With the Monday night Farm Dinner thing, is it the case that on Monday nights the multi-course, prix fixe Farm Dinner is the only option? Or do other menu choices exist, with the Farm Dinner simply being among them?

riddlemay wrote:With the Monday night Farm Dinner thing, is it the case that on Monday nights the multi-course, prix fixe Farm Dinner is the only option? Or do other menu choices exist, with the Farm Dinner simply being among them?

When I went a few months ago on a Monday evening, the regular menu was available - - in addition to the farm dinner.

Ronna

Thanks, Ronna.

Just out of curiosity (but not idle curiosity, since we're going there tonight), what is the rationale for calling The Farm Dinner The Farm Dinner? I mean, I can make a rationale up in my head (all the ingredients of the dishes come straight from local farms and are purchased that very day, for instance), but I don't know if that's what Lula means.

I believe that is pretty much the case, riddlemay.

It's been awhile, but I do recall the menu for the evening specifically noting what farms certain items came from for each weekly dinner.

And yes, you can order off the regular menu, as sometimes they run out of the Farm Dinner menu, but not always.

They still list last week's menu online, for a sampling, perhaps it will be update later today:
http://www.lulacafe.com/lula/menupages.html

Thanks, smellen. I'm excited!

I'm going to give the farm dinner a go tonight. Looks like a pretty good deal

Really enjoyed the farm dinner at Lula Tonight. The first course was a pork belly consomme with tiny fish (don't remember what kind) dumplings. This was delicious and turned out to be exactly what I was in the mood for. The main was arctic char with lentils and peekytoe crap/potato fritters. Again, I was very happy with the popping flavors. A very well composed dish. The only slight misfire was the dessert, Apple Strudel. It was good, and to be sure I ate it all without much complaint, but I felt the ice cream wasn't particularly flavorful and the phyllo perhaps a bit thick. This is really just a minor complaint. I left the restaurant happier with this meal than I've been with any in quite a while. I will surely be back, as the farm dinner was really a great deal.

I just wanted to chime in with agreement with Stephen on last night's farm dinner. The consomme had an intense smokiness to it; after a moment, I was able to put my finger on the "sense memory" that it evoked. Namely, the smell (so intense in the autumns of my youth that it was almost a taste) of burning leaves. It's been so long since we've been allowed to burn leaves, and I'm nostalgic for this wonderful aroma than which nothing says fall better. Well, if a smell can have an analog in a flavor, that was the flavor of Lula's pork belly consomme with smoked trout dumplings. Each spoonful carried that very specific smokiness--not the generic flavor of smoked meat, but the specific smokiness of burning leaves in autumn. There couldn't be a more appropriate November soup.

I had assumed the burning leaves flavor was coming from the pork belly, but our terrific waitress said the source was actually the smoked trout dumplings. I've never had anything like that consomme before.

Loved everything about the artic char, which had intense flavor, and the Cortland apple strudel, too. I didn't mind the unconventionality of the strudel pastry as much as Stephen did. It didn't attempt to do the "many light flaky layers" of typical strudel, but was instead a whole different take--more like a thin, crispy, tasty board that crack under the fork. I appreciated it on its own terms.

riddlemay and Stephen,

Based on your meal last night, how would you describe the "farm" theme of the "farm dinner"? I haven't been to one of their farm dinners before and saw smellen's response to riddlemay's question about the farm theme, but based on the ingredient list from your meal last night, it sounds like that might not be the case (arctic char could be inland farmed nearby, I suppose, but peekytoe crab definitely not).

Don't get me wrong, sounds like a great meal (and makes me want to go try that consommé), just curious about the farm dinner theme.

-Dan

dansch wrote:riddlemay and Stephen,

Based on your meal last night, how would you describe the "farm" theme of the "farm dinner"? I haven't been to one of their farm dinners before and saw smellen's response to riddlemay's question about the farm theme, but based on the ingredient list from your meal last night, it sounds like that might not be the case (arctic char could be inland farmed nearby, I suppose, but peekytoe crab definitely not).

Don't get me wrong, sounds like a great meal (and makes me want to go try that consommé), just curious about the farm dinner theme.

-Dan

I'm neither riddlemay nor Stephen, but I have had the Lula farm dinner a few times. Based on my experience, what it essentially means is that every course tries to highlight the flavor of at least one ingredient sourced from local farms - usually making that ingredient a primary component rather than a minor accent. It doesn't mean all of the ingredients are sourced that way. Last night's menu is the furthest I've seen Lula stray from this focus for its farm dinner. I'm sure the celery root in the dish called "arctic char with peeky toe crab-celery root fritters and black truffle" was locally farmed, but still - crab and truffle? I don't know about that.

dansch wrote:riddlemay and Stephen,

Based on your meal last night, how would you describe the "farm" theme of the "farm dinner"? I haven't been to one of their farm dinners before and saw smellen's response to riddlemay's question about the farm theme, but based on the ingredient list from your meal last night, it sounds like that might not be the case (arctic char could be inland farmed nearby, I suppose, but peekytoe crab definitely not).

I know, that anomaly was occuring to me last night as I looked at the farm dinner on the menu, but I didn't want to think about it too much. There was definitely a part of my brain saying, "Hmm, I really doubt this arctic char came from a nearby farm, and if it did, I probably wouldn't like it! After all, wild-caught fish is supposed to be superior to farmed fish." But the other part of my brain was saying, "Let's not get too technical here. This farm dinner looks like a great value, and I bet it's going to be fantastic." And that part was strong enough that I didn't even feel like asking the waitress what the char-farm connection could possibly be. I satisfied myself with the explanation that most (or as Kenny says, some) of the other ingredients in the three courses probably came from a nearby farm somewhere.

If you look at the menu page, which has now been updated from last night's Farm Dinner, you can see this one did seem to stray from last week's.

I don't see any mention to a specific farm, which usually each course notes that in the description.

Either way, glad you both enjoyed it and reported back!

miss ellen

LU LU
2537 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL

Reviews appreciated, short.
Food good, quality ok??
Thanks,

Wally Wade

Lula Cafe -- I don't get it

Walking to Lula for a tasty bird

walter wade wrote:Reviews appreciated, short.

Food good. Order specials.

Lunch boring-go for dinner.

LU LU
2537 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL

get the dim sum, skip the entrees. love the green beans.

oh, by the way, you got the address wrong:

Lulu's
www.lulusdimsum.com
804 Davis Street
Evanston, IL 60201-4402
(847) 869-4343

elakin wrote:

LU LU
2537 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL

get the dim sum, skip the entrees. love the green beans.

oh, by the way, you got the address wrong:

Lulu's
http://www.lulusdimsum.com
804 Davis Street
Evanston, IL 60201-4402
(847) 869-4343

Different place & type of food from Lula Cafe.

Lula Cafe- Food is lovely, environment casual & hip vibe, seasonal offerings w/ strong emphasis on products from regional small farms. It's a favorite of mine. Get the soup. Also delicious pancakes (brunch on weekends is nice).

I still don't get it.

My wife and I had another wonderful meal at Lula Café Saturday evening. We love Lula’s great food in a laid back atmosphere. We sat at the counter in front of the kitchen and chatted with the passionate staff all evening.

Started with the really good roasted eggplant with lamb pancetta, smoked sungold tomato, black anchovy and the prawns with fried squash blossom and garlic scape, lime vinaigrette, thyme aioli.

The chef brought us (on the house) the crispy veal sweatbreads with baby carrots, a fabulous dish. The texture of sweetbreads is usually an issue for me, but not so with this prep.

The loup de mer was a beautiful dish, served with cauliflower, pureed bietina, black quinoa, and fava bean salsa verde. The mussel and chorizo stuffing in the roasted quail was fabulous and the sides were sweet corn gnocchi, glazed chanterelles, and turnips.

Lula has a very thoughtful wine list with many tiny, hard to source European producers. I usually go straight to the Jura selections, which are very difficult to find in Chicago. Loved the 2008 Jacques Puffeney Trousseau ‘Les Berangères’. I have a fair amount of Puffeney in my cellar, but not the 08 trousseau. My only quibble was it is a crime to serve that beautiful wine in small-bowled stems that do nothing to enhance the aromatics.

Their desserts are always wonderful and yesterday was no exception. My favorite was the Crepe Gateau Brulee with lemon curd, blueberry mascarpone ice cream, streusel, and lemon ice; great dessert. We also had the peanut butter pie, almost a peanut brittle under peanut butter mousse, and whipped cream, which put us into the uncomfortable range. A fitting end to a nice meal is the Intellegencia coffee.

Lula Cafe
2537 N. Kedzie Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60647
773.489.9554
http://www.lulacafe.com

Good to see you again, Al, and I'm glad there's a Lula thread with a more positive spin in the title, though I think the case could be made that editorializing in the title (positive or negative) is maybe a problem.

This is one of my go to places. I'm never disappointed.

Had a pork shoulder with brussel sprouts the other night that was to die for.

Brunch was delicious!

The malted griddle cakes with peaches from Klug farm, creme anglaise and candied walnuts is a stunner visually and to taste. It would be gilding the lily to eat with their jam or maple syrup, but this is America!


The tofu scramble with black sesame seeds and miso was a pleasant surprise. It is a stir-fry. As a vegetarian for almost 20 years I was always a bit put off by the name tofu scramble. It conjures up images of imitation scrambled eggs. I wished the portion was larger, but I made up for that clearly!


And then we had this shortcake with more peaches, blueberries, blackberries, and whipped cream studded with teeny, tiny thyme flower buds ( well that's what they looked like). The shortcake included cornmeal and that gave the cake some heft and a surprising diminension.

It is still one of my favorite places in the city.

Walked over and had a lovely brunch at Lula today - and I wasn't alone, as the place was bustling at around noon, which was great to see. A breakfast burrito, sides of house-made pork sausage and spicy sesame slaw were all great and really satisfying. The menu's thoughtful and the food is carefully prepared, without being overly fussy. After 15 years, Lula keeps getting better and better.

=R=

Ok, I love Lula but c'mon man! In what universe does this sandwich qualify as a Po Boy?!


Alleged Shrimp Po Boy

Yes, it was tasty but still . . . lol

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Ok, I love Lula but c'mon man! In what universe does this sandwich qualify as a Po Boy?!


Alleged Shrimp Po Boy

Yes, it was tasty but still . . . lol

=R=

Totally would have worked to just call it shrimp on toast. You still would have ordered it I bet. It still would have been delicious. Jason must be at Marisol.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Alleged Shrimp Po Boy

Yes, it was tasty but still . . . lol

=R=

This has always been my biggest beef with Lula...calling a dish something, but failing to deliver on the promise, as good as the "bait & switch" item may be.

stevez wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Alleged Shrimp Po Boy

Yes, it was tasty but still . . . lol

=R=

This has always been my biggest beef with Lula...calling a dish something, but failing to deliver on the promise, as good as the "bait & switch" item may be.

I think of it more as artistic license, which I do appreciate. But still, some quotation marks around Po Boy, which I don't recall seeing, would have at least alerted me to ask a question or 2 about the dish.

=R=

We had a beautiful, relaxed, convivial first dinner at Lula last night. Maybe it was the early seating on a Monday, but it was about as friendly, warm, and food-focused of an atmosphere as we could've hoped for. Echoes of Zuni cafe. Sunchoke dip with flatbread and lamb neck agnolotti really hit the spot. So good, I feel sheepish that it has taken us so many years to get there.