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Uptown Kitchen brings 'funky' to Toscana Park
 MARKET BASKET
By HEIDI PRESCOTT
South Bend Tribune Columnist
When Jonathan Lutz turned 7, his mother took him to an apple orchard. They picked enough to bake a whole bunch of pies, somewhere around 20 of them. Yes, 20 pies that they gave to friends and neighbors.
"My mom was one of those moms who loved to cook, and she literally prepared a gourmet dinner for us almost every night of the week growing up," Lutz says. "By the time I was 10, if people asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I wanted to own a restaurant."
Today, he does.
Lutz is opening the Uptown Kitchen, at Toscana Park, the new Mishawaka shopping center on Gumwood Road. He says the Bongo Room and On Common Ground in Chicago influenced the breakfast menu that will be served all day, and the restaurant's eclectic decor.
Lutz describes the ambiance as "funky," with the exposed kitchen behind a curved red counter, abstract paintings of the Chicago skyline, and the unusual candle holder above the hostess stand. It's adorned with spoons.
"We tried to make it something casual and comfortable, but with a touch of class," he says. "This is going to be the type of restaurant that appeals to the families that populate many of the neighborhoods in this area."
Lutz describes a few items from the menu to differentiate his venue from IHOP, Le Peep and others that serve breakfast all day. There's a pancake soufflé with a black raspberry drizzle, fresh lemon and powdered sugar. Another item he believes will be popular is the stuffed french toast, filled with bananas, chocolate, caramel, cream cheese or honey.
He plans to use organic eggs and imported cheeses. Bread will be baked fresh to accompany the omelets, scramblers, waffles and crepes, and he'll serve Brazilian and Ethiopian coffees. The cost per person is expected to be a dollar or two more than other casual dining restaurants, but he says this is not any ordinary restaurant.
"There aren't a whole lot of restaurants where you walk in and say, 'Wow, this is pretty cool,' " he says. "Toscana Park is going to be something very unique to this area."
Uptown Kitchen seats about 90 indoors, and it will eventually seat another 40 outside.
Hours will be 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
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