$$ - average
American
Fifties-esque diner with lots of vegan-friendly food
The Pick Me Up is a nice place to grab a bite to eat, especially late at night. The interior is decorated with fifties memorabilia, and is amusingly kitschy. The menu features many vegetarian and vegan selections, including breakfast items and desserts.
Added by Dave Rolsky on Mar 11 03 (updated Jan 28 04)
Reviews
I had no idea this place was in my back yard until I checked out the guide! The service was outstanding, and I tried the vegan French Toast, which was fabulous. I also had an excellent soy hot cocoa. It has a mix of vegetarian/vegan and non-vegetarian/vegan items.
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I've been hear *many* times since my first visit, and I'm totally in love with it. The vegan French Toast is the best in the city.
i can't believe this isn't in your top restaurants- the food is great, they have breakfast too, they are open late night, i always get the same server- but he is cool- pick me up should get way more credit
Although they only have a few vegan options, they do them all really well. The Vegan French Toast is my absolute favorite, and their vegan milkshakes are amazing. I also like the Humboldt County (Spinach and Tofu scramble). They also have vegan pancakes and a dairy-free pizza.
This place rocks. The waitstaff are really friendly and will remember you if you come often enough (one waitress even guesses what my order will be whenever I come in and she is usually right). The ambience is very eclectic, with tables decorated with Monopoly, Scrabble and other game pieces (although my favorite table is painted in a hypnotic spiral and actually spins). The cakes are amazing. The strawberry cake has actually pieces of strawberries mixed in with the batter. The milkshakes are made with Chicago Soydairy soymilk and soy ice cream, and come in exciting flavors like chai and wild berry. Pick Me Up is probably most known for its vegan french toast, although the tofu cheese pizza is also a notable entree. It's a great place to hang out (or type on your laptop) late at night when everything else is closed.
I must admit, I really love this place. It's cool, it's open to godawful hours of the morning, and getting vegan stuff is easy. And the food's pretty darn good. Get some of the best vegan cake in the city, and QUALITY vegan french toast. Shy away from the veggie burger, though - they just pull something out of a box and put it on a bun. Not a good something, either.
This is the best place in town to get a vegan breakfast or late night snack. Lots of things on the menu are vegan but not necessarily labeled as such--when in doubt, ask the knowledgeable waitstaff. It's not terribly cheap, but the portions are decent. A few words of warning: the service can be a tad slow, and the stir-fry is less than stellar. Instead, try the vegan berry pancakes. They're to die for.
very lively atmosphere. open 24 hours. located in the young hipsters part of town. really good hummos and vegetables and warm pita bread, for 5 bucks or so. really big portions! not all the desserts are vegan (the ones that are aren't really that tasty either), and the cake portions are a little too small for my tastes. oh yea, the waitresses will sit at your table and try to engage in conversation with you, so be prepared.
duck-call and sheep-call friendly.
This is the perfect place to go with a bunch of friends after a late night show. Casual environment, vegan breakfast anytime.
Consider the following:
*If you want a great vegetarian / vegan place -- the Chicago Diner is TWO BLOCKS from here. Particularly, they serve this same kind of food, but better.
"If you want a great place for both meat lovers and vegetarians, Ping Pong is about FIVE BLOCKS away, and serves exciting dishes!
My friends and I ate here recently. We found our server to be helpful (she made substitutions with no problems), and very friendly. We tried the vegan french toast (good, but inferior to the Chicago Diner's), the tofu scramble (greasy, filling, and flavorless). One friend said that the coffee was meh. We rounded things up with a vegan mocha milkshake--good, but thinner (i.e. less good) than the Chicago Diner's. I bring up the Chicago Diner, because again: two blocks away. The food I got seemed to be the best vegan / vegetarian stuff on the menu -- I wouldn't purposely go here again.
There're two reasons, however, that YOU might wanna go to this place:
*You're in Lakeview on a weekend, and you need an all-night food place that has some vegetarian options.
*You're with some people who absolutely need meat, and others who absolutely don't, AND your party absolutely needs diner food.