Institutional Love for Bridgeport Coffee House
So it turns out that "McKinley Parkside Resident" is not the only epicure who's a fan of Bridgeport Coffee House, which we metareviewed not two hours ago. Shortly thereafter, we received a note from Chuck Sudo, Food and Drink editor of the Chicagoist and eater extraordinaire. He had the following to say about the coffeeshop:
Unapologetically Local Cups'a Joe: Bridgeport Coffee House [Chicagoist]
Bridgeport Coffee House [MenuPages]
Bridgeport Coffee House [Official Site]
[Photo: BPCH]
The owner, Mike Pilkington, has been running this joint for close to four years now. He also roasts all of the beans himself at the Filbert's soda factory on south Ashland in Bridgeport; he sells them whole bean or ground by the pound retail in the shop, or wholesale to restaurants and other places. He tries to buy as much fair trade coffee and tea as he possibly can without undercutting his profit margin.Furthermore, Chuck informed us that Bridgeport Coffee House has a new website, and that he covered the place in depth around two years back. Best of all, we now know the name of Chuck's dog (Emmy; weren't you paying attention?), and where to find her on Saturdays. Stakeout time!The staff is well-trained, a bit rushed (probably due to the impatient nature of all the transplants from the north side), wi-fi is free, and the place is dog-friendly (I bring my boxer/terrier mix Emmy by every Saturday when I purchase my mocha or caramel macchiato). They've also developed friendly relationships with Lumpen head Ed Marzewski (whose mother owns the pakage store and bar across the street) and the fresh-out-of-school artist types trickling down to Bridgeport, Pilsen, and Back of the Yards. They usually have movie screenings with music and Sunday jazz.
Most important, Pilkington and his staff have worked hard to make Bridgeport Coffee House an integral part of the neighborhood, as opposed to other coffee shops that try to be independent for the sake of being independent. It's nice to see his hard work pay off with the coverage.
Unapologetically Local Cups'a Joe: Bridgeport Coffee House [Chicagoist]
Bridgeport Coffee House [MenuPages]
Bridgeport Coffee House [Official Site]
[Photo: BPCH]
Comments
If you do this stakeout, please bring treats for Emmy (loaded with glucosamine, please, she's recovering from a lame left knee). I promise not to swipe a newspaper from under someone while reading it.
Although, in fairness, that someone should be paying for said newspaper before he reads it.
Posted by: chuck | May 31, 2007 11:00 AM