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September 5 - 11, 2001 Also in this week's Shepherd Express: Fall Fine Arts Guide: A look ahead at local theater, dance, visual art and classical music Film: Reviews of Rat Race and The Legend of Rita Local Music: Milwaukee rock band Pet Engine

World Fusion by Jeff Beutner

   Cafe LuLu, located in Bayview, is owned by Cameryne Roberts and Sarah Jonas. Their combined experience includes stints at Crawdaddy’s, Slim Mc Ginn’s, Soup Bros and Zappa’s, an around-the-world tour in itself. Noodles & Company is an aspiring chain now with over two dozen locations in for states. Two are in this area, one in Fox Point and one near UWM.

   Cafe LuLu has more character, a classic vintage diner that feels in some ways more like an old George Webb’s than the current ones do. At the entrance there is a deli case filled with botles of microbrew and imported beers. There is a small wine list and a liquor selection just large enough to make a martini. This, after all, clearly is not a greasy spoon! Two chalk boards list the specials of the week, a soup, two salads and sandwiches. The flavors of the week may be Moroccan, Szechuan, French, Mexican or still more. Sit at a table or at the lunch counter while the ceiling fans lazily spin. The simple formica tables have vases with colorful gerbera daisies. Works by local artists decorate the walls while an upper ledge is filled with cookbooks and a statuette of Big Boy.

   Clearly the owners enjoy cooking and a sense of the eclectic. A salad sampled recently was a Mexican inspired shrimp ceviche verde ($6.25). The shrimp were quite large, about a half dozed shelled and split in two, and were mixed with bits of jalapeno pepper, scallions, avocado and cilantro on a bed of field greens. A dusting of ground red pepper surrounded everything. But the most unusual touch was the use of chopped, fresh tomatillos adding a tart flavor. In Mexican cooking tomatillos are normally parboiled before being used in moles and salsas. This is the only time I sampled them raw. One point for innovation!

   A sandwich, Szechuan pork loin ($6) was a lean thick piece of meat encrusted with aromatic Szechuan peppercorns, a mildly spicy mango-chile ketchup and a dash of fresh field greens. Another hit. One week found cream of potato with leek soup ($3-$4), a delight with clear flavors enhanced with a topping of toasted leeks. There was also a shiitake burger ($6.75), a half pound of ground beef topped with swiss cheese and something described as shiitake mushroom catsup. The catsup was a tapenade of shiitake mushrooms with the distinct flavor of Worcestershire sauce. Very suitable! All sandwiches include a choice of LuLu chips or Asian slaw. The chips are homemade potato chips cooked to a flavorful deep brown. The slaw is cabbage with carrot, noodles, peanuts and the flavor of sesame oil. It is easy to see why the cafe is so popular with locals.

   The Oakland Ave, Noodles & Company occupies a former Mc Donald’s so extensively remodelled that this former home of Happy Meals is unrecognizable. The interior has a contempory Japanese feel with wave-shaped pieces of blond wood suspended from the ceiling. The place is semi-self service. You order at a counter and within minutes it will be delivered to your table. Do not be discouraged if there is a line of waiting customers. This place is an exemplar of efficiency. Every item has noodles from the Thai curry soup to the Mediterranean noodle salad and a homey Wisconsin macaroni & cheese. Other locales of inspiration include Japan, Indonesia and an generous dash of Italy.

   This is vegetarian fast food heaven. Meat is an extra with all items ($1.45-$1.95). The shrimp are unimpressive but none of these items really need any meat except perhaps the mushroom stroganoff. Side items include salads and pita bread. And the bottled beverages do include beer. Noodles is quite unlike the typical fast food experience. The Wisconsin mac & cheese ($4.50) is perfect wintertime fare topped with plenty of shredded cheddar and jack cheese. Spicy peanut ($5.54) is Vietnamese-inspired, rice noodles with leaf lettuce topped with cucumber, carrot, peanuts and a sprig of cilantro. The dressing has an appropriate spicy kick.

   Mediterranean noodle salad ($4.95), with many Greek ingredients, takes many liberties. It has corkscrew-shaped cavatappi pasta with fresh tomatoes, spinach and red onions. But sliced California black olives do not taste Mediterranean at all, the feta cheese is extremely mild and the creamy garlic tzazaki sauce is more like the sauce on a Sentry macaroni salad if not for the heavy use of garlic. But this is the exception. Pasta fresca ($5.45) uses penne pasta, fresh tomato, spinach and onion far more successfully in an Italian spirit. At these prices it’s easy to see why there nearly always is a line at the counter.