It’s October, which means new students are settling in for the year. One of the ways they’re being welcomed is with free food in downtown Evanston.
LAURA BROWN: It started when one of our board members came up with Big Bite Night just as a way to like bring students into downtown.
Downtown Evanston is not just a location, it’s also the name of the organization that hosts Big Bite Night. Laura Brown is its Director of Marketing.
BROWN: Participating restaurants just offer a bite of food, and it’s just a great way to kind of introduce students to the downtown area cause it’s so close to Northwestern.
Big Bite Night has been held in Evanston for around 20 years. This year featured over 25
restaurants, with cuisine ranging from Korean to Venezuelan.
Because Evanston has so many restaurants, Big Bite Night…
BROWN: It’s just a way to kind of share what all the offerings are and the variety of places that students can kind of explore.
Weinberg sophomore Hannah Choy is taking advantage of the fall weather and the free food for a second year in a row.
HANNAH CHOY: There was a lot of local businesses that I’ve never tried before, so I feel like it’s a great way, especially for like new students or even current students, to kind of explore the downtown Evanston food scene. I’m a really big foodie, so I thought it’s a good chance to, you know, capitalize on the free food offer and also meet some people, enjoy their fresh air and just walk around while enjoying food.
One of the things that brought her back was Evanston’s variety of eats.
CHOY: You’re not really bound to like only try one cuisine, which is really nice. So like everyone kind of can find something they really enjoy and I feel like you never really get bored.
For others, it’s their first time exploring the food scene. First year masters student Cole Savitz-Vogel had a new experience with an old taste at Deep Purpl.
COLE SAVITZ-VOGEL: It’s definitely bringing me to some places that I like wouldn’t have gone on my own, like I’m not the biggest acaí fan, but because it was free, I tried it and I like it a little more than when I tried it like years ago.
Savitz-Vogel has been looking forward to experiencing all Downtown Evanston restaurants had
to offer.
SAVITZ-VOGEL: When I was moving here, I wanted to be in Evanston so that I could go to like different food places instead of being in the north part of campus.
And he’s not the only one ready to start dining downtown. Tapas Barcelona ran out of Big Bite Night samples within the first hour of the event.
MARIA LOPEZ: We just ran out of samples.
STUDENT: Oh, it’s fine.
LOPEZ: Thank you.
Over the last 30 years, Tapas Barcelona has been a staple in downtown Evanston. Owner
Maria Lopez enjoys the annual event because she can introduce new students to Spanish cuisine.
LOPEZ: We love the students from Northwestern. We want them to feel welcome and we want them to know that we are here for them.
The diverse restaurants of Evanston can continue to unite students from all over the world with unique bites and great conversation.
For WNUR News, I’m Olivia Payne and I’m Jessica Watts.