Cafe Con Leche

I just got lunch at Cafe Con Leche, which I was excited about because whoa, Cuban food right across the street from my work! I was less excited after it took 45 minutes to get my order. There was something of a language barrier with the counterperson, which was not unexpected, but since the music was very loud communication was even more impaired. It took about ten minutes to get across that no, I did not order a coffee, I ordered a fresa licuado and could you please take the coffee back?

All of which would have been OK had the food been better. I ordered a Cubano. At first I thought they had forgotten the cheese, but in fact it was in the middle only, not extending to the ends of the sandwich at all - very odd. Also, it was completely dry, with no mayo or mustard, and not particularly pressed. It came with fries, ten of them to be exact - I couldn't decide whether to be pleased that I was being prevented from eating something I shouldn't eat anyway, or annoyed at the paltry portion. On the other hand, the fresa licuado was pleasant.

I tend to splurge on just one thing a week that is not in my best interests to eat, and this experience has left me a bit depressed and wishing I had gone to 90 Miles from Cuba or La Unica instead.

1732 N. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL, 60647
(773) 342-2233

-I have had to edit this one simple post about five times for various reasons. See how distraught I am?

I understand your frustration, but I would encourage you to try it at least one more time. It sounds like they just opened so I am sure that they have some bugs to work out and the language barrier makes it even harder. Also, the sandwich may not be their specialty, try a few more things on the menu. Remember, it is right across the street from your work if you find even one thing that they do well it probably makes it worth it.

I am just trying to talk you down a little. Smile

I've edited away my comments, because it seems I was confused about the address of the Cafe in question. The place that's been there forever is the place in Logan Square.

Entirely possible that there are 2, relatively nearby, totally unrelated establishments selling Cuban food named Cafe con Leche. Which could lead to confusion among consumers, or me.

JeffB, I'm not sure you are correct.

Cafe con Leche has been operating for years in Logan Square, near Sawyer/Milwaukee.
At some point this spring, I believe they took ownership of the building that Suzy visited, across from Aldi's. To my knowledge, this was not a re-branding, this is a new venture that has changed hands many times over the last 5 years & is now owned/run by Cafe Con Leche.

Suzy, I agree on the communication point. It is the same up in Logan Square. At some point, you have to roll with it, or chalk it up to not worth the effort.

I only go there for the cafe and breakfast items (the breakfast sandwiches), so I cannot speak of the lunch/dinner sandwiches. But at times, the wait can feel excrutiating, especially when other patrons seem to arrive & get things much quicker. Is it because I am a gringa? Who knows, but I decided it is worth it when I feel like I want a greasy breakfast with full fat, full sugar/cinnamon cappucinno. And I am not in a rush.

miss ellen

JeffB wrote:No, it's been there quite some time as a Cuban cafe under different names. I think it was Babalu or something at one point. And the Cuban sandwich at such a place being no good is sort of like the beef at a beef stand being bad. I admire the responder's optimism though.

Right, that's what I was getting at A Cuban restaurant should be able to do a mean Cuban sandwich, or it just doesn't bode well for anything else.

I tend to expect stilted communication at places like this, and try to roll with it as a cultural experience. The part that annoyed me was that the music was SO loud I was basically having to resort to sign language - difficult enough to communicate like that when both parties speak the same language! The ordertaking was confused, as well. As I sat there serving out my forty-five minute sentence, I saw several people stomp out in disgust when no one acknowledged them, much less took their order.

Oh, and as to what it was before - it was very briefly a Mexican restaurant, and I don't recall what was there before that. At any rate, Cafe Con Leche is a totally new addition.

suzy - if you have a car or a bike, don't forget you can zip up milwaukee to cafe marinao (just north of fullerton on milwaukee) for a classic cubano. and btw, this location was briefly lobo al fresco and didnt do well at all. i found their seasoning quite timid. before that for many, many years it was johnny's sandwich shop and a great place for cheap food. i pass by this location daily and it seems cafe con leche is doing quite well. i'm in no hurry to try the food. i dont have high hopes after reading suzy's post. even before that, i received a postcard from them with pictures of 8 different breakfast plates. the description of each was almost identical, and none looked particularly good. the headline on the card was "we have omelettes! and eggs!". jj

Lobos al Fresco (aka "Porch Wolves" in my head - I don't ask my brain "why?" I just let it think its thoughts), that was it. Not there long enough to acquire permanent signage. I walked by one day after it closed and peered in the window - it looked like it had been abandoned in a hurry, with half-eaten plates of food still on the tables, and half-drunk bottles of Jarritos scattered about. Very strange.

The best thing that came out of this experience was that I figured out how to make an oatmeal shake! We have been consuming them non-stop since Friday, in a variety of flavors.

It is funny that you mention this place. I saw it for the first time on Saturday when I was taking the Blue Line back from the city. I will have to make a stop there in teh near future.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:... I figured out how to make an oatmeal shake!

Please share!!!! I have been craving oatmeal shakes, but after a very bad experience at Irazu (involving service not food), I have been unable to slake that craving. Help!

Cheers, Jen

OK, here's what I deduced. This makes about two servings - with some left over to top off your glasses.

Dump 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal into a blender. Whizz it around until it's all fine and powdery. Then dump in two glasses of milk and some frozen fruit - nanas, strawberries, whatever. Add a little sugar or honey if you want - I found it necessary when I used peaches, but not otherwise. Splash in a bit of vanilla if that's how you roll. Then blend until delicious.

Thanks, the oatmeal milkshake sounds great.

Thanks for the report on Cafe con Leche. I just noticed the new one in Bucktown, near North Ave today. They both have the same logo, so I suppose they are owned by the same people.
Cheers, Jen

Went this morning (Sat) to the Bucktown location, and we liked it. Yes, it took a long time to get the food, but not so long we thought we'd die of hunger Though the people next to us had eggs and potatoes and toast and didn't get their toast for a REALLY long time after the food arrived. I'd have found that really annoying.

But my Cuban was very good, as was the cafe con leche. The regular coffee was good too, and DH liked his eggs (Divorce style - red hot sauce on one side, green on the other). I have no idea how it compares to an authentic Cuban, but the bread was nicely crispy from the press, the cheese was distributed throughout and well melted. I could have used more of the pork, but what was there was good. It did have mustard, and I thought it was moist and tasty.

It was warm, the music was good, everyone was nice, and we enjoyed it. Probably won't go on a Sunday for breakfast, since it's pretty small, but maybe on a week night.

LTH,

Warm spring Sunday evening, humid, outdoor seating, vivid colors, open kitchen, felt like Miami.

Cafe con Leche, Bucktown



One Medianoche, one Cubano, pleasant 10-minute wait, off I went. Well wrapped, sandwiches stayed hot on the drive home, fries (soggy) and a small container of thick house made habanero laced hot sauce (outstanding) included.

Cubano



Medianoche



Cafe con Leche's House Made Hot Sauce



Bread stayed crisp, good filling to bread ratio, oddly the medianoche had pickles and the cubano did not. Neither had mustard. Sandwiches hit the spot, in particular doused with house made hot sauce, for $5 each I thought a fair deal.

Outdoor seating particularly cozy, I'll be back soon to see if the habanero laced hot sauce is as good as I remember.

Enjoy,
Gary

Cafe con Leche
1732 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL
773-342-2233

i made my first, long overdue, visit to cafe con leche, bucktown. a fifteen minute wait for a cubano was pleasantly spent sitting on their outdoor bench listening to the catchy music. inside it was hot and noisy. the pleasant surprise were the french fries that came with the sandwich. i thought they were fantastic- very dark brown, skin on, surely fresh not frozen. they could have been crisper, but they were truly full of potato flavor. i had a brief, 5 minute walk home before eating them. i expect they wouldn't have been any crisper if i had eaten them there. but i scarfed them down. the cubano looked promising. it was huge, probably 9 inches with soft, melty cheese oozing out the sides. it had pickles and mustard, a lot of bland ham, and some shredded pork that smelled sweaty to me, so i removed it. not great. but i'd go back for the fries, maybe with a liquado and call it lunch. justjoan

Had lunch with the wife at the Logan Sq location today (does the Bucktown one still exist?) and was able to enjoy the beautiful weather on their pleasant back patio. Posting though, because the jibarito I ate there finally fulfilled the promise of a jibarito that has been elusive to me since I started sampling them shortly after moving to Chicago a decade ago. The plantains were perfectly crispy, and not greasy at all (a common flaw). The steak itself was thin and tender, not dry and chewy as so often is the case. And they showed great restraint with both the onions and garlicky mayo, ensuring they were complementary to the sandwich and didnt infringe on the two stars. Just a great jibarito FINALLY.