I received several request on Lucky's Cafe. I also decided to post Vine and Bean as well since it's the sister restaurant. Enjoy.

Just What the Doctor(s) Ordered
By Lowell Chang, MD and James Tarbox, MD

Lucky’s Café
777 Starkweather, Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 622-7773
http://www.luckyscafe.com

In a world full of Starbuck's on every corner and at your workplace, it’s nice to get something a little different. Take a gamble and perhaps you’ll find something different at Lucky’s Café in Tremont.

Here is some background why this place differs from other cafes. The owner and chef of Lucky’s is Heather Haviland who has trained in the art of pastry making in various locations around the country. Prior to her stint as owner and chef in her own establishments, she worked as the pastry chef at Fire, Food, and Drink in Shaker Square. Now one can find her pastries at her own restaurants

Our misadventure began when we were looking for a burger place in Tremont. After finding out our original target served only at dinner time, we made a detour. When we walked into this cafe, it appeared to be the standard coffee and pastry stop. However, upon closer examination of the menu, we found some great selections. Since we were still in the mood for burgers, we decided on ordering the Lucky Burger. This was one mean burger with a nice thick burger patty, topped with a sunny-side up egg and nice smoky bacon. This may seem strange, but you basically get brunch more efficiently. It also comes with fresh chips and coleslaw.

Even more impressive than the burger was the mac-n-cheese. This is not your ordinary microwave mac-n-cheese because this one comes with four different types of cheese all baked together in gooey goodness. We also opted for the optional bacon, enhancing an already great dish.

The "icing on the cake" for our food adventure this time was literally the desserts. After all, this is the chef's forte.

Overall, the food tasted fresh and aligned more on the gourmet side of cuisine rather than café. The chef also makes it a point to use locally grown produce. The atmosphere is comfortable and homey providing both comforts of indoors and outdoors. While indoors you are provided a great place to study along with wi-fi access, and, if the weather is nice, the picnic area provides a good place to kick back and enjoy a tasty meal. We rolled the dice on this adventure and hit the jackpot.

Scale of 0 to 5 (0 being the odds are against you and you will not win, 5 means time to go all in on a royal flush)
Food & Drink: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4 (Limited number of staff, but friendly)
Bang for the buck: 4 (prices for the food tend to be higher, but portions and taste are good)
TOTAL: 17/20

-Dr. Chang

Dr. Tarbox’s two cents:
I never thought macaroni and cheese could taste so good, the bacon on it was superb. The fried egg on the burger was a nice addition and dang tasty.

Food & Drink: 5 (Everything I had was great, the homemade pie ala mode for dessert was the clincher).
Atmosphere: 4 (Dang bee kept on trying to eat our food while sitting outside).
Service: 4 (Seemed like the cashier was the wait staff and the busboy all rolled into one. Very nice though and the chef also greets people at their table).
Bang for the Buck: 4 (Great food at prices a little higher than usual for lunch, but worth it).
TOTAL: 17/20


If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas for restaurants to visit, please e-mail us at: tarboxj@ccf.org and changl@ccf.org. Thank you.