My History of Drinking Coffee in Chicago

1981 - Graduate high school. Celebrate. Must attend to job early next day. Discover coffee. Drink it black 'cause I'm a Man and thus do not bother to ever appreciate said coffee.

81-85 - Master the art of scheduling all classes after 2 PM. Mostly skip coffee.

85 - Visit Europe. Gosh, coffee tastes good, especially in the AM mixed with milk. Real men drink brown coffee. Of course cafe express is much better.

87-89 - coffee shops start opening in the States. When I am not whiling away my law school years at Cooter Browns, I visit newly hip coffee shops like PJs. Start drinking coffee more regularly even though it does not taste like Europe.

Early 90's - Starbucks arrives in Chicago. More reason to drink coffee. Still, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get their lattes to taste like I remember. Is it the 2 shots of espresso to a small latte, less coffee, steamed 1/2-1/2? Turn mostly to the dopio, and learn it is nice to ditch the office mid-afternoon for such drink.

93 - Visit Boston, wander the North End. Drink an espresso at some cafe. This will remain the standard for USA coffee for a long, long time.

96 - Visit Seattle - Yes the coffee was good, but no North End.

99 - Begin working at home.

01 - Move to Oak Park, discover a lot of coffee houses near by.

01-04 - Visit assorted coffee shops around Harlem Avenue, but mostly Caffe Italia. Wonder, however which really are the best, and which ones approach Euro or even North End quality. Compare coffee notes with fellow coffee freak, SethZ.

Late 04 - Talk with SethZ about assessing various coffee shops.

Early 05 - Drink coffee at Salerno's in Berwyn. Is this the best in Chicago?

Slightly later 05 - 20 espressos and a big baby - Round up a few hounds to see which really is the best espresso in vertical tasting. Think we will finish with Nicky's Big Baby, next to Salerno's.

1/29/05 - 8 AM-10:15 AM - Skip typical morning coffee in anticipation of tasting. By 9:30 am yelling at kidz and muttering at wife. coffee Monster.

1/29/05 11 AM - Meet at Bungalow, drink small drams of girlie Scotch to set our focus.

1/29/05 - 12:05 PM - Bar Cafe San Francesco [sic] - Nina, President but not present. Requisite Fox Sports World soccer games on. Mostly empty tables. We gather around two tables. We are very happy. Wonderfully tiny cup of espresso. Nearly as much crema as coffee, rich but mild.

1/29/05 - 12:21 PM - City Lights Bar and Grill - And espresso bar. Still cleaning up from last night's crowd, but willing to rev up the espresso machine for us tasters. More coffee less flavor. Much thinner than San Francesco with faint flavors.

1/29/05 - 12:33 - Cafe Cappuccino - Drive 1 block. Very Euro feeling cafe, with wide array of customers, but also Fox Sports World. Fairly authentic looking cornettos, but we are just here for the coffee. Just as thin as City Lights but while City Lights was annoyingly bland, this was even more annoyingly sour. Great atmosphere, crappy coffee.

1/29/05 - 12:44 - L.A. Caffe - L.A. stands for the owners, not the city. Noticeable more for its huge satellite dishes than any other signage. While it looks uninviting from the outside, sharing a strip mall with a liquor store, inside they are quite friendly. They explain their raison d'être is soccer, especially Italian soccer. Huge assortment of almanacs and such to settle arguments. No Fox Sports World, but RAI. With the schedule of the day's games on a chalk board. Weak coffee though. Or is it too much coffee?

1/29/05 - 1:01 PM - Rivera Italian deli - Sensory overload, aged provolone cheese and giardinara aromas battling with caffeine high.

1/29/05 - 1:08 - Bar Nazionale - Rivera guys tell us to eat our subs here. What an odd idea, a coffee bar on Harlem. An empty coffee shop. TV actually showing channel other than soccer. My experiences here in the past had been so-so coffee. Not today, but palate pleasing chocolately cup of coffee not agreeing with throbbing head.

1/29/05 - 1:29 PM - Palermo Bakery - This is an espressoathon, but who does not have room for a few sweets? These are the best Italian pastries I have had outside of NY. Ideal sfogliatelle, not the least bit soggy or chewy. Also very good mini-donut with cream filling and spongy cake colored to look like a watermelon. A plus in Palermo's pastry case is the stuff comes in three sizes. Espresso. Of course, but the merest sip sends a pain straight to the aorta. I stop.

1/29/05 - 1:33 PM - Winter sun very bright on Harlem Avenue. Act of squatting down to sit in car not easy. Bang my head. Luckily my head is numb.

1/29/05 - 1:44 PM - Cafe Amante - Another empty Euro night club masquerading as a day time coffee shop. Design elements include four types of business cards on table and non-working "wall of water." Drink a tiny bit of Rene G's sugar-less espresso. Who does not put sugar in their espresso.

1/29/05 - 1:58 PM - Cafe Versace - Similar look and feel to Caffe Italia down the block, but they have their own tiny coffee roaster. Others say the coffee is very good, but I stick to water. No apparent connection to haute couture. Odd feeling of belt growing tighter at waist. Numb face. Drink three glasses of water.

1/29/05 - 2:05 PM - Caffe Italia - I know what their coffee tastes like. Instead, I get generous pour of Courvessier VSOP for $4.50. This IS a good place. Head hurts.

1/29/05 - 2:21 PM - Leaving Caffe Italia - Realize that as an exercise in inebriation, coffee does not cut it. There is alterness and there is pain. We are never witty. We never look better then when we start (and after all these Euro coffee shops we never look that good) and we never get bulletproof.

1/29/05 - 2:28 PM - Leave Harlem, turning west on Grand. Stop at La Spiga D'Oro Bakery. Seth Z somehow intimidates proprietress by asking if canoli's are made to order. No, frozen. No coffee, but we can buy an espresso maker here for $18.

1/29/05 - 2:38 PM - Drive around the circle that is "downtown" Elmwood Park. Is that an espresso bar? Cafe La Feme, with two femme holding court. Clean and empty. They make espresso's from pods. It's not me, but this coffee has no taste.

1/29/05 - 2:46 PM - Did I say I have a headache.

1/30/05 - 7:45 AM - Make regular pot of coffee. Mistake.

1/30/05 - 6:15 PM - My tummy hurts. Is it the espresso. The shrimp shells I ate the other day at Islas Marias?

1/30/05 - 9:05 PM - Can we decrlare a winner? Of course, there are many more espresso's in Chicago to try, but I learned this is a marathon not a sprint. But so far, three stand above the rest: Caffe Italia, the only one that I know can do it on more than one occasion. Cafe Versace, and the winner of day Chicago's first espresso-athon, Bar Cafe San Francesco.

1/30/05 - 9:11 PM - Kudos to SethZ, Erik M, OPMark, ReneG and the Condiment Queen who provided cover. I was mildly concerned that a few of the shops along Harlem would be a bit off putting, and I wanted just enough of a crowd to ensure comfort but not too much as to upset anyone. Instead, we found warm welcomes everywhere. And Signor Zurer, alone, managed to have a coffee at each stop.

1/31/05 - Will I be able to have a cup of coffee?

Bar Cafe San Francesco
3815 N. Harlem

City Lights Bar and Grill
3809 N. Harlem

Cafe Cappuccino
3719 N. Harlem

L.A. Caffe
3502 N. Harlem

Riviera Market
3220 N. Harlem

Bar Nazionale
3222 N. Harlem

Palermo Bakery
3317 N. Harlem

Cafe Amante
3308 N. Harlem

Cafe Versace
2661 N. Harlem

Caffe Italia
2625 N. Harlem

La Spiga D'Oro Bakery
21 1/2 Conti Parkway
Elmwood Park, IL

La Femme Cafe
Conti
Elmwood Park

Salerno's
7111 W. Roosevelt
Berwyn, IL

VI:

I'm really glad someone did this, and I'm equally glad it wasn't me. Thanks for taking the caffeine overdose for the team. I look forward to checking out your top ranked spots, as well as the sfogliatelle at Palermo.

Amata

p.s. what did the other participants on this espresso-thon think? Guys?

Great report, Rob, even if the last line should be "Everything is back to norbal."* Good luck on your return to Earth.

* most obscure reference I've ever slipped into a food-related post

Lousy tailor! Lousy Burton!

Bob S. is not the only one who misspent youth poring over every issue of Mad.

In my case, the reference this all calls up is a scene in the independent film Henry Fool. If you've seen it, you know instantly, if you haven't, suffice it to say it involves coffee-related gastric distress too extreme to warrant further elaboration on a food-related site....

After mentioning Metropolis in the thread about Caffe Italia, I stopped by this weekend for two pounds of their house roasted coffee (the "red line" espresso blend and the Peruvian) and an espresso ... or two. The first espresso seemed a bit short, the crema fairly dark. I re-evaluated the "shortness" upon tasting; it wasn't sour, bitter or acidic. Very smooth and round flavor. Though it didn't achieve the staying power or the swelling renewal of flavor with each exhalation that accompany the godshot of espresso, it was very good. The second shot was better ... fuller in flavor, more of a burst. The cup seemed fuller as well though upon sipping it was revealed that the amount of liquid was the same; the crema was about a half inch thick with a more velvety texture. This was the best espresso I've had in Chicago. Without sugar mind you. (Who drinks espresso WITH sugar?)

I made espresso from the "red line" blend at home this morning. After a trial shot that went drastically awry I got the grind and tamp right and pulled a very nice shot. It seems like it would be hard to pull a sour shot from this blend unless you make some critical error. The downside of that is that it's hard to coax the touch of sharpness from it that makes a smooth shot dance.

Besides the coffee, Metropolis get's a big thumbs up on environment ... good light, decent chairs and couches, nice music (it was a no wave day, with Wire and Television playing jagged accompaniment to my caffeine frayed psynapses), and free wireless internet. Easy access for a Tank Noodle preprandial buzz.

rien

1039 West Granville

One last comment: Metropolis' menu lists "ristretto" or "lungo" as espresso options. Don't be fooled. After talking to the barista, I determined that this is not a true ristretto. They hold the common misconception that a ristretto is merely a short shot. Not the case. If the shot is pulled well, all this means is that you're losing crema. For a true ristretto - which is like the color of red earth, close to how I imagine Martian soil but with a mahogany undertone - the grind is different and the tamp is different. It is restrained, not short.

For more information, see the following:
http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/aarondelazzer/02-24-2002

Apparently, by asking the barrista, I transgressed the boundary of the epicure and entered the hinterland of freakdom. So be it ... so be it.

rien

(Who drinks espresso WITH sugar?)

Sorry; many if not most Italians do. In fact, if you ever stop by at Rome's renowned Sant'Eustachio caffe you'll want to memorize the phrase "senza zucchero, per piacere," otherwise the barista may very well add it without asking.

And Cubans of course. So much so that it occasionally appears to be sugar with espresso. If I'm not mistaken, some places actually put the sugar in the portafilter with the grounds.

I was just being antagonistic.

rien

It doesn't work to put the sugar in the portafilter with grounds. However, Cubans (and certain Central Americans) do put the sugar in the colador, the sock-like filter used to make the real thing. Also, more sugar is added to the first few dribbles of coffee and whisked to make the "espumita", a sort of false crema.

Do forgive the Romans and Cubanos, they are but simple peoples.

JeffB wrote:Do forgive the Romans and Cubanos, they are but simple peoples.

The Neapolitans too. Simple but serious about their coffee. I've been to most if not all of the old and fancy and revered coffee joints in Naples and surely rather rare it is that someone has their espresso without adding some sugar. My preference for it senza zucchero scandalised my relatives for a time, until they gradually realised that in general I only occasionally like things sweet. But as I've gotten older, I think I've come to enjoy a little sweetness more and more -- still not always, but now and again.

A

I stand with the napolitani on sugar in espresso (but never in caffe americano). And they've even immortalized their sugar preference in a song.

sotto tenite 'o zzuccaro,
e 'ncoppa, amara site...


BTW, there's a little coffee shop in a strip mall on Cumberland, a block north of Montrose on the east side of the street. I never remember the name of the place, but the mall is perpendicular to the street and the regulars are always discussing soccer and playing the totocalcio. The place has very good espresso and an OK gelato, too.

I have not had any coffee in the two days since Espressothon, quite unusual for me. Not able to maintain the pace, I didn't sample the product at a number of stops but thought San Francesco and Italia were right at the top. I tried a cappuccino at San Francesco, the best I've had in a long time. I skipped Versace but it clearly merits a return visit (impressive that they roast their beans in house). The espresso at Italia, my last of the day, seemed up to their usual standards. A fun and instructive day, though I'll be in no hurry to do it again.

Antonius wrote:

JeffB wrote:Do forgive the Romans and Cubanos, they are but simple peoples.

The Neapolitans too. Simple but serious about their coffee. I've been to most if not all of the old and fancy and revered coffee joints in Naples and surely rather rare it is that someone has their espresso without adding some sugar. My preference for it senza zucchero scandalised my relatives for a time, until they gradually realised that in general I only occasionally like things sweet. But as I've gotten older, I think I've come to enjoy a little sweetness more and more -- still not always, but now and again.

A

When we had coherence amongst us, we debated the notion of the worth or need for sugar in espresso. I maintain that it is not just there as a condiment, a choice. Nor is it there just to make the stuff more palatable. That the full and actual flavors of the coffee do not fully develop unless there is some sugar to balance the cup. It is the same thing with chocolate, no? No matter how bitter you like your chocolate, you need at least a little bit of sugar to draw out the rest of the bar.

Please do give me the name of the place on Cumberland (as well as any other contenders, as after a rough day after, I have decided that YES, I can drink coffee again. Still, I learned through the grapevine that at least one of us consummed a litterally toxic amount of cafeine, so I would NOT suggest anyone repeat any esspresso-athons. Let's just post our occasional tasting notes....

Rob

2/3/05 - 1:30 PM - Caffe Italia continues to produce great coffee. As I noted above, the real mark of this place's greatness is its consistency. The wierd thing was/is, they're not so consistent with the decor. It's changed like three times in the last few months. And what's even wierder is, I asked today when they got the new chairs and tables (an old world elegant wood) and they told me a few weeks ago. It seems that both the Condiment Queen and I were so delusional from caffeine on Saturday that the change of chairs at Caffe Italia did not even register with us.

Rob

Rob, the place on Cumberland is called (what else) Ciao Cafe. It's at 4501 on the south side of the strip mall that runs perpendicular to the street, across Cumberland from McDonald's. I stopped today and had a perfectly reputable espresso, but skipped the gelato. As long as there are people sitting around and the machine is getting used, the coffee is pretty good.

It has been an astonishing two and a half years since this great post and thread received any followup. I bring it forward now because, after some two (well, maybe closer to three) decades of abstinence brought on by some truly unfortunate experiences, I have decided once again to try my hand (as it were) at espresso.

I love very strong coffee and have my preferences for places, beans, roasts, and so forth. But it is long since past time to broaden my horizons (plus we'll be in Rome in November--but I'll be making a separate post for that trip on the Beyond Chicagoland board). So, at the risk (in the hope?) of inciting dissension, would anyone care to weigh in on where to find a great espresso? VI's post nominated three places: Cafe Versace, Caffe Italia, and Bar Cafe San Francesco (see original post in this thread). Are pilgrimages in order? Are there any places on the north side?