Waffles Café
Birthday Cake Wonut / Lemon Blueberry Wonut/ Mexican Chocolate Wonut
Pound Cake French Toast with Balsamic Berries
In search of something sweet after our disappointing lunch at Yum Cha it was to trendy hybrid food that we turned and walking from Millennium Park to Ohio Street in just under fifteen minutes our arrival at Waffles Café found the small store empty, a pile “wonuts” lying in wait alongside a menu of items both sweet and savory. Long, narrow, and clearly redesigned from whatever once stood in its place with tables doubling as chalkboards for youngsters and those young at heart it was too off-kilter service that we were greeted and after being grumbled at for filling my own glass with ice and water an order was placed, a trio of pastries arriving moments later while the kitchen readied our menu selection, a twenty-five minute process that made me wonder exactly how the restaurant would keep pace if it were actually busy. Beginning first with a deep fried white waffle lacquered in overly sweet glaze and a dollop of sprinkled frosting suffice it to say that our first bites of the restaurant’s signature item were not only underwhelming but far too oily and progressing onward to a Lemon-Blueberry variant sorely lacking in citrus the theme continued, only the chocolate topped option studded with cinnamon even remotely memorable and still nowhere near as good as many of Chicago’s donuts or waffles. Again turning our attention to newly decorated table while beverage refills languished it was after the aforementioned delay that three slices of ‘pound cake’ French Toast arrived and ignoring the generally unattractive plating I’ll simply say “at least it was better than the wonuts,” as crumbly bits of cake lightly tossed with custard served as a pleasant backdrop to mushy strawberries that very well may have been frozen plus a drizzle of balsamic that helped remedy a spritz of Rediwhip that I’d have refused if it had been listed in the item’s description.
RECOMMENDED: If you must, the Mexican Hot Chocolate Wonut should satisfy your curiosity.
AVOID: Buying the hype of the Wonut, in general.
TIP: Apparently one of two Waffles Cafes I’ve been told that the Wonut is better at the Lakeview location but suffice it to say I would neither make nor recommend the trek to find out.
http://wafflescafechicago.com/
