Angel Food Bakery Ravenswood

Howdy,

Has anyone tried the Angel Food Bakery for lunch? I hear it is quite tasty!

sorry..forgot the address....1636 W. Montrose

Hello there,

Yes, I've been to Angel Food several times for lunch and many many times for their delicious baked goods.

The bakery has a limited lunch menu: a few sandwiches, soups of the day, a daily quiche, and some salads. All are freshly made, simply prepared, and just delicious. Save room for dessert if you go-- their cupcakes (especially the Boston Creme) and lemon bars are outstanding. They also make a few "retro" treats too: scooter pies, et. al. that are equally good.

It always smells so good in there...go and enjoy everything!

There is some discussion about Angel Food Bakery in this thread, but mainly about the sweets.

I've been there for lunch a couple times, and I consider them to be a perfectly adequate cafe that takes just enough care with their food to keep themselves from being just another face on the block. It's the kind of place that any neighborhood should be happy to have around, but it certainly falls short of being any kind of special destination for people outside the area.

I've had a brisket sandwich, a pork tenderloin sandwich, and a taste of their pot pie. Everything is fresh and well-made, but it certainly fails the "I can make that myself" test, which prevents it from being a lunch destination for me. By far, the best thing there is the red cabbage slaw, which is tossed with sesame oil.

Now, I am normally not too concerned about portion size, but I have left Angel Food hungry on every single visit. Their sandwiches are very small, perhaps because they want you to save room for sweets (which I have not been too impressed with there).

Best,
Michael

delraz wrote:The chocolate is the real deal here. I was Barcelona in November and the chocolate at Angel Food is exactly what to expect if you visit one of the granja coffee houses in the area. Now if they have any churros to dunk with that'd be great. But this with any of their offerings is sublime.

Angel food bakery does indeed have fine drinking chocolate...

There are great churros (.75-$1) at San Miguel Bakery
across the street. For a lovely early spring date, I suggest getting your hot chocolate at Angel Food and then grab churros across the street and enjoy the surrounding area.
1607 W Montrose Ave. (773) 404-2241

Come enjoy my neighborhood...
Spend the morning or afternoon wandering from SanMiguel and AngelFood westward on Montrose to Lil Street Art Gallery (1800 W.) and further along to Hazel http://store.hazelchicago.com/ for great window shopping.
1902 W. Montrose

Other food nearby (within 4 blocks):
Glenn's a newish place that does brunch and its lunch and dinner have a variety of standard cafe options but truly are seafood focused.
I keep meaning to take pictures and do a full post.
1820 W. Montrose Ave., (773) 506-1720)

A new outpost of Margies Candies
Yummy, but the place feels a bit too sterile. Maybe it needs broken table-side jukeboxes and scary dolls staring down at you to capture a true Margie's outing.
1813 W. Montrose Ave., (773) 348-0400

Spacca Napoli
covered indepth at: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7215
(Sunnyside and Ravenswood)-

Sabor a Cuba
reliable ropa veja sandwiches
1833 W. Wilson Ave. Tel: (773) 769-6859

New great places keep popping up. I hope my rent stops popping up though.

First time post from a long time lurker to say that I recently got around to trying Angel Food Bakery... and have since returned there a few more times.

I cannot say enough good things about the brioches. As of yet, I have tried the ricotta and lemon (as in lemon curd) varieties - both of which are intensely comforting, rich, and delicious. They also come in almond and in what I remember as apple/walnut/caramel. A bite of a wam brioche from Angel Food transports me back to the goodness of any French bakery. At around $3, they're well worth the trip and the money.

'Tried Angel Food for brunch the other day. My selection - a variation on an egg in the hole - was good though not memorable, but for the sweet slices of broiled tomatoes. Somewhat underwhelming were the greasy sauteed potatoes. Other selections on the menu looked interesting so I am not ruling out that I might try something off the brunch menu again.

For now though, I think I will stick to visiting for breakfast..., and enjoy the free refills on coffee that are offered if you eat in, as well as the steady stream of neighborhood regulars who chat away with the owner and employees. All this is offered in a corner space that receives tons of natural light and is decorated in retro pastels - a cute, welcoming venue.

There are certain places that make you feel good even apart from how nice the food is. Some "je ne sais quoi" that makes you happy to be there, and happier when you leave than when you walked in.

This is one of those places.

Surprised no one noticed that Angel Food and its owner's story was featured on Food Network's "Recipe For Success" show last week, which I think was a repeat from last year.

dvrstygrl wrote:New great places keep popping up. I hope my rent stops popping up though.

It technically isn't new, but Cosmicafe on Montrose just east of Damen has recently improved its deli menu substantially. Those who remember Mimi's Speciality Deli from its days two blocks west of there may in particular want to swing by. Unfortunately, they still haven't updated their site with her menu.

We visited last summer and I posted about it somewhere but have been unable to locate it to link. Had a really nice weekend breakfast. The details have faded over the 9 months, but it was a jolly, family friendly atmosphere (we were there with the 5 yr. old and his best friend) with very good baked things and better, more creative entree egg dishes than one might expect. Not ground-breaking, but well executed and flavorful uses of goat cheese, fresh herbs, peppers, etc.

The "je ne sais quoi" factor was also at work. We had just returned from a vacation and happened to encounter another pre-school buddy of my son's as our meal was winding up. Our boy escorted the two others to the bakery case and gave them a guided tour of all we had tasted. We have a very cute photo somewhere of three kids, ea. about 3' high peering into glass case. Looks like Life Magazine from the 40s.

Bob S. wrote:but Cosmicafe on Montrose just east of Damen has recently improved its deli menu substantially. Those who remember Mimi's Speciality Deli from its days two blocks west of there may in particular want to swing by. Unfortunately, they still haven't updated their site with her menu.

Bob,

I happened to stop at Cosmic Cafe earlier in the week, I needed a cup of coffee and the window sign says Intelligentsia, and got in conversation with a friendly woman behind the counter. I shortly realized I was talking to, none other than, Mimi of sandwich fame.

I nabbed a menu, but I get the feeling there will be an emphasis on daily specials as well. Mimi said she now uses D'Amato's bread.

Cosmic Cafe Menu



Enjoy,
Gary

Thanks for the menu, Gary. More proof that good spelling and good food are unconnected.

(Clarification: Mimi's sandwiches are great, and I'm glad I know where I can get them again. Spelling is much less important than bread and condiments when it comes to sandwiches. While it's more important to writing on food sites, spelling is still overrated.)

Angel Food Bakery closing

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... ry-closing

Dave148 wrote:

Angel Food Bakery closing

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... ry-closing

Very sad to hear that - I thought they made a number of very good items and Stephanie could not be any nicer. But I just never found that there was tremendous foot traffic in that area. I believe had Angel Food been located elsewhere, it would have done much better.

But I just never found that there was tremendous foot traffic in that area. I believe had Angel Food been located elsewhere, it would have done much better.

I'm sure the perpetual street major work in the area didn't help - the last time I tried to get there, it was literally impossible. What a damn shame.

sundevilpeg wrote:

But I just never found that there was tremendous foot traffic in that area. I believe had Angel Food been located elsewhere, it would have done much better.

I'm sure the perpetual street major work in the area didn't help - the last time I tried to get there, it was literally impossible. What a damn shame.

That's a very good point. Between that area of Montrose and the stretch of Foster between Kedzie & Kimball, I don't know how those businesses can't be angry at the city. And as I consider some very popular bakeries in this city that don't offer anywhere near the quality or whimsy of Angel Food, I'm very saddened.