I was saddened to have heard about Lucky's passing on 10 News on Thursday. Lucky Wong, the namesake of Lucky's Breakfast, which will always remain Lucky's Golden Phenix to me passed away on December 30th.
I wish I had one last chance to drop by and tell him how much I appreciated his kindness, sense of humor, and generosity. In fact, when I mentioned "During the middle of last month I headed up to North Park to grab a late breakfast from a place I hadn't been to in a year or so. Sadly, the place was closed….I'm not sure what's going on but will do an update once I get all the info." in my post on Rising Sun, it was Lucky's I was referring to. And then, in the middle of last month, I took this photo of Lucky's when having our Happy Hour at Finca.
About 30 minutes later, Lucky walked up to check the mail and was entering the building. The Missus told me that I should walk on over and see how things were with him. I told Her that I didn't want to bother him. Ah yes, regrets……
I've done only five posts on Lucky's over the years, starting from that first visit in 2008, though I've visited a couple of more times.
"CC" sent me a text yesterday about Lucky's passing. She had actually dropped by to pay her respects. Over the years, she's done a couple of posts (these days you'll find her on Instagram) on Lucky's, the last being in 2019.
Mary of This Tasty Life (who is also now on Instagram) has also done a couple of posts on Lucky's as well. As has Dennis, who has made his blog private.
That is the "Lucky effect"!
Not only were his breakfasts inexpensive, check out the prices at the end of 2023, when I last visited.
Remember, this is North Park, right? I once asked him why he kept his prices so low and he told me "everyone needs to eat breakfasts, young people, students, even old people like you!" I loved his sense of humor.
He loved to give health tips as only a Chinese Grandfather could. I once asked him for no butter on my toast. His response? "Are you a health nut? You gonna be old and look like me one day, do you want to stay that way forever?"
And then there's the line that Lucky would use on older women ordering coffee: "You too young for coffee, it will stunt your growth!"
When a gentleman insisted on decaf Lucky exclaimed: "why you decaf, it's full of chemicals, you're already looking like you have too much chemicals!"
Ah yes, Lucky's words of wisdom: "you need to butter your toast, it's good for your complexion!" I should wrote a book!
Reminiscing on my visits, I decided to drive on over so JJ and I could pay our respects.
As several folks had already done.
Lucky would often give out "gifts" especially during Christmas and New Year.
On one of my non-post visits one of the customers forgot his wallet and was told to come back next time and pay. Lucky would also often "round down" the amounts on checks.
He was a humble man and I still recall on one evening in 2012, the Missus and I were walking past Lucky's. We looked into Lucky's and saw him watching a portable television in the back of his restaurant.
You would always get Fortune Cookies with your check. Something that was probably left over from the days when Lucky's served Chinese food. This was my fortune on that day.
Lucky….we'll miss you! We were the "lucky ones" to have gotten to meet you.
The bowl was delivered nice and hot. The tamago was now provided on the side. The yolk was adequately soft, the marinade a bit weak….but of course…my pet peeve, these were ice cold….sigh.
The broth seemed more full-bodies then on my previous visits and while still a bit on the saltier side, I found the added richness more enjoyable . It's still seems fairly straight forward in flavor, but I think that might be a good thing in this case.
Unevenly coated, not crisp or crunchy enough for my taste, on the blander side. The flesh was fairly juicy and tender though. Not a big fan of the sesame like dressing provided either.
This was a pretty large portion. I was a bit puzzled by the bean sprouts as I don't recall those being provided before? Not sure about all that stringy crunchy stuff and also that it was ice cold which dropped the temperature of the beef stew.
The crust was thin and crisp and that interior so airy! It might have been my favorite part of the meal!
All-in-all, not bad. Granted, it's a bit thinner, but the flavor was decent. It's better than I thought it would be and I'd gladly have this again. Though I will be on a search for better versions.
While this might have been the smallest in terms of portion size thus far, it was the Missus's favorite to date. The broken rice was very fragrant and moist.
While veggies and herbs were very fresh, the crepe was on the soggy side. The fillings were even worse; first off, there was barely any shrimp in this. What was present was a ton of raw bean sprouts. What shrimp there was tasted on the muddy side. 
This delivered as usual. The tortillas were still warm when we got home; such very nice corn flavor, pliable, yet hearty.
It is so hearty and comforting. It really has that "aaah" appeal. Nothing like rich, beefy, soup dripping out of a maize-y tortilla down your arm and then your throat on a chilly day, right?
The Bun Rieu is now $13.99, but is totally worth the price. A generous amount of very fresh herbs and veggies. And look they still provide a good amount of shredded morning glory, though there's a bit less banana blossom these days. 
So savory, with nice porky-seafood tones. The tomatoes added a perfect amount of acidity. The pork ribs were quite swiney, though a bit more chewy than usual. And the Missus enjoys the tofu a lot. The broth just seemed so good, perhaps it's because we hadn't been back here 