35th Street Cafe

I miss you, 35^th Street Café! Please come back! :’(

This place annoys the crap out of me!
I was excited to learn that Bridgeport/​McKinley had a spot like this in addition to Nana to offer some variety.
I’ve come here twice, once when introduced and the second because it was close to all my buddies in McKinley. The first time, we walked in at about 8:30am on a Saturday morning and the place was near empty, except for staff. They had A LOT of staff just standing around. We had like 4 different servers. Normally, it might improve the service but this time, it was the opposite. Our drink order was taken 3 different times (we just had coffee and juice) and our food order twice. We thought it was just some mis-​communication, but the severity of it presented itself when our food was brought out TWICE and we still had to ask for drinks. I had a benedict that was decent but I honestly can’t think about it over the service.
The second time, we were one of the first tables in, but it was Bears Game Sunday. We got our order in before the place started to fill up. And still, we were sitting around for 45 minutes without food and had to ask for coffee refills twice (they never brought them the first time). Our food came out piece-​wise but we had to be rude to each other and eat upon service. We were running late to our next plan for the day and our food was getting cold waiting for our other guests dishes.
Service is what destroys this place. The food is actually pretty good but completely overshadowed but incompetence.

My friend and I decided to try this place out and we ended up passing it up and having to come back around.
Chips and salsa — Chips were nice and crispy, but looked greasy. The salsa tasted like marinara with a hint of spice to me. Think we thought it was good that it was a bit warm too.
Iced Mocha — I’ve had better.
Chicken Florentine Panini — I felt it had way too much cheese. Not enough chicken or spinach. I opted for the homemade fries and they were not bad.
Philly Steak Panini — My friend got this and thought it was dry tasting. She got the fries and she thinks they were homemade and ate them all.
OVerall, service was good, but I think there are better cafes out there and probably will not return.

Went here with my nieces and wife on a thursday. We arrived around 10:45 and ordered a mix of breakfast and lunch items. The potato chips are delicious. Overall the food was very well done. You can tell they hand make a lot of items. They have several unique items and a selection of specials that are not what you would think to find in a low key place as this. Our server was excellent and spot on. The place began to fill up with a lunch crowd and if it is any indication the customers seemed to be regulars whom the staff knew. To me that is a great sign — whenever people choose to repeatedly visit a place you know it is good. I will return to this place.

Nice find in the middle of n where in Mc Kinley park. When you walk in you are greeted right away and moved to a seat. I found the décor really really odd. The front of house is really nice and done up but the back is bare. Ah well.
I met Aaron S. here for lunch because he works close by. I was hoping to try some of the more brunchy type items but decided to go with a Ruben sandwich instead, because I had not had one in a while, and I also wanted to try the house made chips.
We didn’t have a long wait for our food at all. Aaron ordered fries by accident and when he let the waitress know she put in an order of chips for us. That didn’t take long to arrive either. I was pleased by my sandwich, the corned beef was good quality and piled on fairly high in thick slices. It wasn’t too fatty not grilzzley at all. They also put on the right amount of sour kraurt and dressing so as not to over power the meat.
The real start were those chips. Crisp seasoned with an almost BBQ tasting flavor. Really really good.
All i all I was a happy camper. I’d would venture back to try their breakfast and their coffee items.

My family has been frequenting the 35^th Street Café since it opened. We love the food… we love the atmosphere (it is appropriate for the neighborhood)…but most of all… we love the staff!
We have two children who we started taking to the Café early on so they could «learn» how to behave in a restaurant. The entire staff is so kid friendly that we find it difficult to go anywhere else… as we are most comfortable (all of us) eating at the 35^th Street Café.
I am a creature of habit… so I always get the BLTA wrap… with chips or fries… both sides are delicious! Most folks love to get the chips… a novelty. My children… they always get pancakes, french toast, or some of the Chef’s delicious pasta — plain, of course… just oil and pasta, or butter and past. Everyone is happy.
My husband and I plan all of our weekday professional and personal meetings there. We know that the price is right, the service is consistently friendly, and the owners actually care enough to remember you — get to know you. The atmosphere is generally pretty calm… not too loud… and especially not overtaken by LOUD music to make the place «seem super hip»! It is a lovely environment to gather over a meal for business or pleasure.
The only sad part is that the Chef makes GREAT dinner specials… and they recently switched back to a 7am to 3pm schedule. We will be waiting for the return of the schedule that includes dinner.
Great neighborhood place with community centered, community committed, owners.
Check the place out… you won’t be disappointed! Make sure to bring the kids along too.
PS…my husband just mentioned his favorite dish is the buffalo chicken wrap!

Our office recently moved to the area, which thankfully means a 3-​minute bus ride to work instead of a 25-​minute ordeal getting into the Loop each day, but it’s left us bereft of our usual litany of choices for luncheon outings.
Thankfully, somebody reminded me of the 35^th St. Café that happens to be closeby. I recall hearing good things, and one adventurous day, a group of co-​workers and I headed out to see if the rumors were true.
We were greeted quickly and shown to a table. It seems that the place is a relative hotspot judging by the number of lunch-​crowd patrons already there.
You all probably know this as one of my regular mantras, but when I try out a new place, I REALLY try it out. I went with the Stuffed French Toast, a side order of bacon, a side order of potato chips (because they are made in-​house and supposedly delicious) and what the heck — I’ll try a cup of today’s French Onion soup.
One co-​worker went with some kind of wrap with chips and also tried the French Onion soup. The other was intrigued by the «blackened chicken sandwich» and after hearing me confirm that the chips are handmade, he switched his fries to chips.
The consensus on the sandwich/​wrap/​soup from the others was relatively positive. I think only the sandwich really got a ringing endorsement, especially for the tasty-​looking bun that it was served on.
My stuffed French Toast was exquisite-​looking. Lots of berries, some powdered sugar, every slice was thick and filled in the middle with a tasty strawberry cream cheese (though it was so homogenous in color/​flavor I suspect Philadelphia, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). I hesitated complaining that I was not provided with any syrup, but after a few bites, I realized I would not be needing it. I also didn’t know if it would have been a faux pas to request syrup with this particularly-​stylized version of traditional French Toast. Either way, it tasted quite good.
The bacon was standard, maybe a little better than standard. Nice and crispy but in no way burnt or overly-​greasy. I usually enjoy some syrup with my bacon, but the sweet sticky fruity goodness on my French Toast was a good pairing and a decent substitute for syrup so I was satisfied overall.
The French Onion soup? I give them credit that it looked and was served in a very traditional style. Like in an «I’ve seen French Onion soup and it always gets served like that so that’s how I’ll serve it» kind of way. The cheese was okay, the bread underneath was «meh» and the soup had a good flavor, but I felt like it could have used a little more. Like caramelizing the onions longer would have yielded a MUCH more flavorful soup and better-​tasting onions at the bottom of my cup. Or maybe I watch too much Food Network!
And then there were the chips. Here is an actual quote from our lunch:
«I don’t know what the heck they’ve done to these potatoes — but I want THAT done to MY body when I die. Maybe in death, I could be so delicious.»
Yes, the chips are good. My only complaint (and it’s hard to complain about chips so good) is that there doesn’t seem to be a good uniformity in the thickness, resulting in many chips in the butter zone of crunchy salty tasty gloriousness but also a decent-​sized amount of chips that are too thick or too thin and falling victim to underdoneness and burntness. For those of you with statistical inclinations, the bell curve is rather wide from a standard deviation standpoint of thickness and corresponding Golden-​Brown-​and-​Deliciousness.
All in all, I’m giving this establishment a 4-​star rating. I’ll likely be back numerous times now that we’ve had a taste of those chips and I’m sure it won’t take much convincing to grab a group to head over for lunch now and then. Apparently they have cooking classes on Monday nights. I may actually inquire about pricing and the schedule. My girlfriend has already threatened me enough times that she’s nominating me to be a contestant on Food Network’s «Worst Chefs in America». Maybe the results of a few cooking classes will make her change her tune!
(I hope they teach us how to make those potato chips at home!)

It was snowing quiet a bit outside and we were the only ones eating in on a Sunday morning. I thought the interior was cute and simple. They have an extensive menu with special posted on a little white erase board. It felt really nice to be the only ones there. My bf and I shared the asparagus omelet and the french toast with pecans and strawberries. It was delicious! Though they were lacking on the asparagus, it contain a very nice amount of mushroom, garlic, and butter, yum! And the french toast was great. I don’t like my french toast too sweet so next time I would go light on the powdered sugar. All in all good experience and would love to try the lunch and dinner menu. We had a wiggly table in the center, but didn’t care to move after settling in, but it kinda makes all the difference. Just saying :)

I’ll admit it — I think I ordered wrong… The grilled chicken panini was not good at all, chicken strips instead of a flattened grilled breast left me thinking that it was not fresh, and it didn’t taste that great either.
In the past I’ve had the Portland (I think) omelet and it was great… I’ll get something else next time and hope that it’s better, as this place seems to have potential and is convenient to my work. It’s also cute inside, and a refreshing change of place for the Bridgeport area.

So I’ve been to 35^th Street Café a whole bunch of other times since my initial review. Everyone is super friendly and the food is very good. The procedure for ordering is still not very clear. Sometimes there are wait-​staff taking orders at the tables and sometimes there isn’t. The «Order Here» sign is still posted above the counter… so you see the confusion… in particular for new costumers. All the logistics of silverware, napkins and condiments have been pretty much ironed out. The only thing that still needs more attention are the homemade potato chips. Yes, they’re yummy but portions and are inconsistent and so is the cooking quality (burnt, soggy or perfection).
PS. I’ve only been there for breakfast & lunch but I definitely want to try the dinner menu.

My boyfriend and I have been making plans to visit this place for a long time, and i’m glad we finally made it in today! A nice sunday afternoon brunch after working all week long is just what the doctor ordered…
We popped in and had the french toast with ham (he got pecans on top, I got strawberries). The hostesses were very warm and friendly as we sat down. We just kicked back and sipped our Filbert root beers and felt right at home. When the food came it was nice and warm and… oh man. Overall a good experience. Totally welcome addition to the neighborhood. Here is hoping to see more of these kind of places pop up!

I came here to meet a friend I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. After this meal, it might be another two before I see her again. Terrible. I was extremely disappointed in almost everything about this place. We decided to meet for brunch and knowing that the buffet shut down a bit early, I thought it made sense to arrive around 10. That was about the only thing that made sense.
I liked the layout and neighborhoodly feel of the restaurant. I really liked the cheery openness of the front room. I did not like the ‘where the cast of Flatliners filmed most of their scenes’ back room — complete with drafty freeziness and plastic table top — where we sat. Yes, we sat in the back. In the front room is color, warmth, furniture, and design. In the back is the bathroom, gray walls, plastic on the table tops, and cold. The menu options looked enticing. Kudos to the copywriter. Before settling on an omelet, I looked at the buffet. Danger Will Robinson! DO NOT pay $ 13/​$ 12 for the buffet. It was rather pitiful and all-​you-​can-​eat or not, it did not look worth the money. When I was there, I saw eggs (scrambled), sausage links, pancakes, danishes, and fruit (best looking thing up there with berries and lots of color). There may have been one or two other options, but I saw nothing that made me want to order the buffet. Instead, I ordered the omelet with toast and fruit and a glass of orange juice.
My orange juice came with ice. Oh, hay-​ell naw! What? Why are you putting big azz ice cubes in my OJ? As my cousin, ‘Twan*, says, I was ‘too through.’ Then, my omelet came. It looked pitiful. I mean, the omelet itself looked fine, but the plate it was on was huge. The omelet was not. And, there was nothing else on the plate. So, imagine a large plate with a small omelet on the side (not even in the middle). The toast came in a separate basket, as did the fruit. When I ordered the fruit, I thought I would get the spoils of the buffet. Nope. I just got the spoil. The bowl looked old. My fruit included no berries. It had no color. It was pineapple and cantaloupe. And, some piece of meat. I think it was sausage (there by accident but nonetheless unappetizing).
I took two buses and a train for this???
*I do not have a cousin named ‘Twan. Luckily, no one in my family would do this to a child.

When i moved to the neighborhood i was a meat eater and absolutely loved the southside grease that is to be had. Right before i stopped eating meat i came here right after they opened. I was relived to have some homestyle food nearby as a healthier change. Panini looked to be my choice for the day so i went with the philly cheese steak panini. Damn good! the meat was nice and tender and the melted cheese topped it off perfectly. i recommend it to all first timers i bring.
So now about a year later im now a regular on the weekends (because of my work week has opposing hours). I usually stroll in mid afternoon after a very long night and order the griled veggie panini with a side of chipotle mayo and ceaser salad. revive myself with a vitamin water, a great sandwich, and usually the odd newspaper laying around. If i make it in on time for breakfast i always get the arizona omelette which is a great meatless southwest style dish which i also praise.
My favorite of this past summer was being able to sit on the sidewalk patio with a nice four pack of good beer and enjoy the sun.
I will be a customer of this excellent neighborhood café for as long as i live in the area and most likely still after that. Go enjoy soon.

This is my new favorite place for Sunday breakfast. The staff is so friendly and welcoming. I love their coffee, and their food is always delicious. My favorite is the breakfast enchiladas, but the southwest burrito is a close second. Oh and did I mention that it’s really inexpensive? This is an all around great place.

Generally, I like the food and the interior. The hubby and I used to go more often, but every time there’s a lag and we don’t stop in for a while, the woman behind the counter guilts us for not being frequent visitors. It started getting uncomfortable after a while when she would ask us why we don’t come in more and we just stopped going in. I think she means well, but there’s a fine line between being personal and being overbearing. The final straw was when I went in for coffee this week and she literally applauded and cheered. When I go out to eat, it’s nice to exchange a few pleasantries with the staff and enjoy my meal without a multiplicity of questions and hefty slice of Catholic guilt.
Don’t get me wrong. I think this café has a lot of potential, but has a few kinks to work out (beyond the overly ethusiastic co-​owner). Firstly, the ordering process is odd. You aren’t sure if it’s a restaurant or a coffee shop. I think they may have the best of both worlds, but if you are dining in, I don’t think you should have to order at the register (especially if you are tipping). Secondly, I think the back room (banquet room) should accommodate those who want to drink coffee, study, or read (of course, a drink/​food minimum could be enforced). Couches and/​or comfy chairs would be an excellent touch and would fit with the whole ‘café’ theme.
Overall, the food is good and pretty reasonably priced. The chef is pretty damn good and I like the other owner/​investor too. The café is BYOB and recently added outdoor patio furniture so you can sit outside. I hope to see a little more development and increased business so we aren’t singled out if we dare to return to the café.

3 stars for the sandwich. That’s it.
I hope the advent of this café inspires others to open up around here, because there are, um, none. Sadly, this place is average for a café. Painfully average.
I don’t like coffee, so when I go to cafes, I get tea or some espresso soy-​latte drink. The tea was good, but it was Stash, which you can get at Jewel (and they probably did too) for about $ 4 a box. When I go to a café, I prefer to drink something I can’t easily find at the grocery store. Their other non-​coffee cold drink selection was pop, Tropicana drinks, and bottled water. Again, stuff I could find at a convenience store.
The décor was not unique either. Clean, modern, but not unique. Simple, but in a boring way.
But their California wrap and chips were awesome. I ordered the wrap with no mayo and it still had flavor. It included grilled veggies, avocado, lettuce (red leaf, I think) and peppers. Isn’t it amazing how something as simple as avocado makes a sandwich taste fancy? The chips were potato slices they also grilled on the steam grill (I hope they weren’t just popped out a bag and grilled, but they were tasty nonetheles).
Still, a café should first and foremost have top-​notch drinks. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t «drive-​here-​from-​another-​part-​of-​town» great.

Like a lot of my fellow Mckinley Parkers, I’m thrilled to have a new café in the neighborhood, especially one that serves good food and has friendly staff. I came here for breakfast the other day with a friend I’d just picked up from the airport. I had considered Huck Finn’s, but then what was I thinking?! I had been meaning to try this place, and I’m really glad I did.
I had a delicious mushroom, spinach and cheese omelet (from the «pick your own three fillings option) and my friend had the huevos rancheros. I was happy with what I got – a decent-​sized but not too humongous (I have a problem with the oversized omelets some places try to force on you) omlette that was not overcooked on the outside (another problem I have with omelets). The eggs came with potatos (home fries) and toast. But the entire time, I was eyeing my friend’s choice: those huevos rancheros looked amazing! The scrambled eggs were topped with what looked to be homemade salsa (not that overly-​red crap that looks like canned crushed tomatoes) and tiny strips of fried tortillas, not to mention the adorable cup of black beans on the side. This dish one could have with either flour tortillas or toast if on would prefer, no questions asked.
The staff was pleasant and helpful and the prices reasonable – their breakfasts are mostly $ 5.99, which is very reasonable. They have a nice selection of teas as well as coffee.
I’m thrilled with this new addition to the neighborhood – walking distance from my house. I hope they last – please support them, people!

The 35^th Street Café opened recently on the southwest corner of 35^th & Hermitage and it’s a welcome addition to an area overstocked with beef/​hotdog spots, taco joints & various fast food chains. The menu varies from breakfast staples like eggs, bacon, pancakes, omelettes, etc. to lunch items like cold sandwiches, paninis & wraps. The have daily soup specials, homemade desserts, cappuccino & espresso. AND, they make fresh homemade potato chips to go with sandwiches! Pricing is very fair — $ 4.50 to $ 6 for breakfast … $ 3.25 to $ 7 for sandwiches.
I haven’t stopped in for breakfast yet, but so far the grilled panini’s, soup, and cold sandwiches have been great. Everything has been fresh, simple & tasty. The space is comfortable, contemporary & not pretentious. I’m figuring the owners are the ones working the counter & kitchen and even though they seem new to the business they’re doing a fine job! They’ve made each of my visits a pleasant and delicious one.
Did I mention the fresh homemade potato chips? Freakin’ awesome!

Anyone who lives in (or has visited) Bridgeport or McKinley Park fully understands the absolute NEED for a place like the 35^th Street Café. One can only eat so many beef sandwiches and tacos before they simply want to cry.
My boyfriend and I stopped in about noon on a Saturday. I was pleased to see they were pretty busy — a good sign for a new business. The patrons were eclectic, everything thing from business men to the painfully hipster. The space was decorated nicely and it appeared a community group was using the backroom for a meeting — how nice is that?
The staff was so friendly and outgoing. They were really working to make an impression — smart people. Such a nice change of pace from getting food in Bridgeport where the Italian’s seem to pride themselves on being as mean as possible. (I will never set foot in Jimmy Johns again, and I may get in a fist fight with the nasty girl at Freddys…) One downside to their staff was that they were pretty unorganized. In time they will get it together. I understand they are new and working out the kinks.
The food was really tasty and affordable. My boyfriend had a panini with a side of fruit — no upcharge for replacing chips which was awesome — and I had soup and a salad. It was all really good… but not as good at the lemon berry mascarpone cake. You see, we had no intentions of eating dessert, but when my boyfriend went up to order he was staring so intently at this piece of cake — and probably drooling on the counter — the staff gave it to him on the house… That was a smart move as I will be buying a whole cake for work next week. It was like magic in my mouth — so freaking good.
Overall, it’s such a great addition to the neighborhood. May not be worth the drive down, but if you live in the area you should be here at least once a week. The one downside, which was mentioned in another review, is that on the weekend’s breakfast stops too early… It would be awesome if it went until noon or 1pm.

Well, just came back from the new «35^th Street Café» on the corner of 35^th & Hermitage and already I’m impressed. Lovely hardwood floors and refinished tin ceilings makes this place very cozy and appealing. Nestled in the McKinley Park neighborhood, which is just starved for more eateries, 35^th Street Café offers a decently wide menu from Sat/​Sun-​brunch, Hot Sandwiches, and Paninis, to Wraps, Soups, and Desserts (which are made onsite, no boxed items here).
But how’s the food? Well, so far, I’ve only entertained myself with a homemade lemon tart while my fiancée had the bread pudding. Both were delicious.
If the rest of their food is as good as their desserts, then this place is gonna rock. Its a new year Southwest-​siders, give this place a shot!