Cosmospolitan

Wanted to post a quick note about a (very) new place on California and Augusta... Just had a nice lunch at Cosmospolitan. It's a simple Mediterranean joint with a straightforward menu consisting of a little greek, a little Italian and errata (Burger, Sandwiches, good-looking salads). The room is comfortable, artwork on the walls, a full-length bar (it is currently BYOB) in a attractive storefront. The sign threw me off, far more attention was paid to the interior than to the signage.

Apps: 2 calmari apps, one basic, "Louisianan" the other. A bruschetta... you get the idea. We ordered Feta al forno, warmed feta on a roasted tomato with basil. Very good feta, clean, simple dish.

A few people came in and out while we ate - good sign for such a new place. I was curious what kind of lunch crowd they could get in Humboldt - in retrospect, I think there is a need for a decent sit-down joint for lunch. The young lady serving was kind and quick.

Ordered the shrimp scampi and the wife the Fish sandwich. Fish was tilapia and was fresh and tasty, a large filet w/ a nice pan-seared crust. Served with some remoulade on a big fairly-generic baguette. Pleasantly surprised. My shrimp scampi had a fantastic fresh butter sauce, lemon tang, plenty of garlic - the shrimp were okay, the sauce certainly the highlight. The middle was a roasted tomato served with sliced provolone, another nice touch.

The short of it is that I'm happy to have this place down the street. It's open late (midnight on friday/saturday I believe) and opens for lunch daily... clearly there are some chops in the kitchen and some genuine passion, though perhaps it's tempered by the broad menu. Still, I like this place and will be back to enjoy the BYOB and the dinner menu - which included more pan-Mediterranean dishes like sicilian chicken, spanikopita (somethin greek like that)pasta and fish of the day, ribeye, shrimp diabalo linguini etc...

I'd recommend it to locals. It's a welcome addition to Humboldt Park, tho perhaps unlike it's street neighbor Maize, it won't be a city-wide draw. Still - selfishly I hope they do well and remain an solid local option.

Glad to hear more folks takin a chance- is it next to Humbolt Pie? or diagonally across on the South West coner/next to the Blue and yellow Gargage..(FYI- probably NOT the best weekend to try em out- with the P.R . Parade, Festival in Humbolt Park- traffic can be a "bit" nuts - to say the least.
Just curious as to it's location since you didn't have an address.

Hombre de Acero wrote:Glad to hear more folks takin a chance- is it next to Humbolt Pie? or diagonally across on the South West coner/next to the Blue and yellow Gargage..(FYI- probably NOT the best weekend to try em out- with the P.R . Parade, Festival in Humbolt Park- traffic can be a "bit" nuts - to say the least.
Just curious as to it's location since you didn't have an address.

The storefront directly south of the blue and yellow garage - it's like 954 N. California, something like that.

Yeah, don't even attempt to make it this weekend really... I'm already setup for the weekend with rations and no need to leave til Sunday.

Great food at the fest tho if people do want to brave the traffic, parking and general mayhem.

ab wrote:

Hombre de Acero wrote:Glad to hear more folks takin a chance- is it next to Humbolt Pie? or diagonally across on the South West coner/next to the Blue and yellow Gargage.
Just curious as to it's location since you didn't have an address.

The storefront directly south of the blue and yellow garage - it's like 954 N. California, something like that.

yes it's next to the muffler shop not humboldt pie...a blurry picture i attempted to take from Humboldt Pie while I waited on my order... cosmospolitan is the yellow building next to the muffler shop. the picture
isn't great but it's not much to look at anyway:

I drove by earlier tonight, and this place appears to have closed down already - no tables or chairs inside and all the lights off at 8pm, with a big "No Trespassing" sign on the window. I'm bummed - it was a decent neighborhood joint, something that area needs more of.