Prairie Moon All American Dining

Prairie Moon is an eclectic spot in Evanston, with ample seating, art and menu items. We arrived on Saturday evening, the restaurant bustling, and were promptly seated. The space is huge, the building goes on and on, much larger than appears outside, good for large parties (plus they have a patio). I ordered guacamole ($ 9) as an appetizer and the BBQ combo (beef + pork, $ 15) with red beans + rice and polenta fries. The guac was a good appetizer with house-​fried chips, though a little skimpy on guac served, we were left craving. My main course was on point however, the BBQ meats were tender, juicy and well-​sauced. Red beans + rice was a win with a tasty, spicy mix of creole lovin’ but, the real winner, were the polenta fries! Simply stunning, crisp strips with a soft, unbelievably flavorful inside. I only want polenta like this from now on, bravo! Also they served warm, house-​made sourdough bread which was pillowy, chewy and oh so delicious!
They have a large bar with quite the selection of drafts and cocktails. Though I wasn’t in a drinking mood then, drink service will happen next time! My table service was severely lacking and made me question restaurant operations but luckily, the food speaks for itself.

They changed the menu. Much different from what it used to be. Ordered the fish and chips and sent the entire order back. Batter was so thick and doughy not edible. Very pricey for what it was. We also went to their Mardi Gras dinner and that was major disappointment also. Something had seriously changed with the quality of their food and what they have to offer. Not going back

We had the worst service ever. We showed up for an early dinner and were seated right away. After a lengthy wait, our server showed up, took our drink order, and our dinner order. Well we never saw her again until AFTER we had to flag a different server to get refills. The carnitas on the carnitas salad were dry and basically over-​cooked. Over-​cooked to the point that they were basically crumbling. Now either they sat in a low temperature over for a few days or they stuck them in the fryer WAY to long. My husband was ok with his dinner. Our server visited our table AFTER we got help from another server. Never apologized and disappeared again. We’ve been waiting now for over 15 minutes… We may never see our bill. We just may end up dying here waiting.

The 5 5 5 review. We walk in all 5 of us talking up our last experience 5 months earlier how we found a small bar in the back with a pool table. We sit for 5 minutes and the bar was not even full. The bartender had to be aware of our arrival. The space was not half full. He came towards us and peaked down the hallway, then returned to bar and leaned against it. He was within steps of our table which was ten feet from bar. I sent my friend to recon a bar down street. I cant its against Unilocal terms of service. I can tell u how to get there. Leave prairie moon now turn right out door. You will stumble across a much livelier place in a few steps. My friend called me from their 5 min later. All 5 of us left. You are only as strong as your weakest link prairie moon. Peace. Shared on facebook.

We went for Mother’s Day brunch and were sorely disappointed. At $ 25 per head this was an enormous letdown. All egg dishes were rubbery and bland. Nothing was hot. Shrimp was mushy. Pastries and such were mediocre. Waste of money and calories.

Waitress! There’s a fly in our food! No, really, there was a fly in our food… When we couldn’t get the waitress’ attention, we saw what we think was the manager. We flagged him down showed him the small black bug walking around on our plate of chicken wings and he said, «It’s just a gnat. I’ll tell your waitress.» No apology. Just seemed annoyed at us for bringing it up. When the waitress came around, she just laughed and we asked her to bring the bill… The bill appeared with the wings still on the bill, no kind of discount and again no apology or any attempt to make up for the fly crawling around on our plate! We used to really like going to this place, but we can’t bring ourselves to ever go back where customers are not valued or taken care of.

Delicious food, great beer selection. They are now doing free kids meals from 4 – 6 pm everyday, which is an awesome deal. Love this place.

Came here by chance.
Didnt like the fact lot of tables sat there unbussed. Luckily, they sat us in back.
Food solid. Prices were 2003. And service was prompt.
Sampled: guac starter, 2 salads, chipotle tacos and burger, and soy sesame pork loin. Loin was salty but solid.
Id eat here again.

Good food. The macaroni and cheese side was unbelievable. The pulled brisket was really good, too. I like that the entrée came with two sides, and the menu had a great selection of sides to choose! Service was okay. I’d still go back there!

5 stars for all:
*Fish Chowder Lunch: Rich without being too heavy/​creamy
*3 Sisters Plate Lunch: I LOVE the option of a non-​salad veggie entrees and the components/​blends of flavors are terrific
*Fried Shrimp and Crawfish Tails Po’Boy Lunch: I’m no Cajun/​Creole connoiseur but it sure tastes authentic to me!
I can’t wait to try the rest of the menu!

I went here very late one night with some friends and had the salmon sandwich and a few drinks. Drinks were overly sweet, sandwich was quite good, fries good — you know, the kind of «a ton better than a chain, but nothing stood out» kind of food. In fact, now that I’m writing this, I feel like they’re really more of a 3.5 or 4 — it’s just that nothing’s going to wow you.
I DO like their ambiance, and the fact that they’re open until 1 — a rarety in Evanston. It’s really quite a nice space — went to a wedding here about 10 years ago and it worked well.
Please don’t skip the place — it’s a good option in Evanston — but really it’s more about having a place to go and hang out and have some food and drinks — not a food and drink destination

We have been coming to Prairie Moon for years and have never been disappointed. The rotating taps are the best in Evanston and there is an extensive menu with something for everyone. The service is also great although the restaurant is larger than it looks and it may take a bit longer to get an order when it is busy. Try the painted soup. Or the 3 Sisters if you are a vegetarian. Any of the fish menu items are great. The crabcakes are just ok. Sandwiches and burgers are outstanding. They also added multiple «side» items recently which makes a huge difference from the previous «fries» only selection. Give it a shot.

Nice find in the middle of Evanston with many creative dishes (like horseradish potatoes and apple relish), including ribs and fish. Excellent service and hospitable atmosphere. Generous portions. Fun times!

We had a wonderful experience at Prairie Moon tonight. The food was really tasty. Flavors abound! My blackened chicken and chorizo hash was incredibly flavorful. We had the chicken wing appetizer and it was the perfect combo of sweet and spicy. The two folks who came with me loved their mushroom polenta and beef brisket BBQ meals. We’ll definitely be back, especially with the extensive drink menu!

Came in for a very late dinner. Ordered a pulled pork sandwich and mushroom burger with sweet potato fries. While the food was made fresh to order, the burger was kind of bland. The cheese was a congealed mess that I had to scrape off. Maybe we didn’t order the right things?

Amazing beer list, warm vegetable salad was delicious. Fish tacos were good, if a bit unexpected; corn crusted fillet that seemed like trout or red snapper. Cut it yourself and put into tacos with some delicious fiery chipotle aioli and other accouterments. Service was flawless and very attentive. Definitely be back!

Great joint in Evanston. Great outdoor patio with a nice selection of craft brew, sandwiches, brunch, and smoked BBQ. Also have some Cajun fair too like the gulf shrimp and crawfish étouffée. The salmon is also very good… try the blackened salmon sandwich with grilled onions. So good.
Ask for a flight of their craft beer too and sample some season faves.

My boyfriend and I went to dinner and the place was crowded. Fortunately, we were able to get seated after 10 minutes of waiting, which was great. We sat down and it took about 10 minutes for my water cup to get filled with water.
For our appetizer, we ordered the spinach and mushroom quesadilla which was fantastic even if the wait for our appetizer was long. I ordered the asiago garlic burger and my boyfriend ordered the steak sandwich. It took an extremely long time for our food to come out. The waiter even came by to our table to apologize for the long wait.
I wouldn’t order my burger again. There wasn’t much flavor to it and my sweet potato fries were under cooked. Extremely disappoint since our appetizer was so tasty. I’ll save my $ 12 dollars and go to Kuma’s.
The noise level was crazy loud. It seemed like everything just bounced off the walls. If you’re looking for a date night restaurant, this probably isn’t the best place for that.

Made a last minute reservation to celebrate Easter with my family this year and the manager was very helpful and very nice to accomodate 20 people. Got there right on time and parking was not that bad. I like that they had a public parking garage right across the street just incase you don’t find street parking.
They had a great buffet layout and I was quite impressed especially for the price! My family enjoyed it so much that they wished they had a brunch buffet every sunday. One thing I didn’t like was that most of the food was set up on the bar counter. I could imagine a really short adult person not being able to get their food or maybe a 10+year old having a hard time getting food. Other than that everything else was awesome!

A colleague introduced me to this place for lunch last week. It might be my new favorite Evanston spot!
The lunch menu was extensive and it all sounded so good. A real battle to decide which of the five you’ve narrowed it down to. I opted for the crab cake salad. I was not disappointed! The portion was generous, the crab cakes cooked perfectly, and the price very reasonable. We sat near the patio, so we had a great view and were able to enjoy the weather.
I was trying to be responsible and not drink on my lunch hour, but there were plenty of people who were making me jealous! The beer menu looked great! Also, the chocolate chip cookies they offer on the way out are w nice change from your boring after-​meal mints. I’ll definitely be back… for the cookies and a beer!

Service good, food ok but terrible dj w horrible music choices and way too loud. It was clear the few clients did not enjoy it and they kept it going.
They need a better model for entertainment.

This was a really hit and miss experience for me.
We arrived and there were some folks in front of us talking to the hostess. She left to seat them and didn’t acknowledge us. That’s fine, I guess, I mean… I know she’ll be right back. But she wasn’t. We waited, several of the other employees sort of looked at us. Finally one came over, I’m sorry for the wait, I’m sure she’ll be right back. Another group came in behind us. Hostess still MIA. More looks from the rest of the staff. Finally, after several minutes, a different employee comes over and says «She’s clearing a table for you. That’s what’s taking so long. Sorry for the wait.» A few minutes later, the hostess reappears. «Hi. She says, Two? Ok. Well there’s no tables so it’ll be at least a 15 minute wait.»
OK. What now? That lady just said you were cleaning our table. Is this the kind of place where the staff lies to the customers for literally no reason? This is not a big deal, but it’s weird that the previous staff member saw fit to make up a story rather than just help us, or even simply ask us to continue to wait. Having to wait for hostess that’s abandoned you is annoying, but being lied to is really, really, really weird and made me uncomfortable.
«You can sit at the bar if you want.» she said and gestured to several tables in the bar area.
OK. Sure. Fine.
A basket of bread was brought to our table with a bunch of butter packets in the basket. The bread was hot and delicious. «I’ll put some butter on this.» I thought, that’ll make it even better. The moment I opened the butter is was immediately on my tie. Apparently, the hot bread sits in the basket with the butter long enough to belt the butter completely. The butter was absolutely liquid and unmanageable. Goodbye, tie. I really don’t like staying at a restaurant when I’m so uncomfortable, it’s sort of a bad scene for everyone. I wanted to leave at this point, but we’d heard the food was good and my partner was dead set on staying.
Our sever came and she was sooooo delightful. Throughout the meal she was friendly and attentive. Unfortunately, there were lots of high maintenance tables around us, and she left us alone for longer than was desirable… but when she was with us, she was so great this was easy-​ish to overlook and it didn’t contribute to the weird vibes from earlier.
However, our food came out moments after our appetizers did. I know Unilocal is where hyberbole goes to die, but our food honestly came out two bites into our appetizers. Our server was super apologetic, but it didn’t change the fact our food was cold by the time we got to it.
Then the prices. Is this serious? 7 $ for soup? The soup was delicious, but even for delicious soup, 7 $ seems high for food served in a bar. 10 $ for vegetarian nachos? 20 $ for étouffée? Everything was good, but I don’t know man… a little too much. The portion sizes were average, and didn’t compensate for the very high prices. My burger was 12 $ and it was super great, served with delicious cole slaw, and appropriately priced.
I really don’t know what to think. I think we’ll come back one more time in hopes that this was a fluke, but a place that charges so much for «comfort food» should probably put a stronger emphasis on the overall customer experience.

Was there, first thing server told us was «You know our kitchen is closed.» We were only there for drinks. Other than the first bad step, service was quick and friendly.
Drinks were stiff. Atmosphere was missing the target as was the DJ. If I lived here I would definitely be back to give the menu a shot. Always up for southern cuisine

Ate here for a graduation party. The hosts ordered heavy appetizers and everything was served hot, tasty and well seasoned. Serving staff seemed efficient and were diligent about cleaning plates. The bartender was super friendly and sweet. As a visitor to Chicago, I enjoyed my time at this restaurant.

Went to Prairie Moon with two friends on a pleasant Saturday night. We got seated right away in their outdoor patio section which was great! I was impressed with their beer list and ended up getting Revolution’s Coffee Eugene. The guys kept up with the water refills pretty well and we were given bread to start which was nice. I ordered the Howl at the Moon burger while my friends both got the Black and Blue Burger (it’s not on the menu but they still make it). The burgers and sweet potato fries were really good! I definitely recommend getting a burger if that’s your thing. Only reason I have to give ⁴⁄₅ starts is service was rather slow, although our server was very nice.
Good place in Evanston to go for dinner, especially this time of year!

Great beer selection and a casual vibe. We went on a Thursday night and got a table right away. It was a little quiet, but perfect for post-​date drinks. It’s a great alternative to places like Bar Louie and Bat 17, which seem to always be over-​crowded.

Good. A solid good based on many visits during the past couple years, which is disappointing to report as their décor and menu suggest better, make us expect more: more warmth, charm and better prepared, higher grade home-​style comfort foods. We’ve had mediocre special occasion brunches with extended family, just okay lunches and completely ordinary dinners as a couple and with friends. We keep wanting it to be better and can not fool ourselves into believing it is so.
Their wine and craft beer selection can be satisfying and their bar and bartenders are their high point.
Prairie Moon’s kitchen is open late, a definite plus, especially in Evanston. We would return to eat if invited or if perhaps we needed fortification for driving purposes after drinking here at their pleasant bar or elsewhere. As we all know, in certain chemically altered frames of mind quality of food is less important than just having something actual and solid that is not McAnything and has neither King nor Castle in its name.
Bluestone, not far away in Evanston, is better in every conceivable way and similar in atmosphere and feel, with a very pleasant outdoor area.
Truly,
Peter O. and S.

Trying out new places since our move to Evanston.
My husband ordered the shrimp po-​boy which he quite enjoyed.
My son had the mac-​and-​cheese off the children’s menu. He also enjoyed the broccoli and fruit that accompanied the meal.
I basically had French toast with praline walnuts and strawberries. The French toast was cold (should it have been?) and the strawberries were cut with a knife that had previously been cut with an onion… So that’s what they tasted like.
I would like to give them another chance. Maybe it’s what I ordered or that we got there right as they opened. :-/

The major pro to this place is that the kitchen stays open late. Everything else about this place is forgettable.
The bar area is spacious with lots of tables and the back dining room has the décor of a family breakfast restaurant.
At first look, the menu appears to be large and filled with all sort of varieties but upon closer review, the menu was all over the place with Mexican, burgers, BBQ, Italian, American dishes. It gave me the impression that they don’t do one thing well but instead just do a bunch of other things with mediocrity.
The food came out very fast. The mussels were on special and gave them a go. They were ok and not worthy of slurping up the rest of the broth. I ordered the BBQ combo and it came out lukewarm. Again, it was ok.
I don’t see myself running back to this place soon unless it is late night and my options were limited.

Came here for the second time. This spot is a hidden gem for craft beers. Located right by Tommy Nevins and Bar louie, this is a perfect median between those two palces. A more laid back environment, with a large beer menu. The food is pretty good. Service can be hit or miss but i dont hold it against them as i feel they might be understaffed. Currently under construction, wonder whats going to be different about this place, will definetly come back !!

After visiting the Luthier (see other review), we stopped here on a recommendation. It was late afternoon, we were hungry and thirsty.
We had pretty much the whole restaurant to ourselves. (There were a few others, but not many.) For some reason, they put us at a awkward table that sat between two dining rooms. I say awkward because they added a seat so four of us could sit there, and the seat blocked entry into the other room.
We ordered beer — the menu was extensive, and the beers on tap were very good. But, I am not a daytime drinker and I’m afraid the beer made me tired. It was quite tasty though.
For my lunch, I ordered their Prairie Moon burger. I comes on a bun with lettuce, tomato and onion and is served with fries. The burger is a mix up of various cuts of meat. I ordered it medium, and it came rare but I really didn’t want to send it back.
The server was nice. The beer was good, but I would say that overall, it was an average pub without anything that really made it stand out. Would I go back? Sure, but I think the overall experience (of course late afternoon) could have been more special.