Food, Culture, & Community: Garfield Park Eatery and Coffee

In need of some lunchtime nourishment Andrew and I made our way to the Garfield Park Eatery, located at 2627 Shelby St. in the historic and beautiful Garfield Park area. Once there, we grabbed a menu that always features a new soup of the day, and a meal special of the day. I would personally suggest the Turkey Melt with fries and small cup of the soup of the day. The Turkey Melt is immaculate because the combination of Dijon mustard and fresh salad greens accompanied by a few sun dried tomatoes makes for a flavor experience that’s out of this world. Now everyone has had the run of the mill French Onion soup, but you’ll forget all of those mediocre tastes once you take a spoonful of their soup. This soup, topped with a layer of broiled cheese, is flavorful and savory down to the last drop.

Andrew, who ordered the French Onion as well, also had a fresh Cobb salad topped with avocado and flavorful Parmesan vinaigrette.  Overall the Garfield Park Eatery is an awesome place to grab a nice quiet afternoon meal at an affordable price.

In addition, our delectable food tasted even better paired with the quaint locale of the eatery. After we had placed our order with Robert (one of their friendly baristas), we grabbed our drinks and sat down at one of the few tables to wait for our food. It was very easy for us to get lost in the communal atmosphere of the small café as Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits sweetly serenaded its two rooms. All things considered, this place showed itself to be classy.

Dedicated to the Garfield Park neighborhood, particularly on the Shelby St. Corridor, Dan Sassano and his partner, David Sanchez opened the Garfield Park Eatery in 2013. Today the eatery serves its community with specialty coffee drinks, and the delicious culinary creations of chef Francesco Polanco. “After being involved in a Better Block event in October of 2013, we found the confidence to open the eatery,” Sassano explained. “We wanted to create a family-focused placed that people from all walks of life can use as a community gathering place.”

After finishing our meal, we sat back in our chairs with a satisfaction that only comes with such an outstanding local café. Garfield Park Eatery…we’ll be seeing you again soon.