Duran European Sandwiches and Café

This place is a gem hidden in plain sight. I have biked by this place a million times and totally disregarded it. Maybe its the location– kind of a marginal stretch between Wicker Park and the West Loop (aka my hood) populated mostly by short-lived places that seemed aimed at the new construction condo set.

Also, I am not a coffee drinker nor one to spend my time lounging (or working) at café- type places. I have a friend who works nearby who likes their sandwiches though complained about the portion sizes (missing the point as you'll shortly understand). Clued in (once again) by our friend Da Beef over at Smokin' & Chokin' it seemed like the proper stop for a reasonable Saturday lunch.

Da Beef via Smokin', Chokin', & Chowing with the King wrote:Today's the day I get around to posting about Duran European Sandwiches. The sandwich spot with it's original digs in Vienna, Austria opened up in Chicago over a year ago and came with some press and praise when they did. Aside from Austria, Duran has locations in Istanbul, Budapest and the Czech Republic where their tiny open faced sandwiches are snacked on in a lounge like atmosphere with teas and coffee on offer as well. It was when a Chicago resident traveled to one of them that she decided she wanted to open the first US outpost which sits on Milwaukee between Grand and Ohio.

The concept here is small sandwiches that you can enjoy as a snack with some tea. They run around $2.50 each and are made with the finest and freshest ingredients. You choose which ones you want on display, much like a bakery. Because of the cities strong Eastern European presence many of the meats and cheese and toppings are purchased from local grocers in neighborhoods catering to the people from there...

Though I have not travelled much to this food's native part of the world and am not entirely familiar with the format, it reminded me of tapas, though with a Central European flavor set, to be enjoyed with caffeinated drinks rather than alcohol. Its rather cool that this international chain chose us as its first US destination.

The space is cheery and bright with a long deli case and cobbled together mid century modern furniture. I recognized the counter guy from my extended social circles, who was totally friendly and accommodating. We were there on the early side, so many of the sandwich offerings were still being prepared in the back and not ready to serve from the counter. No worries, they made our requests to order.

I followed Da Beef's wisdom and ordered the curried egg salad, shrimp salad, and salam. Three sandwiches and a drink set us back just under ten bucks with tax each.



Very nice– as you can see garnished in a very lovely way. These little open-faced numbers are a little overly topped to directly dispatch from hand to mouth– they are more of a fork-and-knife affair. The whole experience is just a little bit on the dainty side, but in a good way. It was definitely evident that some of the ingredients had been sourced through Andy's Deli (as the menu states). The very fresh bread was of the soft, yet crusty, "rye" style made by a number of our city's Eastern European style bakeries. One menu item I am anxious to try is the kabanosy salad sandwich, featuring my favorite garlicky semi-dry sausage popular at Polish delis around town. My wife, a lover of cold cuts, ordered a turkey and a roast beef, both of which looked to me like fair-to-good quality stuff straight from a Polish deli case. The salami was quite good, as such proprietors seem to take their charcuterie a bit more seriously than their lunch meats.

Of the three, the curried egg salad, though beautifully presented, was the only one lacking a complexity of flavors and textures. The curry was there but the salad was under-salted and could have used some crunchy and/or acidic elements. Don't get me wrong, this one weak link did not detract from my overall pleasure from the meal. The other two bites were awesome. My favorite may have been the fresh salad shrimp in a lemony dressing with flecks of dill and nice crunchy bites of fresh aromatics. The salam was great too, quality salami on a smear of eggy potato and carrot salad garnished with a slice of yup, more egg, and a slice of quite fresh tomato.

This stuff is downright sophisticated and a very welcome addition to the neighborhood. I can see frequenting this place on a regularly basis.

By the way, I might not be the only who had unfair preconceived ideas about the place. On a lovely Saturday late morning, we were one of two or three tables occupied during our stay. My friend at the counter said that they reckon that most people ignore the place due to its location on the east side of the street and do not want to cross the street for coffee. I would not exactly call this destination dining people, cross that street and be very pleasantly surprised!

529 N Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60642
(312) 666-6007

This looks awesome. From the picture they remind me a lot of Klebicke, which are little open-faced sandwiches served in Czech Republic. Thanks, for the report. I really want to check this place out.

=R=

I stopped by Duran for lunch yesterday and was impressed. They have a lunch special of three sandwiches and either a coffee or Pellegrino for $10. I had the curried egg salad, the kabanosy, and another sausage (whose name escapes me). All of them were quite good. The bread was a little on the dry side. I wonder if it was day-old or if that was how it was supposed to be. In any case, I look forward to a return visit.

Totally agree with Jefe that sandwiches at Duran flirt with the dainty and perhaps even precious, but I like them: they're edible works of art, delicious compositions, just beautiful little things.

Duran European Sandwiches Shuttering at End of Month in River West

http://chicago.eater.com/2015/8/17/9166 ... river-west

Dave148 wrote:

Duran European Sandwiches Shuttering at End of Month in River West

http://chicago.eater.com/2015/8/17/9166 ... river-west

The article says they hope to move to a smaller space. I hope it works out - this is a solid place.