A first-of-its-kind restaurant week featuring 13 Central Street eateries in Evanston will take place between April 7 and April 13.
Evanston’s Central Street, in the area roughly between the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum and Ryan Field, has 24 food and drink establishments, excluding the Whole Foods in that area, according to Angela Shaffer, Central Street’s Special Service Area community director. The restaurant week will showcase the neighborhood’s restaurants during the spring season, she said.
The participating restaurants will include a mix of casual eateries like Hartigan’s Ice Cream Shop and upscale restaurants such as Jilly’s Cafe.
“We have a really great variety of food,” Shaffer said, citing Latin, French, Asian, Irish and American restaurants on the same street.
The following restaurants are also participating in Central Street Restaurant Week:
Celtic Knot Public House, Curt’s Cafe, DeSalvo’s Pizza, Foodstuffs, Great Harvest Bread Co., Leonidas, Parlor on Central, Pinto Thai, Ten Mile House and The Fat Shallot.
The restaurant week is the first specific one for establishments on Central Street, according to Shaffer. Previously, Central Street restaurants have also participated in North Shore Restaurant Month.
Shaffer said the restaurants will have a mix of deals and/or specialty items for the week.
Leonidas Cafe Chocolaterie will be offering a 20% discount on sweet and savory crepes during restaurant week, according to owner Marie Douailly. Douailly said she joined in on the event to be in community with other businesses on Central Street and to get a boost in business before Easter, when Leonidas is known for selling chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs.
Eda Nar, the owner of French fine dining restaurant Jilly’s Cafe, said the restaurant is promoting a fixed price, three-course menu at a discount. Nar said she knows many Northwestern University students cannot afford to eat at Jilly’s, but that she hopes that the restaurant week can give students a taste of traditional French cuisine.
Jilly’s prix fixe $55 menu consists of four options for an appetizer: frog legs, escargot, crispy goat cheese and poached pear salad.
The available entrees are bouillabaisse, a seafood stew; trout almondine, chicken paillard and roasted pork tenderloin. The available desserts on the prix fixe menu are profiteroles, a French puff pastry, and chocolate mousse.
Over at Comida Cantina, Manager Jamie Chorbak said the restaurant has three specials; $16 black bean fritters, $15 picadillo rangoons and $16 chicken verde flautas.
“Angela thinks of so many creative ways for people to know about,” Chorback said. “The more people know about us (Central Street) and the better we all do individually, the better it is for all of us.”
“April is always a month where we try to show off Central Street,” Shaffer said, adding that the boost in business will also help non-food businesses on the street. Currently, Central Street also has free two-hour parking between Eastwood and Hartrey Avenues.
