Medium Red Eye from the Italian Coffee Bar
Item Purchased: Medium Red Eye from the Italian Coffee Bar
Location Purchased: Italian Coffee Bar / 1549 Sherman / Evanston, IL
Price: $1.75 + tax
Review: Arriving early in Evanston today to meet a friend for a lunch in Evanston, I began to wander around a bit. I have been to Evanston a handful of times during my five years in Chicago, but never long enough to just wander around and see what the small town has to offer. All I really know of Evanston is that John and Joan Cusack are from there and it is the birthplace of Tinkertoys (thanks Wikipedia).
From my quick walk, I found out that Evanston (at least the area around the Davis Purple Line El stop) is a whole lot of chain businesses, suburban shop layouts and quaint little streets. If it wasn't for nearby Chicago's allure to tourists, Evanston would make a great resort city on the lake.
Amidst all of this sterile atmosphere, Evanston houses some great little restaurants and coffee shops. One of those cafes is the Italian Coffee Bar. With a simple name on the verge of being pretentious, the Italian Coffee Bar carries off what it sets out to do without a hitch. Pleasant friendly employees, comfy tables, chairs and window-bar seating encourage lounging, staring and conversing with whoever happens to be near rather than the faux-comfy cubicle setup of many of downtown Chicago's coffee shops. An article on the wall says that the owner, Chris Casas, set out to recreate a coffee shop that he fell in love with while traveling in Venice. I've never been to Venice, but Italian Coffee Bar does succeed in being a place where I will gravitate to for my caffeine when I next find myself in Evanston. ICB also serves fresh bakery and gelato that I might even make a special trip up there for.
The red eye drink is a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso poured in, to give it a double whammy of a wake-up call. I like espresso in my coffee because of the caramel taste it gives the drink even before I load in the cream and sugar. This red eye had an especially fresh and dark (not burnt) taste to it which made it a whole lot easier to see more of Evanston in the short time I had before meeting my friend.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Location Purchased: Italian Coffee Bar / 1549 Sherman / Evanston, IL
Price: $1.75 + tax
Review: Arriving early in Evanston today to meet a friend for a lunch in Evanston, I began to wander around a bit. I have been to Evanston a handful of times during my five years in Chicago, but never long enough to just wander around and see what the small town has to offer. All I really know of Evanston is that John and Joan Cusack are from there and it is the birthplace of Tinkertoys (thanks Wikipedia).
From my quick walk, I found out that Evanston (at least the area around the Davis Purple Line El stop) is a whole lot of chain businesses, suburban shop layouts and quaint little streets. If it wasn't for nearby Chicago's allure to tourists, Evanston would make a great resort city on the lake.
Amidst all of this sterile atmosphere, Evanston houses some great little restaurants and coffee shops. One of those cafes is the Italian Coffee Bar. With a simple name on the verge of being pretentious, the Italian Coffee Bar carries off what it sets out to do without a hitch. Pleasant friendly employees, comfy tables, chairs and window-bar seating encourage lounging, staring and conversing with whoever happens to be near rather than the faux-comfy cubicle setup of many of downtown Chicago's coffee shops. An article on the wall says that the owner, Chris Casas, set out to recreate a coffee shop that he fell in love with while traveling in Venice. I've never been to Venice, but Italian Coffee Bar does succeed in being a place where I will gravitate to for my caffeine when I next find myself in Evanston. ICB also serves fresh bakery and gelato that I might even make a special trip up there for.
The red eye drink is a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso poured in, to give it a double whammy of a wake-up call. I like espresso in my coffee because of the caramel taste it gives the drink even before I load in the cream and sugar. This red eye had an especially fresh and dark (not burnt) taste to it which made it a whole lot easier to see more of Evanston in the short time I had before meeting my friend.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
posted by Kevin | permalink |
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home