LUCKY OVEN

Jeanne's take:
We arrived at Lucky Oven around 9:30 on a Saturday and the restaurant was pretty crowded. Paul found a table by the window and held it while I waited (and waited and waited) in line to order. When you first go through the line, the bakery case is in front of you. There were many delicious looking treats in the case, including a few tarts and cinnamon buns. There's no menu displayed so if you miss that there are paper menus on top or around the bakery case, you will not know what to order until you get to the register (where there are a pile of menus). I think that's what held up the line so much; people not knowing what to order til the last minute.
When I was finally helped I ordered the brioche french toast and a vanilla iced latte. I had stopped in the weekend prior to get a coffee while Fargo our terrier got a haircut across the street at Dreadlocks for Dingoes. I noticed someone had ordered the brioche french toast and it looked amazing. So amazing that I texted my friend Jen to tell her. Well, when it arrived it was burnt and tasted like toast. If the cook dipped it in the egg mixture it was for a few seconds at best. It was dry and not flavorful. The whipped cream on top was unsweetened which made it more unappealing. I dumped all the syrup on top to hopefully salvage it, but nothing helped. I was super disappointed.

The coffee wasn't all that good, either. I have a pretty high standard since I work for a coffee roaster, I admit, but the coffee was heavy and bitter and not enjoyable. I could not finish the french toast because it was just not appealing at all. Customers need to bus their own dishes and get their own water, too. I was so curious about Lucky Oven Bakery for so long, but I don't think I'd return. For the price, I did not think it was worth the trip and headache of such a small and cramped space.
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2 out of 4 stars
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Paul's take:
Jeanne and me decided that we would try writing a blog about breakfast places in the Twin Cities. We thought it would be fun to do 52 different places in one year. We are both chefs and we both like to learn about and discover new places and food.
First place that we went to was Lucky oven.
My first impression upon walking in was that it was small and claustrophobic and there was already a large line for ordering food. My first thought was I better grab a table because we might not even get a place to sit. Jeanne got in line and waited to place our order. Jeanne suggested I go get us some waters and silverware at the self-help table. The water cambro was empty.
I thought the choices on the menu were pretty basic and nothing really jumped out at me. I decided to go with a breakfast sandwich because a lot of places seem to do a decent job of making that.
A food runner came over to me and asked me if I ordered a dark roast coffee. Since thats what I told Jeanne to order for me, I said yes.
The coffee was really bad. I had to go to the self-help table for cream and sugar and thats fine.
Jeanne finally came to the table with our number. After a little while a food runner came over with Jeanne's cold press coffee and a dark roast for me. I said i already got one and the runner shrugged her shoulders and asked me if I wanted this one. I said sure.
Our food finally arrived and my sandwich was pretty good. Jeanne's French toast looked huge and burnt.
I thought the overall ambience of the place was terrible. From the small cramped entry and the line in the way to the small little tables. The coffee was so bad I didn't even drink half of one. Jeanne didn't like her meal at all.
I don't wish to ever go back
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1 out of 4 stars
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