Restaurant Review: Showing love for Roscoe Village’s Lucy’s Café

Happy Valentine’s Day, 💘 with love, from Dean’s Team Chicago! 

Today, we’re showing love to our Roscoe Village friends by showcasing Lucy’s Café.

The intimate, family-owned storefront serves made-to-order American-style breakfasts, brunches, and lunches. French toasts, pancakes, waffles, burgers, wraps, omelets, scrambles, salads, soups, chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, and eggs Benedict.

Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options are available. And they are kind enough to let everyone know what their kitchen is capable of within each menu item.

For something different, try their Street Corn Style Avocado Toast, served with fried potatoes. Crushed avocado is paired with jalapeños, sautéed corn, feta, and  cilantro for a spicy start to the day. French Toast Flight is one piece of each of their peerless raspberry, original, honey-pecan and blueberry French toast, sprinkled with powdered sugar. California Eggs Benedict has two grilled halves of an English muffin, each with tomato, avocado, and a poached egg, topped with Hollandaise sauce and fresh chive, and served with fried potatoes or side salad. Eggs in a Basket has a thick slice of multigrain bread, with two eggs, grilled and topped with homemade pesto, sun-dried tomato, and feta cheese, and served with fried potatoes or side salad.

Lunch options include a new Baja Chicken Salad,  with grilled veggie chicken, black bean and corn salsa, avocado, feta, corn tortillas, over a bed of mixed spring greens and cilantro. Salsa verde dressing comes on the side. Or, try the Quinoa Salad, with chopped walnuts, feta, fresh grapes, avocado, red onions, quinoa, brown rice, over a bed of mixed spring greens. Lemon basil dressing is also served on the side. Peasants Lunch is a bowl of soup and two pieces of grilled multigrain bread, each topped with homemade pesto and goat cheese. Waffle Pizza is a savory Belgian waffle topped with sautéed mushrooms, jalapeños, sausage, and onions, and melted pepper jack cheese. 

Still have meat cravings? Lucy’s Café is there for you, too. Bacon Cheeseburger, with your choice of patty (homemade, Impossible, veggie chicken) topped with grilled red onion, cheddar cheese and veggie bacon, comes with mixed greens, tomato, pickle spear and tamari-mayo spread, and served with fried potatoes or side salad. (Impossible or chicken patty add $3.00). 

Vegetarians are well-represented. Try their Coconut-Peanut Wrap, a mix of tofu, broccoli, red pepper, mushroom, onion, and zucchini, simmered in a coconut-peanut sauce with brown rice inside a warm flour tortilla, and served with fried potatoes or side salad.  The Eggless Wonder is marinated tofu sautéed with broccoli, onion, tomato, mushroom, zucchini, potato, and brown rice, and topped with goat cheese, and served with multigrain bread. 

But don’t just take my word for it! Google reviews were similarly pleased.

 “Cute little cafe, perfect for a brunch date,” one said. “I had the waffle pizza and it was delicious!! Served with the cutest little glass syrup bottle, and the perfect blend of sweet and savory.”

“Very cute place. Loved that they had vegan French toast and pancakes as that can be v hard to find. Service was great and quick and lovely artwork. Only wish they had alcoholic beverages and espresso drinks as we were craving those.”

Lucy’s Café is located at 2100 W. Roscoe Street. They are open Wednesday-Friday, 10am-2pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 9am – 3pm. They are closed Monday and Tuesday  Seating is first-come, first-served. Call 773-665-0227 for information. 

Here’s to love…and Lucy’s Café!💕

Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago