Clover Eats!
Sharing restaurant experiences through photography!
Snapshot: Waffles at “Sargent Dining Hall”!
This delicious waffle species, made and decorated at Northwestern’s Sargent Dining Hall was decadent and delicious!
On a side note, it’s Dillo Day! I just woke up after going salsa dancing at Rumba last night with Kevin, Marcy, and Julie! Will post pictures later. Now, time for Chiddy Bang, BOB, and Beer Garden!
CloverEats! omelettes and pancakes at Evanston’s “Noyes Street Cafe”
When Martin and I are in the mood for breakfast, but don’t want the crowded feeling of Fraiche, we head for Noyes Street Cafe. This is a little European diner that appears to be run by a Greek family; it hosts a nice variety of dishes. There are so few restaurants along Noyes St., and Noyes Street Cafe is probably the nicest one there.
The neon sign is barely visible in daylight.
The Experience: Noyes Street Cafe is usually quite empty when we go, although I’ve seen it get crowded on Saturday nights. There are vintage French advertisements on the brick walls, and it’s a full-service, sit-down type of restaurant. There’s a small selection of wines, and for brunch on the weekends, they also offer my favorite, mimosa! The service is quite prompt when it’s not crowded, and not bad even when it is packed.
Menu.
We had a nice window seat.
The Food: Noyes certainly doesn’t have bad food, per say, but there’s nothing too spectacular about it either. We ordered omelettes, with toast and pancakes, and I also had a cup of coffee. The pancakes can’t really compare to say, Walker Brothers, but they were decent, as was the omelette. The lunch and dinner here are a little better, serving steaks, sandwiches, and pasta, but none of the meals I’ve had here were especially bursting with original flavor. Nevertheless, it’s one of the only sit-down restaurants on Noyes St., so we end up going to it more often than not.
Martin's toast had a hole in it!
Coffee and our Spring Formal tickets.
The Bill: Since it’s a full-service restaurant, Noyes St. is rightfully a little more expensive than its neighbors. Our brunch bill came to $26, which I thought was a little expensive for the semi-delicious food. Especially when compared to Mandarin House, a little Chinese/Korean restaurant across the street, which boasts lunch specials less than $10, it’s a little pricey.
Syrup, butter.
Omelette!
Overall: Noyes Street Cafe is a nice place to sit down, relax, and enjoy a meal. Just don’t expect anything spectacular, and be prepared to pay up! Official website; Yelp.
Sticky, thick, yum: on homemade noodles at “Zoba Noodle Bar”
There seem to be a ton of Thai noodle restaurants in Evanston. You’ve got Cozy Noodles, Sabai, Thai Sookdee, Ruby of Siam, etc. Zoba’s is a cute little restaurant near the much more expensive Pete Miller’s, and has some pretty decent homemade noodles.
Moscato! <3!
The Experience: The atmosphere is very bright; not quite as eclectic as Cozy Noodles, but there’s definitely something to be said for whoever did the decorating. Zoba’s is also BYOB, which is always a plus for poor starving college students like us. (It’s not perfectly located with a liquor store across the street like Cozy or Mandarin House, but World Market isn’t too far a walk!)
Plates and uncooked noodles and color!
The Food: The noodles are very nice; they definitely have a homemade feel to them – sticky, thick, and well-textured. There’s a little hole-in-the-wall place out by my high school, the Illinois Math and Science Academy, called Katy’s Dumpling House, which seriously has the most amazing noodles I’ve ever had. Zoba can’t compare to that, but are definitely worth settling for in Evanston.
Pad See Ewe!
The Bill: Zoba’s is pretty cheap, definitely within a student’s budget. Our bill of four dishes plus mango sticky rice (<3) came to just about $40, which I think is quite reasonable. The only drawback is ordering delivery – Martin and I always seem to get less noodles than when we dine in, and it doesn’t seem to be as fresh. We’ve only ordered once though, and all our dine-in experiences have been good.
Martin picking out the peppers from his dish.
Overall: Zoba Noodle Bar is not a bad place to grab a bite to eat. Delivery can be a little sketchy, but dining in allows us to enjoy the bright green wallpaper. It’s usually not too crowded, so we get good service too! Check out their official website, and Yelp!
CloverEats! noodles and shaved ice at Evanston’s “527”
For the last exec meeting of the year, China Care board members went out to “527,” a little Taiwanese fusion cafe that opened up next to Joy Yee’s Noodles.
Neon green walls.
The Experience: 527 is similar to Fraiche in its serving style – you order at the counter, and then sit down and wait for food to be delivered to your table. The walls are brightly decorated with neon green and tangerine orange paint, with little hints of modern furnishings; the decor is definitely uplifting and energetic. It wasn’t busy at all when we went – Sunday afternoon – but that was pleasant. There’s a feeling of authenticity and familiarity – small details like imported drinks or pastries made me smile.
Grass jelly!
Playing Go while waiting for food to come.
The Food: I read reviews on Yelp to decide what to order, and it seemed like people raved about the Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mien), so I ordered that. The soup was okay, and while the meat was very soft, the noodles were terribly limp. I’m used to Niu Rou Mien from Katy’s Dumpling House, which are firm and thick, and bursting with flavor. Thumbs down for 527 on this part.
Our table also got Popcorn Chicken, which was a little dry, but otherwise the pieces were fun to pop into one’s mouth and crunch down on. The sweet fried buns were all right, just like little bits of fried dough with a sweet sauce. 527 has some interesting fusion items too – The Original Korean Taco and a Korean BBQ Beef Sandwich (Martin described it as an Asian Philly Cheesesteak).
Popcorn chicken!
Sweet buns.
Korean BBQ Beef Sandwich.
The Original Korean Taco
The best part of the food was definitely dessert – Brown Sugar Mango Shaved Ice! One order was enough for our whole table to share. The Sweet Potato Fries were also quite good!
A mountain of shaved ice goodness.
Sweet potato fries!
The Bill: I thought things were a little expensive, my initial order coming out at $15, and my dessert being $10. There’s definitely a lot of food per order though, so the price is justified. It was really convenient to have everyone order individually (we had a group of ten or so) and pay before sitting down; there was no annoying, hasslesome bill-splitting. Yet we still had a nice, sit-down restaurant feel to the meal, so that was nice.
Sharing the shaved ice!
Overall: 527 had a great environment and setup for this particular event. However, I’m not sure how much I like the entrees. I’d stop by for Shaved Ice in the summer, maybe, but that’s about it. Official website; YELP.
Succulence and abundance: on duck at Argyle’s “Sun Wah”
My friend Josh used to say, “If you haven’t had Korean Barbeque, you haven’t lived.” Whilst this statement remains true, after having Sun Wah’s Barbeque Peking Duck, I must change this statement to “If you haven’t had Peking Duck, you haven’t lived.” Thanks to Joe for organizing this, and to Pei-Chih for driving us; Martin and I had such a great time! It definitely helps to have reservations, because this place can get packed! Other times, we’ve shown up and been told there is a one hour wait, but were seated after only fifteen minutes, so it’s always worth sticking around for a little bit even if the official wait time is a big disappointing.
Crowded.
The Experience: You know a restaurant has got to be good when you can smell the flavor of roast duck from a block away, and when you’ve got to wait for a seat, despite the restaurant being huge. Sun Wah has a very cute history, which the restaurant is very proud of; it’s family owned and operated, with the children of the original owners succeeding their parents and expanding the restaurant. The storefront is made from glass, with ducks hanging in the window, and you can watch the chefs chopping the meat on a giant wooden block (a tree trunk, perhaps?). If you order the duck dinner, which is so secret it’s not even on the menu, it’s cut right at your table. Call ahead to make reservations if you want to delicious duck dinner!
Carvin’ up the duck!
The Food: You come for the food. After our friends introduced us to Sun Wah the first time, Martin and I got such a huge craving for it the next week that we took a spontaneous ride on the El all the way down to Argyle and got duck in the middle of the afternoon. There aren’t many foods that can pull Martin away from Starcraft, but Sun Wah’s duck is one of them. The skin is perfectly cooked to be a little crispy, but still tender; it crunches nicely in the mouth and is filled with juice! Just writing this makes me hungry again.
So succulent!
Not only do you get duck included in the ‘duck dinner’ option, but the leftovers that weren’t in the initial cut are then made into duck soup, duck fried rice, and duck noodles! By the time the little ginger dessert sorbet comes, you are fully saturated with duck flavor. Luckily, the Hundred Year Egg Congee is quite good, and gives a little break from the otherwise nonstop duck!
I go crazy for congee.
BBQ Pork.
Unfortunately, the one time Martin and I came by ourselves, our waiter wouldn’t give us buns or green onions to go with our duck, and I was very disappointed. Not speaking fluent Cantonese, I couldn’t get the waiter to give us a few buns. Luckily, the duck was succulent enough to just go with rice, but I was still sad, especially because at other visits, they did provide extra buns/green onions.
Buns!
The Bill: Sun Wah is very affordable, especially because they give you so much food. One ‘duck dinner’ is approximately $30, but can easily feed three people. And when I say, “feed three people,” I really mean it; we were all stuffed by the end of the meal, if not by the actual food, then by the sheer flavor of duck.
Condiments!
Overall: Sun Wah is amazing! Definitely check it out if you are in the Chicago area. Official website; Yelp!
Juicy and expensive: on filet mignon at “The Stained Glass”
Whenever I go out with my parents, I know they’re going to treat me. As Martin put it for them, “Your daughter has very expensive taste.” My dad always used to tell me that The Stained Glass was a restaurant about wine, and now that I’m old enough, it’s one of my favorite places to hit up with my parents.
The Stained Glass is one of those really nice restaurants that don’t get busy until 9PM or so. We originally were planning to go its neighbor, The Cellar, which actually shares a wine collection with it, but at 7PM, The Cellar was unbelievably packed. We took a shortcut through the two restaurants’ connection, and ended up in a relatively empty Stained Glass.
The Experience: This restaurant has a great atmosphere – it’s a mixture of rustic and modern, with visible wooden beams and abstract soft paintings. There’s a great wine collection, and one can order samplers of three called “wine flights.” It’s a nice fancy restaurant, good for a date or so, with dim mood lighting and attentive waiters. Dress is not particularly formal, but it’s definitely not a fast food place; meals take at least 2 hours.
My flight, "Walking on the White Path."
The Food: Delicious, unusual combinations, and you can count on lots of truffle! Stained Glass has small portions, but most meals are at least three courses, so the little bits certainly add up. I believe the menu is printed out on a daily basis, and is constantly changing. Here’s an example description from the website: “Scottish Salmon, miso glaze, bamboo rice, baby bok choy, lobster-uni emulsion, watermelon radish salad.”
Crab cake with pomme frites.
My appetizer: Savory Candy Stripe Beet "Cobbler"
The Bill: As expected, our bill for three came to about $200. But the food was good, and our waiter was nice. There is something so luxurious about a long meal, with nice wine and decadent flavors.
My filet mignon~
Overall: Definitely a nice night out! Check out the official website, and Yelp!
Medium rare lamb!
Some recent snapshots:
These are snapshots I have from recent restaurant experiences. Full reviews will likely come around eventually!
A few glances at local Korean BBQ places: San Soo Gab San in Lincoln Square, Chicago (YELP), Woori Village in Skokie (YELP), and Kim’s Korean Restaurant in Mundelein (YELP).
So many side dishes @ SSGS!
The unfortunately metal barbeque in otherwise great (all-you-can-eat) Woori Village.
Bacon on a grill at Kim's.
Our favorite local ‘nice night out’ restaurant, The Stained Glass in Evanston (YELP).
"Flights" include three half-glasses of themed wines.
My delicious entree, "Tuna, Tuna, Tuna."
And of course, roast duck at Sun Wah in Argyle, Chicago (YELP)!
Roast duck dinner includes buns, soup, and friend rice!
Relatively fresh and chic: on Evanston’s “Fraiche”
My boyfriend and I have a bad habit of waking up late. Although we often sleep through the typical time range for breakfast food, we find ourselves starved for waffles, eggs, toast, and all that is delicious about brunch.
Fraiche is a cute little restaurant on Noyes St. in Evanston, and it is just down the street from the dorm we live in. It is only open until 4PM, advertising itself as a “Breakfast and Brunch” cafe, and is a spot we like to hit up after waking up at 2PM.
Martin preparing to dig in.
The experience: Fraiche is a cute little place, with a chalkboard-menu and little flowers in the window. Unfortunately, due to its small size, it is often crowded and we are forced to hover in order to obtain a table. Nevertheless, the waitresses are smiley and chipper, as are the majority of patrons. The restaurant has gigantic windows that, on sunny days, fill the dining area with light. It’s not quite a sit-down restaurant, as there is a line to the cashier, and you pay for your food upfront; it’s similar to the style of Noodles and Company, where food is still brought to your table, but you aren’t seated from start to finish.
A sweet, old-fashioned chalkboard menu.
The food: Fraiche is equipped with a glass bakery-style case, as well as a full kitchen in the back. Thus, they are able to serve sunny side up eggs and the like, which are otherwise difficult to obtain without hitting up a full service restaurant like Noyes Street Cafe or Le Peep. While the meals themselves are quite good, the pastries can be cloying and too-sweet, as was the case of the Twix Bar we got.
My order of french toast and a side of fruit. $8.
The homemade Twix bar. So much caramel!
The bill: Although Fraiche is categorized as “$” on Yelp, our total bill of two meals, one pastry, and one coffee, came to a total of $24, which I found to be a little pricey. For this, we could have enjoyed a full-service meal at Walker Brothers, which I believe is still the best breakfast restaurant in the Chicago suburbs. I also wasn’t sure how much to tip, due to the half-service nature of the restaurant, but opted for the usual 18%, since our waitress/cashier was so friendly. Is there a specific percent one is expected to tip in this type of situation? I know that Noodles and Company explicitly states that they expect no special tip.
Fresh (no pun intended) flowers in the window.
Overall: Fraiche is a cute, quaint little place. They have big cupcakes (though a little dry, compared with More or Sprinkles), but serve as a nice place for a quick breakfast. Get there early though, because it can get very busy very quickly! See also: Fraiche on YELP. 815 Noyes St, Evanston IL.
Hello world!
Hello, everyone! My name is Clover, and I love to eat! Here is a record of the exciting meals I have been lucky enough to experience.
I also write movie reviews at Apple&Orion, and take photos at Applevase.
I hope you enjoy my site, and please do not hesitate to contact me with suggestions or comments!
Snapshots: unique and accessible treats at “Frita Batidos”
Frita Batidos glows outside, and has a small window where orders can be placed.
The mini bar offers an assortment of drinks.
It is always crowded!
Limes, salt, and bottled water line the wall next to each bench. I love the decorations here!
Our coconut and passionfruit milkshake!
Our newest discovery: warm, fluffy cinnamon-orange churros with super viscous chocolate espanol. Amazing! We've already hiked all the way down here on three separate occasions just for these!
Check them out on Yelp or their official website!
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