Evanston IL Top Restaurants

I just read an article in the Evanston Patch about Evanston IL Top Restaurants. As an almost life long Evanston IL resident and a foodie this caught my eye. There was a time when you could name the most popular place to dine on one hand. Now I have not even been to every restaurant in town. It is amazing to have such choices. With the expansion of Northwestern University and the mass rebuilding of the downtown of Evanston came many people and those folks have to eat.

We are all opinionated so there is no right and wrong here. I want to show you what the great online publication the Evanston Patch says and what Noah says. I bet you have your own choices and I would like to hear about the too.

To start I quote the Evanston Patch:

"There are no shortage of good places to eat in Evanston.

According to popular traveler’s website TripAdvisor.com, there are 215 listed places that have been declared as “restaurants.”

But the website goes a step further, asking visitors to rate their experiences and totals the number of votes to put together a list of top reviewed places.

Here’s what visitors have as their top five. Do you agree?

1.    Sarpino’s Pizzeria, 2428 Main St. Reviewer from Chicago states: “Love this place. The pizza is delicious, they are super quick, they’re always open and they have free delivery which means I can tip the driver better. I go at least once a week. It’s perfect, no fuss, no muss, just good pizza.”

2.    Soulwich, 1634 Orrington Ave. Reviewer from Irvington, New York states: “wonderful sandwiches and salads, really unique and yummy. Great for a quick lunch. Some seating but easy to take out.”

3.    Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, 1850 Sherman Ave. Reviewer from Slidell, Louisiana states: “Two people split a Caesar salad and a medium deep dish pizza. The salad was very good and the pizza was awesome! You HAVE to get the butter crust! The restaurant was very clean and the wait staff was great. Lou’s is the only place I would ever eat deep dish pizza when I visit Chicago.”

4.    Blind Faith Cafe, 525 Dempster St. Reviewer from Milford, Massachusetts states: “The vegetarian offerings were delicious and there was much for a carnivore like myself to choose from and enjoy!”

5.    The Stained Glass, 1735 Benson Ave. Reviewer from San Francisco states: “Food fresh and interesting without being too esoteric. Wait staff attentive and restaurant vibe relaxing. Only comment would be to add actual ganache to their chocolate ganache cake. Filling was more like mousse and not ganache. But overall, we’re coming back!”

I have been to all the places mentioned and will say this, I have dined at Blind Faith for 25 years. You won't find any meat but you will leave satisfied with a fine meal. I also love Stained Glass, a wine bar/great restaurant. I love going there and would recommend it to anyone on a date or with friends. There is a 6 wine sampler that is out of this world. You have to try it.

My choices and this is just a few.

Campagnola at 815 Chicago Ave (847) 475-6100 is one of my favorite places to dine anywhere period. I have never had a complaint and have been eating there since it opened a number of years ago. If you do not make a reservation you probably will not get in, this is how good this place is. They call it an Italian Bistro. I could eat at Campagnola over and over. You always get friendly service and fine food.

Chef's Station is out of this world at 915 Davis Evanston IL (847) 570-9821. You will have a hard time deciding what to order on the Chef Station menu because it is all made with care and mouth watering. The ever changing menu that includes everything from fine meats, fish and chicken is prepared with care and wonderful. I love this restaurant and if you want you can try the Wild Salmon Tartare, the Pan Seared Sea Scallops, New Zealand Lamb Chops or Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut a few of my favorites.

Found at 1631 Chicago Ave Evanston IL (847) 868-8945. Found describes themselves as a "kitchen and Social House". I agree with that and just love the food at Found which is owned by Amy Morton the daughter of the great Chicago Restaurateur Arnie Morton who has passed on the golden touch to Amy. Everything at Found is fantastic and you will want to take a few bites from your friends plate to try as everything offered is top notch. The last time I dined at this wonderful establishment I had the Heirloom baby Lettuce salad for a starter and pan seared Ivory Char a wonderful fish that was prepared just right.