Chava Cafe in Uptown

I'm admittedly pretty giddy to have had a rush of recent activity come close to home here in Uptown, specifically near the intersection if Clark and Wilson. Two new places that opened in the same new-ish building on Clark and Leland are Blue Ocean (sushi, haven't been) and Chava Cafe.

I stopped in to Chava this afternoon. I love the space, though some might find the uber white sheen oddly akin to a dentist's office. It looks real chic and slick, a refreshing breath of air for the area.

The menu looks pretty great! Aside from the fact that they were out of (or just plain didn't have) some items, I was quite pleased. For a mid-afternoon snack/lunch I got the cashew butter Gruyere and fig sandwich, served on a French loaf. This reminded me VERY much of a similar sandwich at Hopleaf, and seeing as that sandwich is one of my favorite snacks, I dove on it. The sandwich is the perfect balance of childhood nostalgia food (kinda like a PB&J) and a grown up "afternoon tea" nosh. Every ingredient popped: the slightly crunchy, thick cashew spread; the sweet jam-y fig preserves; an unexpectedly wonderful, thick layer of warm melted Gruyere... oh yum!

I got a peaches 'n' cream smoothie as well, which was good enough, but nothing spectacular.

I want to go back sometime soon and try some of the other gourmet-style sandwiches that were catching my eye: cold lamb and polenta on Milwaukee sourdough, mortadella sandwich on focaccia, herbed turkey with smoked gouda on ciabatta...

Chava is open Mon-Fri 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., and Sat-Sun 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. Plenty of opportunity to stop in.

Chava Cafe
4656 N. Clark
Chicago, IL
773-942-6763

New Spring Menu debuts today.
Highlights include: Blackcat Braised Porkbelly sandwich (porkbelly braised with blackcat espresso cut in slices and topped with kimchi salad and hoison bbq sauce served on kaiser bun)

Avocado Shrimp Roll Sandwich (shrimp salad tossed with roughly chopped mixture of avocado, lime and cilantro topped with watercress served on a challah bun)

Wild Rice and Chicken Salad (Minnesota wild rice tossed with chicken breast, red pepper, green beans, grape tomatoes, smoked mozzarella and roasted shallot vinaigrette served on a bed of greens)

All menu items look amazing and based on former meals here I can't wait to try their new items.
Unfortunately their website is still under construction so you'll have to stop in to see the full menu.

I thought it worth posting some additional praise for this place. They take their food offerings as serious as their drinks and i look forward to trying some of the new items, especially that pork belly sandwich, they really seem to be branching out. As far as cafes go, Chava cranks out some great food.

I'll have to stop by again to check out the spring menu and will have to second the gruyere/fig sandwich rave from Mattkrc. Pure childhood nostalgia but with more expensive and tastier ingredients.

I love the new restaurants opening up in this corridor since I ride my bike through it everyday. I wish these options were available when I played kickball across the street at Chase Park.

Mattkrc wrote:I stopped in to Chava this afternoon. I love the space, though some might find the uber white sheen oddly akin to a dentist's office. It looks real chic and slick, a refreshing breath of air for the area.

I don't know much about chic and slick, but I liked Ch'ava's space, open, airy, comfortable. Well managed coffee, friendly people, surprisingly good sandwiches.

Sliced pork loin, sauteed mustard greens, redeye mustard, gruyere on ciabatta hoagie.



Ch'ava



Bonus points for having parking on busy Clark Street.

Enjoy,
Gary

Memory is fuzzy as I had a somewhat fussy toddler in tow, but a few months back they had a really good and restorative Vietnamese-ish meatball soup in a clear, herb-based broth. (I think the owner is Korean, no?) I don't normally associate modern/everyone staring into their white laptops coffee scene with restorative soup, so there you go. I hope to get back. With my own laptop and toddler not tugging at my hip.

bjt

bjt wrote:(I think the owner is Korean, no?)

The owner is Korean, yes. A friendly knowledgeable fellow who seems committed to serving quality food

Jim, owner Ch'ava Cafe

Stopped into Chava for an early lunch Sunday and had a really nice yukon gold potato sandwich. The potatos were slice thin, warm and creamy without being mush. They were offset with a dressing that had some bite along with red onions, capers and i believe arugala (or some other slightly bitter green). It was a great sandwich.

One of the two owners, Eddie (pictured above), spent some time in the kitchen at Nomi.

According to its FB page, Ch'ava's closing is imminent:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chava-Cafe/142787877461

Very sad to see them go.

fleurdesel wrote:According to its FB page, Ch'ava's closing is imminent:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chava-Cafe/142787877461

Very sad to see them go.

Oh, no! That was a great spot for quality coffee and food.

Bummer, IMO they made some of the best coffee in the city and made some great sandwiches as well. They were a little out of the way to be a regular stop for us but they'll be missed.

fleurdesel wrote:According to its FB page, Ch'ava's closing is imminent:

Must have missed this, went this morning and was greeted with an empty storefront. I liked the place, good coffee, friendly, fast wifi and parking, what more could you ask from a coffee shop.

I wish the owners of Ch'ava, best of luck in whatever direction life takes them.

Really sad.

I was in a couple weeks ago and spoke to Eddie Hwang (that's him in the photo above), co-owner with Rich Park, and he mentioned that business levels had been down, but the closing took me by surprise.

Rich is hugely knowledgeable and passionate about coffee, and Eddie's a very talented chef. Both are very friendly, and I know they worked extremely hard. I hope they open elsewhere. Location seemed to be their biggest problem, certainly not food/drink quality or service.