At Rewster's Cafe in Logan Square the emphasis is on both food and drink. Few coffee spots take their sandwiches this seriously.
"We take great pride in our sandwiches, soups, our breakfast items, we are definitely more than a coffee shop. We'd like to think of ourselves as an amazing addition to the neighborhood," said Heather Christie, the owner of Rewster's Cafe.
So while coffee is of utmost importance, you can be certain so are the ingredients for the sandwiches. French cow's milk cheese is gooey, pressed between slices of thick brioche for a grown-up grilled cheese, while the "Rewst Beef" begins with painstakingly-caramelized onions spread on chewy ciabatta; gouda cheese is baked into the house made roast beef, then the sandwich is plated along with a tarragon aioli - or mayo - plus some curly frisee greens.
"We take fresh ingredients; nothing but fresh bread, fresh cheeses, meats, nothing but the best produce and we combine it into flavors and stack it into flavors that definitely exceed more than your normal, average, you know, meat and bread," said Christie.
Even something as mundane as tuna salad is dressed up with hard-boiled eggs, fresh Boston lettuce and tiny cherry tomatoes and served between loaves of crusty baguette. Vegetarians will love the open-faced leek with melted Swiss cheese and crushed, fried potatoes on nine grain focaccia. Soups change daily - this carrot-ginger number is a winner, especially with crispy ginger chips on top - and they even make breakfast, ranging from organic Greek yogurt with Canadian granola and fruit, to a more elaborate duck frittata.
"This week we have a lovely savory duck: duck confit. We also feature a bagel of the week to kind of switch up our menu as well," Christie said.
Rooster's offers frittata specials for breakfast every week as well as sandwich specials for lunch every week, but you'll really see the creativity in both meals, especially some of these open-faced sandwiches, which are strictly seasonal.
Rewster's Cafe 3152 W Diversey 773-647-3432 rewsterscafe.com
