By Summar Ghias
Sure, cupcakes are a little played out, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try a new bakery when I see one. Next door to the cozy Noble Tree Café in Lincoln Park, the Meatloaf Bakery just happens to be one gimmick ahead of its standard sweet competitors.
The shop dishes out savory comfort food cupcakes – or in their terms, loaves – in all sorts of down-home flavors. The most bizarre of the bunch: A Wing and A Prayer loaf, made of chicken and celery combined with hot and spicy wing sauce and blue cheese.
Ok, I know it sounds weird, but I promise you, these “cupcakes” were divine. I tried the Omega-3 loaf, which was made of Wild caught Alaskan salmon, lemon, parsley and dill and topped with wasabi mashed potatoes (i.e. the frosting). It was served with a delicious lemon-dill yogurt sauce. My friend got the Chicken Shish Ka loaf, made with chicken, parsley, red onions and herbs and topped with Yukon smashers. All I can say is we were two happy mid-evening snackers.
The loaves are expensive at $7.95 and up a pop, but given the intricacy of flavors and the carb-heavy frosting to fill you up, it’s definitely worth a try. And, if you’re not willing to shell out that kind of money, you can always try a bite-sized loafie for $2 instead.
Restaurant Info:
The Meatloaf Bakery
2464 N. Clark Street
nr. W Roslyn Pl.
773-698-6667
Lincoln Park, Chicago