Café Fresco
1202 W. Grand Avenue, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 312-733-6378
Date of Review: June, 2008
I am not sure how well known this relatively simple neighborhood storefront restaurant is to most, but it is well known to me and my friends and has one of the best outdoor dining areas in Chicago. Café Fresco is conveniently located on a busy section of Grand Avenue close to downtown. It is surrounded by one of the best small Italian grocers in the city (Bari foods) and one of the better Italian bakeries I have been to (Damato’s).
Café Fresco has a small and basic interior with a few high and low top tables in bar like interior. They have a downstairs area where larger parties and events can take place but the real gem of this restaurant is the patio area. You walk through the restaurant, past the kitchen into what seems like another world. Café Fresco looks like it used to be a small home and this was the backyard. There are wild grape plants and lots of trees and ivy covering the walls and garage door. When I sit in Café Fresco’s backyard, I feel like I am in an oasis of sorts.
Café Fresco has a menu that is half “high-end” bar food (e.g. excellent sandwiches) and half Italian. I have eaten here probably 20 times and have come to favor a few things. For appetizers, the artichoke fritters are great. I do not like artichokes usually but when they are peeled off like onion peels, lightly fried and served with a spicy remoulade dipping sauce, they are very good. The bruschetta is also an excellent way to start your meal.
They have a great burger that is served with fries. The burger is good size and is topped with onions and tomatoes on a sesame seed bun with a large portion of basic, but decent french fries. The chili ancho chicken sandwich and fresco club are also good bets. The fresco club is loaded will all sorts of Italian lunch meats and cheeses on a nice focaccia bun. The Steak Au Poive sandwich is also a winner. They do offer specials and on my last visit I had the Italian veggie sandwich. The sandwich was huge and had sautéed eggplant, squash, zucchini and onion topped with melted mozzarella and tomato sauce on an Italian roll. The sandwich was good, but not great.
There are some excellent pasta dishes with my favorite being the rigatoni. There are huge rings of thick rigatoni noodles with goat cheese, spicy red sauce and Italian sausage mixed in throughout the dish. When the dish arrived, I thought it was just one big ring of pasta because the noodles were so big. This is my favorite pasta dish on the menu. The gemelli pasta was the pasta special on my last visit and it consisted of gemelli pasta with grilled chicken, spinach and asparagus in a tomato sauce. The combination of ingredients went well together with the tasty sauce and the portion was large. Their entrees are also solid and they usually have a fish special that features tilapia or salmon.
The prices at Café Fresco are about average. Sandwiches are in the $8 to $10 range and most pasta dishes are anywhere in the $11 to $13 range. The specials and fish dishes can get up to $15 to $17. They do have a full bar. On my last visit, we had the Italian veggie sandwich, gemelli pasta and 2 lemonades (free refills) and the total price was $28.90 plus tax and tip.
This is a pleasant place to enjoy a casual meal. You could really salt away an evening in their fantastic garden area over some solid food and quite a few drinks. I know I have on many occasions.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 02, 2008
Chicago (Mexican) - El Cid 2
El Cid 2
2645 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 773-395-0505
Date of Review: June, 2008
This is a staple Logan Square spot that has undergone some changes recently. They recently added a chic upstairs lounge that has brought in a bit more of the new Logan Square “yuppie” crowd. They have also dressed up the menu, though it remains to be seen as to how this goes over. What El Cid does offer is good, solid authentic Mexican food at reasonable prices. The restaurant is located on Kedzie Boulevard across the street from the Logan Square Blue Line stop. There is another El Cid restaurant on 2115 N. Milwaukee Avenue about a mile away. One thing no one may know by looking at the restaurant is that they have a large, splendid garden off the back of the restaurant that makes you feel like you are dining in someone’s backyard.
I have had many a Burrito De Arracera (Grilled Skirt Steak Burrito) at 1 AM or 2 AM as I walked back to my apartment from where the cabbie dropped me after a night out at the bars. That happens when you live 1/10th of a mile from a decent Mexican restaurant. However, El Cid is much more than a late night place to soak up liquor. The burritos are very good though at any time of the day as the chicken and steak are both fresh and tasty.
Some good breakfast options on the menu are the Huevos Rancheros and Huevos a la Mexicana. For lunch and dinner, El Cid is known for their fish tacos. Personally, I think they are good but a little lacking in flavor. I think there are better options on the menu like the tortas, burritos or a platter of enchiladas. A couple of good appetizers include the guacamole (portion is huge), the Coctel De Camaron (Shrimp Cocktail) or the Coctel "vuelve a La Vida " (Oyster, Octopus, and Shrimp Cocktail). The seafood is tasty and the cocktail sauce is a perfect accompaniment to the seafood. El Cid offers complimentary chips with 2 different types of salsa. There is the green tomatillo salsa which is good and the pico de gallo which is excellent. This pico de gallo is the best salsa I can remember having. It has just the right combination of sweetness and fresh tomato, onion and jalapeno. It is out of this world as I have swung by El Cid to pick up a container to bring home on many occasions.
The prices at El Cid are about average. They used to be very reasonable but with the addition of the new lounge, they have rightfully raised their prices. An order of guacamole is $6.95 while an order of shrimp cocktail is $9.95. The fish tacos dinner (3 fish tacos with rice and beans) is a good bargain at $9.95 as is the grilled skirt steak burrito (not served with anything) at $5.75. The margaritas are big and expensive and draft beers are $3 a piece.
El Cid has solid Mexican food at reasonable prices in a nice environment. It is the kind of place you would frequent regularly if it was in your neighborhood.
The upstairs lounge is a great place for private (e.g. birthday) party for 25-40 people.
2645 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 773-395-0505
Date of Review: June, 2008
This is a staple Logan Square spot that has undergone some changes recently. They recently added a chic upstairs lounge that has brought in a bit more of the new Logan Square “yuppie” crowd. They have also dressed up the menu, though it remains to be seen as to how this goes over. What El Cid does offer is good, solid authentic Mexican food at reasonable prices. The restaurant is located on Kedzie Boulevard across the street from the Logan Square Blue Line stop. There is another El Cid restaurant on 2115 N. Milwaukee Avenue about a mile away. One thing no one may know by looking at the restaurant is that they have a large, splendid garden off the back of the restaurant that makes you feel like you are dining in someone’s backyard.
I have had many a Burrito De Arracera (Grilled Skirt Steak Burrito) at 1 AM or 2 AM as I walked back to my apartment from where the cabbie dropped me after a night out at the bars. That happens when you live 1/10th of a mile from a decent Mexican restaurant. However, El Cid is much more than a late night place to soak up liquor. The burritos are very good though at any time of the day as the chicken and steak are both fresh and tasty.
Some good breakfast options on the menu are the Huevos Rancheros and Huevos a la Mexicana. For lunch and dinner, El Cid is known for their fish tacos. Personally, I think they are good but a little lacking in flavor. I think there are better options on the menu like the tortas, burritos or a platter of enchiladas. A couple of good appetizers include the guacamole (portion is huge), the Coctel De Camaron (Shrimp Cocktail) or the Coctel "vuelve a La Vida " (Oyster, Octopus, and Shrimp Cocktail). The seafood is tasty and the cocktail sauce is a perfect accompaniment to the seafood. El Cid offers complimentary chips with 2 different types of salsa. There is the green tomatillo salsa which is good and the pico de gallo which is excellent. This pico de gallo is the best salsa I can remember having. It has just the right combination of sweetness and fresh tomato, onion and jalapeno. It is out of this world as I have swung by El Cid to pick up a container to bring home on many occasions.
The prices at El Cid are about average. They used to be very reasonable but with the addition of the new lounge, they have rightfully raised their prices. An order of guacamole is $6.95 while an order of shrimp cocktail is $9.95. The fish tacos dinner (3 fish tacos with rice and beans) is a good bargain at $9.95 as is the grilled skirt steak burrito (not served with anything) at $5.75. The margaritas are big and expensive and draft beers are $3 a piece.
El Cid has solid Mexican food at reasonable prices in a nice environment. It is the kind of place you would frequent regularly if it was in your neighborhood.
The upstairs lounge is a great place for private (e.g. birthday) party for 25-40 people.
Chicago (Peruvian) - Taste of Peru
Taste of Peru
6545 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 773-381-4540
Date of Review: June, 2008
Located in Rogers Park far North, Taste of Peru is one of a few of Chicago’s Peruvian restaurants. This discreet storefront BYOB (5$ corkage) restaurant is located in a strip mall on Clark Street. It is a simple place with basic tables and seating for 60-70. The décor is focused entirely Peru except for some photographs in the back of famous people (who the owner either admires or have visited the restaurant) and some articles from local magazines and papers praising some of the restaurants dishes. The rest of the restaurant décor features travel articles on Peru, Peruvian artifacts, Peruvian pipe music playing overhead and pictures of Peru.
During our visit, we had the papa rellena ($7) as an appetizer. This mashed potato is filled with all sorts of nice bits and pieces including beef, olives, raisins and red peppers and is then fried. It almost looks like a baked potato until you break into it with your fork. It is full of interesting flavors and is even better with a bit of the onion salad in a ceviche style lime dressing and some of their spicy, avocado colored spicy sauce. The flavor of the sauce comes from what I think is cilantro and jalapeno and it has a kick. For entrees, we had the Arroz con Mariscos (seafood paella) and the Seco de Cordero (stewed lamb). The seafood paella features tasty golden yellow saffron flavored rice loaded with crab legs, clams, mussels, shrimp and squid. The portion is large and seafood is plentiful and tasty. The only part of this dish I didn’t like was the crab legs. Oddly, the crab meat was salty and dry. The Seco de Cordero features lamb stewed with red wine, pumpkin, beer, chile ancho and red peppers. The lamb was tasty and tender and was definitely the highlight of the dish. You could taste the flavor of the beer in the lamb and its juices throughout the dish. The rice and beans served with the dish were bland to say the least. While I could taste the beer/lamb juices in the rice because the lamb was sitting on top of the rice, I couldn’t pick up much else in terms of seasonings in the rice. The beans had literally no flavor but I found myself enjoying the rice with the lamb much more after I turned to the spicy green sauce. A funny thing my guest highlighted is that the dishes look exactly like the pictures on the large menu. This was particularly applicable to the Arroz con Mariscos.
The server was a friendly Peruvian man who seemed genuinely interested as to whether we enjoyed our meal and he offered good suggestions.
Taste of Peru offers good value. Our appetizer was $7 and the paella was $16.95. The lamb dish was $12. We did not have any drinks and didn’t bring wine and our total bill came to $38.15 plus tip.
6545 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois; Phone 773-381-4540
Date of Review: June, 2008
Located in Rogers Park far North, Taste of Peru is one of a few of Chicago’s Peruvian restaurants. This discreet storefront BYOB (5$ corkage) restaurant is located in a strip mall on Clark Street. It is a simple place with basic tables and seating for 60-70. The décor is focused entirely Peru except for some photographs in the back of famous people (who the owner either admires or have visited the restaurant) and some articles from local magazines and papers praising some of the restaurants dishes. The rest of the restaurant décor features travel articles on Peru, Peruvian artifacts, Peruvian pipe music playing overhead and pictures of Peru.
During our visit, we had the papa rellena ($7) as an appetizer. This mashed potato is filled with all sorts of nice bits and pieces including beef, olives, raisins and red peppers and is then fried. It almost looks like a baked potato until you break into it with your fork. It is full of interesting flavors and is even better with a bit of the onion salad in a ceviche style lime dressing and some of their spicy, avocado colored spicy sauce. The flavor of the sauce comes from what I think is cilantro and jalapeno and it has a kick. For entrees, we had the Arroz con Mariscos (seafood paella) and the Seco de Cordero (stewed lamb). The seafood paella features tasty golden yellow saffron flavored rice loaded with crab legs, clams, mussels, shrimp and squid. The portion is large and seafood is plentiful and tasty. The only part of this dish I didn’t like was the crab legs. Oddly, the crab meat was salty and dry. The Seco de Cordero features lamb stewed with red wine, pumpkin, beer, chile ancho and red peppers. The lamb was tasty and tender and was definitely the highlight of the dish. You could taste the flavor of the beer in the lamb and its juices throughout the dish. The rice and beans served with the dish were bland to say the least. While I could taste the beer/lamb juices in the rice because the lamb was sitting on top of the rice, I couldn’t pick up much else in terms of seasonings in the rice. The beans had literally no flavor but I found myself enjoying the rice with the lamb much more after I turned to the spicy green sauce. A funny thing my guest highlighted is that the dishes look exactly like the pictures on the large menu. This was particularly applicable to the Arroz con Mariscos.
The server was a friendly Peruvian man who seemed genuinely interested as to whether we enjoyed our meal and he offered good suggestions.
Taste of Peru offers good value. Our appetizer was $7 and the paella was $16.95. The lamb dish was $12. We did not have any drinks and didn’t bring wine and our total bill came to $38.15 plus tip.
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