Restaurant Details

Lactose intolerants, consider yourselves warned. The tastiest dessert at this Pilsen cafe is the traditional tres leches cake made with whole, condensed, and evaporated milk; no less than Rick Bayless says it's the best he's ever had. Owners Carlos and Cristina Chavarria offer the classic vanilla rendition as well as a bouquet of variations, all startlingly moist. Cristina does the baking, a craft she learned while apprenticing at her sister's small home-based bakery in Guanajuato, Mexico. The tres leches recipe is her sister's, but Cristina's favorite dessert, flan with cheese, is her own creation. Made with cream cheese, it has an almost fluffy texture, like flan-flavored cheesecake. Besides breakfast, desserts, and Intelligentsia coffee, the menu offers standard sandwiches and salads, plus a couple of ethnic dishes. Tamales come in two forms: Mayan (wrapped in wet green banana leaves and filled with potatoes and chicken) and Mexican (bundled in the usual corn husks and stuffed with jalapeños Tortugas de San Luisos and cheese).

— Anne Ford

Features: Quiet/Intimate, Carryout, Private Rooms, Live Entertainment, Breakfast, Lunch, Open Sunday, Reservations Not Accepted

Price: $

Payment Type: American Express, MasterCard, Visa