Conscious Choice: Home Style Clean Cuisine

March 2004 | Conscious Dining

Home Style Clean Cuisine

by JoAnn Milivojevic

Driving south from Chicago Avenue along Wells Street, it’s easy to miss this little storefront eatery. The awning, while expansive and prettily painted with muted pastels, had no logo, no name, and no number. It was with steadfast reserve that we found Earth Mothers. And it was worth the hunt. High quality and mostly organic dishes at very reasonable prices are what make this restaurant a great choice.

Clean Food Factor

Liz Sturrock, Earth Mother’s chef/co-owner cites that nearly 90 percent of their ingredients are organic including produce, grain, dairy, meat and most of the herbs and spices. There are no transfats or hydrogenated oils; all are cold expeller pressed. Meats are carefully selected; for instance, the bacon is nitrate and nitrite free. Organic ground beef is from a farm in Southern Illinois and the smoked salmon is wild caught.

The Menu

The restaurant is open daily serving breakfast and lunch only. Earth Mothers also caters and makes box lunches. Dubbed home-style cuisine, you’ll find a number of tempting dishes. In fact, I’d add the word "inspired" home-style because the dishes combine herbs, seeds and spices with an eye toward purchasing from area producers. The menu includes the origin of some ingredients and many are from Midwestern states.

As one whose diet is mostly plant-based, I found plenty to ponder. The vegan selections were more plentiful during regular lunches as opposed to Sunday brunch and include salads ($7-$9), a curried cauliflower sandwich ($6.50), and a marinated tofu sandwich with sautéed greens on a grilled rosemary scented roll ($7.50).

For brunch, the three-egg omelet ($8) is slated to come with roasted potatoes and toast. The potatoes were an interesting (albeit lukewarm) surprise as they certainly may have started as roasted but were finished with a sprinkling of several different seeds (i.e. celery, mustard and caraway) and blended with a splash of yogurt — making them a seeded, roasted, mashed potato dish, inspired by Ayurvedic cuisine, according to Sturrock. Whatever its origin, it was delicious. The omelet was lightly crisp on the outside, perfectly moist on the inside and stuffed with fantastic white cheddar cheese and sliced portabella mushrooms. The tapioca French toast ($7.50) made with challah bread served with warm organic Wisconsin syrup was also delicately crisp on the outside and gooey nice on the inside. There are other enticements that urge a return visit, such as the egg torte ($7.50), which is a crustless quiche filled with seasonal veggies and Vermont cheddar served with a fresh salad and a muffin. No, the price is not a typo.

Service was quick and pleasant. I asked to try another tea as I found the silver needles rosebud a disappointment. The Chelsea Garden black tea with essence of strawberry and vanilla provided the lovely scent and caffeine that I really wanted. We were treated to a demitasse of hot-spiced water, which is an infusion of herbs and spices (another Ayurvedic influence). It’s a delicate and softly scented beverage certainly worth trying, and as Sturrock explained, "It’s good for the digestion."

Other beverages include fresh organic orange or carrot smoothies and shakes ($5-$8).

The Ambience

The space is simple and sparse with one very colorful wall. Pastel yellows, pinks and purples blur and blend into one another like an out of focus psychedelic cloudscape. The dozen or so tables are positioned in the rear just past a couple of coolers and pastry cases filled with grocery items and take-out cuisine. "We’re working on expanding the packaged goods," said Sturrock, "but right now we’re focusing on the restaurant. Everything is available to go. In fact, our lunch business is 60 percent carryout."

The blue Formica tables and light oak chairs create a casual and serene scene though the flat screen TV seemed out of place. We arrived at 11:00 am for Sunday brunch and found the place disappointedly empty. But as the clock neared noon, more patrons arrived.

Final Word

While the décor at Earth Mothers is nothing special, the food is delicious, clean and quite reasonably priced. If it’s not in your locale during the weekday, take advantage of the easy parking for Sunday brunch...you can park right in front of the place, otherwise it’s a no parking zone Monday through Saturday.

The meal for two including beverages, tax and tip was a mere $30. Whet your appetite at www.earthmothers.com and find out about their periodic special events focused on healthy living.

Earth Mothers, 738 N. Wells, Chicago; 312-587-7337. Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Sunday Brunch from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

JoAnn Milivojevic is a Chicago-basedfreelance writer whose articles appear in magazines nationwide.

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