The Northwestern community has always been missing something. We’ve gone about our daily activities, but we’ve never been able to fill a certain void in our young lives. That void, of course, is an Evanston restaurant open until 3 a.m. where you can get French fries inside a grilled cheese.
Cheesies Pub and Grill, now open in downtown Evanston is the answer to our prayers. After the success of its first location in Belmont, Cheesies expanded to Evanston and is definitely targeting Northwestern clients. Located at 622 Davis Street, the restaurant is decorated with murals of both Willie the Wildcat and Stephen Colbert enjoying delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.
Cheesies’ menu seems perfect for the college crowd. With grilled cheese varieties ranging from the Mac (macaroni and cheese inside) to the Tenderizer (a grilled cheese featuring chicken tenders and barbeque sauce). They also offer a featured sandwich of the week to keep things interesting.
Cheesies opened Tuesday and received an overwhelmingly positive response. They shortened their hours for the first day and offered all their food half price. Northwestern students just couldn’t resist a mouth –watering grilled cheese for such a great deal. The line ran out the door and down the street around dinnertime. It took most patrons 45 minutes to an hour to finally reach the register. However, people rarely abandoned the line after getting close enough to smell the food inside. Students who had already eaten came out and offered those in line advice and reviews.
“We waited in line for about 45 minutes”, said senior Courtney Hardin. “ But it was totally worth it. I got the Napoleon which has bleu cheese and tater tots on it.”
Northwestern students stood patiently in line and crowded the window when they got close enough to see the menu. Almost no one in the crowd seemed unhappy with the wait, just very excited and very hungry.
“I feel like I’m waiting in line at Disney World,” joked sophomore Caroline Koppel. “I’m using this time to decide between the Mac and the Caprese. Hopefully I make the right choice.”
The line was still out the door past the designated closing time of 7 p.m., but Cheesies stayed open to satisfy the masses. I confidently ordered the Tenderizer, and the combination of cheddar, mozzarella, bacon, chicken tenders covered in barbeque sauce all served on Texas Toast definitively lived up to the hype.