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| - The clientele is made up of two seemingly incongruous groups: (1) trendy Koreans, and (2) burnt-out hipsters who spend their time staring forlornly out the windows and smoking cigarettes. College students monopolize tables for hours, so good luck finding a seat on the weekends and afternoons. If you are not averse to meeting strangers, most people are willing to share their table if asked.
Paradiso also can't seem to hold onto owners. If you ever come here and feel slighted by the service, wait a few months and the management will have been replaced. Each owner makes few changes to the menu, though you'll see their personal touches elsewhere (the current one seems to love those hand-painted, ceramic houses that grandmothers collect).
In spite of its quirks, Paradiso is the best place in town for coffee and espresso. They serve Intelligentsia Coffee, which is unrelentingly bold and rich; if you hold the coffee to the light you'll see that it is completely opaque. After a cup, I usually feel as though I just had a particularly filling breakfast.
Like most cafes, the food is bland and expensive, but suffices if you have managed to acquire a table and don't want to risk losing it by leaving for real food. The best part of sandwiches is the bread, which is provided by Mirabelle (a fine bakery in Urbana). Chips are usually smashed into a coarse dust before being served. I've had the best luck with the pasta salad, though it is only offered in the summer and some of its variations are fairly terrible (any "pesto" version can be considered safe).
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