Fraiche Bakery Cafe

 

In late 2008, on a lark and good instinct, Susan Davis Friedman and her husband, Benson, opened a small bakery and cafe, Fraiche, around the corner from their Evanston home. Within weeks, customers were lining up to buy one of their specialties that had made the food section of the venerable New York Times. It was the Whoopie Pie--an upscale take on a moon pie in either pumpkin or chocolate with a heaping frosted layer--that ignited the popularity of this local gem.  

And it doesn't end with the Whoopie Pie. Fraiche, a small storefront seating about 30 with two outdoor tables, on Noyes Street, two blocks west of the Northwestern University campus, lives up to its name (fraiche means fresh in French) and offers breakfast and lunch as well as a host of pastries. Not the fare of a diner, each dish at Fraiche is freshly prepared.  Breakfast choices include a hearty frittata du jour served with potatoes and toast for $7.50. Everything is homemade at Fraiche--from the ginger-infused lemonade to the delicate and oh so delicious rosemary and sea salt potato chips.  

Chef David Rosenthall's sandwiches--house-roasted beef with horseradish creme fraiche and pickled red onion or house-roasted turkey with herbed aioli, honey mustard and pickled red onion, for example, are ample and exquisitely good. All sandwiches come with a choice of a side--curried Israeli couscous, edamame and black bean salad, or homemade potato chips. Fraiche also serves salads and homemade soups.  

Back to the pastries. They, too, are all made in Fraiche's back kitchen and they often sell out long before day's end. Most popular are their scones--ginger, blueberry, chocolate toffee and cheddar cheese. On the sweeter side, they can't keep the retro cupcakes (a heavenly version of a Hostess Cupcake), carrot cake, lemon bars or an other-worldly take on s'mores in stock.  

If you're looking for a change of pace and place, Fraiche will fit the bill. The atmosphere is full of joy, the staff seem happy to be working there and large picture windows cast it with light. Whether you're thinking about breakfast, a coffee break or lunch, Fraiche won't disappoint. Chef Rosenthall as well as the Friedman's are so specific about what they serve that chances are they'll even bring it to your table.  

- by Lori Rotenberk , Chicago Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Lori Rotenberk

Lori Rotenberk graduated from Drake University and is a Chicago-based journalist whose work has appeared in The Boston Globe, Newsweek and various magazines. She worked as a staff reporter on The Chicago Sun-Times, the suburban section of The Chicago Tribune and The Des Moines Register. In addition, she has studied fiction writing in adult education at the University of Chicago.