Good Eats!

I have looked at the TA top restaurants and I have looked at the metromix.com to no avail. We will be in Chicago 9/01 - 9/04, staying at the Westin Michigan Avenue near the Hancock Building and the mall. My husband and I always like to find at least one really good restaurant that is not a chain. A place unique to Chicago would be appreciated. Tpically we lean toward places that are moderately priced, casual, but not family friendly (no offense, but I don%26#39;t enjoy listen to children scream while I eat). We both love Italian, I have read all the reviews of Cafe Spiaggia and don%26#39;t think it is for us, the price wouldn%26#39;t be a problem, the food just may not be what we are looking for. We love the standard red sauced type Italian with garlic rolls, etc. Typically we stay away from Asian cuisine as well. If anyone knows of a place like that around our area, we would love to try it. So, I guess the question is if you were taking out friends and wanted them to have a memorable meal, where would you take them so they would continue to talk about that meal months or years after they leave.

Good Eats!

Take a look at:

http://www.rosebudrestaurants.com/rest3.php

Good Eats!

i would also like to know some info as well, as i%26#39;m staying at the westin next week for a conference and won%26#39;t have time to drive all that much. Are there any good restaurants decently priced (hoping around $15-30 an entree) around that neighborhood. I usually am on the Vegas forums, but wanted to see what i can do in Chicago in a very limited time (my schedule won%26#39;t permit to get away until 5:30 every night). Thanks for the help everyone!

Dave - Thanks so much. The Rosebud sounds perfect!

Your question is confusing

you say:

';Cafe Spiaggia and don%26#39;t think it is for us';

But you say:

';I guess the question is if you were taking out friends and wanted them to have a memorable meal, where would you take them so they would continue to talk about that meal months or years after they leave.';

If you want people to talk about a dinner for years. Go to Spiaggia. Not Cafe Spiaggia.

But additional restaurants you can look at (people would not talk about these for years. You have to go to high end restaurants for that)

Merlo on Maple

鈥hicagotribune.com/dining/鈥?998490.venue

Ballo

鈥hicagotribune.com/dining/鈥?756754.venue

Pane Caldo

鈥hicagotribune.com/dining/鈥?87760.venue

Tony Rocco%26#39;s River North

鈥hicagotribune.com/dining/鈥?953368.venue

Word of advice:

Do some research yourself. Look up places in metromix.com. In addition use google or yahoo maps. Zoom around on the maps. Get a lay of the land. How far places are. etc....

-gregdove

Greg raises a good point. There seems to be a contradiction in what you want.

You want a meal that you will be talking about for years, but you are looking for an Italian place with standard sauces.

Although I at times enjoy that sort of meal, I would be talking about places like for years.

You might want to provide some more detail as to what exactly you are looking for. It doesn%26#39;t sound like the food is central to the experience for you. As such, there are a few places on Rush around Elm that you might enjoy. They will provide an interesting atmosphere with some pretty nondescript food.

I do disagree with Greg on a minor point. Personally, I think that Cafe Spiaggia is very good alternative to Spiaggia. The food is similar and the price point is far lower. Given a choice, I would prefer Spiaggia over the Cafe, but I sure would not turn down a meal at the Cafe and I still do talk about one meal I had there years later (we did a last minute New Year%26#39;s Eve meal there about nine years ago).

I can see where my post would be contridictory. Sorry for the confusion. Regardless, it appears that the wise TA posters were able to still give great suggestions. Thanks GregDove, I will look at those sites you supplied.