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Business Sun Apr 13 2008
Sweet Spot on Sheridan
My husband and I have lived in our new apartment for about a month, and we love it. But on weekends we've missed being within walking distance of both a good coffee shop and a bakery on par with our old haunt, Dinkel's on Lincoln. This morning, we searched Google Maps in desperation and finally unearthed a solution: a short bus ride down Irving Park Road to Sheridan satisfies both cravings with Emerald City Coffee and Artemio's Bakery.
Emerald City is conveniently located right next to the Sheridan Red Line station, and offers a good selection of coffee and tea drinks, smoothies, pastries, sandwiches and soups. Service is friendly, and the specials are worth checking out. Lately, they've been offering lattes and mochas for just $2! I often stop here in the morning before boarding the Red Line, and for the life of me I can't figure out why there's not a line out the door.
Artemio's... well, Artemio's is just a beautiful, wondrous place, and I'm so glad it's in my neighborhood. The tiny storefront is lined with glass cases filled with racks upon racks of breads, pastries, doughnuts, turnovers, cakes and cookies. Customers serve themselves by grabbing a tray and a pair of tongs near the counter. We came for French bread and found large, fresh loaves perfect for making bruschetta. Since we already had our coffees, we couldn't resist choosing two pastries: a delicious, crispy "elephant ear" and a flat, oval-shaped variety that tasted a bit like danish dough spiked with anise and coated with large sugar sprinkles.
I gladly would have paid $5 or even $6 for our tray - and at some Chicago bakeries, we would have been lucky to get out the door for less than $9 or $10. But our total bill blew me away: $2.50! I was so shocked, I asked the woman if she had miscalculated.
So, in summary, for $6.50, we enjoyed a Sunday morning breakfast of a latte, a mocha, and two pastries, and took home a fresh loaf of bread. So good, it was worth the bus ride.
Taylor / April 15, 2008 8:13 AM
I think Emerald doesn't get much business because it isn't very good. Their coffee, despite being Metropolis, always tastes thin and watery, their baristas don't seem to be very good at pulling shots, and they only use two shots in an Americano instead of three (which is generally the standard, I've found). Their baked goods are ok, but for a coffee shop, they should really work on their coffee.