If you had 200 bucks.....

and a need to celebrate an occasion for 2, where in the city would you go?


sorry to be derivative of the "10 buck" thread, but it's been tough finding a place with a consensus on these boards.

e.g.,
MK - great 1 year ago, hard to know now
Everest - barely out of the price range when wine is considered but somewhat over-hyped regardless
Tru - Way out of the price range
etc. etc.

Those are some of the blurbs I've been reading and are no way substantiated by my own personal opinion, as I've yet to go to any of them.

So I ask the community at large, where in the city would you go if you wanted to celebrate and spend around $200? Something priced above Cocco Pazzo (one of my favorites) and below a Tru or Trotters.

Hi Ralph,

I'd do Joes Seafood, Prime Steaks and Stone Crab, although if you're not careful, you can end up spending much more than $200. The famous stone crabs are $45 per pound, which yields maybe five or six ounces. Sides are very good, almost in the S&W league.

Come to think of it, two hundred buys a really great lunch for one. Four pounds of stone crab claws and a couple beers.

In your situation, I might consider Sabatino's. To get the full value for your $200, your plans must include calling ahead far enough to get one of the private "grotto" rooms for two. No extra charge for a uniquely fun experience (and the privacy is a plus; with the exception of the grotto tables, Sabatino's is a noisy, busy place). You could easily get out for under $200, with cocktails, wine and a fancy, flaming dessert (baked alaska, bananas foster, etc.). You'll also have money left to tip the strolling violinist and guitarist. And, oh yeah ... the food is very good, too.

Sabatino's
4441 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago, IL
773-283-8331

I haven't been there in a while, but I have never had a bad experience at Spring. For some reason Spring immediately came to mind when I read your query.

Excellent, creative, asian-inspired seafood creations, top-notch service, and a very comforting environment.

Spring
2039 W North Ave
773.395.7100
http://springrestaurant.net/

Best,
Michael / EC

and a need to celebrate an occasion for 2, where in the city would you go?

Assuming I was spending the day with the Ultimo, I would start at Manny's for breakfast, followed by lunch at Al't Italian Beef, and on to Little Three Happiness for dinner.

This would be my preference.

I would make an alteration if my wife was the guest. She wouldn't like Al's.

Considering the great time we all had at Moto, I would consider that for a "special occasion" dining experience.

stevez wrote:Considering the great time we all had at Moto, I would consider that for a "special occasion" dining experience.

Moto ain't cheap, but maybe if you don't want wine, this would work. You can get the 5-course meal for $65 each. That's $130 before tax and tip; let's say that adds $39, bringing you to $169. Cocktails in the moto bar average $12, so you could each have a pre-prandial libation, plus tax and tip, for about $30. That brings you to exactly $199 -- and assuming you find street parking and don't use moto's $8.00 ($10.00 with tip) valet parking, you are there!

Arun's. Granted, you won't get wine pairings with your meal, but I think you can come close to $200 for a two person tasting menu. Besides, at the end end of the meal you'll be drunk with happiness.

Personally, I hold the experiences I've had at Arun's as a standard when judging any meal I eat. Food, particularly expensive food, should make you say, "wow" when you see it and taste it. Arun's always makes me say, "Wow."

If you had $400, I would have said the same about Tru.

I echo Steve and Jim's Moto comment, but (and I'm not sure this falls strictly under the limit but hope it's at least close) I'd also love to go to Opera. Just in case you haven't yet decided whom you're treating.

Bob S. wrote:I echo Steve and Jim's Moto comment, but (and I'm not sure this falls strictly under the limit but hope it's at least close) I'd also love to go to Opera. Just in case you haven't yet decided whom you're treating.

You can get away with opera (if you don't get wine) for ~$110-130 with no problems for two with 3 courses for each. Me, I think a shared app and an entree each is enough, with dessert somewhere more relaxed.

Speaking of the KDK Restaurant Group, I used the $50 marche gift cert they emailed out recently to escape marche for $30pp, three courses, one glass of wine, after tax and tip. I did better than my companion in my selections, but it was generally pretty good. The glass of wine they brought me the first time had a big ol chunk of cork, but our flamboyant waiter was aghast when he saw it and rushed out a new pour.

i had steak frites, she had salmon. two good salads - one with frisee, manchego, and walnuts, the other with frisee, bleu, endive, and some other stuff. her dessert was miserable - three ice creams: unflavored, vanilla, and cream cheese. they all tasted the same. mine was a good chocolate tart w/chocolate sorbet and creme fraiche.

-ed

Bob S. wrote:I echo Steve and Jim's Moto comment, but (and I'm not sure this falls strictly under the limit but hope it's at least close) I'd also love to go to Opera. Just in case you haven't yet decided whom you're treating.

Well, of course, one point I was trying to make is that you'll just be squeaking by at moto, but you'll be King Sh*t at Sabatino's for the same amount of money or less (grotto room, ordering all the courses, bottle (!) of wine, etc.). A lot more bang for the buck for a celebration for two. I assume the meal is more about the celebrants than about the intellectual appreciation of the food and the performance art show of its presentation (which is absolutely not a knock on moto, simply an observation that moto is not really a "celebrate good times, come on!" kinda place.) If your celebration is about each other, then Sabatino's (or for that matter, any other more traditional "date place" restaurant) will likely satisfy your wants and needs better than moto. Plus, if you decide to go to Sabatino's and let me know, I will give you a MILLION DOLLAR BILL (it's a fake) that you can add to your tip to the strolling musicians. They like it when you do that.

If I was serious about trying to stay under the $200 mark, I wouldn't go to a four-star place and then be frustrated that I was trying to do it on the "cheap," denying myself what they had to offer. There are tons of nice three-starish places in this city where you would have the best they have to offer and come home with change from your $200. Erwin, Tournesol, North Pond, Brasserie Jo, Cafe Matou, Chilpancingo (well, you won't have the best tequila they have to offer, but...), Follia, A Tavola, Boka, sheesh, there's lots of those places.

You guys are great. Thanks, and keep em coming.

The $200 is a flexible amount for this occasion. It could be surpassed if merited and conversely, I don't feel an absolute need to make sure I spend that much. Just wanted something out of the ordinary, a bit of a splurge.

It's with the wife, so the Manny's->Al's->LTH idea might not be as feasible (although it sounds just about perfect to me).

I'm a bit burnt out on Arun's due to having been there 3 times in the last 2 years. Not that it isn't exceptional, it just seems that every family member or in-law who comes into town wants to experience what the previous family member had and wants to go there. Which is great given that they often pick up the tab.

Joe's would be great if it were mostly for me as I'm the steak/shellfish lover of the house.

Moto and Spring were on my short list of considerations, as was North Pond.

I've had fabulous meals at Opera and Chilpancingo. The latter of which I thought was truly exceptional.

Anyway, thanks for the ideas and keep em coming if there's more.

Great suggestions! A couple more places that I've really enjoyed -- and which I think are extremely reliable -- are NaHa and Green Zebra.

=R=

$200, this one is pretty easy for me. I'd go to Blackbird. With 200, you could easily order 3 courses each and quite a nice bottle of wine.

I don't think I've had a better meal in Chicago.

I've been to Blackbird once and the food was good. However, during my dining experience there everyone I encountered seemed to imply that we should feel lucky to be eating there. No one, including the hostess or waitstaff or anyone else that glided by our table of eight, made us feel that they appreciated that we chose their location to spend our money. It was an enormous turn-off which is why I've never been back.

Has this changed? Was my experience atypical? I'd like to know because I continue to hear good things about the food.

If romance is paramount, I'd choose North Pond for it's beautiful setting, roomy, quiet interior and food almost as good as some of the other places mentioned.

If amazing and creative food trumps romance, I'd go to Naha - where the atmosphere might not be so warm, but the foie gras is smooth and sensual enough to compensate.

If you want a romantic setting AND amazingly creative food, and you're willing to travel out to the burbs - IMHO Carlos' in Highland Park cant be beaten.

Katsu?

Kenny, I should note that many of the LTHers that I have met (myself included) are too fat to sit in the Grotto Room.

A few months ago, I was off to Sabatino's for lunch with a male colleague (like Shannon, I am a male, too). They seated us in a Grotto Room leading us to ponder what signals we had given off to cause them to seat us there. It was very romantic. Unfortunately, my dining companion was not my type.

I would choose Carlos - great food and very romantic setting. My wife and I had a lovely, exquisite, sexy dinner there for Valentine's Day a few years ago.

Evil Ronnie wrote:Hi Ralph,

I'd do Joes Seafood, Prime Steaks and Stone Crab, although if you're not careful, you can end up spending much more than $200. The famous stone crabs are $45 per pound, which yields maybe five or six ounces. Sides are very good, almost in the S&W league.

Come to think of it, two hundred buys a really great lunch for one. Four pounds of stone crab claws and a couple beers.

I was going to recommend the same place!
have to agree..you can easily spend 200 plus here a couple depending on drinks and appetizers

I like Joe's too, but less so than I used to. With all the grouper talk a few weeks back, I decided I was in the mood for one. Joe's bar menu had one of the only real ones in town, deep fried and served dressed as a burger. I called them up. No more grouper sammy. "Blackened mahi" only. Hmmph. That's worse than when Hooter's moved to the "grouper's cousin" sandwich, ensuring that I would not return even for the rare takeout lunch.

On the bright side, the East Bank Club has a fried grouper sandwich that's pretty good. I ascribe this to the fact that many patrons share an orbit that involves the North Shore and Miami Beach.

I am unaware of any others around town.

[Little known or cared-about fact: some of the original Clearwater/Tampa owners had Chicago backgrounds and owned/managed a small handfull of branches from among hundreds, including in the Tampa Bay Area and Chicago stores into the 90's, at least (still do for all I know). They mostly all suck now, but for a good while, these units were better. 10 years ago the River North store was new and naive, and staffed for a good while with an opening team from Tampa (including people I knew from childhood). The wings were fresh and good, and the place had gulf oysters and grouper sandwiches. Not so now, of course. See, turning even very weak concepts into chains ruins them, relatively speaking.]

JeffB wrote:On the bright side, the East Bank Club has a fried grouper sandwich that's pretty good. I ascribe this to the fact that many patrons share an orbit that involves the North Shore and Miami Beach.

I am unaware of any others around town.

I've never ordered it personally but Bluegrass in Highland Park has a very nice one (according to one of my workmates). He's completely addicted to it and orders it every time we carry out from there. It's technically on their "special" menu but they seem to always have it at lunch time.

Bluegrass

=R=

I would suggest Zealous - while the Chef's tasting with wine pairings would be out of range, you can eat ala carte there for well under $200 for two, should be able to get a some glasses of wine, perhaps even a bottle.

Another suggestion I would always give anyone who is looking for a special meal with someone - do you have any restaurant (of any style) which holds special meaning to you and your wife?

If so, you might inquire with the restaurant what they can do for a special occasion with advance notice - many restaurants are more than happy to accommodate, and this can result in amazing meals at a place that holds personal meaning. (For Julia and I this might be a place as casual as Aion - not known for their food, but as the spot of our first date, holds personal meaning to us. Other options for us might be Opart, for a perfect plate of pad thai we ate there one special New Year's Eve.)

Shannon

So I wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions on this.

We ended up choosing North Pond and had a phenomenal dinner there on Saturday night. I can't believe it took me this long to check this place out.

The setting is unparalleled in the city. I can't wait till it's nice weather outside to see the area really come alive. The service was exceptional. And the food was, well the food was some of the best I've had in this city. I'm not one for long descriptions, mainly because I'm a lousy cook and have trouble describing the subtleties of dishes. I can say that they have some of the freshest vegetables I've ever had (a function of their reliance on local growers) -- there was an amazing beet and goat cheese salad. I had skatewing as my entree and it was the best preparation I've had of the fish. My wife's meal was equally great, as was our wine and desert selections.

The kind of meal that makes you wish it wouldn't end, and reflect upon it the next day. I can't recommend this place highly enough for those who haven't given it a shot yet.