Tortas at Café Frida

Tortas at Café Frida



Café Frida is a lovely little spot on S. Western Avenue between Flournoy and Polk, an oasis of exposed brick, comfortable chairs and couch, Kahlo-iana on the walls, tucked away among the muffler shops and such along busy Western Ave. I’ve mentioned it here a couple times in passing, but hesitated to write it up more fully, because, frankly, the coffee there could be better, and the ice cream/Italian ice offerings are nice to have in the neighborhood, but not so unusual to be worth a detour.

But: Café Frida now has at least two things worth stopping for.

They now offer tortas and a few other sandwiches at $3.75 each. Antonius and I love their torta de milanesa de pollo. (Other choices are milanesa de res, jamón con queso, and vegetarian (avocado and cheese).) All the tortas come with crema, panela cheese, tomato, onion, jalapeños, and – the best addition – potato and carrot salad. That is, small chunks of potato and carrot cooked tender and lightly vinegared.



All photos by Antonius

The rolls are fresh, the quality of the chicken is good, and we’re crazy about the potato and carrot salad in the sandwich. When I said how much I liked the potatoes and carrots on there, I was told that they got the idea from a torta place in Morelia, where the owners’ family is from.

My other new favorite thing to get at Café Frida is a beverage: the Licuado Frida, which contains oatmeal, banana, raisins and honey. I haven’t had the oatmeal milkshakes at Irazu which folks rave about, so I can’t compare, but this licuado is great. ($2.25)

So if you’re driving along S. Western Ave and need a quick lunch, add Café Frida to your list of possibilities. The chicken torta is right up there, in our estimation, with our other favorite neighborhood sandwich, a proscuitto and fresh mozzarella sub from Conte di Savoia West, on Taylor east of Western.

Café Frida
739 S Western Ave.
Chicago IL 60612
312 455-9422
M-Th 9-8, F-Sat 9-6
Closed Sunday

Conte di Savoia West
2227 W Taylor St
Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 666-4335

I thought the roll on my torta with chicken the other day was really nice: very fresh, griddled a bit before loading... Nice restraint on the crema too and the potatoes and carrots are, as Amata says, an uncommon, interesting and very satisfying touch. A large and tasty torta it was.

The milanesa de res I had on a previous occasion was good too but I prefer the chicken.

Antonius

Amata wrote:So if you’re driving along S. Western Ave and need a quick lunch, add Café Frida to your list of possibilities.

Amata,

I should have called for LTHForum On-Star, I was on Western Ave at lunch time remembered your post and delicious sounding, and looking, chicken torta but not the address.

Ended up having a very nice cobb salad at Feed, but put the name and address of Cafe Frida in my Palm Pilot for future reference.

Enjoy,
Gary

Amata wrote:Café Frida is a lovely little spot on S. Western Avenue between Flournoy and Polk, an oasis of exposed brick, comfortable chairs and couch, Kahlo-iana on the walls

First, let me hand it to you and your excellent spouse -- you two are remarkable for turning up new places, some of which have been around for a while, though I realize this place is new.

Second, I must ask: did this place seem at all like a former funeral home? It kind of looks like an old-style lanon stone mortuary -- not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, and it would seem to fit, somehow, with Frida's vibe.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:Second, I must ask: did this place seem at all like a former funeral home? It kind of looks like an old-style lanon stone mortuary -- not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, and it would seem to fit, somehow, with Frida's vibe.

David,

Many thanks for the kind words!

About the former functions of this building I don't know anything but I will ask the Masi's brothers and some of the other long-time locals and see if I can find out. While I'm at it, I think I need to ask about the history of Polk & Western and the other hot dog stands around that intersection...

Antonius

I am sorry to report that Cafe Frida has gone out of business.

This is really sad news. A nice family business with people who really cared about serving quality stuff. The tortas were really very good and also quite a bargain. Unfortunately, the location probably put them just out of the consciousness of local institutional employees who come to Tri-Taylor for lunch every day.

They were open for just a little over two years.

Antonius

I'm sorry to hear this as well--I was a regular for ices in summer and also a fan of their tortas. I stopped by on one of the recent warm days have some and found it closed but as it was a Monday I didn't think anything of it. It is a loss--I passed around menus at UIC but for some reason people will go pick up food at Al's, and other places around there, which is about the same distance as Cafe Frida, but did not seem willing to go in the other direction.