Andersonville Midsommarfest / Cafe Boost

We're past Memorial Day, so it's the season for summer neighborhood street festivals. But couldn't the Midsommarfest at least wait until the solstice?

Andersonville was once predominantly Swedish, hence the Swedish festival name. These days the neighborhood is more diverse, but it still is an important center of Swedish culture in Chicago. Where else in the city can one get fresh lingonberries?

Unfortunately, these neighborhood street festivals don't really represent the neighborhoods all that well. There are typically some booths for local businesses, artists, restaurants, etc. But there are also a fair number of outsiders operating food concessions or selling tie-dyed silks and T-shirts. It's like this at all the festivals, so the festivals all feel very similar to one another.

News about Cafe Boost

The food at the festival itself was a little disappointing, so I went with my sister and my brother in law up to Cafe Boost at 5400 N. Clark, where we knew we could get something good to eat. There I got the sad news that on June 20, they will brew their last cup of coffee.

Cafe Boost was nice, quiet coffee shop that was walking distance from my home. I never tried their coffee; I always went in the summer and ordered a scoop of Homer's ice cream. It will be missed.