Sicilian hot chocolate at Sfera Sicilian Street Food

Hot chocolate isn’t something I usually go for. While I may crave it a couple times a year, usually around the holidays, it was more in my rotation when I was younger — before I acquired a taste for coffee, matcha, or chai. But they’re doing something different at Sfera Sicilian Street Food.

Reader Bites readers might remember that Sfera was featured just last summer, highlighting the roasted chicken and red pepper relish sandwich. But listen: I can’t get this drink out of my head.

The Sicilian hot chocolate at Sfera is crafted with housemade citrus-spice syrup and topped with bouncy vanilla-citrus marshmallows. Having a particular taste for chocolate and citrus together is not a prerequisite for enjoying this fluy, soothing beverage. I got hooked when my wife brought home the cold dregs of a go-cup and begged me to taste it. That sip was enough to convince me, but it’s a thousand times better fresh and to order.

Its light sweetness stuck with me. And now, here I am—craving hot chocolate, watching a Claire Saffitz video about homemade marshmallows, planning an imaginary holiday party, and calculating how many times is too many times to visit Edgewater’s magical Sicilian corner store.

—TARYN MCFADDEN

SFERA SICILIAN STREET FOOD

5759 N. Broadway, $4.25–$6, 773-739-9128, sferachicago.com

Reader Bites celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene.

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