chinatown/pilsen help

hello all-

a good friend is graduating from her phD program in a couple of weeks and was curious about a great asian restaurant in chinatown or mexican restaurant in pilsen to take her family to for celebrating. they are not into exotic meals and prefer the "americanized" version of things, so any restaurant with more of the latter than former would be great. i would appreciate any help you could provide. thanks..

-adrienne.

For such a meal in Pilsen, I would strongly recommend Nuevo Leon. It's good, solid norteño fare (so lots of familiar stuff that's well executed, such as fajitas, burritos, etc.) at reasonable prices. They have some parking and you could reserve the upper part of the west room.

Antonius

Just out of curiosity, why does your friend want to choose an "Americanized" restaurant in an more or less authentic ethnic neighborhood? You might find better options outside of Chinatown or Pilsen - unless she thinks that the parents would be interested in seeing the neighborhoods, without "tasting" them.

And, on the Chinatown side of things, our site's namesake restaurant Three Happiness, serves outstanding American Chinese food as well as great more "authentic" food. You could mix & match.

"Little" Three Happiness (don't go to the big one on the Northwest corner)
209 W. Cermak
Chicago, IL
312-842-1964

And, on the Chinatown side of things, our site's namesake restaurant Three Happiness, serves outstanding American Chinese food

Very true. But be aware that the ambience at LTH is minimalist, to say the least. Two additional spots in Chinatown, with perhaps more "upscale" atmospheres (these things are relative, of course) are Lao Sze Chuan and Moon Palace. Both have large menus, and I've had some success at both places with less adventurous eaters.

Moon Palace
216 W Cermak Rd
Chicago, IL 60616-1914
312-225-4081

Lao Sze Chuan
2172 S Archer
Chicago, IL 60616
312-455-0667

Another possibility in Pilsen might be Real de Catorce, which I wrote up here:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=24720#24720
This might be a more interesting choice for a Ph.D. celebration since, unlike Nuevo Leon, they have a full service bar: release of years of built up tension through ingestion of intoxicants may be required for the new doctor.

Real de Catorce offers some very accessible dishes for the unadventurous as well as interesting things for other members of the party and, though it's more expensive than Nuevo Leon, the prices are hardly crazy. I believe the manager said that the far back room (which is very handsome) is available for parties.

Check it out. I haven't been back yet but am looking forward to going there again soon. Despite a few minor complaints, I really liked this place when I was there shortly after they opened. One hopes they ironed out the little wrinkles.

Antonius

I'd also like to add that Lao Szechuan is able to accomodate fairly large parties with little to no advance notice (although it's always a better idea to plan ahead, if possible). They have an upstairs dining room that's more quiet, overall, than the downstairs dining room, mostly because the upstairs just isn't used much.
I'm not sure about a large party, but Penang (in Chinatown) has fairly Americanized Pan-Asian food (ostensibly, they're a Malaysian restaurant, but offer a range of SE Asian food, as well as sushi). The food will not knock your socks off, but if that's not the main issue, then you might think about it.

(On a side, Americanized Asian food note, I had lunch today at Big Bowl on Ohio, just west of Michigan. A friend really enjoys their food, so I probably end up going a few times a year with her. The last time we went was shortly before the return to LEYE management, and the food was terrible (as was the service). I'm happy - and to be honest, a little surprised - to report that the food not only wasn't terrible, but...well, it was kind of good. The green beans were very spicy, the peanut noodles were more than serviceable, and my Diet Coke was cold. I can't ask for much more from a large, national chain just off of Michigan Ave.)