Get Your Daily Cup

By John DiGilio in Food on Aug 10, 2011 9:00PM

Quirky. Eclectic. Homey. Many are the ways we can describe Daily Cup in Rogers Park. The beauty of an indie coffeehouse is that it can literally be whatever it aspires to be, free of cookie cutter corporate rules. Few places better exemplify this freedom of style than this one. A trip to Daily Cup is like grabbing a seat in your mother's kitchen.

Albeit, the coffee and the baked goods are probably better. Yes, you read us right - better.
Anyone walking down Devon towards Loyola could easily walk past this little storefront coffee shop. Compared to some of the other more garish bean joints in the city, Daily Cup is refreshingly understated in its appearance. What it may lack in flash, however, it more than makes up for in the taste of its coffee drinks and baked goods. Sure the furniture may be mismatched and the quarters are a little tight. But the service is as good as the menu offerings, the place is cozy, and the wifi is free. What more can a coffee craver want?

We happened upon Daily Cup on a weekday afternoon, while exploring the neighborhood. It was hot, we were thirsty, and something smelled amazing from within. Drawn by the aroma of freshly brewed java, we sauntered up to the counter only to find another array of temptations in the pastry case. We were not leaving until we had tried some of both. It turns out that Daily Cup's goodies aren't brought in. They are homemade and look it! Most coffee drinks come in at about the standard prices, with the largest sizes hovering just under five dollars.

For coffee, we tried a simply cup of joe, hot and black. It was bold, not too acidic,and nice just as it was without cream or sugar. We also decided to get a little fancy and go for the Carmanut beverage. A tall mug of espresso with caramel and hazelnut, it was piled high with whipped cream. It was sweet, smooth, and delicious. We paired our drinks with a couple of excellent blueberry scones. Their freshness was evident and they were not overly sweet. Though we had not planned on having hot drinks on a muggy afternoon, the environs of Daily Cup just seemed to lend themselves to something warm.

There was one little drawback to Daily Cup. Actually, if you are among the growing number of coffee drinkers who fuel your engines with unleaded, it is a fairly big drawback. They do not offer decaf. At least not yet (hint, hint). This was an issue for one of the members of our group who sat and longingly watched while the rest of us sipped. Beyond that, it was a charmingly satisfying visit to one of Rogers Park's newest arrivals.

Daily Cup is located at 1217 West Devon Avenue.