PopSugar Chicago

Lula Cafe Is Getting a New, Bigger Look

Kate Stahl — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:02:00 CST

One of my favorite brunch spots, Logan Square hot spot Lula Cafe still manages to feel like a hidden gem - even when you're waiting an hour for a table. Luckily for Lula's devoted fans, that wait time will (hopefully) be going down soon, when owner Jason Hammel expands the 11-year-old space this Spring. A partnership with Kevin Heisner (who also co-owns Nightwood with Hammel), the new Lula Cafe is taking over a neighboring storefront to create a pastry gallery for new pastry chef Kate Neumann, who formerly worked at award-winning restaurants Blackbird and Hot Chocolate.

Expect some incredible breakfast pastries and desserts coming out of the new 1,200-square-foot pastry gallery, including chocolate and banana torte and goat milk panna cotta. The space will also include an enlarged, 15-seat bar and an expanded coffee program, serving up Intelligentsia. Lula will close for a bit to knock down a wall and rebuild, but Hammel and Heisner say it will be a quick turnaround. And the best part of the expansion: the new 30-seat space will continue to be walk-in only, but the old space will begin taking reservations, so you won't have to wait forever for your Sunday brunch bi bim bop with Swan Creek Farm rabbit, assorted winter pickles, and a sunny-side up egg (shown right).

Source: Lula Cafe

Vanille Patisserie

Kate Stahl — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:00:00 CST

Dreamed up by husband-and-wife pastry chefs Dimitri and Keli Fayard, Vanille Patisserie proves that an authentic French pastry shop is right at home in Chicago. After all, Dimitri is from France while Keli is a Chicago native; the two met while working at a pastry shop in New York and decided to open Vanille Patisserie in 2003. Inside the Lincoln Park shop (a second location is located in the Chicago French Market), you'll find an almost overwhelming selection of culinary delights, including petit fours, tarts, macarons, and Dimitri's specialty, entremets, or mousse cakes. "My husband's known for entremets; they're balanced in sweetness, textures, and flavors, and they really set us apart," Keli says of the creations, which include Vanille Patisserie's signature Entremet Vanille, a vanilla bean cream on top of exotic coulis and coconut cake, all wrapped in light white chocolate mousse. Also popular are the shop's 12-plus daily flavors of French macarons (the latest include lemon and peanut butter and jelly, but "each flavor has its own fan club," Keli says) and croissants, though any admirer of pastries is sure to find something at Vanille Patisserie. "Our clients include those who are celebrating a special occasions and those who pop in to get a croissant or treat themselves to a nice dessert and a cup of coffee in the middle of the day. Students, housewives, chefs, doctors . . . we see them all."

Food Truck Watch: What's New For Winter

Kate Stahl — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:03:00 CST

With the frigid, frosty weather outside, you would think most food trucks would just find a warm garage somewhere and wait until Spring. But lucky for us, that's not the case. Here's the grub-on-the-go news this week.

The Gaztro-wagon, perhaps the city's best-known and best-loved food truck, launched its Winter menu this week. Chef/owner Matt Maroni (shown above) was inspired by pork 'n' beans, cheese steak, and Lyonnaise salad for his latest batch of naan-wiches (Indian flatbread sandwiches). The pork 'n' beans inspired a pork shoulder, black bean, cilantro, onion, and Chihuahua cheese sandwich (yum!); Maroni's rendition of a cheese steak includes thin slices of lamb topped with Jack cheese, peppers, and onions; and the Lyonnaise includes pork belly lardons, onions, and a tangy mustard dressing (a fried egg is an optional add on). Also look for sandwiches inspired by cassoulet and croque monsieur. As always, follow the Wagon on Twitter to find out its location. Hopefully Maroni will recover from the flu quickly and be back on the street today!
After contemplating opening a second location, French Market bakery Sweet Miss Giving's opted instead for a food truck, which hit the streets last week. Owner Dana Friedman Lieberman will serve up scones and muffins in the morning and cookies, cupcakes, and brownies (check out the German chocolate brownie below) in the afternoon all around town. You can follow the truck on Twitter for now, since Lieberman hasn't developed a firm schedule yet. The best part of this truck: much like the original location, 51 percent of Sweet Miss Giving's truck profits will go to Chicago House, which provides housing and support services to HIV-affected and HIV-at risk people and families.

Source: Matt Maroni photo by Michael Boyd and Sweet Miss Giving's