Category Archives: Illinois

Thai Sookdee Restaurant

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*** (3 stars)

This is a completely mediocre Thai restaurant with one killer dish: Pad Thai. Their preparation of it isn’t even exactly traditional, but it is delicious, with medium dark noodles that really sop up the flavorful sauce. Unfortunately every thing else on the menu is quite forgettable. Our strategy is to order the Pad Thai delivered, and then add our own accompaniments.

Thai Sookdee Restaurant
1016 Church St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 866-8012
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-sookdee-restaurant-evanston

Todoroki Hibachi and Sushi

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**** (4 stars)

The all you can eat sushi special here allows you to get exactly what you want, and it’s darn good sushi. If you’re really craving sushi and you’re hungry, this is the place to go. For better quality, Kansaku is a better choice, and for cheap, Sashimi Sashimi is your best bet. But for a lot of good sushi in a nice environment, this is a great choice. Also, there is a teppan grill, so it’s a good place for larger parties and for kids.

Todoroki Hibachi and Sushi
526 Davis St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 750-6565
http://www.yelp.com/biz/todoroki-hibachi-and-sushi-evanston

Joy Yee’s Noodle Kitchen

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*** (3 stars)

This place has a massive menu, with all types of Asian food. It’s big and busy and loud, and probably the best reason to go is for their huge assortment of beverages and ice cream drinks. 527 Cafe, right next door, offers better Korean and Thai food in a quieter environment.

Joy Yee’s Noodle Kitchen
521 Davis St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 733-1900
http://www.yelp.com/biz/joy-yees-noodle-kitchen-evanston

Cozy Noodles & Rice

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*** (3 stars)

Cozy Noodles is a funky little cafe near Ace hardware, on Davis, but on the other side of the tracks from the business district. The striking thing about the place is the collections of tin toys, Pez dispensers, license plates, canned good, and other oddities that line the walls. Despite its name, it doesn’t serve comfort food (unless you’re from Southeast Asia), but rather Chinese and Thai food. Our food was good — “spicy” definitely means spicy — and the prices are very reasonable.

Cozy Noodles & Rice
1018 Davis St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 733-0101
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cozy-noodles-and-rice-evanston

Terra an American Bistro

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***** (5 stars)

This is a small plates sort of place, so we sampled some smoked salmon, hummus, Margherita flatbread and some fish tacos. It was all good, and the hummus plate, which is more like a whole Lebanese meal including falafel and olives, is a particularly good deal.

The menu is really interesting, and warrants several repeat visits. Service was well-intentioned but not quite as professional as the food. The place was very busy, due to the trendy vibe and good prices. The bar looks nice, too.

Terra an American Bistro
2676 Green Bay Rd
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 563-9100
http://www.yelp.com/biz/terra-an-american-bistro-evanston

Kafein

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**** (4 stars)

Dumpy old furniture, cave-like ambiance, everything you expect in a college-oriented coffee house. I love it. The food, whcih takes awhile since there’s often not much staff, is surprisingly good, the coffee drinks are Starbucks-killers, and the wifi is free. My favorite coffee house in Evanston.

Kafein
1621 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 491-1621
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kafein-evanston

Michael

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***** (5 stars)

A really top-notch French restaurant with extremely reasonable prices for what you get. The wine pairings, in particular, are extremely attractive.

The restaurant is the latest project of award-winning chef Michael Lachowicz. During our Thursday night visit the place was almost full. What we received was a delicious five-course French meal for two people with matching wine pairings. Each course was super, and the matching wines paired perfectly with the food. We had:

   goat cheese puff amuse bouche (we were actually served this twice, which was great!)
   corn soup (paired with an Italian white)
   zucchini with goat cheese in pastry
   seared salmon (paired with a white Burgundy)
   roast pork in pastry (paired with an Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon)
   chocolate souffle with chocolate sauce and strawberries
   chocolate truffles

Service seemed well-intentioned, but not really at the caliber of the food. This was one of the dressier restaurants I’ve been to around Evanston, with many of the men in coats and ties. That was ironic, because the owner is extremely friendly and casual, working the front desk in jeans and a short sleeve shirt!

This place has definitely made it onto our regular dining list.

Michael
64 Green Bay Rd
Winnetka, IL 60093
(847) 441-3100
http://www.yelp.com/biz/michael-winnetka

Koi Fine Asian Cuisine and Lounge

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*** (3 stars)

I’ve never cared for places that try to do both Chinese and Japanese cuisines, because they tend to do neither all that well, and Koi is no exception. On a nice summer day it’s pleasant to sit in the front room with the floor to ceiling windows open, but don’t expect to get life changing sushi here. For the price I expect more.

Koi Fine Asian Cuisine and Lounge
624 Davis St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 866-6969
http://www.yelp.com/biz/koi-fine-asian-cuisine-and-lounge-evanston