Lucky's Cafe - 06/15/2008

777 Starkweather Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 622-7773

Lucky's Cafe is easily one of the best little coffee shop/bistros I have ever been to. Lucky's is right at home in Tremont, easily Cleveland's most cultured neighborhoods with several art galleries/studios, a variety of respectable restaurants including the sister restaurant to Lola, Lolita.


On the weekends the restaurant serves simple yet delicious breakfast/brunch/lunch items. The food tends to be straightforward hearty selections. On both my visits the place had a fair amount of people but we were still able to get a table. Upon entering one usually gets in line to order, and after ordering goes to claim a table. Both indoor and outdoor seating is available with the outdoor seating in the middle of the garden that provides some of the produce used at the restaurant.

I ordered some random coffee drink, but the name now eludes me. I don't claim to be a coffee drinker and I certainly cannot appreciate all the subtle nuances in tasting coffee. All I remember was the coffee didn't simply taste like burning, which is pretty much all I taste on the rare occasions I have a cup of Starbucks coffee.


In the front there is also a wide assortment of pastries to go with the coffee. The pastries all look very good and are made by Chef Heather Haviland who also runs the pastry shop Sweet Mosaic Inc, sadly I am usually bursting full after breakfast and have yet to try any of the sweets.

Biscuits - Sausage Gravy with Cheddar Scallion Biscuit and Soft Scrambled Eggs, Served with Hash Browns and Grapes
Warm, crumbly, buttery biscuits topped with eggs and slathered with fatty gravy. On the sides are fried potatoes although it was listed on the menu as "hash browns."


Baked Mac-N-Cheese - Cheddar, Brie, Parmesan, and Mozzarella Cheeses, Baked with Pasta and Cream Topped with Brioche Bread Crumbs Served with House-made Applesauce
I am not normally a fan of Mac & Cheese but this was very good. The flavor is intensely cheesy and and just over the top rich and heavy especially with the addition of cream. Disturbingly unhealthy but extremely satisfying. The applesauce is thick and sweet and helps make the richness of the Mac-N-Cheese manageable.


Lucky's Cafe serves some very traditional breakfast and lunch foods. What makes the food stand out is the intensity of the flavors, like many of the foods we grew up with only done in the most unhealthy way possible. If I lived in the area I'd probably be here every weekend.