Cafe 53

WHAT: Cafe 53
WHERE: 1369 E. 53rd St.

OUR RATING: Chance It!

Cafe 53, sometimes known as ‘The Gelato Cafe’ by locals, is one of a small handful of off-campus cafes near The University of Chicago in Hyde Park. Along with free wi-fi and long hours, Cafe 53 offers your typical coffees and espressos along with a wide variety of pastries, cakes, savory pies and sandwiches, but uniquely also happens to offer gelato.

Alicia: For a small cafe, the variety of drinks on hand is quite varied, offering light, dark, flavored and decaf roasts, an espresso with their signature espresso beans, and a plethora of cappuccinos, lattes and teas. You can also request a card that rewards you with a free drink every tenth visit, so if you need a place to give you that necessary dose of caffeine while you study late, this is a pretty good choice for your wallet.

The atmosphere offered by Cafe 53 is generally workable, with a few comfortable tables and even a patio out back. It doesn’t get too loud in here, and sometimes can provide that perfect amount of sun. While decorated, the ambiance of the cafe is relatively ambiguous, so while the gelato on offer might sound intimate, I probably wouldn’t go on a coffee date here. Yet one could easily settle down with a cup of Joe and get through quite a few pages of Marx.

Adam: I remember a few years back when a gelato craze was somewhat sweeping Chicago, and you could find a good cafe serving the stuff in just about every neighborhood. Gelato itself is age-old, coming from the Latin gelatus or frozen and probably invented through the mixing of Alpine snow with fruit juices for the richer ancient Romans (although there is little direct evidence to suggest this). Unfortunately for the gelato-istas, the craze seemed to die down, to be replaced with frozen yogurt, an obviously healthier alternative.

Cafe 53 was one of the last cafes established before this wane, and this has surely affected their business. Also in Hyde Park is Istria Cafe, also providing gelato, although Istria is of older pedigree. Upon tasting their gelato (there are many varieties such as caramel, pistachio and stracciatella) I was convinced that they had the basic method figured out, but the soul was lacking. Don’t get me wrong, the gelato is good, but it’s not fantastic, and Istria provides similar types and quality. It’s also just not as good as some gelato I’ve had outside the city, and that annoys me because it’s simply not that hard to make. They also have a sorbet collection that seems rather good, but then again, sorbet is rather hard to get wrong.

I remain unconvinced of Cafe 53’s core concept: while the coffee and atmosphere seem fine, it’s main selling point, the gelato, is clearly not up to snuff. Go ahead and give it a try, but I’m not promising anything.

Final Thoughts: Cafe 53 isn’t trying that hard to keep your business, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t occasionally patronize it. Good for coffee and a chat, but try not to spend too much on the gelato.

Antique Taco

WHAT: Antique Taco
WHERE: 1360 N. Milwaukee Ave.

OUR RATING: Do It!

(antiquetaco.com)

In its tiny Wicker Park location, Antique Taco, from husband-and-wife team Rick and Ashley Ortiz, nestles at the corner of Milwaukee and Wood, inviting customers into its cozy, vintage space, complete with rustic long tables for communal eating and deep oak tones. It’s a cute space and somewhat ‘homey,’ and while always buzzing, still provides a relatively chill atmosphere for any type of group. A very long fast-moving line marks this place out as a popular spot with the locals, who seem to brave the sometimes inflated prices for a little bite of Old Mexico.

(antiquetaco.com)

Adam: Antique Taco is simple food done well. With a purposefully limited menu of only five tacos (however, with other goods on offer as well, from your typical guacamole to more unique options such as cheese curds), you don’t have to endlessly skim through reams of paper to locate your desired dish. I thought it best to try two of their meatier options: the grilled rib-eye and chicken tinga tacos. Both were excellent, but in quite unique ways. Each order comes with two tacos and ample toppings.

Rib-eye Tacos

Beef tacos are somewhat of a staple for me – if you can prepare this correctly, then you’re on the right track. Antique Taco’s rib-eye tacos, with caramelized poblano peppers, onions, cheese whiz (yes, this works!) and fresh cilantro are smoky and delicious, tasting like they just came off a roaring barbeque. The fresh cilantro was the strongest flavor in this one, but I also detected heavy spicing that doesn’t seem to discernibly come from anywhere, so I must assume that the meat was specially prepared.

Chicken Tinga Tacos

But, my favourite tacos of the night were surely the chicken tinga tacos, complete with savory shredded chicken, hot sauce, queso, carrot and celery pickle, el rancho crema fresca and fresh cilantro. Spicy, almost to the point of being hot, while also exceptionally creamy, the flavor profile was somewhat hard to pin down, but at once perfectly singed and soothed the palate in such a way as to be wonderfully complex and mouthwatering. If you have to get just one taco, get the chicken tinga!

Market Mushroom Tacos

Alicia: One look at Antique Taco’s menu and I knew I was going to try the Market Mushroom tacos. The two warm corn tortillas encased meaty sauteed mushrooms, crunchy salty pumpkin seeds, fresh and spicy arugula, bitingly flavorful purple onion and radish, and a smoked onion cream that cut through all of these flavors with a beautifully creamy finesse. The perfect pairing was obviously the purple onion with the savory onion cream, making me want to keep coming back bite after delicious bite.

Maple Farm Duck Enchiladas

Unfortunately, the Maple Farm Duck Enchiladas were much less successful. After ordering at the register, I was notified that the enchiladas were fried, but since I had already gotten my hopes up, I thought I’d still try them. What came to the table was definitely not an order of enchiladas, but of flautas, and I felt angry and embarrassed for Antique Taco in their failed nomenclature. As I dug into the fried tortillas I definitely enjoyed the savory duck meat, but with all the accoutrements on top (cream, lettuce, etc), I failed to pick out what they tried to sell as peanut butter mole and blackberry crema fresca. Ultimately, this was a very sorry dish, and something I would never order again, as their tacos are the clear winner here.

Overall, Antique Taco is fun, and I really enjoyed the sticks accompanying each dish which identified what I was eating, as well as the fun jar of complimentary gum for a post-meal refreshment. Yes to their tacos, no to their fried enchiladas.

(antiquetaco.com)

Final Thoughts: A great place to grab a few tacos, we would definitely come back here, especially to try their rosemary margarita (tequila, fresh lime juice, fresh orange juice and rosemary simple syrup) and of course to order one of their horchata milkshakes on a warm day (yet, which to choose is up in the air, as the joint offers up cinnamon, banana, almond, and vanilla varieties). Yum!

The Paper Machete

WHAT: The Paper Machete (Variety Show)
WHEN: Every Saturday from 3pm
WHERE: The Green Mill (4802 N. Broadway Ave.)

OUR RATING:
Do It!–Our experience
Chance It!–Possible future performances

(thepapermacheteshow.com)

The Paper Machete is a town crier for the modern age, providing audiences with amusing, serious and diverse entertainment covering pop culture, current events and a good dose of musical interlude. Originally launched in 2010, and created and hosted by writer Christopher Piatt, The Paper Machete tickles nearly every fancy, and allows one to experience the iconic cocktail lounge The Green Mill (of Prohibition fame) in the same manner as generations past: with a complete variety show.

Christopher Priatt (thepapermacheteshow.com)

Every Saturday afternoon at 3pm, this “live magazine” offers patrons a chance to connect with stars from the likes of iO, The Second City, the Neo-Futurists and beyond. Named best comedy variety show of 2011 by the Chicago Reader, the show encompasses an array of performances that are sure not to disappoint regulars and newcomers alike.

(greenmilljazz.com)

This past Saturday, Storefront City had a chance to visit this historic location and listen along to this rapid-fire magazine of popular thought. Our afternoon began with a rather serious interlude into environmental protection by Rachael Mason of iO. What appeared at first to be a paean for environmental action, soon showed its true colours as an amusing reflection on her childhood poetry for Earth Day, that brought up important and pertinent issues related to the recent Hurricane Sandy and its effects on her family. Masterfully blending humor and reality, Mason kept our attention and made us appreciate the awesome destructive power of nature, and man’s influence on it.

The Green Mill (courtesy of Tom Gill)

In keeping with this serious nature, Lisa Buscani of the Neo-Futurists’ investigation into the sordid world of Sandusky, from the perspective of another inmate at the same prison, provided a reflective moment to appreciate the situation of those who are behind bars and the circumstances that lead society to imprison.

Ike Holter

But, let’s be honest, a magazine is never all about it’s newsworthy material, and we were treated to an inventive series of laughs as well. Ike Holter, popular playwright of Hit the Wall (first performed by The Inconvenience at Steppenwolf last year, and now moving to Off-Broadway), gave us an op-ed monologue musing on this year’s selection for the Academy Awards. Featuring quotes from “that owner of 7 Eleven who shouts at hipsters” to acceptances speeches themselves, Holter was full of ingenuity and verve.

NYC’s Reformed Whores (reformedwhores.com)

And what variety show would be complete without music? We giggled with NYC musical comedy duo Reformed Whores, and swung along to the dulcet tones of Bethany Thomas (of Porgy and Bess fame), who created an atmosphere entirely appropriate to such a venerated establishment as The Green Mill.

Chad the Bird (wbez.org)

A well-rounded current events publication needs a sports section, this one provided by resident puppet Chad the Bird (a Josh Zagoren creation). Staging in the venue was divided between the main stage towards the back, and the bar area, where Chad gave us his weekly sports roundup.

Matt Braunger (thepapermacheteshow.com)

Finally, Matt Braunger (love your website!) provided the capstone to the afternoon, also performing from the bar area. With topics covering Chicago staples such as certain kinds of people on the #22 bus, to tripped out nights dressed as clowns downtown, Braunger tapped into the audience and hit all the right notes. We highly recommend you see him if you can in the future.

Bethany Thomas (courtesy of Jeremy Rill)

Busy on Saturday afternoons? Not to worry! Every week The Paper Machete and host WBEZ create a podcast, also known as “The Paper Machete Radio Magazine,” with selections from the latest show.

The Paper Machete comes highly recommended from Storefront City. Best enjoyed with a couple of friends (the space is crowded) and a relaxed attitude, performances may vary week to week, but if the quality remains the same as last time, you will not be disappointed.