Julius Meinl

I love the summer weekends in Chicago. I feel like you can always go do something, even if it's just taking a walk outside to nowhere in particular. There's usually a shop or restaurant that I haven't been to, or something I need from the grocery, so I walk there instead of driving to get some exercise. 

I wanted to sit outside and finish my Hunger Games book today, and I knew Julius Meinl had a little outdoor area I could sit and enjoy some coffee while reading. So I biked there (and got all sweaty in the process, eew) and grabbed a table outside on the patio. 

They have a good selection of drinks, breakfast pastries, breakfast dishes, sandwiches and salads, and of course desserts. Since I was already sweating, I wanted a cold drink, but I'm not really a fan of iced coffee. So I got the Melange, which is espresso with steamed milk, foam, and Austrian cocoa powder dusted on top. Mmm it was delicious (and strong! I'm still jittery a few hours later)

They bring your drink out on a silver platter with a glass of water, how cute! And a carmel biscuit that reminded me of a Biscoff cookie, but not quite as tasty. Still really good though.

I sat for a while and read my book, but will have to remember next time I need to either sit inside and get the hot drink, or get a cold drink outside. Whew!

I had a hard time deciding what to eat! The peanut butter chocolate banana crepes was my first choice, but then I remembered I was trying to eat somewhat healthy since I had french toast and lots of cookies yesterday. So I got the Baked Eggs with cauliflower, mushrooms, onion, and parmesan and multi-grain toast with peach preserves. The peach preserves was awesome. The baked eggs needed something else, like broccoli or zucchini or something with more flavor, especially for the price (it cost more than the quiche and side salad, which now I kinda wish I would've gotten). However, it was a big portion.

I've had some of the croissants and other pastries from here in the past, and they are really tasty. Once I even got an Austrian breakfast, which was a soft-boiled egg, croissant, Emmentaler Cheese, and coffee. It was pretty neat. I tried to pretend I was really eating in Austria (sigh, maybe one day)

I would love to come here on a Friday or Saturday night when they have live music, and maybe just get dessert and coffee. The Opera cake looked pretty rich and delicious in the case. Maybe I'll come when it's cold out and nothing to go do outside!