Paul on the Street: Cereality Evanston

No video review for this edition.

Cereality almost seems like a ridiculous concept: sell cereal for $4 a pop, with ancillary items like smoothies, parfaits, milk, and coffee. But I tell you, it works.

The price is the big deal here, so let's get that out of the way. Yes, $4 is expensive; yes, you can buy a box of cereal for $4; yes, I think it's too much; yes, I would absolutely go back and try it again.

Cereality's menu is simple but the choices are extensive and perhaps confusing. You can get hot or cold cereal your way or their way. Hot cereal gets you a scoop of grits (!) or oatmeal along with another hot scoop; cold gets you two scoops. "Your way" means that you get to choose the ingredients; "our way" is pre-chosen goodness. For "your way" you have a choice of over 30 cereals and 20 toppings (ranging from sweet stuff to fruits) as well as a choice of milk (soy is 50 cents extra, sadly.) If you're unable to pick, "our way" is the way to go. I was tempted to get a hot cereal on this chilly day but elected instead to get a cold "my way" cereal: Reese's Puffs and Cinnamon Life with mini-marshmallows and chocolate syrup.

If you get it to go, it's served in a stubby container that's a hybrid of a Chinese take-out box and a Big Gulp. You can get your milk on the side or help yourself from the milk vending machine.

In addition to cereal, Cereality offers cereal bars and the aforementioned parfaits and smoothies. The smoothies are prefabbed (and compete with Jamba Juice in price), but the parfaits can be made to order. Worth noting is that Cereality also sells coffee, and it's the cheapest coffee in the area: $0.99 for a small, quite reasonable.

With that all out of the way, it's hard to throw a general "it's good!" or "it's bad!" on the food because, well, the food is cereal and we all pretty much know what it tastes like. It's worth noting that it's possible to get a healthy snack here, as granolas, fresh fruits, and the like are available. You can also just go crazy and get a pure sugary treat like I did. Above all though, Cereality is really fun: experimenting and mixing cereals is a blast.

The shop itself is reminiscent of a kitchen, with big tables and comfy chairs. It still has that New Store Smell, so get in while you can. A display near the front of the store sells various crap such as t-shirts, books, hats, etc.

Overall I think Cereality is a great idea and it's definitely in a place where it'll succeed with Northwestern nearby. I can't say I'll be back regularly due to the price (it needs to be $2.50), but I'll be back for the fun factor.

The Place
Cereality
1622 Sherman Ave., Evanston
847.864.4400

The Meal
Cold cereal "my way": Reese's Puffs and Cinnamon Life with mini-marshmallows and chocolate syrup: $4.34 with tax, no tip.

The Verdict
A.