Category Archives: Illinois

Las Palmas Restaurant & Bar

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**** (4 stars)

I was hesitant to try this place because of the reviews, and I’m a bit of a Tex Mex snob. But I have to say that their premium margarita is killer. Maybe no one tries it because it’s $11 bucks, but it was worth it: top of the line Sauza and Gran Marnier.

I had the veggie fajitas, which were an amazing spread for $7.95.

Service on a quiet Friday afternoon was attentive. I’d go back.

Las Palmas Restaurant & Bar
817 University Pl
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-2555
http://www.yelp.com/biz/las-palmas-restaurant-and-bar-evanston

J.T’s Bar & Grill

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*** (3 stars)

This place has a pleasant outside eating area. Inside the atmosphere is more sportsbar-ish. The menu is weighted towards burgers, and there didn’t seem to be any salads. The veggie burger I had on a pretzel bun was delicious. The Greek fries were soggy. So, one for two.

Although it’s called a bar and grill, half the menu is breakfast, so I’d return to try that.

Service was friendly.

J.T’s Bar & Grill
1639 Orrington Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-6200
http://www.yelp.com/biz/j-ts-bar-and-grill-evanston

Blackbird

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***** (5 stars)

Blackbird has been nominated or received a James Beard award virtually every year for more than a decade, and there’s a reason.

We had the tasting menu, which consisted of ten courses plus a couple of extras. There were several home runs, and a couple of misses. Stellar items included the Foie gras in an amazing shitake broth, and a sweet and savory course of cheese and chocolate. Misses were the sturgeon and the striploin.

Service was super efficient, unobtrusive, and friendly.

The wine list is pricey and doesn’t have a lot of depth, but we found two reasonably priced half bottles that accompanied almost every course.

The place gets noisy, because there is no acoustic treatment, but we went early and had a front corner table that was quite intimate for the first couple of hours.

An excellent culinary experience.

Blackbird
619 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 715-0708
http://www.yelp.com/biz/blackbird-chicago

Golden Olympic Restaurant

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**** (4 stars)

This IS you father’s diner. Or maybe your grandfather’s. In fact, he may still be eating here.

Golden Olympic is like stepping back into the fifties, in terms of ambiance, service and food. True, there are some Greek (and even a few Asian) items on the menu, but basically it’s a diner.

I went with the Greek theme, since there was a photo of Santorini on the wall, and had the Village Sandwich, which consisted of feta cheese, olives, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions with Tzatziki sauce, rolled in a pita.

Good choice. It was refreshing, tasty and yet light like a salad.

It came with a choice of sides, and to offset the healthfulness of the sandwich I chose onion rings.

Bad choice. They were the kind of onion rings you buy in the frozen food department and bake until they’re crunchy, except these hadn’t made it to crunchy.

Service was pleasant in a detached, 50s waitress kind of way.

This is the first restaurant I’ve been in for a decade that had an FM radio station playing. But it was music from the 70s, so I guess they’re going modern.

All in all a fun trip down memory lane, and a good spot for breakfast or a sandwich.

Golden Olympic Restaurant
1608 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-1617
http://www.yelp.com/biz/golden-olympic-restaurant-evanston

Greek Fire Grill

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**** (4 stars)

This is a good place for a Chicago Dog, which is pretty much indistinguishable from all the other Chicago Dogs in town. One day I made the several mile round trip walk to the highly rated Mustard’s Last Stand, and couldn’t tell the difference, so now I just stick with (what is now called) Greek Fire Grill.

They have a fairly wide variety of foods, and burgers and greek specialties are also popular, although they are rarely busy.

Greek Fire Grill
1625 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 869-9453
http://www.yelp.com/biz/greek-fire-grill-evanston-2

Bar Louie Evanston

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**** (4 stars)

I’m not much of a bar person, but I really like Bar Louie. They have a great outside dining area, and surprisingly they make one of the best salads in town. The chop chop salad has iceberg lettuce, bacon, tomato, carrot, avocado, garbanzo beans, chopped egg, cucumber, tortilla strips, and house dressing. I also really like their pretzel sticks, which come with three very good dipping sauces. Service has always been efficient and friendly.

Bar Louie Evanston
1520 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 733-8300
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-louie-evanston-evanston-2

World of Beer

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**** (4 stars)

This place is about beer, not food. I sat outside on a lovely evening and tried a Young’s Double Chocolate Stout from a bottle. It was excellent. It took a while for my server to show up, but once she did, she was friendly and efficient. I also had one of their enormous pretzels, which was pretty good, although I would have preferred it with a sampling of mustards rather than just one.

Although the list of beers may seem overwhelming, they are clearly labelled as to origin and style, and the list is online, so you can plan before you go. If you’re into beers, this is a great place to sample them.

World of Beer
1601 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-3688
http://www.yelp.com/biz/world-of-beer-evanston

Tapas Barcelona

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**** (4 stars)

This is very authentic tapas. In fact, except that the plates are larger, it is extremely similar to Tapa Tapa in Barcelona. I tried the ceviche, the asparagus, the grilled squid and the grilled mussels. The ceviche was my favorite. It’s a fully cooked version, and the shrimp and squid were tender, and the diced peppers and onions nicely marinated. The grilled mussels, served like fajitas, were also good.

The wine pours are a bit small for the price, but the dessert coffees at $3.95 make up for it. Try the Matador, which has Spanish vanilla liqueur in it.

Service is a bit uneven, but if you’re not in a hurry that’s okay. The place is very busy; it was packed on the Tuesday night I went, so that could account for it. The outside dining area is very nice on a warm evening.

Tapas Barcelona
1615 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 866-9900
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tapas-barcelona-evanston

Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop

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**** (4 stars)

Considering the owners are not originally from the South, this is a remarkably authentic dining experience.

I had the lunch special of a half blackened catfish poboy and a cup of gumbo. The catfish was the perfect spiciness, still moist, and not muddy, and the bread was fresh. Gumbo was a tasty, rich mixture, served with the rice separate on one side of the cup, which was an interesting approach. My meal came with a pair of corn meal pancakes rather than muffins, which is a bit unusual, but tasty. At under $7 it was a good buy for lunch.

The unsweetened peach tea was very tasty; it’s hard to find good unsweetened tea in the South. The breakfast items and salads I saw also looked good.

I love the funky atmosphere. The space is decked out like a bait shop, and red checkered plastic tablecloths brighten things up. There are also four tables out on the sidewalk.

Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop
825 Church St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 733-9030
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dixie-kitchen-and-bait-shop-evanston

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

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*** (3 stars)

This place is popular due to its close proximity to Northwestern. I have to admit that Chicago deep dish pizza isn’t my favorite style: I don’t like crust that tastes like saltine crackers, and I prefer the pizza to be more about the sauce and toppings than about dough. So I find nothing noteworthy about Lou Malnati’s pizza. It’s a plus that they offer a gluten free variety, which I haven’t tasted, but might be better.

I will say that the service is friendly and efficient, especially considering how busy they are. Frankly I think the best pizza in Evanston is the one we order delivered from Sarpino’s.

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria
1850 Sherman Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-5400
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lou-malnatis-pizzeria-evanston