Sweet Cakes' Unique Tea And Lunch Specials | Ukranian Village, Chicago

It's all too easy to take an old favorite for granted, bypassing it for the new and shiny.

It would be a mistake to do so with Sweet Cakes, the nearly four-year-old Ukrainian Village bakery known for its cookies, pastries and bostock.

The shop moved to a larger, airier building last year, and a stream of new weekday offerings from baker Emily Smith is an excuse to visit the bakery regularly.

Her Tuesday-afternoon tea service is a steal, offering a pot of Rishii tea (choose from eight varieties) and a plate of sweet and savory bites for $10. On a recent visit, mellow White Peony tea was an excellent companion for crumbly whole-grain-rosemary scones, ginger-bourbon cookies and goat-cheese finger sandwiches with onion jam. We then used the accompanying sugar cookies as a tool for scooping up Smith's silky lemon curd and deep, dark strawberry preserves.

A new weekday lunch-box deal–a savory item, a small greens-and-herbs salad and a cookie ($10)–is also available Tuesday through Friday. Go Tuesday for Smith's new spinach croissant, a popover stuffed with spinach, cream cheese and garlic, and Wednesday for a slice of quiche. Find miniature pizzas on Thursday, and Kalamata olive rolls with cheese and house-made grainy mustard on Friday.

The best part: The menu is always changing, so Sweet Cakes never gets stale.

Sweet Cakes Bakery, 901 N. Damen Ave.; 773-772-5771 or sweetcakeschicago.com