When the Guy Page finds a special waitress, who goes above and beyond to be a good human, we like to take note. Here’s another Favorite Waitress.
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You spot Angela Meade-Tatum the moment you enter Karyn’s Cooked — eyes as big as the saucers on which she serves tofu wraps, a smile as bright and healthy as the peach smoothies she blends behind the counter. The waitress is warm and welcoming enough to make even carnivores forget they’re in a vegan diner. “People are paying to be here,” she said. “They should be treated well.”
That means asking a patron on crutches if she’d like help carrying her takeout to the car or racing behind the counter to find a recipe for the creamed corn. “I like to be on my feet, not stuck behind a desk,” she said. “I was a cheerleader in college, and I taught dance — I like to keep moving.”
Recently transplanted from Los Angeles, the 25-year-old Wrigleyville resident is waitressing while taking a break from a career in fashion merchandising. At a model’s 5-foot-8, she towers over some of her lunch patrons and meets the eyes of the drinking crowd at Victory Liquors, where she serves — and sips — martinis a few nights a week.
Half Irish-American (with freckles courtesy of mom). Half African-American (with caramel skin from dad). Tall and beautiful in chunky black shoes, she’s likely not your dad’s image of a diner waitress.
But then, how often did dad eat at vegan diners?
Meade-Tatum serves lunch at Karyn’s Cooked, 738 N. Wells St., on Tuesdays and slings drinks at Victory Liquors, 2610 N. Halsted St., on Monday nights.