North by Northwestern

As a junior, this was my third year at Big Bite Night, an annual event put on by the City of Evanston and ASG that gives Northwestern students a taste of some of the best food the city has to offer. Each year there are a few new restaurants and a few that drop out. I was sad to see Pomegranate, 38 Degrees and Bar Louie opt out, but there was still more than enough yummy food to fill my stomach.

I made it to just about every stop of the 32 participating restaurants (okay, I skipped Subway) and here are my top five bites of the night:

1. Andy's Frozen Custard – It's no secret that I have a sweet tooth and Andy's is my favorite place to satisfy it. This year, they were dishing up samples of Pumpkin Pie Concretes and Dino's Karrot Cake Concretes.
2. Edzo's Burger Shop – Edzo's truffle fries are incredible, sprinkled with truffle salt instead of doused in truffle oil like you might expect. And the Nutella Milkshake? I'd fight somebody for one. Come back for the griddled or char burgers and garlic fries.
3. 527 Cafe – The Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken was one of my favorite savory bites - piping hot with a touch of spiciness. If you return, be sure to try their shaved ice.
4. Tiny Dog Cupcake – Tiny Dog wins the Rookie of the Year award. This was its first year participating in Big Bite Night, but they were plenty prepared with tray upon tray of “tiny” chocolate, Lemon Lemon and sprinkle cupcakes - each more tasty than the next.
5. Kafein – They served the same Iced Mocha as last year, and it's still one of my favorites. Far superior to the Starbucks's Mocha, with less cloying sweetness and more intense chocolate and coffee flavor.

Honorable mentions go to Lulu's sesame peanut noodles and Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. While most restaurants were generous and eager to connect with Northwestern students, a few restaurants offered disappointingly half-hearted samples. For example, Dixie Kitchen offered white rice with a few lonely red beans scattered on top, and Greek Fire Grill gave one cold and stale tater tot per student. Since when are tater tots Greek? This is a restaurant's chance to make a great first impression on potential customers so I don't understand why a restaurant would participate and then offer subpar fare.

What were your favorite bites of the night? Agree or disagree, I'd love to hear your thoughts.