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newlenoxpatriot.com dining out<br />
the New Lenox Patriot | December 13, 2018 | 27<br />
The Dish<br />
Cacao Cafe serves up Latin dishes, pastries and drinks<br />
Amanda Villiger<br />
Assistant Editor<br />
Making chocolate is a<br />
process that takes a not-soextraordinary<br />
bean, the cacao<br />
bean, and turns it into<br />
something delicious.<br />
The transformation takes<br />
the bitter, earthy seed and —<br />
after a long process of roasting<br />
and grinding and mixing<br />
— makes it a sweet treat<br />
people around the world<br />
love to eat.<br />
When Linda Aceves, of<br />
Tinley Park, started her journey<br />
to open Cacao Cafe, she<br />
was presented with a similar<br />
challenge in the form of a<br />
space that did not look like<br />
much on the outside or the<br />
inside.<br />
Located at 9111 W. 151st<br />
St. in Orland Park, Cacao<br />
Cafe now fills what was<br />
once an empty space with<br />
no guts, so to speak. With a<br />
little creativity and a lot of<br />
hard work, Aceves turned it<br />
into a modern internet cafe.<br />
Aceves, who graduated<br />
from Tinley Park High<br />
School in 2009, fell in love<br />
with baking during a class<br />
she took there but ultimately<br />
decided to pursue premed in<br />
college.<br />
Soon into her studies to<br />
become a doctor, she said<br />
she took a step back because<br />
she just knew it was not the<br />
right path for her. While<br />
taking some time off from<br />
school, she saw an advertisement<br />
for a culinary school.<br />
She took the plunge and<br />
applied, finding herself enrolled<br />
and taking classes at<br />
Le Cordon Bleu College of<br />
Culinary Arts in Chicago before<br />
she knew it.<br />
“I wasn’t really sure what<br />
I even wanted to do; I just<br />
know I just love to bake, I<br />
like to cook and I really like<br />
to people’s face and emotions<br />
when they see something<br />
beautiful, like a cake<br />
or something,” Aceves said.<br />
“So, that’s my whole inspiration.<br />
Having this big place<br />
now, I have so many ideas.”<br />
Baking was something<br />
Aceves said came naturally<br />
to her, and she has chosen to<br />
use her talents in the kitchen<br />
to get back to her roots with<br />
Cacao Cafe, which specializes<br />
in Latin pastries and<br />
drinks, and has light breakfast<br />
and lunch items as well.<br />
Having free wireless internet<br />
makes the space great for<br />
people who are working remotely,<br />
but Aceves said she<br />
also hopes to see the space<br />
become a “community cafe”<br />
where people want to attend<br />
private or public events and<br />
even host their own.<br />
The cafe just opened in<br />
early November, but Aceves<br />
said she already has a few<br />
regulars.<br />
“We are a scratch kitchen,<br />
so we prepare everything in<br />
house,” said Aceves, who has<br />
partnered with Back of the<br />
Yards Coffee Co. in Chicago.<br />
As a result, Cacao Cafe<br />
is able to serve a variety of<br />
Latin-infused coffees, including<br />
a traditional drink<br />
called cafe de olla. The drink<br />
is served in an earthen clay<br />
pot, similar to terracotta,<br />
which gives the drink its<br />
own unique flavor.<br />
“Coffee, it’s a big thing in<br />
our culture,” Aceves said. “I<br />
think I started drinking coffee<br />
since I was 5 years old.”<br />
Aceves parents both immigrated<br />
to the United States<br />
from Mexico, and she and<br />
her two younger brothers<br />
were born in the U.S. As the<br />
oldest of her siblings, she is<br />
also the first one in her family<br />
to graduate from high<br />
school and college — and to<br />
own her own business.<br />
“I’m also the first to actually<br />
live my dream and<br />
live that so-called American<br />
dream that every immigrant<br />
parent has for their child,”<br />
Cacao Cafe<br />
9111 W. 151st St. in<br />
Orland Park<br />
Hours<br />
• 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-<br />
Saturday<br />
• 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday<br />
For more information ...<br />
Web: cacaocafeorland.<br />
com<br />
Email: cacaocafe@<br />
yahoo.com<br />
she said. “I’m very proud.”<br />
The cafe is to have a set<br />
menu with popular Latin staples<br />
soon. And Aceves said<br />
she likes to have a variety of<br />
rotating, daily specials.<br />
In 2019, she said she plans<br />
to get a liquor license, which<br />
will allow the business to<br />
create liquor-infused pastries<br />
and espresso drinks.<br />
While many of the drinks<br />
may be geared toward an<br />
adult clientele, Aceves said<br />
the cafe is certainly a familyfriendly<br />
place with options<br />
for youngsters, as well.<br />
She said she also plans to<br />
grow the menu over time to<br />
incorporate more options for<br />
vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free<br />
patrons.<br />
One of the breakfast favorites<br />
at Cacao Cafe is the<br />
huevos rancheros ($6.99),<br />
made with two sunny side<br />
up eggs atop fried tortillas<br />
and topped with cheese and<br />
homemade salsa. The dish<br />
comes with a side of refried<br />
beans and rice.<br />
Sopes ($8.89) are on the<br />
lunch menu and feature fried<br />
corn discs topped with refried<br />
beans, steak, lettuce,<br />
pico de gallo, queso fresco<br />
and sour cream.<br />
The counter at Cacao Cafe<br />
presents an enticing array of<br />
Latin baked goods, including<br />
various flavors of crumbly<br />
sugar cookies called polvorones<br />
($.90 each); seashellshaped<br />
sweet breads called<br />
A variety of Latin pastries tempt customers at the counter of Cacao Cafe in Orland Park.<br />
Photos by Amanda Villiger/22nd Century Media<br />
One of the lunch options at Cacao Cafe are the sopes ($8.89), which are made with fried<br />
corn discs topped with refried beans, steak, lettuce, pico de gallo, queso fresco and sour<br />
cream. They are served with a side of refried beans and rice.<br />
conchas ($1.05); empanadas<br />
de fresa and empanadas de<br />
piña ($.95), which feature<br />
a sweet dough wrapped<br />
around a strawberry or pineapple<br />
fruit filling; molasses<br />
cookies in the shape of a<br />
small pig, called puerquitos<br />
($.80); and jalapeno queso<br />
bread ($1.25).<br />
Coffee can be served to<br />
go in three sizes: 12 ounces<br />
($1.99), 16 ounces ($2.29)<br />
or 20 ounces ($2.59). It also<br />
can be enjoyed in a mug in<br />
house ($2.59). Coffees can<br />
be made as specialty Latin<br />
drinks, as well (add $.50).