nutella wrote:And while I am not particularly invested in having my waiters pretend they are having a good time rather than working, it becomes very clear when they are having an awful time every single time. ... I have never once seen her crack a smile at anyone, ever. I wouldn't want her to have to grin maniacally at everyone, but it does, over time, distinguish her.

It was only recently, when I was listening to a rerun I had heard before of This American Life, that a lightbulb went on: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_E ... sched=1177
show 245, a must-listen for everyone who loves or hates Lula.

Thanks for this audio link, nutella. Fascinating!

I have been to Lula once, about a year ago, and enjoyed the food, but our server's attitude seemed at best "indifferent." Not exactly hostile, but not exactly not hostile either. And she was slow to come over, and never checked on us during the meal. On balance, because of the food, I decided I would come back to Lula, and I still feel that way--but I haven't yet. So apparently I'm not in any hurry.

I never dreamt that our waitress was trying to be indifferent because indifference garners bigger tips, but the TAL audio indicated this is indeed what happens at Lula, and a Lula waitstaff culture has grown up around the discovery of this direct relationship.

A waitress on the program speculates that customers don't feel obliged to tip well when a waitress's pleasantness make it clear she is enjoying her work--on the theory that this means the waitress is being compensated well-enough already, emotionally if not in money. I have a different speculation. I think that customers in restaurants can be "approval junkies." These customers tip well in order to earn a waitress's approval. When a waitress signals that the customer has her approval from the get-go, by being pleasant, friendly and efficient, this kind of customer has nothing to gain by tipping generously. In contrast, when a waitress appears in need of being "won over," this kind of customer tips better than usual, in order to gain her approval. Or at least demonstrate that it takes more than surly treatment to deter him from his goal of winning her over. And maybe there's a hint of "please, oh please, give me better service the next time I come in--now that you see I'm a really good guy." There's something a little S&M about it.

I have no idea why Lula's staff would be more prone to giving indifferent service than the staffs at other restaurants, other than to speculate that Lula has more of these sorts of customers than do other restaurants. The TAL piece certainly leaves you thinking that the Lula staff is the way it is because it has been trained to be that way through a system of rewards from the Lula customers.

I have to say, when I lived in Chicago I dined at Lula more times then I can count, and only received indifferent service once or twice (and it was never bad enough to be annoying.) I don't think that any kind of "culture of indifference" exists among the Lula staff, and certainly not because of that TAL story. I know the waitress featured in that story (not socially, but she waited on us many times) and after that story aired she was always her normal, friendly self. It was an experiment, a one-off. And she hasn't worked there for a couple of years now, to the best of my knowledge.

I don't doubt that there are people who might have recieved indifferent service at Lula, but let's not blame Ira Glass for that

LionRock wrote:I know the waitress featured in that story (not socially, but she waited on us many times) and after that story aired she was always her normal, friendly self. It was an experiment, a one-off.

I'm glad to hear that. The story presents it as more than a one-off. Without listening to all of it through again, my recollection is that it presents the "indifference = bigger tips" formula as conventional wisdom among Lula servers, and therefore common practice.

I suppose I only found this easy to believe because it matched up so well with my own experience at Lula, which lined up with the "indifferent service" rep of the place. On the other hand, I've had it happen several times now that I've read on LTH about horrendous service at one place or another, only then to have a completely opposite, thoroughly delightful experience at that place myself. Which of course makes you wonder, "What the heck were they talking about?" And also, truth be told, makes you wonder about the person who posted about the bad service experience. While we all know that service can vary from one night to another and one server to another, it's probably human nature to wonder if a customer who reports bad service at a place where one has only experienced superb service was "asking" for bad service by having a bad attitude or being impossible to please.

Expectations rule our emotions.

I'm a one-time only (thus far) Lula customer. The service I experienced earlier this week was good. Not excellent, not spectacular - but about as I'd anticipated and hoped for. In fact, the waitress was a bit too attentive and I twice asked her to stay away for a while.

Solo dining, couples, groups . . . the chemistry of the encounters with waitstaff will vary. I was part of a group of three and the food and the restaurant were secondary to the importance of the three of us being together and enjoying each other's company. I didn't have time to be observant of what other restaurant staff were doing, and I don't care about that.

What I cared about was my party (for which I was picking up the tab) was satisfied, was well-served, was well-fed. I was satisfied on all counts.

Familiarity can breed contempt. I sense some of that contempt in a few of the comments in this discussion.

hmm - is that the contempt bred from the customer being familiar with the waiter, or the waiter being familiar with the customer?

Perhaps I am the worst kind of offender. I eat there at lunch often, alone often, wishing Lula was a cafe sometimes, but I've also eaten dinner there plenty of times too with others and ordered respectably. I always tip the same unless something really egregious happens, and so everyone gets the same tips.

There are some nice waiters at Lula, but, I find, instead of being too attentive, they are invariably in a gaggle at the bar no matter what meal, talking amongst themselves, and it is impossible to get their attention. Despite wanting one coffee refill actually during my meal at brunch, rather than after I'm done eating, I do not think I am an incessant nag who makes the waiters go back for every little thing. Even the nicest of the waiters are guilty of this, so I do think it's part of the culture. And you know what I think about the worst - I just inwardly groan whenever she's my waiter, which is often, but I don't think I show it. I just avoid asking questions, which can make my meal less satisfying if it's dinner, and I've always tipped the same.

Maybe I need to start my own experiment, and reward friendlier and more attentive behaviour with higher tips - though frankly, this wouldn't work with the worst of the waiters, as I have literally never seen her crack a smile at any customer, and she treats everyone with the same indifference. And, I hate not to tip well if no extraordinary gaffes have occured; I can't remember a time I lowered a tip based on service (and never about a kitchen error).

Having been there so often, I know none of this will change. I was almost delighted to hear in the TAF program that the issue of friendliness was actually discussed by the waitstaff. But I don't think anything can compel them to refill my coffee once during my meal or answer a question if they are utterly uninterested in the food. And, since it so wholly depends on the waiter (despite the confirmation that the management supports a certain level of indifference), I would encourage everyone to go and concentrate on the wonderful food if they have bad luck - as a neighborhood restaraunt, I really believe they are doing a good service in general for Logan Square, whatever small foibles occur.

And if you want really friendly and attentive service, I recommend the greasy spoon next door (whose name I always forget) - they are lovely - but it's in an utterly different world from Lula.

nutella wrote:And, since it so wholly depends on the waiter (despite the confirmation that the management supports a certain level of indifference)...

When I listened to the TAL story, I wondered what the management thought of it. Ira Glass thanks the management at the end of the piece, presumably for permission to interview and tape on the premises. It's possible the management were deeply chagrined by the contents of the story--I would be if I were they--but it's also possible they were fine with it. There probably isn't a way for me to know (unless one of Lula's regulars here had a conversation with the management about the story at some point and can report the gist of it), but that doesn't mean I'm not curious.

[/quote]There are some nice waiters at Lula, but, I find, instead of being too attentive, they are invariably in a gaggle at the bar no matter what meal, talking amongst themselves, and it is impossible to get their attention. [/quote]

That sounds an awful lot like Swingers in West Hollywood (LA). It appears to be a matter of policy with them as well as being a diner thing. (And maybe an out-of-work actor thing.) I get the feeling they are there mostly to hang out with each other. You'll see them giving each other shoulder massages while tables are clearly waiting. Lots of attitude too.I like the place and often sit reading a book at the counter, but if I were in a hurry it would drive me crazy.

The TAL piece confused me some. One of the women seemed to equate being friendly with being "giggly and inquisitive (?)." Also they seemed to be experimenting with demeanor at times, at other times with how well they were actually doing their jobs. They all spoke in chirpy voices that I would interpret as friendly. And they seemed to conclude that most people are going to tip as they normally do anyway.

I went to Lula for the first time last night, and our waiter smiled and seemed quite courteous (though the person in our group who went in to give her name to wait for a table said the host staff seemed a bit grouchy).

The interesting thing was that when we put in our salad order, the DH asked for no dressing, because he really hates dressing of any kind, and the waiter really tried to talk him out of it - "it's a chef's choice salad and the ingredients won't work well without the dressing to pull it together. It's only lightly dressed." DH said "but I never get dressing, I really dislike dressing" and they did give it to him that way, but in the confusion my request for no mushrooms (which I can't eat) got mixed into his request, so he got his salad with no dressing and no mushrooms, and I accidentally ended up eating a mushroom.

I have to remember to say "allergic to mushrooms" and emphasize it more, because I am still paying the price for having consumed it The thing is that I am not allergic to mushrooms, I just lack some enzyme so I can't process them correctly. I am NOT going to die, it's not like gluten where I'm going to have internal bleeding, it's just really unpleasant and completely ruined the rest of my evening (we were supposed to go to a friend's birthday party, and ended up just going for 15 minutes to wish her well before I had to go home)

leek wrote:The interesting thing was that when we put in our salad order, the DH asked for no dressing, because he really hates dressing of any kind, and the waiter really tried to talk him out of it - "it's a chef's choice salad and the ingredients won't work well without the dressing to pull it together. It's only lightly dressed."

In situations like this, don't you just wish you could say, "What part of no dressing didn't you understand?"

That would be rude, so we (nice people) don't say it. But it's warranted.

There's something super-condescending about a waiter who thinks he knows better what a diner ought to have than the diner does. And that's really rude.

I'm not sure we were hearing the waiter's opinion, I kind of felt it was a party line - don't tinker with anything, chef doesn't like it.

That's probably so--in which case it's the attitude of the whole restaurant (from head on down) that's condescending.

I understand that Lula takes pride in creating something special for its diners, and that this is a form of respect for the customer. But there is another kind of respect for the customer that is equally important. Which is to credit the customer for knowing full well what kind of restaurant he is in, and, when the customer makes a special request anyway, to credit that the customer knows full well what he is asking for, why he is asking for it, and of whom he is asking it.

The waiter (no doubt speaking for the chef and the restaurant, as you say) communicated that your husband didn't understand all the implications of his request. But he did. It would have been nice if the restaurant could start from a presumption that he did.

riddlemay wrote:I understand that Lula takes pride in creating something special for its diners

Well, aside from the dish I had there that was billed as containing porcini and yet had absolutely no freaking porcini in it whatsoever.

Hmm... mushrooms seem to be this place's Achilles' heel...

cilantro wrote:Hmm... mushrooms seem to be this place's Achilles' heel...

It's not the heel where it hits me...

leek wrote:

cilantro wrote:Hmm... mushrooms seem to be this place's Achilles' heel...

It's not the heel where it hits me...

I feel your pain. I have a similar problem with both coconut (including anything with coconut milk) and, oddly, honeydew melon. Not watermelon, not canteloupe, not crenshaw melon--only honeydew.

It's not going to kill me if I eat it, but it definitely puts a damper on the day. For the rest of the day. As lovely as my bathroom is, lets just say I prefer not to spend a large quantity of my leisure time in there.

I've come to basically have to lie, somewhat, and tell waiters that I will, in fact, up and die if coconut or honeydew make their way on my plate. The words DEATH and DYING and DEAD seem to have the correct impact to keep waiters from making any mistakes, and if I'm not afraid to be adamant and assertive then I usually end up not having any problems.


Fortunately, my two achilles foods are less omnipresent than mushrooms-- you truly have my sympathies.

The Boy and I had a really nice meal at Lula tonight. It was our first trip there, and I was prepared (and prepared him) for less than stellar service- I compared it to Earwax, based on some of the descriptions here.

I have to say, our waiter was fantastic. Suggested a really nice glass of red to me, checked in on us frequently, and was very pleasant overall.

We really enjoyed the food, too. I had the tineka sandwich, which was really tasty (and loved the potatoes) and The Boy had the roast chicken with sauteed spinach and potatoes, and practically licked the plate.

We'll definitely be back.

This is my first real post so it is probably fitting I throw my 2 cents regarding Lula Cafe.

I have been eating there regularly for about 5 years and for the first couple years always touted it as my favorite restaurant - which holds sway to the non foodies I regularly convene with. Maybe what Lula has been doing so well for so long - mainly providing a socially conscious menu with a bent for unique offerings - is not such niche anymore and you can find a lot of local spots serving up similar fare.
I agree with all the negative posts and for the same reasons stopped recommending Lula Cafe and only visit lately with friends whom I originally turned on to Lula and we have a history of meeting there.

This morning I went with intention of resolving my feelings about Lula and here it is.

The wait is almost silly on the weekends. Luckily we slid in behind a couple as they were leaving the bar. As we intended in waiting for a table we had some drinks - a blackberry Bertollini(?) for her and a Steigl for me. Both good calls. Next was my old standby the bloody mary which they do well with real horseradish, both citrus fruits, an olive and the stalk of lemon grass. Why doesn't every blood mary come with lemon grass? The better half had her stand by the passion fruit daiquiri and then discussed how great it is with the 4 other people who ordered one after seeing it made.

The line outside was going no where so we ordered at the bar.

Sweet potato pancakes with cranberry compote, candied pecans, and cardamom cream. A lot of great flavors though the plate looked a little empty with the dollar sized pancakes and I though they were skimpy with the cream. All in all the flavors were full and expressive and the combination was very good.

The wife always goes for the special with Grits and today it was yellow perch with crispy grits, eggs, and watercress. We both really enjoyed this dish despite the two eggs covering the spectrum of cooking temperatures without hitting the mark. Sunny side up eggs are difficult to get perfect and the kitchen was obviously slammed.

Because we were sitting at the bar we shared space with lots of people fixing their coffee or ordering drinks and I could pick up on the excitement of the first timers and the appreciation for the ambiance of the regular hipsters and yuppies alike (sorry to be so categorical).

Eating our brunch and mixing with others I easily remembered why I love Lula Cafe. It is a great neighborhood food experience and can be depended on for what it is, even if it is a bit pretentious at times.
Even if I have moved on to other food adventures I will keep Lula on my short list of restaurant suggestions and recommend people try the farm menu on Mondays - just get there early.

third coast foodie wrote:We both really enjoyed this dish despite the two eggs covering the spectrum of cooking temperatures without hitting the mark. Sunny side up eggs are difficult to get perfect and the kitchen was obviously slammed.

My impression of the word "slammed" in a restaurant context is that it means something like, "when a restaurant is faced with an unusually large crowd it could not anticipate and for which it is not prepared." But that can't be the case with Lula at Sunday brunch, can it?

riddlemay wrote:

third coast foodie wrote:We both really enjoyed this dish despite the two eggs covering the spectrum of cooking temperatures without hitting the mark. Sunny side up eggs are difficult to get perfect and the kitchen was obviously slammed.

My impression of the word "slammed" in a restaurant context is that it means something like, "when a restaurant is faced with an unusually large crowd it could not anticipate and for which it is not prepared." But that can't be the case with Lula at Sunday brunch, can it?

Well said, I guess in my heart I will always be a Lula apologist.

I think most city places known for breakfast are slammed on Sunday morning, in the sense that they are working at maximum capacity with little margin for error. It's not like you can add on people indefinitely in a kitchen that only has room for three or four people to work to begin with.

Out in the burbs today, we drove by some place just constructed that proclaims "Bowling Bocce Bistro" as its calling card. It's approximately large enough to hold Lula's, Kitsch'n, Orange, Nuevo Leon and the Bongo Room inside, and still have enough space to park Air Force One. If THEY get slammed on Sunday morning, I'll blame them. These other guys, not so much.

Mike G wrote:I think most city places known for breakfast are slammed on Sunday morning, in the sense that they are working at maximum capacity with little margin for error. It's not like you can add on people indefinitely in a kitchen that only has room for three or four people to work to begin with.

This is true. I think context is everything. If Lula weren't a place that gets such frequent reports of indifferent-bordering-on-hostile customer relations (with this even ratified as all-but-official policy by members of the waitstaff themselves in an Ira Glass story with which the owners apparently cooperated), and if I hadn't been on the receiving end of a mild version of this the one time I was a customer, I'm sure I'd be inclined to be much more forgiving.

Oddly enough, service is not one of my problems with Lula. I've just never been excited above about a 5 by anything I ever had to eat there.

I have only been to Lula once, about a month ago for dinner, but I found the food to be very good, especially at the price. I ordered off the Cafe menu - Feta Cheese plate and Moroccan Tagien for a wopping $15 for both (pre-tax/tip). I also tried the peanut seame noodles which were good, if not great. But it was one of the better meals for the price that I have had.

Service was fine. The waiter made some good recommendations and was very available during the meal. It was only one visit, but based on that I would certainly come back. It seemed like a great local restaurant that I wish was closer to where I live. Then again, the stories above of rude arrogant inflexible service are something I would not put up with. One experience like that and I wouldn't be back for a long time.

I also wonder about complaints that the wait is too long on weekends. I have seen this at many popular Chicago brunch sites (Bongo Room, Nookies, Wishbone, etc) but I don't know that I would blame a restaurant just because a lot of people are willing to stand around for an hour to eat brunch. Isn't that more a sign of its popularity, due to good food I would think, rather than a sign that they are doing something wrong?

riddlemay wrote:

third coast foodie wrote:We both really enjoyed this dish despite the two eggs covering the spectrum of cooking temperatures without hitting the mark. Sunny side up eggs are difficult to get perfect and the kitchen was obviously slammed.

My impression of the word "slammed" in a restaurant context is that it means something like, "when a restaurant is faced with an unusually large crowd it could not anticipate and for which it is not prepared." But that can't be the case with Lula at Sunday brunch, can it?

Sometimes there is simply nothing you can do about it... you know you are gona get creamed, your mis is perfect, you are dug in for battle.... Yet when the machine starts chattering a never-ending stream of tickets that are stacked up across your rack, 10 more orders stuffed in at the side, and the printer is still threatening to drop more orders in your duck stock...what can you do? Putting another person on the line usually just gets in the way. Besides, unless a place is specifically a brunch spot that would be the last meal I would make my judgments about a restaurant on.

wak wrote:Service was fine. The waiter made some good recommendations and was very available during the meal.

I agree with most of the points being made about the "slammed" thing. (That is, I see the point that you can't blame a restaurant for being popular, and that a restaurant like Lula can't gear the size of its entire operation around one meal a week.) But my service experience at Lula the night I was there for dinner was the opposite of wak's. Our waitress was MIA for long periods of time--it was a while after we were seated before we first saw her, and then a long while between sightings after that. And even that wasn't the real problem. It was the complete lack of contrition. If circumstances cause a waitperson to be unable to deliver a certain base level of attention to a table (and let's stipulate there might be good reasons on any given evening that I'm unaware of), then I darn well want that waitperson to acknowledge the problem proactively when I do see her and to evince a little regret over it. Even insincere regret. Even just a nuance in a facial expression. But no. None of that.

We had lunch/brunch at Lula today, and enjoyed it very much. It was annoying to have to wait, but what can you do. We arrived a little after 1 with a party of 6, were told it was 1/2 hour wait, ended up more like 20 mins. We had 2 omelettes (one with organic eggs, one with regular), oatmeal, french toast, and a fritata. Service was fine (our waiter told us up front which of the specials they were out of, and talked to us about the difference between organic and regular eggs, and when he brought the check told us that for parties of 6 an automatic 18% gratuity is added, which is less than we would have tipped otherwise). We all enjoyed our meals, didn't feel rushed, and left satisfied.

On the first beautiful, sunny day of the year, the SO, pooch and I sat outside for a most enjoyable late lunch/ snack at Lula. I ordered 2 side dishes for my meal: sauteed spinach and Gunthorp Farms bacon. The spinach was cooked mostly through, and loaded with toasty, finely diced garlic. The bacon was crisp and really smoky. Both dishes were more than enjoyable, and the Leffe beer I ordered from Lula's thoughtful list went well. For dessert we shared house made Sorrel Ice Cream with rhubarb compote, and man was it good. The sweetness was restrained, allowing to sorrel flavor to come through nicely, and the rhubarb was a very nice acid counterpoint to the rich cream.

Service could not have been friendlier or more efficient, which I must say differed from my past experiences at Lula. I'm glad the past didn't keep me away forever, and I will definitely be back.

saw everyone enjoying the 1st nice spring weekend at lula's yesterday, as i walked over to get my bike tires pumped up at boulevard bikes.

On the first beautiful, sunny day of the year, the SO, pooch and I sat outside for a most enjoyable late lunch/ snack at Lula.

this quote reminded me of one of the only downfalls IMO at lula's, the "pooch rule". since they do not yet have their official patio set up, this may be forthcoming. last year, my old roommate was dog-sitting for a week & we walked over to have a late lunch one weekend while she had the dog in tow.

found out the "pooch rule": dogs are not allowed within the confines of the patio walls, when set up. we had to chain her, and pass the chain under the wall to our table. the poor dog was a boxer pup & really had a hard time behaving. we almost left, decided to stay through our meal, but ate quickly & couldn't really enjoy ourselves.

obviously, it is lula's spot & their rules, just something to remember for the dog owners out there. i'm pretty sure that dunlay's around the corner let's dogs sit by the owner's tables, but i could be wrong......

DH and I really love Lula's. The wait is annoying for brunch but so much better than say Bongo Room. We've also had dinner there a couple of times and found the food really delish.


Anne

it is lula's spot & their rules, just something to remember for the dog owners out there. i'm pretty sure that dunlay's around the corner let's dogs sit by the owner's tables, but i could be wrong

Actually, while I personally feel that I would rather have dogs join me on a patio for lunch than have them mope around outside the barrier, this is a city law, and restaurants break it at their own risk. I've heard a rumor that the law might be changing soon (to let pooches join their humans on patios/in sidewalk cafes) but I can't remember where I heard that, so...

On a somewhat related note, I was in Montreal last weekend and on the sunny side of St-Denis boulevard people were eating and drinking beer in outdoor cafes. It was 35 degrees. But it was spring, dammit!

geli wrote:On a somewhat related note, I was in Montreal last weekend and on the sunny side of St-Denis boulevard people were eating and drinking beer in outdoor cafes. It was 35 degrees. But it was spring, dammit!

Don't they use degrees Celsius in Montreal? If so, you must have been sweating!