Lakeside Cafe

Because it has snowed half a foot, it's the closest eating establishment within walking distance to our home and because they have terrific chocolate cake, we walked to Lakeside Cafe for dessert tonight.

Today I was also going through some old writing on the computer and came across this tidbit I wrote two years ago. (I'm sure things/hours/people have changed since.) This was for an assignment in grad school. Find a food joint an make it seem interesting. Luckily, I found an intersting food joint.

Ah how I love reading these old assignments. I am trying so desperately hard to sound like a reporter.

The smell of basil and garlic saturate the air outside the new vegetarian Lakeside Café on Howard Avenue in Rogers Park. Flanking a mechanic’s garage and alley, the café seems outright misplaced, especially considering that the avenue’s most popular eateries are Popeye’s Chicken and Dunkin Donuts. But to owner Jeffery Tippman, the café is exactly where it should be.

Inside, locals enjoy zucchini bisque, grilled cheese with pesto, gourmet coffee and cinnamon banana milk while soothing acoustic music plays in the background. Though there are still several empty tables, the place is far from vacant. Friends catch up; others sit quietly with a book, unwinding after a long day.

Café managers Amy Mareing and Patrick O’Neil, who are at the café everyday during the open hours of 3pm-10pm, joke with each other in the large open kitchen where customers can watch their food be made. Underneath shelves stacked high with soup bowls and spices, whole grain noodles boil on the stove. And just steps away, through a closed door that could easily be overlooked, guided mediations take place.
Jeffery, who prefers to go by his first name, and his partner Amona opened Lake Side Café/ I.M.U. (Inner Metamorphosis University) a month ago in order to offer people a place to shake off the grittiness of everyday life. “The Café is a place where people can relax, be themselves and eat affordable and delicious healthy food.” Jeffery believes that good health and nutrition make a person more balanced and ready to explore their true emotions and to ultimately find joy.

A book titled The Source of Joy Within by I.M.U. initiator, Bhaskar Perinchery, which is sold in the café, states that “With a true sensitivity every moment is sacred, every act is sacred, and every place is sacred. Once you attain that vision for yourself, once you become aware of what sacredness is, and once you learn to approach the sacred in the correct manner, you will start seeing that sacredness is present in every single moment.”

“Joy is natural,” Jeffery explains “It is a part of every human experience. Finding joy is just a matter of getting beyond the fog.”
But you won’t be bombarded with meditation instructors putting on pressure to join the classes. Only a subtle bookshelf leans against the back wall with inspirational books, I.M.U. newsletters and Jeffery’s business card which simply reads, “Inner Metamorphosis University –Jeffrey—Silence & Celebration.” The café is first and foremost a place to relax, whether that means for you, the newspaper and some freshly squeezed grapefruit juice or Guided Inner Letting Go. In fact, you are lucky to catch Jeffery as he works quietly behind the scenes.

You are almost guaranteed, however, a cheerful hello from managers O’Neil and Mareing. Together they cover everything from food orders to cooking to keeping the place tidy, with only a break on Tuesdays when they are closed. But they still find time to ask opinions on the recipes and to sit for a moment with visitors they know.
Already, Lake Side Café is a place where people of the neighborhood know that they are welcome. A man comes inside needing a quarter for his two dimes and nickel. O’Neil gladly obliges with a “Have a good rest of your day.” Mareing sings with the background music as she wipes down a table. And a customer sighs as he throws a magazine in the recycling bin. “That was the best grilled cheese I’ve had all day,” he proclaims with a giant smile. Those within earshot are tempted to giggle until they realize that he means it with all his heart.