Recommend me a good coffeeshop in Chicago

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Actually, recommend me a few.

Maybe one that is more quiet and relaxing and another where bands play. DO IT!

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Monday, 30 August 2004 13:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I like Laetizia's (sp?) on Division not too far from where I think y'all live. No bands play there, but their coffee and bagels were good.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 13:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Letizia's is right behind our house. While I admire their pure butter, pure cream aesthetic, their goodies are so rich that it makes me kinda sick.

― n.a. (Nick A.), Monday, 30 August 2004 13:22 (twenty-one years ago)

well just buy one goodie and split it with your girlfriend, maybe.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 13:26 (twenty-one years ago)

i like the alliance bakery, when i was there.

― g--ff (gcannon), Monday, 30 August 2004 13:26 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah that's a good one too! although better to get there early, sometimes I've gone there later in the morning and shit is STALE.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 13:27 (twenty-one years ago)

If I'm in your neighborhood, Sarah, I usually go to Jinx, which I always call the "punk-rock coffeeshop": music is usually a little bit louder than most places and sometimes good (last time I was there I heard Lost in Translation OST and MBV's Loveless). It's also one of the last remaining coffeeshops where you can still smoke (even though I don't anymore, and neither do you, but still). And it never seems to be all that crowded -- which is key, because my main thing with coffeeshops is being able to feel like I can just sit there for a while and nobody will bother me or make me feel rushed. Oh: and I'm pretty sure they serve Intelligentsia coffee there, which is the best roasters in Chicago.

The place I've been going lately -- up in my hood, though: by the Berwyn el stop -- is called Pause. It's run by several gay men and maintains a really nice casual elegance. Fairly small, though, so if a big group comes in, as happened to me one recent Sunday, then it gets a bit uncomfortable.

I also like the ambience of Bourgeois Pig, on Fullerton just east of Halsted -- it's a converted two-story house, with lots of wood tables, and an upstairs with nooks and crannies -- although when DePaul is in session, it's all about college kids studying all the time.

The two places I've spent the most time, without a doubt, are Kopi Cafe and Cafe Boost, because they're the closest to my house, right along the main strip in Andersonville -- although to be honest, I'm kind of sick of them after having gone hundreds of times in the last four years. What I've always liked about Kopi is that they do serve food, and thus have servers that bring you coffee, but the servers never make you feel rushed as you might at an ordinary restaurant where you're just getting coffee. I've spent many a Sunday afternoon there writing in my journal. One caveat about both Kopi and Boost is that the coffee itself isn't that great: it's not bad, but it's not spectacular.

For reference: a couple of places where I have felt weird about just getting coffee: (1) Caffe DeLuca (on Damen, six blocks north of you), which has a nice ambience (exposed brick on the inside) but seems to cater to the more yuppie-ish Bucktown demographic, with a trendy menu of portabella-and-goat-cheese pizzas and shit. (Also, the waitstaff had pretty good taste in music, which they'd play in the cafe, but about a year ago they went to Muzak: so DESTROY.) And then (2) the Pick-Me-Up Cafe, which is perfectly fine if you're just getting out of a show at the Metro and want a grilled cheese or a milkshake, because it's the only place in Chicago open past midnight that's not an IHOP-style diner, but the food is pretty expensive ($10 burrito) and they institute a minimum tab and maximum dining time at "peak hours," so eff that. Good jukebox, though.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I can second John's entire thing there. I'd add that even though it's not a coffee shop, the hungry brain on belmont is pretty low-key atmosphere for hearing/playing live music. it's so coffee shop-esque, that it wouldn't surprise me if they served it.
In roscoe village, i like "mojo's" & they have really good rice krispie treats, but lack a lot of food. but the place is low-key, usually pretty empty & the coffee is good.
There's "A perfect cup" on damen, near the brown line damen stop & i've noticed quite a few places opening up around that area . . . i have yet to check those out, but one has this middle eastern cushions-on-the-floor thing going for it.
might be worth a little ride.
i'll keep thinkin' . . .

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I like A Taste of Heaven on Foster near Ashland, good coffee plus it's a great bakery.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:34 (twenty-one years ago)

It's gone now. It moved to Clark street.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh. and Kenan *hates* it . . .

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:35 (twenty-one years ago)

He has good reason to. But they do have good coffee and baked goods.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:38 (twenty-one years ago)

why does he hate it?

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

My boss is a crazy person

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

whoa I totally missed that! That's horrible! Sorry, Kenan. I no longer recommend that place.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually, I probably should've asked K. before I linked that...

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:43 (twenty-one years ago)

(considering he doesn't actually mention the name of the place on that thread)

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:44 (twenty-one years ago)

In response to Kelsey's first post: I think the Hungry Brain may serve coffee during the day -- they came up on some website that listed Chicago coffeeshops, which I checked to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost - yes he does, sixth post.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh good, I don't feel so weird then.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:48 (twenty-one years ago)

ha well I brought the place up! I feel totally weird.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Jinx would be my top recommendation, if you're in the wicker park area. Also, it's right next to the Milk and Honey cafe if you're hungry, which is great.

― webcrack (music=crack), Monday, 30 August 2004 14:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I went to Jinx A LOT when I was unemployed, just to get out of the house, because it didn't seem like a big deal to just buy one cup of coffee and sit there and read for an hour.

Caffe de Luca is creepy, and we always either get the slow, apathetic indie dude waiter or the SUPERCHIRPY waiter, but but but they have delicious potatoes.

I have decided that I hate Milk & Honey. They have this ultracomplicated ordering process and the people that work there are snooty about it.

I want to go to Atomix more.

― n.a. (Nick A.), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:08 (twenty-one years ago)

But Atomix is kind of pricey, don't you think?

I still like Milk & Honey. The food I've gotten there was delicious (ok, so I got the same thing both times - yogurt, fruit and granola and coffee). The decore is very well done. But ok, yeah, the people that work there are overworked or just annoyed with the world to begin with.

I like Jinx too. We should go there more. The only thing is that sometimes I want a pastry with my coffee and they don't have much selection.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Is don's (but not don's) still around?

and what about the place that phil opened, john? what's that called again?

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

The coffee at Jinx makes me incredibly jittery for some reason, more so than anywhere else.

― n.a. (Nick A.), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I've only been to Atomix once, but I was disappointed by it -- it wasn't quite what I expected (although I'm not sure what I expected).

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Atomix is a little bare-bones, but you can order sandwiches and tell them exactly what you want on it (they have vegetarian ham & turkey too!)

I liked Kopi the one time we went there. I had a really tasty sandwich.

― n.a. (Nick A.), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Jinx used to have sammiches. I never went after it re-opened.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:18 (twenty-one years ago)

a taste of heaven is ridiculously overpriced. i've been there exactly once, and was charged about $6 for some kind of ice cream thing.

i don't really like coffeeshops, i've decided. i prefer diners with big comfy booths.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 15:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I think Don's closed for good. Oh man, I was just telling R. about how great Don's was. Here's a Neal Pollack article about the place.

As far as I know, Chase Cafe (the new Phil Tadros venture) is still open. But there's no good reason to go there if you just want to sit and drink coffee. It's more of a community hangout for Rogers Park hippies, with white guys with dreads and rasta hats sitting on random tables strumming guitars, and boxes of used books in the corner, and nobody really knows who's manning the counter. Whenever I've gone there, I feel really out of place.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Jinx still has sandwiches, and bagels, too.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I've been to Jinx a million times and never noticed. It just doesn't look like that a sandwich kind of place. But you know, it's probably written right there on the blackboard, and I was probably not wearing my glasses during any of my visits there, so... yeah.

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:32 (twenty-one years ago)

is the no exit cafe still open? your description of chase cafe reminded me of no exit. i could really be OK with never going to no exit or the heartland ever again in my life.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

rogers park hippies = a part of chicago i'm strangely pleased that jaymc has identified. i've never discussed that phenomenon with anyone before.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I have no idea what's going on with No Exit. I don't think it has set hours -- sometimes it's open, sometimes it's not. I think lately, they've only been opening it when there's a performance of some kind. (I was surprised to pass by on a Sunday, early afternoon, to find a free-jazz trio wailing away inside.) Another place that I feel you sort of have to know the scene there to feel welcome.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

i just think of high schoolers dressed up like che guevera

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

I've only actually been there twice, mind you.

Heartland is all right, although I went there a couple years ago not realizing that they were hosting the Nelson Algren birthday celebration that same night. I ran into a friend of my dad's who said, "Oh you're here for the Algren thing?" I said, "No, actually, I forgot that was happening tonight." He said, "You mean you actually come here for the food??"

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 15:52 (twenty-one years ago)

oh. i like heartland's food most of the time.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

their cornbread is dry

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 16:26 (twenty-one years ago)

That sounds like a euphemism. A dirty one.

― n.a. (Nick A.), Monday, 30 August 2004 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

right. it is dry.
i realized i quite enjoy the chicago diner much more than i recall. i say this because i ate there recently & their cornbread was quite delicious. but heartland's = dry & crumbling.
but they do make a delicious artichoke.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 16:28 (twenty-one years ago)

n.a. have you eaten lunch? do you want to meet up? i could use a longish lunch break.

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 16:29 (twenty-one years ago)

So can I just comment on how sweet Jinx used to be, back before the temporary closure and reopening under new, more meat-friendly ownership? I used to spend semi-ridiculous amounts of time there.

I am anti Milk and Honey because I used to share a three-flat floor with its proprietor, and then the first time I went in and ordered food, she didn't even say hello. I found that really rude, no matter how noisy my apartment may have been on occasion.

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 30 August 2004 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha, I just remembered the time I ran into you at Jinx, Nabisco, before I really knew you...

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i think n.a. is out to lunch

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

where do you work, amateur!!st?

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 17:30 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm temping downtown right now

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry, am., just got back from lunch. Probably wouldn't have worked anyways, since I had brought food from home and only have 45 minutes for lunch, strict.

― n.a. (Nick A.), Monday, 30 August 2004 17:33 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.worldsoul.com/datas/pics/499.jpg

no prob

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 17:34 (twenty-one years ago)

me too. (xpost)

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 17:42 (twenty-one years ago)

you too what?

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 18:21 (twenty-one years ago)

temp downtown.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 30 August 2004 18:31 (twenty-one years ago)

How 'bout good tea places? There used to be that Russian tea house on Lincoln, up by the Old Town School of Folk Music (how appropriate!), but it turned into a (very good, and affordable) French place.

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Monday, 30 August 2004 20:56 (twenty-one years ago)

there's a good tea place on belmont 1/2 block east of the red line stop

― amateur!!st, Monday, 30 August 2004 20:57 (twenty-one years ago)

There's also a tea place on Division across the street from Letizia's. They have a full English tea. I've never been inside though.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 30 August 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

R. and I went there a few weeks ago. It's nice. It's called Aeon Antiquities and Tea House. We were there on a Tuesday afternoon when I skipped work, and it was nice and quiet. There are old books and maps and such around. I bet robotsinlove could tell you more about it, actually.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 30 August 2004 21:03 (twenty-one years ago)

jaymc, The one on Division?

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:01 (twenty-one years ago)

yep

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

amateurist: "anyone for lunch today? (god i'm so bored remix)"

― amateu!!st, Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Not unless you can get to my work at exactly 12:30 and don't mind taking exactly 45 minutes for lunch.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:18 (twenty-one years ago)

amateurist: "hm that's a possibilty (will get back to you remix)"

― amateur!!st, Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't take too long, that's in 9 minutes!

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

amateurist: "never mind then (some other day remix)"

― amateur!!st, Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:21 (twenty-one years ago)

That's cool, I've got a tasty sandwich in the fridge.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I love that Bourgeois Pig place. I love all of the 'secret' rooms with the bookshelves. The beverages are good, too.

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

i used to go to peter's chicken down the block, which no longer exists. :(

― amateur!!st, Tuesday, 31 August 2004 16:42 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

Revive. I've been searching for a nice coffee place too recently. I've been going to Cafe Boost the last few evenings. The best thing about it is that no one is hardly ever in there. I haven't tried any of the other ones on Clark Street.

― Jeff-PTTL (Jeff), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Does anyone else get a weird sense of relief when you see a thread title, think "OMG I have so much to say about this," and then realize it's an old thread you've already written extensively on?

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 17:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I hate to recommend the place, since the guy who owns it might actually be a Nazi, but Taste of Heaven has free coffee on Mondays and the best goddamn coffee cake I've ever put in my mouth.

― Gold Teeth II (kenan), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Those Nazis and their coffeecake.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Potential Nazism has been discussed (and linked to) upthread.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 5 October 2004 18:07 (twenty-one years ago)

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