Hot Off the French Press: Irving Park

“Irving Park” by Elysa Valeriano

Initially a vast farmland, Irving Park started off as a collection of agricultural deals before its integration into Chicago! Seeking to retire after a prosperous farming career, landowner Major Noble sold his over 160-acre farm to four New Yorkers: Charles T. Race, John S. Brown, Adelbert E. Brown, and John Wheeler (1). The men saw potential in turning the farmland into a robust suburb and signed a contract with the Chicago & North Western railroad to establish a train stop in the area; while the station was originally titled Irvington “as a tribute to the author Washington Irving,” it soon took on its current name Irving Park (2). The new suburb soon found itself attracting plenty of wealthy residents searching for larger homes and middle-class families wanting to get out of the dangerous city. To accommodate the influx of residents and the diverse needs of its people, Irving Park was annexed into Chicago and gained valuable funding crucial for fixing its drainage and street issues. Despite the neighborhood starting out native-born and white-collar, it now has an over 40% growing Hispanic and Latino population (2). To celebrate a successful year of Hot off the French Press, my mother accompanied me in trying these last three cafes. Thank you Mom for supporting me on this journey and I can’t wait to review more shops in the upcoming quarters with you!

Café Urbano

Starting off strong with its delicious sandwiches and pleasant coffee was Café Urbano! As a longstanding host for open mic nights and musicians, the café shows its commitment to supporting its local artists (3). Being a corner shop with a bay window-style entrance, sunlight flooded the dining space and kept the interior warm on a breezy day. The mixture of textures, hanging plants, hand-painted artwork, and thrifted décor gave Café Urbano a unique charm that felt like walking into someone’s home. Given that most of the indoor seating was either on highchairs by the window or date-style tables, the shaded patio gave larger groups a more accommodating option. The best part, however, was the vending machine selling various trinkets and stickers. I even managed to snag myself a CTA coin from the 1950s!

Eager to kickstart our day, I ordered the chicken pesto panini and my mother got the avocado BLT sandwich. Despite not tasting much of the pesto, the chicken was grilled to perfection and had a delicious savory flavor. Plenty of crisp spinach, crunchy red onions, and fresh mozzarella balanced out the sandwich well. Similarly, the avocado BLT was packed with flavor on a flakey, warm baguette. The ripe avocado and abundance of bacon made this little sandwich a huge hit with us! Needing a bit of sweetness to lighten our savory dishes, we paired our meal with two iced vanilla lattes—mine with almond milk, of course. Within minutes our plates were licked clean and our cups completely empty, making this one of our favorite cafés yet!

Casa Cactus

With its vintage furniture and abundance of plants, Casa Cactus made us feel right at home! While serving Mexican-inspired menu items, the shop also hosts a variety of events for the Latino community (4). Fittingly, this adorable café was a mere crosswalk away from Plant Shop Chicago—its sister location. We were greeted by a vast array of succulents surrounding the entrance and a line nearly out the door; despite it appearing small from the outside, a second dining space offered additional seating beyond the stunning brick bar. The rocking chair nestled underneath an enormous monstera and gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows gave the café a cozy feel, though the noise volume made any attempts at concentration a struggle.

Delighted with their creative food and beverages, we settled on two empanadas with their honey dandelion drink and the horchata latte to wash everything down. Apprehensive about the inclusion of “dandelion root” in my drink, I fully expected a bitter taste; however, I am pleased to report that my drink was completely absent of the earthiness I anticipated! I was blown away by its perfect sweetness, subtle coffee flavor, and smooth finish. Words cannot express my surprise upon tasting the almond milk foam—perfect does not even come close to describing its consistency. The horchata latte was also unbelievably well-crafted and had a rich cinnamon flavor with that same subtle coffee taste. While our drinks were absolutely amazing, we were regrettably disappointed with the empanadas. The dough was pretty dry, there was hardly any filling, and we wished they were at least served warm.

Backlot Coffee

I was more in love with Backlot Coffee’s atmosphere than its drinks. Shortly after visiting Casa Cactus, our final café was a sharp contrast to the former’s bright colors and cozy vibe. Backlot Coffee’s neutral tones and modern interior evoked a calming feel—and the mixture of lamps and natural sunlight brightened up the space perfectly. A few potted plants scattered the area, but while they were somewhat wilting, a vase of fresh-cut flowers added a striking splash of color. Various sketches and paintings by local artist Penny Pinch were displayed along the walls as well. Two entrances on either end of the store made it accessible from both the Irving Park side and the best side of all: the free parking lot! After driving in Chicago for many years, you begin to appreciate the virtue of non-metered parking.

The drinks may not have been my favorite, but I am glad that I at least gave them a try. Wanting to step out of my comfort zone, I chose the iced blueberry matcha while my mother tried the cardamom rose latte. My drink, in the nicest way possible, almost tasted like if you were to put freezer-burned blueberries and milk in a blender with a dash of matcha powder. For being a matcha-based drink, it felt more like an acquired aftertaste—and I really like matcha, too. The oat milk attempted to balance out the flavor but after drinking about half the glass I had to tap out. The cardamom rose latte sounded good in theory but was subpar in practice. My mother claimed to taste the rose, yet I only tasted the overwhelming flavor of spices. Adding a few sugar packets made the drink more palatable for me but unfortunately, it did not win me over.

Resources

(1) https://oldirvingpark.com/history/
(2)http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/655.html#:~:text=Irving%20Park,to%20downtown%20via%20hourly%20trains
(3) https://www.cafeurbanochicago.com/
(4) https://casacactuscoffee.com/