Conscious Choice: Hallelujah Lula!

November 2002 | Conscious Dining

Hallelujah Lula!

by Ethel Hammer and Stephen Kleiman

Poised on the circle at Logan Square, Lula Cafe has something for everyone. If Lula were a girl, she’d be frivolous, serious, flamboyant — a stylish flapper with glittery polish and the Good Earth under her nails.

Yes, ooh-la-la-Lula is one impressive little restaurant featuring crispy breads, luscious soups, earthy sandwiches, and sparkling specials with local organic produce from local farms.

The brainchild of owners Jason Hammel and Amalea Tshilds, Lula is audacious, sassy, showy, and nonchalant — with the aplomb of a famous Tallulah of days gone by. Lula can flip two eggs any style with the best of them, yet truffle hollandaise doesn’t throw her for a loop either. Uncle Chauncy can get French toast with a touch of lavender crème anglaise while Grandma downs buttermilk pancakes and Nellie nibbles on crêpes with Muscovy duck confit.

Best of all, Lula is determined to stay close to her roots. "I think we’re on the map and off it at the same time. I want as many people as possible to frequent the neighborhood and see what Logan Square is all about," Hammel said. Meanwhile, guests with nose rings, tattoos, and exposed body parts blend easily with business, casual, and family diners.

Lula gathers culinary inspirations from places far and wide. A dash of France. A touch of Italy. A dapple of Morocco. A snippet of Asia. Some dishes feature offbeat, dramatic flavors. Others are yummy comfort foods. Homemade pea soup-of-the-day was as tasty as soups we’ve savored in France. Delightful Lula Maki sushi rolls appeared sequined with cucumber, avocado, red pepper, and black sesame seeds. Meanwhile, the yummy veggie torta slipped and slid all over our taste buds — a sweet combination of grilled portabella, olive black bean tapenade, caramelized onions, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and mozzarella — on crusty French bread.

Actually, Lula takes classics and "gussies" them up. The peanut butter sandwich comes with sweet Indonesian soy sauce. Chicken salad dances with aromatic tamarind, tomato, and basil. Our all-American roast turkey sandwich came crammed onto bread slices not much larger than cocktail napkins. Meanwhile, nightly specials are copious feats of culinary daring featuring local organic produce and sexy vinaigrettes.

"We’re three years old and every year we make more connections with people who can give us better products that are economically viable," Hammel said. "Organics are two to three times more expensive." Using a mixture of organic and conventional foods, Lula highlights local organic produce on her nightly and brunch specials. The Muscovy duck breast salad, for example, paired perfectly seared duck with earthy fresh watercress, dappled with gala apples, glazed shallots, fingerling potatoes, and crunchy hazelnuts — all drizzled in sweet, tangy apple truffle vinaigrette. The organic baby spinach and baby beet salad teased our taste buds with Vermont blue cheese, candied pecans, and crispy shallots.

Like a painter working in series, Lula offers variations on her themes. In one culinary canvas, tasty ruffles of smoked pork met spicy guajillo mole, pumpkin polenta, diced plantains, and fragrant watercress. In another canvas, julienned pork encountered zesty tomatilla, hominy, fresh corn, pico de gallo, crispy tortilla chips and a refreshing chipotle mango sour cream.

With reasonable prices and neighborhood commitment, Lula aims for the best but is no purist. She currently serves both organic and conventional breakfast potatoes, for example. The free-range chicken is naturally raised, and antibiotic-free. When possible more reasonably priced organic cuts are sleuthed out for specials. In the next few months, the pork shoulder should be certified organic. The soy and all the dairy, except for the butter, are organic. Fair trade organic coffee is served.

Lula betrays no fear of crossing boundaries. Our dainty brioche French toast special, for example, came topped with farm-fresh raspberries, candied lemons, and radiant, lavender-perfumed crème anglaise, debuting both as a brunch special and a dessert. And a minute piece of flourless chocolate cake appeared with an itzy-bitzy scoop of ice cream, certain that richness could compensate for minuteness — which it did.

All in all, Lula has all the daring of a big, bad girl who is very, very good. "I feel like it’s a healthy place to be," said Inga, our waitress on several occasions, who noted that most of the staff pursues artistic interests, herself offering a charming European attitude, stylish service, and artistic vibes. "We’re constantly trying to push the food and the expectations, raising the bar," said co-owner Tshilds, herself a musician.

In fact, Lula is so good, we souped, sandwiched, entréed and desserted until the deadline of this review. On our last evening, Edith Piaf trilled piped-in songs of love. The sun set over Logan Square, as we ordered yummy, copious, free-range, pan-fried herb chicken with spinach and roasted red potatoes. Then, as Piaf segued into honky-tonk piano, Inga brought delicate banana leaf-wrapped halibut with coconut braised endive, celery roots, roasted leeks, beauty heart radishes, and shiso butter. Was this heaven or what? Oh, this one was a beauty of a night, all right, topped off with Maude’s sumptuous, mostly organic carrot cake.

We highly recommend Lula at any time of day — and as often as you like. The menu changes regularly, and the flavors are as varied as the diners. This tidy restaurant — which seems hand built and honed from the ground up — beguiles you with its neighborhood charm, culinary daring and the commitment of its staff.

Lula, 2537 N. Kedzie, Chicago, 773-489-9554; open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 7:00 am to 10:00 pm; Friday, 7:00 am to midnight; Saturday, 9:00 am to midnight; Sunday, 9:00 am to 9:00 pm; closed Tuesday. Soups, salads and appetizers — $2.25 to $12.50; sandwiches — $5.50 to $6.75; entrées — $6.50 to $21 generally; breakfast — $1.75 to $12.50; drinks — $1.25 to $4; desserts — $4.50 to $6.75.

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