Jan 26, 2008 9:01 am US/Central
Sweets And Inspiration At Perfect Peace
1255 W. 79th St.
(773) 244-CAFE
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
-
-
Perfect Peace Cafe and Bakery brings upscale bakery items to the economically-challenged Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.
CBS
If you love sweet things, we have the answer to your prayers at a little slice of heaven right on the city's South Side.
In this edition of Table for 2, CBS 2's Vince Gerasole finds Perfect Peace, at a café and bakery of the same name.
You might say the heavenly desserts made from scratch at Perfect Peace – everything from mini-lemon bundt cakes to pecan pies, get divine inspiration from St. Sabina, the church across 79th Street.
"God is awesome, and nothing is impossible," said Perfect Peace's Denise Nichols.
Nichols and business partner Julie Wellborn met at church, cooking up the idea for an upscale sit-down bakery that also served light lunches. But the icing on the cake comes in their decision to located it in the economically challenged Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.
"The people in this community deserve the best, and they don't have to go on North Side or Beverly or to Hyde Park," Wellborn said.
"It's not just for us but it's also for them," Nichols added.
The name Perfect Peace is fitting for this serene place where you can bite into a perfect piece of double chocolate cake. The double meaning that came to Julie as she searched her soul for her life's purpose.
"I had a desire to deal with people and bring people together and i just go this – 'perfect piece/perfect peace,'" Wellborn said.
On the menu are family recipes – a light sour cream pound cake, for instance – and old neighborhood favorites like the sweetly satisfying caramel cake. Customers kept asking for one, and Nichols perfected her own version.
"Seven years ago I had no idea what a caramel cake was," Nichols said.
The kitchen also serves up light lunches. A grilled chicken panini with pesto sauce and red peppers is satisfyingly sophisticated.
But the best item on the menu may be a piece of intensely red, red velvet cake. The white cream cheese icing is sinfully sweet, but the recipe behind the deep red cake remains Nichols and Wellborn's secret.
It's a perfect peace, any way you slice it.
The owners of this labor of love say they have also gotten inspiration and encouragement from neighbors, and even the other business owners in their area.
cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages
Slideshow: The Rise Of Barack Obama
Slideshow: 90s TV Stars Then And Now
Slideshow: World's Most Bizarre Deaths
Slideshow: In To Be Out: Gay Celebrities
Slideshow: Did You Know? Stars From Chicago!
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Make a recommendation
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
