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After a long week of 9-to-5-ing it in the city, you might also contemplate a quick escape that only the North Shore can provide. Chicago’s ‘burbs aren't all strollers and PG-rated table talk. Take Evanston, for example. The home of Northwestern University, this mini-metropolis boasts a wide assortment of dining opportunities well worth the trip on the (gasp!) Purple Line.
“Its proximity to the lakefront is great in the summertime,” says Rob Strom, owner and operator of Evanston’s Prairie Moon. “We also have a really nice mix in our downtown with some great retail shops and places to go for a night out.”
Here are our 5 bitchin’ Evanston eats:
After the doors of Dixie Kitchen’s Hyde Park haunt closed on June 7, the Evanston location is now the only place to get down-home eats this far north and west of the Mason-Dixon line. To start, DK brings you its famous Johnny Cakes. Loyalists rave about the fried chicken, but for a true Southern sensation, try the crayfish etouffee or the Southern sampler, a hearty portion of gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice. Add a glass of sweet tea and you’ll be whistlin’ Dixie.
Hundreds of miles from the East and West coasts, you wouldn’t expect to find top-notch seafood in Evanston. But local fish lovers can ditch the summer trip to Nantucket and head to Davis Street Fish Market instead.
The restaurant offers a fresh-catch menu with eight choices of fish, which the kitchen prepares to your liking. But the best dish here is anything ahi. This place makes tuna sing, especially when paired with anything off of the extensive wine list (stick to whites unless you go temporarily insane and order beef).
One of the beautiful things about Evanston is finding independent gems like Pomegranate mixed in among Whole Foods, Panera, and other Stuff White People Like. You can order spinach pie for less than $3… if you’re feeling extra hungry (or adventurous), go ahead and get the combination appetizer platter, which includes hummos, babaganooj, falafel, and grape leaves for $5.95. Pomegranate also serves standard (and delicious) Mediterranean entrees such as sandwiches and kabobs, which you can eat there or carry out.
There are few neighborhood joints with as cool a vibe, as rockin’ burgers, and as high-falutin’ a beer list as Prairie Moon, in the heart of downtown Evanston. Come for some grub, stay for beers such as Unibroue’s Le Fin du Monde (a fancy bottle of French-Canadian beer that’s 14 percent alcohol per volume), and enjoy the casual vibe. You can also catch a variety of local sporting events on Prairie Moon’s assorted flat-screen TVs.