Ordering Dessert

on a meal at Lula Cafe, ordering the whole menu, and some pre-Thanksgiving pie.

A trip. A month ago, my brother Trevor visited us in Chicago for a quick weekend adventure away from Boston. Luckily like Kyle and me, he too was born with a general passion for food and the specific passion for ordering most of the menu, when possible. He was coming in on a Saturday and leaving on a Monday, giving us two dinners to share.

A confession. In the five and a half years we have lived in Chicago, we had not, until this point, eaten at Lula Cafe. If you are familiar with the restaurant and live in Chicago, you might liken this to a cardinal sin for someone who loves food. Lula is a Chicago institution born in 1999 in Logan Square and was a forerunner in the farm-to-table movement.

A stroke of luck. Part of the reason we have never gone to Lula is because, as you might guess, it has a glowing reputation that makes reservations nearly impossible to come by. So a mere five days before Trevor got here, I was shocked to find that there was a 5:15 PM reservation for Sunday night open and available for the three of us to waltz into.

A meal. Continuing our streak of luck, it was simultaneously 75 degrees in October and we were offered a table outside. The service was fantastic. We ordered nearly everything on the menu including four desserts. Yes, FOUR, and I need not justify this. Two kinds of ice cream, a slice of olive oil cake, and a slice of carrot cake. It was a celebration of a true life pleasure: sitting outside for dinner on a Chicago October evening with two of the most important guys in my life.

A takeaway (or a few). Going to dinner as a group of three is ideal if everyone is a sharer (which everyone really should be). Order dessert if it looks good; it is a rare regret. Get yourself to Lula Cafe, or at least check out the cookbook, if you want to indulge.

Speaking of the Lula cookbook - I’m making a recipe from it for Friendsgiving this weekend that I thought I’d share, as it may be relevant for a variety of holiday and/or seasonal depression-curing applications: Sweet Potato Pie with Cardamom Marshmallows.

I made the crust today and will be finishing the rest of it tomorrow. While I can’t confirm the success of this recipe quite yet, everything we’ve made from this book so far has been fantastic, albeit usually complicated. But it’s worth it if you’re looking to have fun in your kitchen and fill some long dark nights with the perfect home-cooked meal and at least one dessert.

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