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| - As someone who frequents Panera, I had been eagerly awaiting the opening of a casual cafe on the South Side. I work from home and enjoy getting out for lunch or spending a couple of hours working from a coffee shop. So I visited Bartram House a few weeks after opening--expecting it would be a perfect place to enjoy a "working" lunch and loiter on my laptop for a bit. Bonus that this is a local establishment!
I noticed how nice the interior is as soon as I walked in. Then quickly spotted the bakery case full of perfect-looking pastries upon approaching the counter to place my order. The lunch menu had a good variety of items, making it difficult to decide, but I settled on a chicken wrap, which came with a side of chips; along with an iced tea; and--not being able to resist trying a pastry--eventually added an apple strudel.
While waiting for my food, I had a seat, got out my laptop, and soon realized that there is no WiFi here. I think this may be the first cafe that I've visited in five or more years that didn't have it? Luckily, I was able to pick up an outside signal as a Comcast subscriber.
My food came out and was fresh, good quality, and quite tasty. However, anything less would have been unacceptable, given the total for my lunch came to $17.77 (I can get a half-sandwich, half-salad, iced tea, and a delicious cookie at Panera for about 50% less). Yikes!
About half-way through, I got up to get some more iced tea and was surprised to find customers have to go to the counter for refills of iced tea or soft drinks, as coffee seems to be the only self-serve beverage. While this seems minor, between the lack of WiFi, the lack of self-serve refills, and just one other person working on a laptop, I definitely got the feeling that this isn't a cafe where lingering is welcomed.
Overall, it's a very nice place with quality food, but quite pricey--especially compared with most other places on South Side. (How about a daily lunch special that includes a sandwich, side, and drink for about $10?) Otherwise, until I'm able to budget more than $15 for lunch and/or Bartram adds WiFi to encourage customers to dally over coffee and a pastry, I'm afraid I won't become a regular anytime soon.
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