Simple Gourmet - Evanston

For those of you who wistfully remember La Cucina di Donatella when it was a take-out place in its infancy, you will be delighted by this little locationally challenged spot in Evanston. It's apparently been open since February, but has escaped notice on the forum; Heather22 mentioned it in passing:

Heather22 wrote: Speaking of picnics, has anyone tried the "Simple Gourmet" on Elmwood, across from the police department? They have to go sandwiches and prepared food as well as a few tables and chairs outside. I've walked in but have never tried anything, generally since when I walk past, I'm on my way home from working out.

While the food has a similar style to the prepared foods section of many natural food stores, it is decidedly better: freshly prepared, appropriately seasoned and made by someone who understands what they're doing. Even better, the place is filled with sample trays: before we even ordered, we'd tried an excellent Cobb Salad wrap with blue cheese and fresh veggies, and some kind of Avocado sandwich, also excellent. My favorite sample (which was hard to pass up as an order, but there was a wealth of choices) was the blue cheese and pear scone, chewy sweet fruit and bold cheese in a biscuitty pastry.

The place also has a good understanding of their limitations: foods are chilled for takeout, but can be heated in their microwave on request, infinitely preferable to foods languishing in steam tables. They also offer panini, house-made baked goods, and many good-looking salads as well as prepared cold sandwiches of both lunch meats and salad; two offerings I regret missing were a shredded vegetable salad with crispy prosciutto and a tuna salad with artichokes.

We tried the inescapable steak and blue cheese panini, including lovely veg - among them, I think, red onion, spinach and mushrooms. It was excellent, exactly balanced in flavor, gooey and rich. The 'spouse, a lover of all things pot-pie, opted for the turkey pot-pie: more of a cobbler, really, with a thick biscuit crust that had bits of the prosciutto studded throughout. The pot-pie filling was heavy with thick-cut vegetables that hadn't been cooked into submission, chunks of turkey breast, and the sauce was an herb-rich bechamel. Sitting outside on a brisk day, the richness was really appreciated. Including the two main courses, a potato-chip cookie and a chocolate rugalach, and two sodas, our lunch was not inexpensive at around $25 - but at least it felt worthwhile.



Other interesting offerings: a series of home-canned pickles, vegetables and giardinera (which looked terrific) and house-made soups which I don't recall, but which really looked interesting. It reminded me a bit of Harry's In A Hurry in Atlanta, in that you could grab some food items to take home for dinner while you were picking up lunch: the refrigerator case also had a small selection of cheeses, etc. and you could pick up other components of a meal in the prepared-food case: asparagus viniagrette, the aforementioned salad, lamburgers, huge samosas, homemade breadsticks.

Not only is the location challenging (across from the police station and next to a dry-cleaner, just outside of the boundaries of Downtown Evanston) but the lack of indoor seating - not to mention the name (I don't know about you, but I'm automatically suspicious of any eatery who titles themselves either "simple" or "gourmet") may make for a bumpy ride for this place. It was refreshing to find, at least in our experience, the moniker to be quite accurate.

Simple Gourmet
1459 Elmwood Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 332-2100

After reading Michelle's post above, we went over to Simple Gourmet and bought a whole bunch of stuff. My SO had been there previously, but this was my first time. This is really a very special place! There are other places in Evanston where you can buy prepared foods - notably Foodstuffs and Whole Foods Market - but from what I saw (and tasted!), the quality at Simple Gourmet is consistently top-notch. We tasted (and bought) a white chicken chili that was wonderful, not overly beany. Some of the other things we bought were a Cobb salad (delicious, very fresh, with a nicely thick vinaigrette provided on the side), a poblano cornmeal muffin (delicious, very moist), tandoori chicken satay (very good, with two sauces provided on the side, a cucumber yogurt sauce and a very nice cilantro sauce), cheesy chicken tamales (haven't tried them yet), shrimp bisque (haven't tried it yet), They had so many different things to choose from - freshly made salads, sandwiches, baked goods, soups, etc. And Debbie is so friendly, happy to talk about what they're making, etc.

I was hoping to snag one of those bleu cheese and pear scones that Michelle mentioned, but 'twas not to be; they had only made two of them today. But Debbie assured me that I could call a couple days in advance to get them, or call on any given day to see what kind of scones they have.

They have a website at simplegourmet2go.com. Their "simple gourmet everyday" menu gives you an idea of what they have every day. Debbie said they would like to use the website to start posting the soup special each day and special menus, but they're not quite there yet.

I think the location may actually work to their advantage. They have a small parking lot, so you can park right in front at no charge (also, on-street parking on most of that block is free with a 30-minute limit, which is perfect). It's also convenient to downtown Evanston (it basically IS in downtown Evanston, just on the other side of the tracks from the Best Western and Bar Louie).

I'm really glad Michelle posted about this place - thanks! - which reminded me to go there and check it out. I'm sure I'll be returning often!

A couple of weeks ago I walked over during lunchtime and was very pleasantly surprised by what I found. I had not been before. When I visited the weather was still warm and I sat outside with a curried egg salad sandwich on pumpernickel - it was a nice change from the regular downtown Evanston sandwich options. The rest of the prepared food looked fresh and tasty and the freezer was full of options that I'd certainly bring home. I described Simple Gourmet to my wife as a less expensive and less stuffy alternative to Foodstuffs.

Although I'm only two blocks away, I keep forgetting about Simple Gourmet. It's kind of hidden. I'm curious how the cold weather will effect business when there are no tables outside, though I don't really know how much they were used during the warm months. I'll make an effort to return this week. I bet they have excellent soup - I'll report back.

- Mike

I can also vouch for Simple Gourmet, as I work in the area and have been in a couple of times for lunch. The sandwiches are extremely fresh and not terribly over priced for the quality of the ingredients which you are tasting. The last trip to Simple Gourmet, I had the turkey meatloaf sandwich which if I recall was dressed with tomato and thousand island. I added the homemade giardineria, which I thought made for a perfect sandwich, and also made Debbie comment at how happy she was that I went that route as well. While you cannot get out of Simple Gourmet with a 'cheap' lunch, you will get a very solid lunch for a couple bucks more than the more mediocre sandwiches in the area. And I know you will go back, as there is simply too much to try at once.

I would describe their prices as not inexpensive, but fair, especially considering the high quality. The everyday menu on their website does show prices.

Although I forgot to bring lunch into work today, I remembered Simple Gourmet. Had a nice flank steak, blue cheese and roasted sweet peppers panini. It was very good - a most welcome alternative to Subway, et. al. Though I passed on the soup, the sample of chicken gumbo was solid and there was also a tomato bisque available. There were LOTS AND LOTS of fabulous looking things on display - so many I won't even attempt to list them all. (Short term memory problems. Hey... where am I?)

I asked the young man working the cash register how business was going and he nodded his head and said things were okay. I asked about the potential for inside tables during the colder months and he said it wasn't possible because of zoning issues. Implied, I think, was that if business improves perhaps they'll look for a larger location? But I may have read that into his words...

- Mike

Lthforum,
I stopped by the Simple Gourmet today for lunch. I had a chicken gumbo soup, and a turkey sandwich. Both were excellent. The gumbo was simply done with fresh ingredients, chunks of chicken, okra and pieces of sausage, adequately spiced. The sandwich was well done on a good red hen baguette. I also had a chocolate truffle for dessert which was very good. Since they have no indoor seating (a zoning issue), I sat on the bench in front of Bennison's. All in all, a wonderful outing.

I will be coming to SimpleGourmet for lunch more often.
Elie

Simple Gourmet has closed.