Baladoché

http://www.baladoche.com/

2905 N Clark St
(between Oakdale Ave & Surf St) Chicago, IL 60657

Closest CTA stop: Wellington (Purple Express or Brown)

My quest begins at Baladoché, a small store-front shop in the Lakeview neighborhood. I dragged several friends along with me, just so I didn't have to sample everything by myself. As we approached the store, the sweet aroma of fresh waffles drew us in. And, after seeing the sign outside and stopping for a quick photo-op (I won't go into their choice of advertising here), we went in. 

We were promptly greeted by the young woman behind the counter, who, after asking if we had ever been there before (answer: no), started on a long, drawn-out, theatrical description of the history of the Liege waffle and its ingredients, as well as all of the other Euro-imports the shop sells. It took forever to make all of our waffles - because she wouldn't stop talking as she made them - and she kept trying to sell us on different combinations. Point to take away: don't go in here if you want a "quick" waffle, or if over-the-top sales pitches really annoy you.

Once we had our waffles, we scrounged up some seats. The store was steamy and a little too warm, and the seats were hard to come by. The feel of the restaurant wasn't too cozy. The waffles, though, *gasp* were so good. I ordered the simple, no-frills Liege, topped with pearled sugar, and my friend ordered a Liege topped with two scoops of nocciola (hazelnut) and dark chocolate gelato. 

While this was all good, since the "ambiance" wasn't my style, and at $5 for a simple Liege with a sprinkle of pearled sugar on top (and even more for the fancy one...), I won't be back for a while.