Visitors to the Athens Summer Olympics looking for a fast, sweet, icy jolt can find what they need in a cafe frappe.
A frappe is an ingenious foamy Greek iced coffee drink that requires no coffee machine, no frother, no milk–not even hot water. Typically made with sugar, water, imported Greek Nescafe instant coffee and a simple shaker, it’s kind of like a super low-tech Frappuccino.
And when the punishing Athens heat saps every ounce of your energy, this elixir goes down like nectar from the gods.
Sure, the actual coffee may not rise to fine espresso standards–after all, it’s instant–but this beverage can range from decent to divine. And you don’t have to travel to Mt. Olympus to try it. All you have to do is stroll on over to Greektown for several fine renditions. And so we did.
Our first stop was The Parthenon (314 S. Halsted St.; 312-726-2407), where we ordered a frappe to go from the no-nonsense barkeep and watched him work his magic. Into the shaker he tossed two teaspoons of Nescafe, three little packets of sugar and a quick squirt of water. A whole lot of shaking later and voila, foamy coffee syrup that went cascading over a ready cup of ice. “You want milk?” he asked. In response to our nod he broke open a couple of creamers and we were on our way, sweet liquid energy in hand. Frappes are $3 at lunch and $3.50 at dinner.
At Athena Greek Restaurant (212 S. Halsted St.; 312-655-0000), where the friendly bartender whipped up another excellent rendition with a milkshake maker ($3), we sat and sipped our cafe frappe on the fabulous rooftop patio.
Later, on a tip from a solid Greek source who shared his pick for finest frappe in the city, we paid a visit to 9 Muses (315 S. Halsted St.; 312-902-9922). Like most of the patrons in this hipster hangout, the drink arrives tall, cool and skinny with plenty of attitude. The top half of the slender glass is all marshmallowy fluff and the bottom intense and sweet. Billed as the “9 Muses Famous Frappe,” this cocktail delivers a powerful caffeine buzz for $3.50, but a buzz of a whole other variety when injected with a shot of Baileys Irish Cream for $7.
Our last contender–the gold medalist–came from Artopolis Bakery Cafe & Agora (306 S. Halsted St.; 312-559-9000). At this delightful establishment, the “ice frappes” are made behind a marble bar with just about the same ingredients as the others but somehow they taste about a zillion times better. It might have something to do with the scoop of vanilla ice cream we got in one frappe ($4.75), but the classic ($3.50) also knocked our sports socks off.
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Frappe
What is it: A Greek iced coffee made with Nescafe Where it’s from: Greece
How to pronounce: FRAH-pay Thanks in Greek: Efcharisto
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Price: $3-$7