OK, so you've checked out a bunch of Chicago's best dive bars and cocktail bars. It's the next day and you're feeling pretty banged out. Obviously, some deep-dish pizza is in order, but first things first: coffee.It's time to perk up quick, because there's still a shitload of cool stuff to see in the Windy City and drinking too much is no excuse to miss out. Chicago's coolest cafes and coffee shops are even making innovative cups of joe. Here are a few of our favorites.
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Check out the MUNCHIES Guide to Chicago for more restaurants and bars that you can't miss while in the Windy City.
Swada: Not many coffee shops can claim to have their very own bonafide "latte artist," but Sawada coffee isn't your average spot. A collaboration between Brendan Sodikoff of Hogsalt Hospitality and the previously mentioned latte wizard, Hiroshi Sawada (founder of Tokyo's Streamer Coffee Co.), Sawada Coffee's reclaimed industrial vibe conjures up the spirit of grunge while delivering a short menu of meticulously prepared coffees and teas.
Elaine's Coffee Call: With its funky interior and mellow vibe, Elaine's offers a nice alternative to the casual uniformity that plagues many of today's more corporate coffee houses. Expect coffee from La Colombe, individual-sized coffee cakes, and lots of natural light.
Robust Coffee Lounge: This independent coffee house is on a mission to provide high-quality, locally-sourced food and drink, and that's exactly what you'll find here. Their fair trade coffee comes exclusively from Alterra, and they offer a variety of other food and drink as well. The showstopper is the Mocha Diablo, a dark chocolate mocha laced with homemade chili pepper syrup.
The Wormhole: Chicago has quite a few unique indie coffee shops, but nobody does it like The Wormhole. For one thing, the coffee comes from Halfwit Coffee Roasters, which appears in all of the standard forms (drip, chemex, etc.), but also in concoctions like the peanut butter flavored "Koopa-Troopa Latte." The kid in you may also be pleased to find they also serve bowls of cereal, which perfectly complement the kitschy 1980s decor. Also, have we mentioned there's a Nintendo console and an honest-to-god DeLorean inside the coffee shop? Huey Lewis himself couldn't ask for more.
La Colombe: With three locations across Chicago, La Colombe offers sourced coffee in brightly lit, airy digs. While the menu offers a solid mix of drip coffee and espresso-based drinks, it's the draft latte that's the most remarkable option, which is frothy and milky and rich and damn-near perfect.Check out more of the best fancy restaurants, cheap eats, and cocktail spots in Chicago in the MUNCHIES Guide to Chicago.