Kafein

photo by Gaby Sant'Anna 

 First up is my review and our only Evanston shop on our list, Kafein.

Northwestern University - Evanston, IL

The first time I set foot in Kafein, it was mid-September, I had been in Evanston for all of two weeks, and I was faced with my first weekend of college homework. Like a seasoned college student, I had saved it all for Sunday evening. Thus, it was with a heavy backpack that I stepped into Kafein with three other freshmen friends. We sat down on a worn in couch in the corner, ordered lattes, and fell in love with the place. This soon became a Sunday tradition. Every Sunday we cycle through Kafein laden with books and weekend gossip. I get coffee if I’ll be there until the 1 AM closing and a milkshake to celebrate lighter workloads and earlier bedtimes. Kafein is not without its drawbacks. They are out of bananas and bagels or something necessary to your order more often than not. Your order will take forever to arrive. It gets crowded. But I love these things. I love getting my milkshake half an hour into an essay, like some kind of reward for staying focused that long. I love looking up from linguistics homework to hear small snippets of a stranger’s conversation. I love the way the waitress makes you laugh about the fact that they are out of bananas. As the weather gets colder, I think the only thing that will change in my Sunday night routine is my order. After all, December is the perfect time for lots of hot coco to go with studying for finals.

xoxo, Claire