Balls of tin foil line the ceilings. Black and white photos and colorful portrait paintings seem arbitrarily placed above tables with mismatched tablecloths. Sculptures of fish made from old mailboxes and coffee cans hang from thin wires.
Welcome to the Lucky Platter.
Tucked away near the Main El stop at 514 Main St., the restaurant serves “funkalicious post-Hippy eclectic world cuisine” for customers who are almost as diverse as the menu.
“As an American chef who loves international stuff, you can see that we have Thai food, Jamaican food, Italian food,” said Eric Singer, co-owner and co-founder of the Lucky Platter. “I’m always going through cookbooks from lots of different places, so it’s a different way of doing things, but it works for me.”
The menu offers unique combinations, from fried green tomato omelettes to Tandoori chicken salads to Thai grilled tilapia. All the foods, including breads and soups, are made from scratch, Singer said. The restaurant is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“The food quality is consistently good and also fairly priced with very good service,” said David Trudman, a regular customer for 10 years. “Can’t beat that for a restaurant, right? Not only is the food eclectic, but the atmosphere’s eclectic. There’s always something to catch your eye.”
Singer and co-owner Ken Pospiech started the restaurant 19 years ago, and they still work in the kitchen every day, coming up with new ways to reinvent international food. Singer, 51, began cooking when he was 19 years old and said the wide range of foods comes from his interest in America’s diversity.
“I was born in this country, and I had a fascination with the fact that this country’s a real melting pot,” Singer said. “For me, I kind of play around with everything.”
Communication senior Amy Levine first came to the Lucky Platter two years ago and has continued going back to the restaurant for Saturday morning brunch. Levine said even though eating at the restaurant requires a car ride or hopping on the El, the menu offers a change from downtown Evanston.
“It’s different from brunch at Clarke’s or Le Peep because the omelettes are made from ingredients you wouldn’t expect, but it’s still good,” Levine said. “At most places, they give you pancakes or toast with your omelettes, but at the Lucky Platter, they give you apricot flakeys or a side of ginger fruit.”
Several of the waiters and cooks have stayed with the Lucky Platter for 10 to 15 years. Matthew Taaffee has been a waiter here for the past 10 years because of the flexible and casual atmosphere, which is reflected in the fact that waiters and servers don’t wear uniforms.
“There’s a different kind of customer that comes here,” Taaffee said. “They appreciate more cutting edge food and are willing to try everything.”
Taaffee said the most common question posed by customers is why tin foil balls are taped to the ceiling. The answer? The staff simply takes the tin foil from egg crates and makes random designs on the ceiling.
As for the other portraits and sculptures, Singer finds them at flea markets or thrift stores and places them around the restaurant without much science or formula.
“It’s a good, lively place to eat,” Taaffee said. “There’s never a dull minute, whether it’s the owners or the customers.”
