Julius Meinl

An Austrian café/restaurant with an elegant cup of coffee and a menu of salads and sandwiches

This Austrian cafe serves coffee right: with a little square of dark chocolate and a glass of water. The desserts in the case really do taste better than they look, if that’s even possible, and you’ll most likely order a panini and salad when you see the food at the table next to yours.

The sandwich and salad menu doesn’t look like anything atypical, and it’s not, but it’s all much better executed than, say, whatever it is you get at Panera. Choose two (a bowl of soup, half salad or half sandwich) for $8.95. Everything is delicious, from the Croque Monsieur to the Chicken Salad Sandwich, and the Mediterranean Salad to the Vegetable Salad with cremini mushrooms.

The decor is a nice vacation from the surrounding Wrigleyville; dark wood paneling covers much of the walls, and the tables and chairs are straight out of most cafés in Europe and New York’s West Village. If you’re not around Wrigleyville, there are other locations.

-Tara for TKGO City Guides