Restaurant Review: Take Pride and visit Lakeview’s Wake ‘n Bacon
During Pride Month in June, many restaurants throughout the city of Chicago are stepping up to support the LGBTQ+ community with rainbow-themed beverages, desserts, and other delights. Many offer these throughout the month in support of nonprofits providing vital community services.
Take, for example, Lakeview’s Wake ‘n Bacon, which is donating a portion of the proceeds from every sale of its rainbow-hued Halo Halo Chia Chia Pudding to Howard Brown Health’s Broadway Youth Center during Chicago’s annual Pride Parade on Sunday, June 30.
The self-proclaimed “Most Instagrammable restaurant in Chicago” provides brunch and dinner crowds with creatively displayed Asian and Latin-influenced comfort food in a airy, playful, family-friendly environment.
Well worth the $15 price tag and donation to a good cause is the Halo Halo Chia Chia, a healthy and flavorful chia pudding topped with seasonal fresh fruits, green coconut jelly, and sprinkled with Fruity Pebbles (the cereal, that is.)
Pair the pudding with a creative coffee concoction like their house specialty, the Purple Haze, a blend ofUbe coconut milk, mixed with Brewpoint’s Stargazer coffee and your choice of whole milk or oat milk.
Brunch favorites offer a variety of sweet and savory combinations, including The Phatty, a flour tortilla rolled with crispy potatoes, scrambled eggs, black beans, rice, cheddar cheese, maple peppercorn bacon, and fresh salsa verde, served with tater tots. Their Ube Flap Jack Stack is an ube pancake with tater tot bits, topped with your choice of bacon, sunny-side up eggs, and cheddar cheese, accompanied by spiced maple syrup, and garnished with pickled peppers and green onions. The #BAEgoal is a bagel sandwich filled with an over easy eggs, lemon herb cream cheese, tomato & with your choice of house bacon or Spam, served with tater tots. Cheez & Chong is a blend of provolone, pepper jack, and cheddar cheeses, house-made bacon jam with caramelized onions, chipotle mayo and grilled onions on brioche bread.
Sweet sensations include a memorable Turtle Waffle, which is their special Hong Kong-style fluffy bubble waffle, topped with house-made Mexican chocolate sauce, house made caramel, candied pecans, and whipped cream. Maui WOWie is a sandwich of Hawaiian bread, Spam, Tajin-spiced grilled pineapples, chipotle mayo, and scrambled eggs. Their Big Bird is a fried chicken thigh, glazed in a sweet & tangy ‘crack’ sauce (should we ask?) topped with fresh sriracha slaw and mustard pickles on a brioche bun.
All orders come with tater tots, unless otherwise specified, and can be prepared to fit vegan and vegetarian specifications.
Their dinner menu, served weekends, include such whimsical starters as their Wham Bam Thank You Spam– spiced battered spam fries served with house made chipotle mayo dip, and their Thai Me Down Salad of colorful red pepper, red and green cabbage, topped with fried wontons and Thai peanut salad dressing.
Entrees include their Bombazo Pambazo, a Mexican-style sandwich filled with chorizo, potatoes, avocado, sour cream, pineapple pickled red onions, which is served on bolillo bread and brushed with guajillo salsa and griddled. Their Zen Bowl is teriyaki tofu, roasted cabbage, caramelized onions, red peppers, and carrots, sprinkled with white sesame seeds and served on a bed of fragrant garlic rice. Holy Al Pastor Tacos have grilled chicken thighs marinated in achiote, garlic, and pineapple, topped with roasted pineapple salsa, onion and cilantro, and served in corn tortillas.
Google reviewers were ecstatic.
“This place is such a cool café!” wrote one reviewer. “The chia seed pudding I had was so good its been 2 weeks since I went and I’m deadass still thinking about it, tbh I was wary at first because the fruity pebbles in it threw me off but it adds literally the perfect crunch to the dish! If you’re an ube lover the purple haze drink is to die for I loved it sm! They also have a digital mirror that takes customizable pictures for either just you or friends too!”
“Efficient, kind staff,” wrote another. “Order at the table on an app which makes it really easy for groups to order their own food. Recommend public transport to get here as parking is tough in the area. Solid food and great drinks!”
Wake n’Bacon is located at 420 W. Belmont Avenue. Open seven days a week, ‘Everyday Brunch’ is served 8am – 4pm, and ‘Weekend Dinners’ from Fridays-Sundays are served 4pm-9pm. Reservations are required, whether it’s for one or 14 people. For more information, click here.
Happy Pride Month, all!!
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
