I Dream of Sweets

The place is a little eccentric. Pecan pie was awful. It was full of the jelly filling which tasted gross. The red velvet bread pudding was delicious. If I come back I would probably order that again.

A cute small quiet café with decent dessert. Quiet and I personally prefer it to the every busy Kafein.

Third time already! This time, I ordered the smoked salmon with sweet peas mini quiche. Delicious! If you don’t like salmo, this won’t be the quiche for you, because there is a satisfying amount of salmon chunks in the quiche! :) Sweet peas and smoked salmon? Quite brilliant. It doesn’t leave that heavy feeling other quiches do, so I’m guessing Lorenzo uses less butter than other chefs. Thumbs up for that! I ordered the cinnamon toast crunch muffin for my friend, and James warmed it up as well. It seemed as though she enjoyed it! The thing I always love about I Dream of Sweets is that the food and baked goods are always fresh. Hence, the types of goods available varies from day to day.

I love this place! It’s cozy and inviting! They are so friendly and make the best caprese panini I have ever had. Also the pear goat cheese lasagna is incredible. Delicious chocolate chip cookies and mochas.

Overall, I think this is a great little place on Noyes Street!
Atmosphere: I like the rustic feel with the mismatched chairs and distressed wood tables! Super cute! They have some couches with board games, though I’ve never seen anyone actually using them– but hey, it’s a nice option!
Food: I’ve had a carrot cake cupcake and the quiche. I did enjoy the cupcake– it was moist and not too dense! Not my favorite, but nothing notably wrong with it either! They serve two little quiches and a side salad– the quiche was quite good– slightly soggy, but that could be my fault since I didn’t eat it right away. The salad was meh– just some various lettuce types with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and cracked pepper on top. Not a single vegetable, shaving of cheese, or anything. BORING.
This isn’t 5 stars primarily because of the prices. For a coffee and quiche meal, I spent about 10 dollars, which I think is quite steep for two tiny quiches and a bed of lettuce. Probably a place I would sit and have coffee and maybe a cupcake, but I most likely wouldn’t order any food– too expensive for what you get!

This place is a great addition to Noyes St. The Chicken Caprese panini was truly amazing especially after the aerial arts class at Actors Gymnasium. The place has a great cozy and eclectic vibe and the owners are really friendly. The free wifi is a nice bonus. IDOS is a great place for food, studying and just hanging out. I can’t wait to try the sweets offerings.

This place was inexplicably closed for several weeks in January. I’m not sure if they were having problems, but they seem to be maintaining regular hours again.
The only item I’ve tried here is their cupcakes, which are very hit or miss (lately they’ve been misses). When they first opened last year, their cupcakes were to die for: they were moist, perfectly sized for sharing, and were crowned with just the right amount of frosting. The last two times I’ve bought a cupcake here, though, the cake was dry, and the frosting tasted like something out of a Pillsbury tub. Disappointing.
Never tried the food. The staff is very, very friendly (much more so than their counterparts at the now-​closed Fraiche). I will probably come back just because the workers are so pleasant to interact with.

I’m really sad I didn’t find this place earlier during my time at NU… currently have ~1.5 years left in Evanston and only discovered this place last week. :*(
That being said, I love this place! One of the biggest reasons why I didn’t ever venture inside this café was because I thought they were a bakery-​only establishment. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they also have a decent selection of lunch items, like quiche and panini’s. I’ve been here twice and both times got a panini… I am absolutely in LOVE with their sandwiches! And that really means a lot because I’m not much of a sandwich person. The flavor combinations are new and delicious and their portions are decently sized. The owners are so friendly as well! The first time I went, they were handing out generously sized samples of their croissants (which were absolutely heavenly). I also tried one of their chocolate chip cookies before, and it was SO good. Rich and chocolately and everything I look for in a cookie.
Only thing is food can get kind of pricey. I typically get a sandwich with a soup upgrade and end up spending around $ 13 for lunch :/​BUT definitely worth the visit! I wish they had a location down south!

Great place. Great Atmosphere. Definitely much better, tastier and prompter than the uptight folks across the street at Fraiche, who are always trying to give you the eye and asking you to move since you are just «another» customer.
Love their Paninies. Their Carpese Paninies are the best and definitely a must try. Another awesome item to try is the butter squash lasagna. The owners Lorenzo and James truly are great folks. Definitely get to know them since they will make you feel right at home

A serious contender to Fraiche for the title of Best Place for a College Dude to Take His Mom to Brunch.
This place is pretty much the physical incarnation of Pinterest. Cutesy mismatched chairs, quirky antiques, a proliferation of baked goods, and so forth. Not my cup of tea aesthetically, but I’ll be damned if they don’t have the best baked goods I’ve tried in Evanston. Sorry Bennison’s and Fraiche, but these cookies are just dope.
The savory fare is a little heavier than you’d expect. More homey-​cheese-​pastry than fresh-​salad-​and-​quinoa. Folks are very nice and service is prompt. It’s spacious and usually quiet.

I’m not typically in the mood for a bakery treat. When I do have that sweet tooth craving, this is my spot to be at. Everything I have ever ordered from here has been fresh and moist (mostly cupcakes). I have tried their sandwiches before, and I can confidently say I have never been disappointed.
The red velvet cupcakes are definitely my favorite. They have always been served moist and fresh. I also have to recommend the carrot cake if you are not too big on sweet stuff like myself. I know they stay open late, but I don’t think they bake anything throughout the day, so I would probably avoid cupcakes and cakes near the end of the day. You just can’t expect them to be fresh throughout the day. Instead, I would recommend cookies and ice cream for the later times. If you needed to compare their treats to other coffee shops in Evanston, I would definitely say they blow Starbucks and Brothers K away. I’m still a bigger fan of Bros K coffee than theirs, but I’m not going here for the coffee.
The staff has always been incredibly friendly. I need to stress this. Lorenzo, his partner, and his family of employees are very nice. I never found myself shy to ask any questions, and they listen carefully when I have any unusual or specific orders. This comes very handy when I’m buying treats for my coworkers at my office.
The location itself is in a bit of an obscure neighborhood (Noyes St. El stop), but I understand they wanted to have a spacious environment. I love that they value comfort over high volume of available seating. It feels a lot more inviting than other cafes like Kafein that squeeze you in. The décor is simple and pleasant, but it doesn’t have a unique feel that would really make it stand out. I think they value a humble approach instead of risking being too flashy.
The only reason I couldn’t quite bring myself to give it a solid five stars is the prices. The treats are worth the price tags they have, but that doesn’t mean it is a bargain by any means. A sweet treat and a cup of coffee will run you about $ 5 — $ 6. Make sure to ask what the price is before ordering if you are on a budget.
All in all, I love this place. I usually make it a point to visit about once every two months for a sweet treat. It is also simply out of the way for where I live, so that does limit my number of visits. When I do make the trip, I never get disappointed. If you are driving there, make sure to bring a little change for the metered parking. Don’t forget to tip!

My friend’s cupcake was kind of old, but my mint moose tracks ice cream was fine.
The décor is trying to be quirky, but I’m not feeling it.
Pro-​tip: $ 5 minimum for credit card transactions.

I just started coming here since they opened up a couple months ago.
The food here (particularly their Mac and Cheese) is tasty, albeit way overpriced. Unless I’m just dying from a craving for Macaroni and Cheese, I don’t think I’ll be ordering any food from here anytime soon.
The coffee quality is somewhere in the typical Starbucks range, which, if you like Starbucks, is fine. If you’re like me, though, and have experience living with baristas and coffee loveurs, then it’s terribly mediocre. The espresso shots poured here are watery and flat (pull a triple shot from one tamp? blech). The brewed coffee is cheap and does its job, so that’s what I usually stick with.
The coffee cake is a bargain at less than $ 3 for a large slice. That’s typically all I get here since the cupcakes and other pastries are way too sweet, whereas the coffee cake is very subdued and palatable.
The only reason I don’t give this place a ²⁄₅ is because I really do enjoy the atmosphere. It’s quickly taken the spot of Coffee Lab as my favorite nearby café (I live around the block) to work in when I need to get out of my office at Kellogg. The seating is plentiful (especially now since they just opened at this new location), the staff is friendly, and the people that frequent IDOS seem very pleasant.
For all its dismays, it delivers in providing a great work/​study environment.

Cute place.
Very friendly staff. I had some tea, cupcakes and a muffin. There were okay. Nothing special though. They do make their own baked goods so that is a plus.

Meh, downgrading my review. I bought a cupcake here that I wanted to give to a friend. The girl who packaged it handed it to me in a bag. I didn’t flip it or anything, but I realized on the way home that she had given it to me upside down, so the frosting was all smushed :(I ended up eating the cupcake since it wasn’t pretty enough to present anymore, and it was just okay. It was a raspberry cupcake and while the frosting was delicious, the cake was very dry.
Also, they have a 5 dollar cash minimum for credit cards, which I understand, but I wish they put up a sign or something that says this. It’s inconvenient not to let patrons know in advance. I’ve only had their coffee here before, and while it’s very good, I don’t drink coffee anymore and I don’t really find anything else here appealing.

IDOS is an Evanston gem and more than just a dream of sweets. First off, I’ve been missing out on their delicious vegan and vegetarian options; their caprese sandwiches, butternut quiche, and strawberry shortcake are delicious! I seriously can NOT believe I haven’t stopped by after living in Evanston for 1.5 years! Secondly, IDOS is a rare café in Evanston with a large spacious sitting area; I’ve now identified where to spend my weekends if I want to read. The café also doubles as a great place to meet with friends and chat over coffee and tasty treats. Thirdly, the customer service here is second to none, so I’d recommend tipping graciously. Note that IDOS only accepts credit cards with a $ 5 minimum purchase (w/​tax), so Wildcats, make sure to factor that in before getting a 10% discount with your Wildcard!

Things that I like about this place:
–vegetarian options
–fun things to look at on the walls
–fresh cut flowers on the tables
–delicious red velvet cupcakes
–good lighting
–fast wifi
–lots of plug-​in outlets
–cool staff
–lots of different heights to sit (including a couch)
–perfect coffee
–always being able to find a Seat.
It is great for relaxing solo, chatting, studying, or grabbing something sweet on the go.
What could be improved:
–More lunch options
–Finish the restrooms

I Dream of Sweets got this city girl out of her natural habitat to take the drive to Evanston! And thankfully I did because I Dream of Sweets reminds me of a little cupcake boutique I visited in Paris…
…the desserts here are good, but it’s really the ambiance that makes I Dream of Sweets stand out. Cute little white wicker bistro tables, Uno cards to school your date with, really nice people that work there, etc.
The best part? I Dream of Sweets is open late so come after dinner or a long day to unwind with some lavender cupcakes…

I ordered a carrot cupcake, and there was nothing remarkable about it. The cupcake was dry and flavorless, and the frosting left a lot to be desired.
The service was attentive, and the décor was quaint. (Hence the two stars) However, I can’t say that it was enough for me to return.

I don’t make it down Dempster too often, so I’m not sure how long they have been open. This outfit sells a standard variety of sweet and savory baked goods, as well as ice cream and associated items, plus a few other products such as caramel corn, tea, and chocolate-​covered whatnots. In the ice cream case, there are some of the old standby flavors as well as some intriguing choices such as blueberry pomegranate and chocolate éclair. Instead of mint chocolate chip, they have Andes Mint crème de menthe. Yum.
They need to do something to distinguish themselves more, to give a sense of personality. The white-​painted, frail grandma furniture and the ancient, creaky hardwood floor are begrudgingly charming, but seem out of place in the echoey rectangular box that is this interior. It needs something more or different… hard to explain. My point is that their aesthetics do not encourage pop-​ins or lingering.
I came in the first time for a chocolate malt. (Even though I swore off milkshakes after last summer’s taste-​test campaign, after a murderous workweek I needed some sweet gustatory therapy.) I could see the clerk using Hershey’s syrup (best choice) and the flavor was pretty decent. However, the consistency was really wrong. The first several slurps were barely thicker than chocolate milk. Then I started getting tiny bits of ice in each sip, which lasted until about 10% left, when it turned into mostly foam. I’m not sure how that happens, but it was a bad miss.
I haven’t tried any of the pastries left, because they look sort of sad and anemic. I wanted to sample the chocolate-​chip and oatmeal-​raisin cookies, but they pare bagged up in little gift packs, so I wonder if they are even less fresh than what is in the case.
Thankfully the staff are friendly. And the clerk who made me the milkshake has excellent taste in outerwear (as he happened to compliment my overcoat, even using the correct term «overcoat» which noone ever does).
They have a niche for this part of Evanston, so stop here for dessert or coffee after lunch or dinner at Wiener and Still Champion, Dozika, or Sea Ranch. But I would love to see them bump their quality up a notch.