As USA Today is fond of reminding us, ascetic health consciousness is on the wane, and self-indulgence is back in fashion. If so, that’s fine with Nathan Jarvinen. The fortysomething real estate developer so relishes a good cigar that he converted the first floor of one of his residential properties into a cafe that would accommodate his leafy love. As Jarvinen, who lacked any prior experience in the restaurant business, puts it: “I created this restaurant to have a place where I could smoke cigars without getting kicked out.”
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
The Distant Mirror Cafe, located in Rogers Park, features a flamenco guitarist playing near the door, an alabaster head that sags like a collapsing souffle, lamps shaped like exotic sea creatures, and, behind the bar, two large humidors stocking various sizes of Avos and Don Linos (described and priced at the tail end of the menu) as well as an ever-changing collection of hard-to-find cigars. The restaurant is intimate, seating only 34 diners, but the larger of its two dining rooms is reserved for nonsmokers, and there’s a special ventilation system that according to Jarvinen circulates three to four times the amount of air required by the restaurant code.
Dinner begins with an appetizer of creamed blue cheese marinated in brandy and served with toast rounds. A salad follows, accompanied by thick slices of toasted bread and a warm, spicy tomato-and-garlic salsa.
The Distant Mirror has hosted a couple of prix fixe dinners at which guests sample a variety of cigars and spirits chosen to complement each other and the meal that precedes them. In the future, these events will feature special guests. Jarvinen is trying to persuade Avo Uvezian, the maker of Avo cigars, to attend.
