Sweet of the Week: Tiramisu at Andy's Jazz Club

When it comes to classics, tiramisu and jazz go hand-in-hand. While the former is usually hard to take seriously in most any context, there's just something so righteous about tucking into a wedge of tiramisu while swooning to smooth jazz in an old-school downtown club. It's a piece of old Italy and a piece of old Chicago in delicious tandem. And that synergy doesn't get any better than dessert at Andy's Jazz Club, one of the best destinations for timeworn jazz in Chicago, complete with a sleeper hit of a dessert menu. 

 

Andy's Jazz Club
 Tiramisu at Andy's Jazz Club


 


Most people present at Andy's Jazz Club are only there to sip a cocktail or two and marvel at jazz bands. Except that parties are essentially required to eat food in order to reserve a table, so there's that. Might as well make the most of it and nosh on some chili, some jambalaya, and some ribs. Better yet, may as well fast-forward right to dessert and dig into tiramisu, here dubbed "The Pick Me Up." It's as venerable and predictable as one might expect, though amped up with enough espresso flavor to make the whole thing taste like breakfast fodder. "This is like breakfast!" I squealed multiple times before being shushed. The thick wedge of tiramisu contains velvety soft layers of espresso-saturated ladyfingers, mascarpone cheese, and cocoa, with the added bonus of dark chocolate sauce. Alongside, Andy's taps into its soulful roots with a chocolate tuile in the shape of a music symbol. Lest you forget where you are while eating this. 


The jazz is nice, but the tiramisu is a bit of a showstopper in and of itself. 


- Matt Kirouac

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