was the organic ingredients which drove up the price, which is fine.

Regarding scallop pricing at Lula, at least, I have some limited insider insight. One night a few months ago I dined alone at the bar of Lula, and overheard the kitchen conversation. They don't put out the specials until 6:00 or 6:30, and I was there early enough to hear all the conversation that was going into the decisions regarding the specials, including pricing. I can't recall the exact details, but they were serving scallops, and one of the owner/chefs indicated how much they had paid for them, by the pound, and how many scallops there were to a pound; and then calculated a price for the appetizer ($12) that was about 3 times the cost they had paid for the raw fresh scallops, per serving. Wish I'd had a notepad, as I may be off on the multiplier; but the interesting point is that they were pricing the things like a science. Probably more to do with the specialness of the ingredient (these were diver scallops, probably second-day). And then there was that same-day diver scallop I had at Avenues under its past management ... that was a $23 scallop ... caught that very morning and delivered by air courier (!) to Chicago, alive, for service that evening.

As a fan of El Cid, I have to mention a few things worth trying:

The fish taco - our favorite.

The carnitas - the seasoning on the pork is mild and not overwhelming, pork is moist.

The sopas - the cornmeal is fried up crispy on the bottom yet still moist and substantial.

In fairness, I would say avoid the whole fish prepared any way; as for the "guacamole" it seems to be prepared with crema to create a avocado blend type dip, which my three year old LOVES. Then again he loves slices of avocados and home made guacamole too ...

momgray wrote:As a fan of El Cid, I have to mention a few things worth trying:

The fish taco - our favorite.

In fairness, I would say avoid the whole fish prepared any way; as for the "guacamole" it seems to be prepared with crema to create a avocado blend type dip, which my three year old LOVES. Then again he loves slices of avocados and home made guacamole too ...

The Wife had the fish taco and seemed to like it.

With the guac, my guess is that, given the strangely high price of avocado, it probably makes economic sense to cut it with perhaps less expensive crema. I don't know; I thought it loathsome...but that is not a critique of your three-year-olds taste! I'm sure I eat a lot of things that he would find equally distasteful.

Also, I should point out that this was my first visit, it was on a Sunday night (though that's no excuse to serve "old" oysters), and the place was really packed (so it's apparently very popular).

Hammond

wow.. 2nd time around so different.

complete breakdown in our meal from the get go:
* waited 10 minutes before anyone greated us w/ silverware/water or menu even tho it was the end of the lunch rush
* manically depressed? server skipped the wine list
* ice tea in disgustingly dirty glass w/ no ice
* the 'house' organic chicken missing 1 thigh (25% of the plate) relative to others patrons' orders after 25 minutes of waiting.
* no 'how's everything' check (during the entire meal) from waitress resulting in me walking up and 'ordering' the mayo from the counter

for comparison:
the table next to us, tho seated 15 minutes after us, finished (same amount of courses) the same time as us. and i'm quick eater.

my compatriot was craving some type of roast chicken. Semiramis was down, couldn't remember Chuys' address, hence was really excited when i stumbled down Milwaukee and saw Lula's sidewalk throng in the remote corner of my eye. maybe it was my Angels hat. maybe i just wasn't wearing the right kind of vintage asics/puma wrestling shoes. ended up writing a lil note to the waitress: "BE HAPPY!". or perhaps find another friggin job?

What a downer! I've been to Lula almost every week for the last two months and I've never had such a bad experience. The last time I went I sat at the bar on amateur night and, despite a very large crowd waiting for tables at the height of the evening rush, had a great time. The bartender was friendly and pleasant, which really surprised me. It was, admittedly, a first.

It was probably your shoes.

Anyway, one piece of good Lula news is that they have a new pastry chef, Jane Roberts (formerly assistant pastry at Blackbird) who is making huge, positive improvements to the dessert menu. I used to avoid dessert there - it was usually dull and not so tasty. But I can report that Roberts not only makes tasty desserts, but she elevates the dessert menu to the rest-of-Lula caliber (excepting Tony's experience). I've had two desserts - a chocolate bread pudding and a goat yogurt semifreddo. Both were absolutely satisfying - chocolate bread pudding was moist, attractive, and served with chocolate-covered cacao nibs (from Scharffenberger, I'll guess) and a lovely, just viscous enough chocolate sauce. The semifreddo, although a bit sloshy in the plate (if the staff had attempted some kind of plating, it was lost by the time it reached my table), was tasty, suffering only from a lack of textural counterpoint.

So Lula regulars - don't forget to order dessert next time you go back. It is so much better than anything I've had there in the last few years.

I was just beginning to think that type of self-absorbed, mopey-headed attitude (and inattentive service) were a thing of the past at Lula. It used to be the rule rather than the exception. I think they made the freshman mistake of hiring their friends (or friends of friends, or people they thought were just "cool") rather than looking harder for real waitstaff. And then it took the management a long time to get up the guts to let the mopey-heads go and replace them with professional servers. This started to happen in earnest around this time last year, and it was a harsh lesson, I am sure, for all involved. But then an experience like TonyC's; such a relapse! There is no excuse for that, especially at a spot like Lula that has -- and 90% of the time lives up to -- a vastly higher standard. (Even Dunlay's would NEVER, EVER serve a dirty glass to a patron; even greasy-spoon Johnny's in between the two wouldn't slip up that bad. ).

sidenote 1) apparently all of our neighboring tables knew a staff or 2 of some sort. 1 server was practicing on her family. the other was a long lost friend of the table, hugging n kissing her customers. retrospect, i was simply jealous and wanted to move to a house next to Jim's... and i'm gonna go buy my pair of $100 used hipster addidas this weekend.

sidenote 2) the dessert was indeed good. carrot cake was fluffy fresh, pungent with cinnamon and full of what purports to be 'organic' carrot?

This service you describe is why we have stopped going. I loved Lula - loved the concept, the feel and, of course, the food. The tofu scramble, the brunch specials, the coffee, the location.

But the service...difficult to get coffee refills, difficult to get the check, and bordering on rude and surly. (And they aren't that busy - we usually go before 9am and most of Logan Square has rolled out of bed) It might be ok when dining alone when I just want to read the paper, but with the family - we try and leave a restaurant before we hit toddler meltdown. It's really best for everyone to get us out quickly. I'll be interested to hear if things get better.

In the meantime, we'll be at Dapper's East, where the busboy dotes on our daughter and the weak coffee flows freely. And I'll just dream about brioche french toast with creme anglaise.

Queijo wrote:Anyway, one piece of good Lula news is that they have a new pastry chef, Jane Roberts (formerly assistant pastry at Blackbird) who is making huge, positive improvements to the dessert menu.

Three cheers for Jane! As an aside, she is the "Jane" I was referring to in this thread about pies. Due to her new gig, unfortunately, no more of her pies at the Wicker Park farmers market. Maybe pie will start showing up on the Lula dessert menu...