Corner Bakery, Wells Street, Chicago, Illinois, USA

I took the CTA into downtown and it rattled its way from Cumberland all the way until I jumped off at Clark and Lake, an area of the city that seemed closed. There were hardly any people on the street, there were no restaurants, just snack bars, and they were all shut. I moseyed around for a while before realising that I would get bored if I stayed there any longer, but being hungry I dived into the Corner Bakery for lunch.

The Corner Bakery, conveniently on a street corner

"You click. We Cater." said a sign, referring to the store's online service, but it was too late for that. I ordered from the counter – chicken carbonara and a cup of tea, served in a paper mug. I wasn't expecting great things, but in many ways I got great things. The food was good and was accompanied by garlic bread. The tea was just tea, but overall, I was quite pleased with my $10.80 meal, although a glass of wine would have been nice, but the Corner Bakery wasn't licensed.

There was nothing special about the Corner Bakery – and there were other branches elsewhere in the city – but it was a pleasant joint with wooden tables and mosaic Linoleum floors. One wall of the restaurant offered framed photographs of bakers, presumably from the Corner Bakery's past. The ceiling showed exposed air conditioning and outside there were cream and black awnings.

In addition to being able to order food online, Corner Bakery offered both eat-in and take-out food. For on-line orders there was a specific pick-up point.

One of many meal options was the Garden Gate Scrambler (eggs scrambled to order, diced chicken apple sausage, fresh spinach, red bell peppers, mushroom and Cheddar). In many ways I wished I ordered this dish, but I didn't.

Chicken carbonara and garlic bread

Also on offer was a range of panini breads, breakfasts, salads, soups, chilli, a kid's menu, oatmeal and yoghurts.

The Corner Bakery was good and while I could have done with more, it was sufficient and I took a cab back towards O'Hare rather than sit on the CTA. Click here for more details.