there can be ONLY ONE!

Looking for a special restaurant for a 10th anniversary dinner, and have narrowed it down to Boka, Thyme, or Tomboy. Some background: looking for a very kid-UNfriendly place (might as well feel like we've gotten our babysitter's worth) with good options for someone who eats fish but no other meat (but who isn't a freak about hidden chicken stock, etc...don't ask, don't tell is my restaurant motto). Price is not really a factor.

We went to Green Zebra last year and several times since...was delicious but don't want a repeat. Spring's menu doesn't appeal. I've heard mixed reviews of Arun's recently, and Charlie Trotter's is a little "much" for this occasion.

Suggestions welcome, and thoughts on Boka vs. Thyme vs. Tomboy are especially welcome.

God, I love food. The planning where to go is almost as fun as the meal.

Wow, it's mimismartypants! A celebrity sighting on our humble forum, and I am dumbstruck (almost) because I've never once been to any of the three restaurants you name -- Boka, Thyme and Tomboy. Therefore, rather than make something up, I'm going to recommend a fourth option: North Pond. Specifically, the tasting menu at North Pond, which is one of the best meals I've eaten in the last 12 months. Much has been written about North Pond, so I will sign off here.

Boka would be a great pick. It matches the "kid-unfriendly" criteria well. The interior has a hip/clubby vibe without the usual cheesyness or pretentiousness that goes into trying to achieve that vibe. The food (fish in particular) is phenomenal. Also, if it's a weekend, they have a tasting menu that I'd love to try out one of these nights.

North Pond is also a terrific suggestion. More expensive than Boka, but one of the best meals I've had in this city. Also, for romance, the ambiance is hard to beat.

I second JILs "wow." Love your writing! Especially your stories about the CTA. Both my fiance (he's Eat Chicago on this board) and I grew up in West Rogers Park and spent the better part of our formative years riding the Green Limousine (the old buses used to be green). Anyway, I digress...

I'd recommend going to Topolobampo and doing the tasting menu. You can read Eat Chicago's reco here: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2961&highlight=topolobampo

We've been to Tomboy and I can't recommend it. Nothing specific, it just wasn't special.

You might want to consider Blackbird as well. But I think everything that's been suggested sounds great. You may also find that Avenues 6-course menu isn't too uptight for you, and they seem great at accommodating different dietary restrictions.

I'm going to amend my North Pond recommendation slightly to suggest ordering off the menu rather than the tasting, based on your "no mammalian species" criterion. The current Seasonal Tasting Menu includes a dish with sweetbreads and a lamb dish, but they have lots of vegetarian and pescetarian choices on the regular menu.

Well I'm not a regular here, so take my advice for what it is. But I ate one of my best meals ever at Boka. I've eaten at all the restaurants you mentioned, and this one definitely stands out. My second choice would be North Pond, which probably gets my vote for favorite restaurant (partly because of it's kick-ass location in the midst of an urban natural paradise.) But I keep thinking of that one meal at Boka...

Okay, I'm going to go way outside of the box here, but I'll suggest Papillion. Here's a review.

I have eaten at Thyme and enjoyed it very much - although it may be less kid-unfriendly than some.

If I had to select a restaurant for an anniversary dinner (aside from, say, Moto - of course, if your kid has a chemistry set...), I would select Carlos, up in Highland Park, which I find to be the most romantic restaurant in the Chicago area, but North Pond is a very good choice as well.

Thanks all! North Pond looks like a gorgeous room, I'll add it to the short list. On further reflection, Tomboy seems to be out of the running---it's starting to look like more of a "group of friends" place than a "special occasion" place. I'll post a report (of wherever we end up) after the event.