Reddit's Guide To Local Coffee Houses Comprehensive, Incomplete

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Feb 28, 2012 4:35PM

Among other beverages, we're fueled by coffee here and, when the need to move around arises, have been known to decamp to a coffee house and work. (Although the din in many we've visited is distracting.)

Which makes this list of local coffee houses compiled on Reddit's Chicago boards particularly interesting for both coffee aficionados and people who want to explore the city's neighborhoods. The list is separated into city sections, using the expressways as boundaries. What's particularly notable is that doing so seems to limit the range of the areas selected. The North side, naturally, is well represented. So is the Northwest side, but the reach of both only extends as far north as Edgewater and as far northwest as Logan Square. Pushing further north on the Kennedy expressway would have yielded hidden gems such as Java Thai in Old Irving Park (4272 W. Irving Park Rd.), one of our favorite out of the way coffee shops.

The same problem exists looking at the reach of this list heading south, where once again a we get a list that stops at Hyde Park, Pilsen and Bridgeport. There are a nice selection of coffee houses in Archer Heights, Garfield Ridge, Beverly and Morgan Park that also merit inclusion.