BUT FIRST, COFFEE... “Hot town, summer in the city Back of my neck gettin’ dirt and gritty” - The Lovin’ Spoonful, “Summer in the City” I’m back once again to bring you a “Lovin’ Spoonful” of coffee! Hugging the border between Wicker Park and Bucktown, on Milwaukee Ave. is where you will find “Ipsento 606.” A hip shop that puts an artistic and philosophical spin on their coffee and nosh. As I walked into the shop, the first thing I noticed was the aesthetic—it nicely straddles the line between “rustic,” and “minimalist.” Though the shop’s physical space is somewhat narrow due to the building being a typical Chicago building (long and narrow), both seating and the shop overall are set up in such a way that there is still a sense of spaciousness. At the same time, Ipsento achieves an airy feeling without sacrificing any of the coziness that one hopes to find at their neighborhood coffee shop. Throughout the entire space, the ceiling is covered in copper tiles with Elizabethan designs, giving the shop’s aesthetic a splash of European flavor. The brilliant natural light, houseplants on shelves and in planters add to the chic profile of the store. Additionally, throughout the shop you will find pen and ink art pieces done by local artist Jordan W. Now that we’ve had our “amuse bouche,” let’s have the main course—the drinks! Once again, I order a regular drip coffee while my girlfriend orders something a bit more exciting—an iced Nutella latte, one of Ipsento’s signature drinks. The Nutella latte is sweet, of course, and has a nice mouthfeel. The notes of espresso both cut through the sweetness and combine nicely with the nutty notes from the Nutella. Overall, it is a wellbalanced drink and it is easy to see why it is one of their signature drinks. My coffee is not a pour over, it is nothing fancy. Over the past five or so years there has been a shift in Third Wave coffee shops—many that either used to,
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JUNE 2021 / WWW.RADIOONECHICAGO.COM
