Lula Cafe in Chicago

Lesson of the day: If you're visiting a new city, ask an aerialist what her favorite restaurant is? I asked E if she had any friends in Chicago, and a friend of hers from ART who just happens to be a Chicago-based aerialist gave me an incredible dining tip: Lula Cafe.

I can't imagine someone creating a restaurant more compatible with my food-activist philosophies and my adventurous palette. The walls are decked with gorgeous photos of farm-fresh produce and the farmers who grow them.   You can probably quiz your server and ask them to source any ingredient on them menu.  You'd find they're all (the ingredients, not the servers) locally grown with organic practices (it can be difficult for small farmers to actually gain organic certification) and, in the case of meats, humanely raised and slaughtered.   Beyond the many many ways that supporting such establishments is absolutely vital in these days of corrupt agribusiness, I think you can actually taste the difference when such care has gone into the raw materials of your meal.  

And, one quick glance at the menu makes it clear that equal care is being put into the innovative entrees that Lula offers.  I started my brunch with a Black Sambal Bloody Mary: strong and spicy (in both senses of the word, both hot and flavorful).  My sister M and I decided to share two of the brunch entrees:their take on Eggs Florentine (with poached eggs, hollandaise, sourdough crostini, tomato coulis, and pickled asparagus) and a fascinating squash dish (Ancho glazed sweet dumpling squash, scrambled eggs, black beans, queso blanco, and pickled brussels sprouts).  The florentine was really quite perfect, offering a nice twist on a Norwegian Eggs Benedict (served with lox instead of bacon) with perfectly cooked striped bass, both flaky and savory.  And while hollandaise-doused eggy brunch items can sometimes overwhelm with their richness, the pickled asparagus (pickled asparagus?  yep!) cut through and complexified the palette.    The squash entree was quite a flavor festival and though I'm not sure it all came together for me, I really found each individual ingredient flawless on its own.  

So, all you Chicagoans and those visiting, hie thee hence to the Lula Cafe.