A 51 Porter Field Trip to Chicago

Hey everyone, this is Stephanie writing the first non-recipe involved post for Off The Wall. In taking a train from the Boston area to Arizona for the holidays I had a 5 hour layover in Chicago. I took this opportunity to stretch my legs and walk at random through downtown Chicago (actually not so random, but in search of the best deep dish pizza the Windy City had to offer). I walked past the Sears Tower, now dubbed the Willis tower, turned a corner, and behold! A Lavazza cafe! If you've ever been to 51 Porter for dinner you know that we bask in goodness of this espresso bean, and use it daily to make cappuccinos and mochas. Finding a store that also celebrates its flavor made my layover quite meaningful, and tasty!

The menu at the Lavazza Cafe is extensive, and in the tradition of Lavazza's homeland, the names of the drinks are all Italian. Luckily, we were seeking the classics,a cappuccino and a mocha. Bravo! What a delight, especially on a cold Chicago day. The real excitement of the visit came from talking to one of the baristas named Juan. He shared our passion for espresso and quality drinks, as well as experiments with Lavazza. He explained that their cafe makes a Nutella beverage, and we even found the tub of Nutella sitting on the Espresso maker. Juan let us sample a new creation by chef Ferran Adria out of Spain called Espesso, which is made from espresso, cream, sugar and gelatin, forming something like a mousse. Very tasty, but very sweet and could only be eaten in small amounts.

All in all, this was a fantastic experience and highly recommended. It's so refreshing to find a coffee shop that truly enjoys their product and aren't rushing you in and out of their door. If you're ever in Chicago you should make time to stop into one of the three Lavazza cafes, which as far as I know are the only Lavazza cafes in the US. The one that we stumbled into was at Jackson and Clark streets. Stop in and say hello to 51 Porter's new friend Juan. Here is the address and location from Yelp:


111 West Jackson Blvd.
At LaSalle
(at Michigan Ave)
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 447-0000