Conscious Choice: Lakeside Cafe: Delicious Tranquility

November 2007 | Conscious Dining

Lakeside Cafe: Delicious Tranquility

By Maggie Faircloth

First, I must wish le congratulazioni! to our regular dining reviewer, Tanya Fritz, who is off this month to celebrate her il matrimonio in Italy! So in her absence, I’ve set down my camera (for a bit) to give this reviewing thing a try.

It was an unseasonably warm fall evening when my husband and I made our way to Lakeside Café in Rogers Park. We’ve gone without meat for almost a decade and are aware of the pitfalls of dining sans flesh, but not having embraced the raw food movement and having an addiction to all things fried and salted, we are often wary of establishments that serve healthy all-vegetarian meals. But this northside spot deserved a try.

The interior of the Lakeside Café is calming, with paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling that create an amber glow in the room. Bamboo and hanging plants add to the tranquil and restorative sense of the place. We checked out the specials board, which Chef Katie changes weekly. Patrons can sign up via their website to receive an email of the specials the day before they’re served.

First we tried the butternut squash ravioli and the eggplant pizza. The pasta was obviously house made in a light olive oil base, filled with fresh, mild butternut squash and topped with sautéed garlic kale. The balance was excellent and not too sweet, as is typical of this fall favorite. The eggplant pizza had a thin and flaky crust and was very tasty, although I felt the tomato sauce could have had a little more spice.

Our friendly and attentive server enthusiastically recommended the Tao bowl. We had our reservations, but decided to give it a try. The ingredients included steamed broccoli, sautéed kale, green lentils and brown rice, served with a small cup of barbeque sauce. The veggies were fresh, and the tempeh was crisp, but how would it taste mixed together? Wow. Full of flavor! We were pleasantly surprised. The combination worked wonderfully together. Diners can also get the same ingredients in a wrap, which also sounded tasty, but maybe next time!

The zucchini and tofu enchiladas were actually corn and mushroom enchiladas. After inquiring as to the lack of zucchini, we found out they had run out the day before. This can be attributed to the fact that using fresh ingredients means there is not always a large stock, however they didn’t seem to miss a beat on taster. The sign may have been wrong, but the dish was right on! The side of beans and rice were a little dry, but the crisp sweet potato chips had great flavor.

Desert was hit and miss. The apricot cream cake was wonderful and refreshing, but the espresso chocolate cake was dry from being in the cooler. My husband, who always orders something chocolate, didn’t break tradition and seemed to enjoy it.

Lakeside Café also offers cooking classes and the adjoining Inner Metamorphosis University has classes in meditation, dancing and more.

If you’ve ever thought that eating at a local, organic, vegetarian café would be good for you, but maybe not for your taste buds, have no worries, Lakeside Café will leave you happy — body, mind, spirit — and mouth!

Lakeside Café, 1418/20 W. Howard, Chicago; 773-262-9503, lake-side-Café.com.

Maggie Faircloth is a photographer for Conscious Choice Magazine.

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