My first campus visit to Northwestern in October 2004 was idyllic: changing leaves, mild weather, blue sky. But it was my first bite of dates wrapped in bacon at Tapas Barcelona that really sealed the deal.
Since then, every move-in day and parents’ weekend has involved at least one stop for warm goat cheese in tomato sauce or the Valencia paella, and almost every visitor I’ve had has been subjected to dates wrapped in bacon and frozen chocolate mousse.
But that’s about as far as my fine dining experiences go in Evanston.
I haven’t sampled the $50 dinners at La Petite Amelia or the fresh fish flown in daily to the Davis Street Fish Market. And despite grand plans, a recent dinner date ended up turning into a midnight milkshake at Clarke’s.
But it was a great milkshake. Smooth, chocolatey, topped with a perfect spiral of whipped cream and almost –
