Cafe Dodo in Ukrainian Village [+Sweet Cakes]

This is one of my favorite breakfast spots . It's a small but airy space on Damen Ave. just south of Augusta, serving breakfast and lunch. They don't have a huge menu, but the selection is interesting, eclectic, and most important: good to eat! I've liked everything I've had there so far:

Steel cut Irish oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar simple and filling
French Toast Fluffy, flavorful, disappears off the plate in an alarming fashion
Granola with strawberries and milk it's listed with bananas but they substitute strawberries for me when they're in stock. Dodo's granola is not the overly-roasted, scorched stuff that alot of places serve, and is loaded with all kinds of nuts and seeds.
Pancakes They remind me of the pancakes at Edgebrook Coffee House, somewhat thin, very tender, not cakey. Yum.
Japanese vegetable pancake Eggs with scallions, okonomyake (sp?)sauce, and kewpie-doll mayonnaise. A savoury dish somewhere between an omelette and frittata.

The above items might not look so exciting, but they're done really well, and there are several other things on the menu that are a bit more exotic, I've just forgotten what they are! Dodo's cappuccino is excellent, too, but I haven't tried their regular coffee.

I haven't even looked at the lunch menu yet, I confess.

The staff are very friendly and accommodating, and the atmosphere is comfortable and relaxed.

I think they're closed on Mondays.

Cafe Dodo
935 N. Damen
Chicago, IL
(773) 772-3636

edited to question my spelling

I agree with your assessment of Dodo; I wish it were a little closer to my home. I would also note for those with kids, it's a very kid-friendly environment.

My wife and I ate there a couple of weeks back and had a good experience.

It was pretty funny, my wife orders eggs "over-medium". She doesn't really like the yolks, but she says the whites don't take right by themselves, so she never eats the yolks just the whites from around them. I mentioned that morning that sooner or later someone was going to call her on it and ask if something was wrong.

Sure enough on the way out the door we were stopped and asked if everything was OK, specifically with the eggs. It turns out after the table was bussed they were inspecting the eggs, trying to figure out how they were ordered, and what could have been wrong with them.

I explained the situation, had a good laugh, and we were on our way.

Agreed,

I went there last Saturday and while small and a bit tight (the 2-seater tables are packed close together), I enjoyed myself.

I had the aged provolone herb omelette, which was how I imagine Julia Child would serve an omelette. Fluffy eggs, nice cheese, French style - as in folded into an elongated shape instead of a semi-circle, and a subtle hand with the fresh herbs. My friend had the Greek yogurt and fruit, and one pancake. The yogurt was nothing special, nice enough. The pancake was quite good though. It was the typical manhole cover sized creation you find at these brunch places, but this one was light, and had a distinct ...malt? flavor to it which was very nice. (Sorry for the Rick Bayless-esque pause there).

A nice, relaxed place to go for brunch in UkV.

MJ

Dodo starts dinner service on Monday 4 June. They will be BYOB, and the menu will change daily. I saw a copy of a sample menu from a tasting earlier in the week. It had only a few dishes on it, but they all looked interesting. There was one chicken dish, one fish dish, one vegetarian dish, a soup, a salad and one dessert. There will be a more expanded menu normally.

Now, folks, don't go slamming them - give them a little time to get up to speed And read the signs on the door, they are cash only.

Dodo starts dinner service on Monday 4 June. They will be BYOB, and the menu will change daily.

Well this is exciting. I've been to brunch here a couple of times and have been very satisfied. It was nice to find a brunch place near me that wasn't insanely crowded and still tasty and well-priced.

Ever since Leo's Lunchroom closed (let's pause for a moment of silence?), I've felt like this neighborhood has been sorely lacking in a low-key, tasty restaurant. Hopefully, Dodo can begin to fill that void.

I've had brunch at Dodo at least half a dozen times. While I must say, I have never had a complaint about the food- aside maybe inauthentic okonomayaki sauce and some room temp corn cakes, but something about the floor management of the place irks me. The hosting can be on the brusque side- waitstaff is much friendlier. The tables are too tightly packed- you'd wonder why the new annex space to the south is used now as a dingy waiting area and art gallery. Also, I have taken note of some awfully neglected grimy spots on the floor and tables. The oft-times chipped Ikea china is also kind of a drag. But all this said, I've had some great meals, so I do not doubt that the dinner menu may delight. And the food, of course, is always the most important element of the dining experience.

Has anyone tried it yet? It's only been a week, and I just haven't had the time to get over there. Very interested to hear about it! Thanks!

We went for dinner Friday night. They close at 9 (but if you are already in they don't kick you out or anything). There were not too many people there. They haven't advertised, but I suspect might like a bit more business.

The food was good, there were 3 or 4 choices (a veggie, a chicken, a fish, a beef) 2 salads, a soup and 2 desserts. It's BYO and they have small, neat, cute little balloon-oid acrylic wine glasses with teensy stems. The server was pleasant and friendly.

DH had the burger, I had a roasted pepper stuffed with rice and veggies. He had a cold soup, I had a salad. They were good, flavorful, not over-done with ingredients.

We enjoyed the food and will go back again. It's a good place.

Note that they do not have air conditioning, so be prepared to be warm. There are fans.

I took the boys to Dodo this morning for breakfast and while I found the requisite urban-funky atmosphere and the quiet-stretch-of-Damen location charming (fortunately the boys didn't notice that the funky painting behind one of them was of a dog licking its privates), we were pretty underwhelmed by breakfast. Partly it was portion size-- for $25 one son got a decent-sized breakfast, I got a single pecan waffle with a small dollop of strawberry compote on it and a side of bacon, and the 5-year-old got a single slice-- from a baguette-- of French toast, which he looked at and said, "I've had amuse-bouches at Alinea that were bigger than that." But that could have been forgiven if everything had been wonderful, and as for wonderful, well, wonderful appears to be about 4000 north on Damen, not least because the waffle, by the time I got it, was pretty lukewarm, but also just because nothing particularly popped. I can't say this experience, which would have been okay at about $6 less in a funky little place on Main street in a small town, makes me want to see what they're capable of at dinner. It's more likely to send me back here for cheap breakfast.

However...

Afterwards, older son poked his head into the place next door, which is a bakery called Sweet Cakes, set back from the street by a garden space (possibly still under construction). We picked up a scone and an apricot brioche or something, both of which looked overcooked but turned out to have wonderful texture-- the scone was springy, fluffy, while the brioche, once you adjusted to the very European total lack of sweetness, had a perfect gooey-multilayered bite to it. I am much more eager to go back and try more of what's in their case-- and it looks like they could use a little LTH-discovery, despite a reasonable amount of press on the walls. Check it out.

Sweet Cakes Bakery
935 N. Damen
(773) 772-5771

I'm happy to see Sweet Cakes mentioned - it's owned by an acquaintance of mine and I've been feeling slightly guilty that I haven't made it into town since she's opened to try out her wares.

I'm told that the location was formerly a small commercial bakery. (Despite living mere blocks from there for years, I haven't been down that block of Damen in months since I've relocated to Madison.) There used to be a ~8' wall that blocked off the garden space from the street, with only a small door to gain entry - which might be why the garden space seems a little unfinished.

I tried Sweet Cake's "The Egg" muffin today. It's a savory corn muffin with roasted corn kernels and cilantro, and a whole boiled egg in the middle. It was delicious! Rich, buttery, and the roasted corn kernels add a nice chewiness in addition to to a hint of caramelized sweetness. A great brunch by itself.

We also sampled two of their mini-cupcakes: orange, and lemon with raspberry. Both were really good. I think the lemon/raspberry was slightly better. Again, a very rich, buttery cake and light, with perfect citrus flavors. The buttercream frosting was neither too light, nor too sugary. I gnawed on the cupcake wrapper like it was a rib to get every last little morsel cupcake-y goodness.

We also tried the blueberry scone, which was the fluffy/cakey type of scone instead of the flaky/shortbread kind. I prefer the latter type, but it was still good - full of fresh blueberries, and again, not overly sweet.

I live close to Alliance, but imo, Sweet Cakes is well worth the walk.