3408 N. Clark St., Chicago
(Red or Brown Line to Belmont, walk 1.5 blocks east to Clark and north 2 blocks to Roscoe)
(773) 248-6613
The Pick Me Up was one of my favorite places when I first moved to Chicago, and I still really like it. They're open late (24 hours on weekends) and have several good vegan dishes and desserts. My favorites are the Vegan French Toast, the Vegan Tofu Scrambler dish, the Vegan Pancakes, and the Vegan Shakes. Pick Me Up has the best french fries in town!
They used to consistently have good vegan desserts, but the last few times I've gone it's been spotty because they were in-between vegan bakers. Maybe they've found a good one now, I'll post an update when I go back next. The interior is even more disjointed (I believe one entire interior wall is covered in vinyl siding!) and full of bad "retro" wall schlock than the Chicago Diner, but don't hold that against it because they also have cozy booths and cute servers who know what vegan means. It's a good place to peruse the latest Onion or Reader and people-watch, though they don't encourage loafing when it's busy (around bar closing time, etc).
Word of warning: this place is dangerously close to Wrigley Field, so it can start to look like Assholeville in summer months, thanks to sloppy drunken jocks trying to impress their girlfriends. I really hate Wrigleyville, and if it wasn't for a handful of places like the PMU, I'd level all of the retarded sports bars and annex that square mile or so to Indiana.
Sample Dishes from Pick Me Up Cafe
Pick Me Up Cafe Vegan French Toast of the gods. They make it right here. It's super easy to make at home too, just french bread, soymilk, vanilla and flour.
Pick Me Up Cafe They make an excellent tofu scramble, complete with tasty salsa and hearty bread on the side. Perfect every time.
Pick-Me-Up Cafe Bumpen-Grinder sandwich without cheese. Looks very similar to what I called Mediterranean Pizza before...maybe the same dish?
Pick Me Up Cafe Vegan French Toast of the gods. They make it right here. It's super easy to make at home too, just french bread, soymilk, vanilla and flour.
Pick Me Up Cafe Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie (may not be available now).
Pick-Me-Up Cafe Vegan Carrot Cake, (may not be available now).
(may not still have this)
(may not still have this)
Pick Me Up Cafe They make AWESOME vegan shakes here, in several great flavors. They'll run you about $5 apiece though.
Pick Me Up Cafe Vegan chocolate cake by Desserts by Rebecca. This was on my birthday and Michelle decorated it nicely.
Pick-Me-Up Cafe One of my all-time favorite snacks, for taste and economy, the Vegan Rice Krispie Treat.
Please note: My site is NOT any kind of official "Chicago Vegan" site. For a great restaurant guide from an excellent organization, visit VegChicago.com. With the proliferation of digital cameras and cheap web hosting, I encourage every vegan to document their own good-looking vegan food to share with the world...the more the scarier!
