As I girded myself for a three-hour lecture on macroeconomics, I sought out one of the many bakeries near the Northwestern campus for pastries and coffee.
Evanston is not lacking for shops selling fresh baked goods. By my count, there’s at least 18 bakeries in this town of 77,000 people.
The past 12 months have been especially active in new bake shops opening. At least six have opened in Evanston—and what’s nice is that no two are alike. They each have their own niche and specialty, cheerfully operating in their own part of town.
Here are four of those bake shops featured in The Food Guy this week:
The Praline Cauldron
500 Davis St., Evanston
Though it’s tucked into a rather aged office building, The Praline Cauldron is impressive for what comes out of its kitchen. Remy Ruiz is a longtime pâtissier from Lyon, France. The baked goods here are as French as they come, with lovely croissants and eclairs, delicate chocolate tarts, Paris-Brest, plus its namesake praline, which are candied almonds with a crunchy pink sugar exterior. Ruiz also serves savory dishes as well, such as quiches and croque monsieur, a glorified ham-and-cheese toastie.
Mr. Cachito
1549 Sherman Ave., Evanston
The featured item at Mr. Cachito is, of course, the cachito, a hand-held Venezuelan sandwich (think crescent roll) stuffed with all manners of fillings. The classic version, owners Rolando Alvarado and Angie Frias tell me, has diced ham, bacon, and cream cheese. With most of the cachitos around $6, it’s a great deal. You’ll also find other Venezuelan snacks, such as a guava-stuffed puff pastry, alfajores (buttery shortbread cookies sandwiching caramel), and a variety of cakes and tarts.
Button Bakery
719 Main St., Evanston
This one-block stretch on Main Street has everything: It’s got a guitar shop, a rock shop, a combo record-and-bookstore, one of Chicago’s best roasters in Reprise Coffee. And now it’s got Button Bakery, from the wife-and-husband team of Sara Rathbun and Oran Rankin. They previously ran a bakery in Michigan but relocated to the Chicago area to be closer to family. Evanstonians are the lucky recipients. Specialties here include pretzels, scones, cookies, and sourdough loaves. Don’t skip on the thin-crust pizzas, which the bakery serves after lunch.
Poplar Pastries
1814 Central St., Evanston
Steps from the soon-to-be-reopened Ryan Field is Poplar Pastries, a very cute and cozy corner shop on Central Avenue. It’s a classic restaurant-industry love story: Ian Willa was a cook in Seattle and met Georgia Peters, who was working at another eatery down the street. The couple landed in Chicago in 2023, found a vacant spot in Evanston (formerly Little Beth’s Bake Shop), and now run this small but mighty bakery. I’ve had some exceptional bialys, scones, and savory hand pies here. The Southern-style biscuits are a flaky, buttery wonder.
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