Where would you go?

I'm looking for a quiet, romantic, and extremely memorable place for my wife and I to go to downtown. It will be the first time since we have had children to go out somewhere nice without the kids, so I really want to take advantage of the opportunity. Any price range. She is a steak (filet/tenderloin) fan. I am flexible. Knockout dessert selection a must. A nice view of the city a bonus. This will be for the weekend after next so anywhere requiring more advance notice for a reservation is out.

Yesterday evening was our anniversary dinner. After a fair bit of research I chose A Tavola. It was great. Very romantic setting, quiet, great food, great wine and great service. You may not great city views, but it's really not necessary when dining here. If you are looking for an "adult" evening out...this is the place!!

http://www.atavolachicago.com

2148 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 276-7567

don't know if they serve a tenderloin (although I suspect they do), but Everest seems to suit your needs. classic old-school french fine dining, with service to match, wonderful views, in a quieter part of downtown (at least in the evening).

it's not trendy, but it's dependably very good.

Everest
440 S La Salle St # 4000
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 663-8920

torquelover wrote:I'm looking for a quiet, romantic, and extremely memorable place for my wife and I to go to downtown. It will be the first time since we have had children to go out somewhere nice without the kids, so I really want to take advantage of the opportunity. Any price range. She is a steak (filet/tenderloin) fan. I am flexible. Knockout dessert selection a must. A nice view of the city a bonus. This will be for the weekend after next so anywhere requiring more advance notice for a reservation is out.

Spiaggia- the steak will be certainly a part of the meal, though not the full meal. Otherwise Nomi is great for just this kind of thing.

Sixteen at Trump, I enjoyed it much more than Everest (we didn't have a view). This is a very hip place with wonderful views. We went to the six thirty seating, so we saw the day and night view. Stopped at Rebar for a cocktail first on the second floor. It was an amazing dinner from start to finish. We had the tasting menu with wine pairing, but you could easily have a few courses and a bottle of wine for a fairly reasonable upscale price (meaning, $200 as opposed to $500).

NoMi and North Pond (not quite downtown but close) are also frequent responses to queries such as this.

Excellent recommendations so far! Unfortunately, a few are unavailable for the time and day needed.

Lockwood at the Palmer House, has a nice steak and some more adventourous fare, but the view is of the Palmer House lobby (it is a really pretty lobby).

we did a similar thing at ricardo tratoria, enjoyed it a lot

shoot, if my wife ever told me she had a taste for a good steak(hasnt happened since she was pregnant)...

I would go to Joe's & get her the bone in filet, or head to David Burke's without a second thought.

torquelover wrote:Excellent recommendations so far! Unfortunately, a few are unavailable for the time and day needed.

FYI, if you're only using opentable to figure this out I'd call the restaurants. I know at some restaurants I've done some work for we reserved a dozen or so tables not on the OT system.

jimswside wrote:shoot, if my wife ever told me she had a taste for a good steak(hasnt happened since she was pregnant)...

I would go to Joe's & get her the bone in filet, or head to David Burke's without a second thought.

Joe's sounds perfect as far as her love of steak is concerned. Is it a loud restaurant?

jpschust wrote:

torquelover wrote:Excellent recommendations so far! Unfortunately, a few are unavailable for the time and day needed.

FYI, if you're only using opentable to figure this out I'd call the restaurants. I know at some restaurants I've done some work for we reserved a dozen or so tables not on the OT system.

I had a feeling about this, and will definitely call as well. Thanks for the tip.

Spiaggia, NoMi, or Everest

torquelover wrote:
Joe's sounds perfect as far as her love of steak is concerned. Is it a loud restaurant?

I have not found it loud on my visits.

Had a truly fantastic meal at Nomi. The place feels much less stuffy than Everest, with the open kitchen and minimalist, comfortable design. Service was highly polished but down-to-earth. English pea risotto with burgundy truffles was wonderfully cooked, though I didn't get a single whif of truffle, which was quite the disappointment. The highlight was a sublime, luxurious artichoke veloute with crispy escargot and artichoke chips.