La Principal, Evanston, IL

After a long day working for the man, a person may want to jump off the train near their place of residence, but not head directly home. Some days require a little foray into a new place, maybe grab a drink or bite to eat. Heck, maybe have a few drinks and a large meal. 

La Principal on Main Street in Evanston is the perfect place for a weekday evening (or weekend). Though it can be a bit loud depending on your seat location, it's good to know it's almost always bustling in this joint. You likely won't wait too long for a seat, but maybe a bit.

I've only been at the bar, where their star bartender is always on her game. She makes you feel welcome and helps you get going on your night. Plus, people seem to love her cocktail game. Looks like Thursday is tamale night too.

I went pretty simple this visit, wanting some guac and some tacos. They have both and they have both as good as or better than most places I've been, including Mexico. They also have a pretty complete menu of other Mexican food favorites, like very well-done tortas. And if you want spicy, they have you covered on that as well.

For dinner this night, I chose tacos of the Shrimp, al Pastor, and Carnitas varieties. They were all SO GOOD! I'm not kidding here. I think I've dreamt about them since.

And as a kind of dessert, I asked the bartender for a taste of the brew below, a semi-sweet, but definitely dark, City Light Coconut Porter. It was only 1-2oz., but enough to get a taste for beer and handle that sweet flavor craving in your mouth after you finish a meal.

Boy, am I glad I got to walk home after this... needed the steps.

I would not only highly recommend this place, but I will be back as soon as I can. Happy hours, taco deals, #tamalethursdays, etc.

Newport Coffee House, Evanston, IL

If I'm being honest, I think most of my "reviews" of places and restaurants on this blog are pretty positive, bordering on gushing. I don't have many posts in which I'm ripping a place apart. I think this is mostly due to the fact that with the information available to us these days, people now research new places pretty thoroughly and generally know what they'll get before they arrive to a new place. Basically, if I knew it is going to suck, I don't go. I'll avoid a bad experience and keep the blog posts positive. 

For this new-to-me spot in Evanston, I had not done any research, but, from the outside, it looked like a typical high-end, small batch, locally-owned coffee shop. A place where Northwestern University hipsters would love to go to have some coffee and talk about finals or something.

I decided to walk in on a chilly morning to grab a hot beverage to warm-up. I was going for a simple hot chocolate, but also noticed a sandwich menu on their counter. I decided, also on a whim, to try their avocado toast. I mean, most hipster coffee shops also know the avocado and I figured this would be the same. I could not have been more wrong this time. 

The drink was delicious and appropriate, but the avo toast was not. I think there were two main reasons for my poor opinion of this choice - 

1. The avo toast was not served open-faced. It was made as a pressed panini sandwich and served to me thusly. Let's be honest here, my 75 year old mother knows that avo toast is to be made as an open-faced sandwich. How a business offering and serving this toast would not know that, I can't fathom. To serve it as a "closed" sandwich made this thing mostly bread (a very nice sourdough at that, but I didn't order a bread sandwich, I ordered avo toast).  

2. The sandwich included mixed salad greens on the inside! And by that, I mean they pressed mixed greens inside the sandwich and served me the very bready avo toast sandwich that had hot greens inside. In my opinion, greens made wilted and hot is never done on a sandwich of any kind.

On the positive side for Newport, the space is quite lovely. Nice design, good layout, pleasant staff, interesting furniture, and simple helpful accommodations for users (like water & water glasses readily available, no-laptop table choices for people wanting to "talk", and bus-your-own tables drop off spots). It's easy to go in here and relax for a bit before heading back out into the biting cold of the Lake Michigan wind & winter.

As further proof of their care for the customer, they also responded to a filled-out contact form within an hour or less. I couldn't make the sandwich I was served match up with the rest of the experience and decided to write the company from their website's Contact Us form.

The owner replied to me quickly and also with valid info -They had only just begun serving sandwiches and were still working out the kinks. The owner also asked me for my receipt to credit the entire visit back to my credit card, which was also done very swiftly.

In the end, I would go back to Newport, 100%. I would inquire politely about the avo toast before getting it again - how is it made, how is it served. If it sounds anything like my first try, I won't order it. But, if they've made some improvements to the process and product, I'd be glad to try it again.

Overall, I would very much recommend Newport Coffee. If you like a cool, trendy coffee experience and a nice quiet setting, this place will fit the bill.