A big apartment building called the Lark sprung up near the Kohl Center a few years ago, and inside sprouted a coffee shop called Cafe Social. It sells coffee from Colombia, though the focus of this review is on the food.
The menu includes the expected soups, salads and bakery items such as scones and muffins. However, it was the other items that caught my attention.
First, I don’t recall ever seeing pizza on a cafe menu, but Cafe Social sells a 9″ pizza ($6.75) with your choice of sausage or pepperoni. I’m glad I ordered it. The pizza is tasty, with the cheese extending almost all the way to the edge, and topped with a generous portion of sausage.
I also didn’t expect to see empanadas ($4.25), though this item made sense based on the cafe’s roots in Colombia. I ordered mine with beef–chicken and caramelized onions are the other choices–and made quick work of it. The stuffing is quite enjoyable, with no ingredient overpowering another. The shell could have been a little flakier, but it was still good.
An example of more traditional fare is the Mediterranean chicken sandwich ($8.25). The sliced chicken is sparse and a little dry, but fortunately, it gets its flavor from the gouda and sun-dried tomatoes inside incredibly delicious focaccia bread.
Other menu items include tamales ($2.75), chicken pot pie ($6.75) and Quiche Lorraine ($5.50). I would also have reviewed the apple turkey sandwich ($8.25), which is topped with gouda, apples and honey on focaccia, but the restaurant forgot to include it in my order.
Cafe Social is open every day for breakfast and lunch.
