Icosium Kafe: Just another reason why I am obsessed with Andersonville. The important thing to know about Icosium Kafe is that they specialize in crepes. I’m not sure how you could go wrong at Icosium Kafe, because everyone like crepes (unless you have no soul). During our two hour dining extravaganza, I sampled 6 different crepes, apricot iced tea, Algerian mint tea with honey, Algerian Kafe, vegetable soup, and lamb stew. After this gorging session, I came to the conclusion that everything on the menu at Icosium Kafe is delicious. I ordered the Roma, which was the most savory of all the crepes we ordered. It had tomatoes, mozzarella, capers, portobello, basil, and baby spinach and everything was very fresh and tasty. My favorite of the night was the Paris, which was made up of escargots, roasted garlic and brie. I wish people weren’t thrown off so much by the idea of eating a snail. Anyone who likes mushrooms will like escargots, so just try it. The Icosium crepe was loaded with roasted peppers, basil, garlic, tomatoes, pine nuts and spinach. Most importantly, however, there was goat cheese. I believe that if everyone ate more goat cheese, we would be one step closer to world peace. The last of the savory crepes I tried was the Marrakech, and I really enjoyed the sweet Northern African flavors. For desert, we ordered the D’Amor and Yussuf. Normally, chocolate doesn’t do a lot for me, but the combination of the Belgian chocolate and raspberries in the D’Amor crepe was unreal. The Yussuf Crepe had a ridiculous amount of crunchy brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins in it, but I was more than o.k with that.
The restaurant itself has a really nice Northern African vibe. Everyone will feel welcome at Icosium Kafe because there is no pretention in the food or in the atmosphere. Icosium Kafe advertises itself as being Algerian, but aside from the drinks, the décor, and a few crepes, most of the food is European. The wait staff didn’t rush us and were friendly, but not in an overbearing way. Also, vegetarians and other granola types should be happy because the restaurant claims the food is organic, and there is barely any meat on the menu. They meat they do use, however, is halal, meaning that it is slaughtered in accordance with Quranic law. Unless you’re a really picky jerk, everyone can find something they like at Icosium Kafe.
Icosium Kafe
5200 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 271-5233
Photos contributed by Ellen Bland Walsh
