When I’m not manning the kitchen, I’m looking for a spot to drink good coffee, write, grab a bite, and honor those I love who’ve gone before me. In its Log On series, miLam will tell you where to find nice, cozy little spots to do just that, with open WIFI, in Chicago.
“The Day of the Dead brings into focus one of the greatest differences between Mexican and U.S. cultures: the 180-degree divide between attitudes toward death. Mexicans keep death (and by extension their dead loved ones) close, treating it with familiarity — even hospitality — instead of dread.” (La Catrina: Mexico’s grande dame of death)
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Coffee, WIFI, and Eats in Pilsen
Log On, Chicago. Edition XIII
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Co-Work: La CatrinaEat: Honky Tonk
La Catrina Café
(4 / 5)
Pros:
Funky, suspicious-looking customers- Interesting, quirky layout with “look what I found” furnishings
- Secret outdoor courtyard
- Free street parking
Cons:
- Only slightly air conditioned
- Seating isn’t as comfortable as a typical Starbucks
WIFI: Unsure. You have to get a hot spot code from the cashier, and I didn’t bother.
Can you work or study here? Yes. Plenty of seating, nearly all of it with table space.
Plugs: acceptable number and placement of outlets, even if somewhat makeshift.
Public Restroom: fine
What an interesting coffeehouse. I know of nothing else like it in Chicago. It’s not fancy, but it’s full of interesting spots to sit and work. Full of images, art, and sculptures that are replete with Day of the Dead symbolism – a kind of iconography that I have no doubt a Republican Christian Fundamentalist would mistake for occultism. If this place has any magic, perhaps that’s it: the ability to drive away that particular kind of ignorance and expose it for the self-centered, narrow-minded, oppressive imperialism that it is. Ironic, since Día de Muertos humanizes death and embraces it as a necessary and natural part of life.
“La Catrina’s vacuously grinning skull fell inevitably into the role of literal and metaphorical poster child for the Day of the Dead, symbolizing the joy of life in the face of its inevitable end.” (La Catrina: Mexico’s grande dame of death)
If this place has any other magic, it certainly is not the ability to produce an amazing brioche. That’s what I said as I finished the last bite of it, so…
The neighborhood, on the other hand, is understated, and yet at the same time bewitching. That I know of, there is no street in Chicago like 18th Street in Pilsen. It makes me glad that northside Chicagoans (like me) consider Pilsen to be not-accessible-by-the-Red-Line-and-also-not-Wicker-Park. Otherwise, this neighborhood might have a Starbucks.
You can do some somewhat decent beardspotting at La Catrina – not like you can in Wicker Park, but still… I saw a thick, black, handlebar mustache that had to have the circumference of a stick of kielbasa, wrapped around some bald-but-otherwise-very-hairy guy’s head.
08/31/2014 03:30 P
Hungry?
Honky Tonk BBQ
(4 / 5)
😀 If you want something good to eat, look no further than Honky Tonk, where you can get yourself some bacon candy. Yes, bacon candy. Thick-cut bacon, double-baked in maple syrup and brown sugar. It’s stiff as jerky, and glazed. Initially sweet, then smoky and savory. I could eat it all fucking day. I’d love to know the recipe. If you search for “candied bacon,” you’ll find recipes, but those recipe’s pictures make the bacon look glossy. Honky Tonk’s has a matte finish; they’re dry, not sticky. Also, they’ve got to be ⅛-inch thick. They chew like jerky, not like crispy bacon. 🙂 The space has ambiance coming out it’s ass. And the food, well, all barbecued ribs are incredible, except for the bad ones. These are not the bad ones. The cocktails, they serve in mismatched vintage glasses, each of them so full that you’ll spill yours before you can get it to your lips. 🙁 The drinks have fancy names, but they’re they types of drinks you might have at a Polish wedding reception in a church basement. Don’t get me wrong; I love a good highball just as much a I love gołąbki with a side of rye bread. It’s just that Tonk’s menu makes their drinks sound exotic, and they’re actually straightforward, basic cocktails. Maybe the hipsters don’t know. Speaking of appealing to hipsters, this place smells like a barn. That sounds like a rather harsh criticism, and it would be, except I forgot all about it once the bacon candy came to the table.
08/31/2014 04:00 P
Featured Image: Radio Border
Coffee, Free WIFI: Pilsen, Chicago
Though, as I said, Pilsen is not accessible via the Red Line, you could take the Red Line to Roosevelt and then Divvy from there. There’s a station on Wabash, right around the corner from the Starbucks. You’ll find a bike lane on (most of) Roosevelt, Halsted, and 18th. You’ll find another Divvy station kitty-corner from Catrina. Nothing to it.
Other places to log on: Archer Heights, Boystown, Edgewater Beach, Fulton River District, Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Ravenswood, Rogers Park, West Loop, Wicker Park, West Town, Uptown
What a shame. It was a cool idea. But I did kind of think, when I first discovered it, that it was a pretty amazing giveaway.