Stuff to do in Evanston
I know that someone will post a thread asking about stuff to do in Evanston this weekend, so I thought I'd be proactive since I've lived here for 17 years. If you have some time, check out campus, especially the east side on the lake. There's a fantastic new football practice facility, and if you walk the path south, you get a great view of downtown Chicago. You could rent a Divvy bike and ride this path around the entire campus. There's a rental outpost near the stadium on Harrison St. and Green Bay Rd.
A handful of new restaurants have opened around town. Kinship is in downtown Evanston and has a great burger. It's a nice though not fancy restaurant. If you want something nicer, with a good (but not downtown Chicago good) steak, The Barn on Church St is pretty popular. Bangers and Lace on Grove St is good -- food is sausage focused, alcohol is pub focused. Whiskey Thief Tavern is another new place that I've heard good things about. That's on Davis. My favorite food is at Union, a wood-burning pizzeria. That's a bit of a walk from campus, but an easy L ride to the Dempster stop. Also there is Union Squared, an offshoot of Union with big slabs of Detroit style pizza with better than average toppings. Edzo's, as always, has great burgers. If you like poke (raw fish in bowls of rice with assorted vegetables), a new place just opened on Chicago Ave called Pono Ono. I ate there last week and loved it. Across from there is La Cocinita, a little place with Venezuelan and Mexican food. Really good and fast. There are also a handful of Asian places - Joy Yee, Cafe 527, Red Hot Chili Pepper, and Shang among others.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:24 PM ^
I thank you for this!!! My group of three will be staying at the Hyatt O'Hare this weekend, and will be looking for something to do pregame. We will appreciate the hell out of this. Go Blue!
September 26th, 2018 at 1:56 PM ^
I'm based in Chicago and will be taking the train up to Evanston for the game. Feel free to reach out with any questions or pre-game ideas!
September 24th, 2018 at 2:33 PM ^
Sad and crazy that of all the places you mentioned, only Joy Yee's was around when I was on campus. Edzo's arrived after I left, but I've been back to try it and I highly recommend it. Definitely get the truffle fries.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:02 PM ^
Joy Yee's has been there, like, forever....love their food but the menu is a little overpowering...if it's Thai that you happen to want...well, usually when I want ''Asian'' food, I want Thai... I would recommend Cozy Noodles on Davis...Edzo's is good, too...and if it's before the game that you want to eat, Golden Olympic is a great diner.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:05 PM ^
Golden Olympic is now only open for breakfast and lunch. If you’re looking for a good breakfast place, Ovo Frito is really good. It’s northwest of campus, on Maple, down the street from the theater.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:19 PM ^
I know...the game begins at 330, so plenty of time to get to GO....never been to Ovo Frito...but I might have to try that
https://www.ovofritocafe.com/menus
Isn't that a relatively new place, though...right across the street from the grad student dorms, I think?
September 24th, 2018 at 5:04 PM ^
Yes, it's pretty new. It's kind of in a weird location, so I forget it's even there, but it's our new favorite breakfast place.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:19 PM ^
My fav are the Angry fries
September 24th, 2018 at 5:05 PM ^
I love the garlic fries. And the shakes are amazing.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^
Any bar suggestions? Heading up early Friday.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:56 PM ^
Bat 17 or World of Beer for bars in downtown Evanston. Food is pretty epic size-wise at Bat and they always have a lot of awesome beers on tap. If you're visiting from out of town definitely get something by 3 Floyds since they're only readily available in the Chicagoland area and Indiana.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:07 PM ^
A place called Midnight Pig just opened next to Pete Miller’s Steakhouse. I know nothing about it, but it’s probably worth looking into.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:25 PM ^
They have one of those tapwall systems where you get a card, then pour beer yourself and pay by the ounce. 30-ish taps. Usually 10-15 taken by Midnight Pig beers (their brewery and brewpub is in Plainfield, but Pete Miller's is owned by the same company), with the rest mostly being local/regional stuff. Oh, and a tap or two of macro.
They just won a gold at GABF for their barleywine, it'll most likely be on tap there. Won gold at World Beer Cup this year for their Vienna lager (Hook & Hatchet), and won I think a GABF bronze medal a couple years back for their doppelbock. Kookie Monster (barrel aged stout on oreo cookies) is damn tasty. So they make some good stuff. I thought the food was good too.
Other breweries in Evanston near the L: Sketchbook (no food, but I like their beers), Smylie (just won a GABF medal again for their fruited wheat Purple Line, two or three in a row for that beer now) has BBQ. Temperance is also in town, but not near transit. Bangers & Lace and World of Beer are probably your best bets for other beer bars. B&L's menu is mainly sausages (as you might expect from the name) but they are tasty.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^
The pour-your-own-beer places are the new trend, but they're a money pit. Trust the experts and pay for a well-poured pint at a real bar instead of paying out the nose for foam going down a drain.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:38 PM ^
Eh, if you're incompetent at pouring, sure. The ones I've been to have all been pretty good about helping you out, and if there's foam problems, comping for what you should have gotten.
They aren't great if you plan on drinking pints of the same beer the whole time; they're great if you want a bunch of 5 ounce pours to try a bunch of stuff. Most bars won't even do it; the breweries that do them almost always charge you way more per ounce for the smaller pour (I don't blame them for it, it's still glassware they have to wash, pours they have to do, etc) except for Haymarket, which charges the exact same per ounce no matter what size you get.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:37 PM ^
Cubs are playing a day game against the Cardinals on Friday. Head over to Wrigleyville and either catch the ballgame or hang out at any one of the 2 dozen bars around Wrigley Field.
September 24th, 2018 at 7:02 PM ^
Of course Ferris would suggest this...
September 24th, 2018 at 7:46 PM ^
But he'll be in gym class.
September 25th, 2018 at 7:05 AM ^
How can I be expected to handle school when Michigan is coming to town?
September 24th, 2018 at 3:06 PM ^
If you want unlimited Korean BBQ for a moderate fee, go to Woori Village, 8526 W Golf Rd, Niles, IL 60714
22 min drive from Evanston.
I used to go there at least once a month when I lived in Milwaukee.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:17 PM ^
If you are gonna go that far from Evanston you might as well head into Chicago though.
September 24th, 2018 at 5:56 PM ^
The traffic isn't as bad as heading into Chicago. Did i mention it was all you can eat BBQ?
September 24th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^
I forgot about Tacos Diablo, Lulu’s and Five and Dime. They’re all in the same location on Davis St. Five and Dime is the rooftop bar, Lulu’s is Asian and Tacos Diablo is self-explanatory. Also good Is La Principal on Main St. very similar to Tacos Diablo. Right off the Main St L stop.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^
Definitely plan to use this list and some of the other great comments in previous threads. Thanks!
September 24th, 2018 at 3:55 PM ^
I'm actually really excited for this game/weekend.
Try to go to an away game every year, this just so happens to be the year we get to go to Evanston for the first time. Looking forward to a weekend long party with approx 20,000 other Michigan fans!
September 24th, 2018 at 3:55 PM ^
Nice inside baseball there thanks Wendy
September 24th, 2018 at 4:16 PM ^
Edzo’s is so good. Definitely don’t skip the shakes or fries there.
big fan of the bubble teas at Joy Yee’s but the food isn’t very good.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:50 PM ^
There's also a pretty cool town nearby called Chicago which has great eats, shops, museums etc.!
September 24th, 2018 at 6:08 PM ^
Would recommend
September 24th, 2018 at 7:49 PM ^
Overrated. Go a bit further and check out Gary, the hidden gem of northwest Indiana.
September 25th, 2018 at 9:04 AM ^
There are a lot of things hidden in Gary.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:59 PM ^
Bluestone is a great casual sports bar with great food walkable to the game
September 24th, 2018 at 5:53 PM ^
Deep dish pizza, Italian beef sammiches, Portillos and Lucky's Sandwich Shop in Wrigleyville...yes, not all of those are in Evanston but Chicago is a lot of fun!
September 24th, 2018 at 6:01 PM ^
Our group will be staying at the Rosemont Embassy suits....They have great bars and a really nice bowling alley. If your near there or at the Hotel...Drinks on me!!
GO BLUE
September 24th, 2018 at 6:21 PM ^
Go to Buffalo Joe’s order a double of suicide wings and buffalo chips with cheese. You will thank me.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:22 PM ^
Also for the best pizza in Chicago do Pequad’s.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:22 PM ^
Also for the best pizza in Chicago do Pequad’s.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:29 PM ^
I agree wholeheartedly with pequods being the best— I moved out of Chicago this past winter and pequods is the thing I miss the most!
September 24th, 2018 at 7:11 PM ^
Periods is absolutely the best. The trick is to order the deep dish with lite dough. Their regular deep dish is a little too breads so with the lite dough they cut that a bit but you still get the caramelized cheese on the outside of the crust
September 24th, 2018 at 7:08 PM ^
Play pinball, obviously:
https://pinballmap.com/chicago?utf8=%E2%9C%93®ion=chicago
September 24th, 2018 at 7:47 PM ^
Stan Mikita Donuts. For the win.
September 24th, 2018 at 9:05 PM ^
Fun post, and comments!
This game has been on my to-do list forever and was almost Chicago bound this weekend, stuff happens and can't make it.
Next time, I hope. My high school French teacher used to rhapsodize about how Evanston was pretty much the center of civilization. He didn't think Ann Arbor half compared. He was such a great teacher although I was never able to appreciate why he was endlessly enamored of Evanston. I'm sure he's gone now, his opinions on the matter have stayed in memory. I will think of him one day finally visiting there.
September 24th, 2018 at 11:46 PM ^
I think Ann Arbor's better on a lot of fronts. But Evanston has Lake Michigan, which is awesome if you like going to the beach and water sports. Evanston was dead for a lot of years, but the past two or three have brought a lot of new restaurants, which is great for us. I still prefer going to downtown Chicago for restaurants, maybe just for a change of scene, but Evanston offers more than any other suburb.
September 24th, 2018 at 9:35 PM ^
Thanks for that, are there any clubs that my friends and I could visit? We are looking to go out after the game and were wondering if there is anything in Evanston or if we have to go to another suburb for that.
September 24th, 2018 at 11:42 PM ^
I think Chicago's the place for that. Evanston is fairly tame.
September 24th, 2018 at 10:30 PM ^
Thanks for the recommendations. I'm so glad this game is back on the schedule. I really wish the Big Ten would put IU in the West and move Northwestern to the East so we could play there every other year.
September 25th, 2018 at 9:14 AM ^
Been looking forward to this one for months! Surely it can't be any worse than my experience at IU last year.
September 25th, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
Oh, if you have a car and are looking for Chicago pan pizza, go to Burt's in Morton Grove - basically, drive west from Evanston down Dempster and you'll get close. Burt himself passed away, but the guys who took it over are ones he personally trained for quite a while, and it's still outstanding, and you don't have to call a day in advance anymore. They're the perfected version of Pequod's (Burt created Pequod's recipe back in the day), with the caramelized cheese on the crust, etc. Get sausage and bell peppers on it at the very least.
September 25th, 2018 at 6:41 PM ^
Hi Wendy! Not sure if you check back on this thread ....We are staying at the Hampton Inn Skokie- we were going to leave our car there and take a cab to Ryan Field. (I've never used Uber. Lol) Are all the places you mentioned within walking distance of Ryan? Chicago Ave? Thx. Also, do you know where the book store is? Son is applying to NW and we need a T-shirt! (Not if we lose. We'll all be mad then.)
September 26th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^
You're looking at about a mile and a half to 2 miles walking from Ryan to the area where most of the stuff is. It's a pleasant town to walk through though. If that's too much walking, it's less than a half mile to the L, purple line. $2.50 a person, take it a few stops south to Davis.
I assume postgame cabs will be impossible and Uber/Lyft will be on surge pricing.