Looking for recommendations for the Downers Grove area

My company has sent me for a week long class in Downers Grove. I'm looking for recommendations for good restuarants in the area. Preferably, no cookie-cutter TGI Friday's, Olive garden... I love the one-of-a-kind can't find anywhere else type place. Thanks in advance.

HI,

You will want to visit Cebu for Filippino fine dining.

Regards,

Katy's.

If you are staying in the Finley/Butterfield area, there are a lot of "cookie cutter" restaurants. Carlucci Restaurant is good Italian food and is on Butterfield Rd just west of Finley and I-355. BTW, across the street is a Sam's Wine and Spirits, if you are so inclined they have a great selection of wine (might get a taste) and also a pretty good deli. If you are adventurous and would go east, still on Butterfield there is a place called Tin Fish that is really good for seafood and also Vic's Italian Steakhouse. Both good food but a couple of miles east in Oakbrook.

It is the suburbs, and there obviously are plenty of chains, but there also are some pretty good non-chain choices in the general area. Braxton Seafood Grill (in the Oak Brook shopping center) and Parkers' Ocean Grill (in DG) are also pretty good for seafood, in addition to Tin Fish. Tuscany (across from Oak Brook center) is a nice Italian restaurant, as are the others mentioned (Vic's and Carlucci).

In downtown DG, there is Emmett's Ale House, which has decent (but not great) upscale bar food in a nice environment. There also is Ballydoyle Irish pub, which has good pub fare (fish and chips, etc.). There also is an Italian restaurant and Mexican place downtown DG, but I have not been to either of them.

I'm also assuming you'll be in the Finley/Butterfield corridor. That area is filled with restaurant chains, from Burger King at the low end to Capitol Grille on the high end. If you're in a group and are forced to go to one, the best of these are Portillo's, Claim Jumper, and Buca di Beppo -- but the places below are IMO much better.

There's an outpost of Greek Islands on 22nd Street a few blocks east of Highland, it's better than the one in Greektown.

In the strip mall at the north end of Yorktown Mall is a small Italian restaurant called Lorica. Hole in the wall, service is spotty, but the food is amazing.

If you're a parrothead, you will be drawn to the Cheeseburger in Paradise. Resist the urge and go instead to either Weber Grill or Taylor Street Brewing, both of which have great burgers. Both are on Butterfield, just east of Yorktown Mall.

First, please confirm that you will be staying in a hotel near the Butterfield/Finley area. This is but one corner of the village -- Downers Grove sprawls out to the south and the east from here.

My own two cents re. bar suggestions found in the above posts: Don't drink the in-house brews at Taylor Brewing. I found out (too late) that none of the regulars ever order these because they're old and flat. Taylor's burger is good, but by no means "one of a kind," and remember to order its mushroom sauce on the side. The in-house brews at Emmett's fall mostly in the drinkable-to-good range (try the Liberty Pale Ale, if you enjoy that style), but the only non-house beers (if memory serves) are Miller Lite and MGD. Ballydoyle's has the name-brand imported beers, usually with good specials, but often features terrible music at earsplitting volume.

Bottom line: Taylor and Emmett's have ESPN and dark wood grain, while Ballydoyle's is faux-Irish. "Cookie cutter" definitely applies to both, although neither is a chain (or necessarily unpleasant). Emmett's and Ballydoyle's are across the street from each other at Maple and Main St. in Downtown Downers. Of the three, Emmett's is my choice.

The Greek Islands location is certainly good, although I haven't eaten there enough to say whether it's reliably better than its city sister.

I seem to recall that, from approx. 5 - 7 pm on weekdays, Carlucci offers half-price appetizers to those drinking at the bar. The appetizers I've sampled here were fine. It's a nice room but, again, not "one-of-a-kind."

If you're willing to drive a little further, then you have the Roosevelt Road places which have been discussed elsewhere on LTH. My picks are Kabob Kafe and Viceroy of India.

If you are serious about trying something worthwhile that you will have a difficult time finding elsewhere in Chicago, it sounds like JeffB and Cathy2 have nailed it with Katy's and Cebu.

Finally, I will suggest two places not discussed by others above. In the Yorktown complex mentioned earlier, try Frankie's Deli for lunch. They have a neat selection of Italian deli and grocery items, along with refrigerated raviolis and the ilk. Their sub has no peer in the area, as far as I can tell. Nice crusty bread, good balance of oil and vinegar, good ingredients.

On Ogden, try the gyros, the chicken sandwich, and the fries at the venerable Gyros King, my favorite greasy spoon in the area. Gyros King made the Chicago Tribune in a dubious article covering the "Best Hangover Food" in the city. IMO, these delicious gyros would spell disaster for a queasy stomach, but to each his own. The chicken sandwich takes ten or fifteen minutes to prepare, but it's worth the wait for this fresh chicken breast, pounded thin, grilled with oregano and lemon. The Gyros King guy has been there for at least fifteen years.

Frankie's Deli
4 Yorktown Convenience Ctr
Lombard, IL
(630) 627-7977

Gyros King
1021 Ogden Ave.
Downers Grove, IL 60515
(630) 963-3730

Actually, the "regulars" at Taylor St. Brewing (ie, those who followed them when they moved from 5th Ave Station in Naperville to their current location) go for the burgers and not the beer! It's been that way for the 15+ years I've been going to the place...

Since we're talking about beer, BY FAR the best place to get beer in the area is at Chef Paul's Bavarian Lodge on Ogden Avenue in Lisle. I suppose the place also qualifies as "one of a kind" since it's the only German/Bavarian restaurant in the area...

Another unique place is Praga, at 229W St. Charles Road in Lombard...the best way to describe it is Bohemian with a French accent.

Chef Paul is a great suggestion. Anything fried from there (along with a good deal of other things) is fantastic. Not too bad a drive, and it certainly fits the bill for being unlike other places in the area.

Regarding Taylor Brewing, my characterization of the "regulars" was based on chatting up the bartender, which should have been my first move. I can't speak on their behalf. A place which is in the business of "brewing" should exhibit some level of focus on beer. I wouldn't want a visitor to repeat my experience with those terrible drinks. Didn't mean to be harsh on the burger, it's good beef and they cook it the way you ask.

I forgot about Frankie's Deli!!! They have great subs and the ONLY potato salad I will eat other than my mom's.

There is also a "chain" restaurant across the street called Claim Jumper that has an extensive munchie menu. I've done several of them and you can make a meal off of just the appetizers. It's really gorgeous inside as well. If you HAD to do a chain, that would be my pick, although I think that everyone would agree there is at least one favorite thing they like to eat at the chains...

I agree, if you are not staying in the Finley/Butterfield area, there are a lot of great options to the south. Let us know!!

Yes, the trick is generally to get down to Ogden and stay further away from the Yorktown/Oak Brook area where rents make it chain-city.

There also are some more interesting places up in Lombard around Roosevelt, if you are up that way.

My lunch favorites these days are the Cedar and Lao Sze Chwan in DG, and Katy's in Westmont, which was mentioned above. All on or very near to Ogden. Uncle Bub's BBQ in Westmont can be okay (depending on your tastes and availability of BBQ) the Texan BBQ in Lombard is also nearby and makes a very good chili, even if the rest of their food is not so great.

There is also a White Fence Farm carryout in DG which makes pretty good fried chicken.

But you do need to tell us where you are going to be in DG and how long you have for lunch. The good news is that there are a lot of very good options.

I am staying in the Butterfield/Findley area. Lunch is being catered each day. Which actually means that my per diem can all be spent on dinner. yeah! I have a rental car so getting around isn't any problem, it's just a pain not knowing where your going. Thank goodness for mapquest/yahoo/google for driving instructions.

Here's where I have gone out to eat so far:

Sunday: Momotaro Japanese - a bowl of "teka-don" Tuna over rice. Asked for a small bowl of spicy sauce and recieved for free. The presentation in the bowl was artful. I've had better, but that was by paying alot more. Pretty happy with the meal. Even after a 2.5 hour flight.


Monday: Boss called and asked me to work on a project after 8 hours of a class. So about 9pm I decided it was time to eat. I decided to find something close. So Webers jumped out at me. I know it's a chain, but I never have been so away I went. Had the 8oz Filet, medium-rare with garlic mashed potato, and have blue cheese on the filet. also had the Weber 3-2-1 unfiltered wheat beer to drink. The beer and the steak were very good. The blue cheese on the filet was wonderful. The garlic mashed potatos were so-so. They seemed to be missing something. Maybe I was just too tired. All in all a good experience. To bad I had to go back and work until 1AM finishing up the project.

Tuesday: Greek Islands - Thanks all who pointed me here. I had the dalmas for an appetizer, mousaka for a main dish, and Galactobouriko for dessert. The dalmas were good, could have been seasoned a little more, but that didn't stop me from eating them all. the mousaka was huge with a giant broiled potato on the side. Both were very well done. Again the mousaka could have been seasoned a little more, but I have had much worse in my time. The Galactobouriko, recommended by the busboy as the best desert in the house, was truely so. I highly recommend it as a nice custard dessert. Yum. I highly enjoyed the meal. The interior was setup nice. The staff was quite authentically Greek. Good food & service, and the prices were great.

Well I'm now tring to deside where to go tonight. I'm thinking of doing some shopping tonight. My 5-year old daughter has just learned to blow bubble gum bubbles. So she has requested that I bring some "Chicago" bubble gum home so she can show me her new ability. So now I've got figure out if there is any such thing as Chicago bubble gum. I doubt there is any such thing. That won't stop me from looking however.

Thank you all for your suggestions so far. I'm here until Friday so 2 more meals to go.

There's a candy store in Yorktown Mall that probably sells bubble gum as well. I think it's called "Treats and More" but don't quote me on it...

If that doesn't work, there's always the Target behind Yorktown Mall.

Given the Butterfield/Findley location Fabulous Noodles on Ogden in Lisle is a real quick drive.

Lao Sze Chuan is very good, and under 10 minutes away (south on Finley to Ogden, left on Ogden for a couple of miles and it is on the right). While it is not exactly the same as the one in the city, it is close. $20 gets you a feast and there are lots of reviews on LSC.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=35333#35333

LSC Downers Grove
1331 Ogden Ave
Downers Grove, IL 60515
(630) 663-0303

The Cedar Grill is also on Ogden, just a touch west of Finley (which becomes Main at Ogden, btw). It is a sandwich joint, but has good Chicken Shwarma and lebanese salads, though it is not too fancy. $15 will leave you stuffed. There is a thread on it, but I have not been able to find it.

For fancier, sit down dining since you can drive - how much do you want to spend? You could go to Vie in Western Springs which is maybe 30 minutes of driving and have a wonderful and unique meal using local seasonal ingredients. But you will probably spend $50 or more on your meal. (easily twice what you could spend at any of the other spots). But it is wonderful, and not that bad a drive for such a meal.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=35370#35370

MLS wrote:Given the Butterfield/Findley location Fabulous Noodles on Ogden in Lisle is a real quick drive.

Yes, Fabulous Noodles and Katy's Dumplings are both very good Chinese options nearby, as well. Pier 34 on Ogden in Lisle is a bit farther, but still within 15 minutes, if you want fresh seafood, and downtown Naperville is another good choice, which also would allow you to have a nice walk along the river after dinner (you can also watch the mating or whatever dances of the teen denizens of suburbia at the same time). In downtown Naperville there is a decent Francesca outpost, La Sorella di Francesca for stylish Italian, Hugo's Frog Bar for seafood and good steaks, Tango for Argentine flank steak, Heaven on Seven for sometimes uneven cajun food, and more. Bangkok Village delivers okay Thai if you order carefully and challenge the kitchen.

Me, I would definitely figure out a way to dine at Vie, though. (see above).

dicksond wrote:The Cedar Grill is also on Ogden, just a touch west of Finley (which becomes Main at Ogden, btw).

Not to nitpick, but Finley becomes Belmont at Ogden. IIRC, Fairview turns into Main St at Ogden, and Midwest Rd turns into Cass Ave. Sometimes people get very confused in that area due to all of the name changes.

Flip

It's actually Highland that turns into Main St, but that happens just south of Good Samaritan Hospital. Meyers Rd. turns into Fairview, and Midwest turns into Cass, as both roads leave Oak Brook going south.

And to make matters worse, when going north, Midwest turns into Summit at Butterfield Rd! Confusing doesn't even begin to describe it...

I've heard good & bad about Praga in Lombard. Not far from Butterfield/Finley. Too bad Bistro Banlieue is in transition.

--Bill Pardue

peterc wrote:Regarding Taylor Brewing, my characterization of the "regulars" was based on chatting up the bartender, which should have been my first move. I can't speak on their behalf. A place which is in the business of "brewing" should exhibit some level of focus on beer. I wouldn't want a visitor to repeat my experience with those terrible drinks.

It's been a while since I've been there, but if memory serves, look at the menu to see where the beer is brewed. If it says "Middleton, WI", it's brewed by Capital brewing company. This is a safe bet. If it says "Warrenville, IL", it's brewed by Two Brothers brewing. Another safe bet. If it says "Lombard, IL", it's brewed on location, and all bets are off.

Downtown Wheaton isn't out of reach nor is downtown Glen Ellyn, especially if you're contemplating Vie.

Downtown Wheaton has L'Anne an upscale Vietnamese restaurant; Emilio's for Tapas although it's not his best outlet it can still be good; and my new absolute favorite ice cream at Tate's. All are on Front street. Then there's Mexican at the Front Street Cantina, which is not on Front Street.

Glen Ellyn has Vittorio's for unpretentious Italian in a cozy family-owned , 10? table atmosphere; Mykha's for slightly less upscale Vietnamese; Shannon's for Irish pub where the locals hang out (good fried fish). I haven't eaten at the fish place next to the movie theater but have heard good things about it. The Thai place is mediocre. Glen Ellyn has a small downtown which is park-and-walk friendly. Cab's Wine Bar and Bistro is hit and miss, Les Deux Autres has been discussed recently on this board. Adelle's is between these downtowns on College and I enjoy their bistro food. OK wine list, too.

Diannie

If you're still looking for the gum for your daughter, you can drive into downtown Clarendon Hills, about 7-10 minutes south, south east of all the Oak Brook stuff. There's a little ice cream shop that has a decent variety of the hard to find candies. Some of the items are the flying saucer wafers with the candy inside and the long paper with the red, yellow and blue dots of candy on it. Good luck on finding the Chicago gum though. I'd buy her a pack of Bubble Yum. Have a great time in the Chicago area.

Clarifications & disagreements:

Do both Fairview and Highland turn into Main, there being a profusion of Main Streets in that neighborhood? My bad on Finley/Belmont, and thanks for the correction.

L'Anne is really a Vietnamese-influenced French restaurant trying to be more mainstream American to pump its business up. It started out somewhat interesting but no one was buying, so they have gradually moved more and more mainstream which picked up business but convinced me never to go back - expensive and boring for me these days.

Adelle's is bistro food? Maybe bistro means casual but ambitious dining 'cause it also seemed more American with some French & southern-cooking influences. But I admit to only dining there once. Probably better than L'Anne at this time, but not terribly exciting.

Les Deux Autres is expensive and has its charm, but I would never choose it ahead of Vie - they really are not even in the same class, as much as I want to like and support LDA.

Mykha's is more interesting, and really is slightly upscale Vietnamese (as opposed to L'Anne where the Vietnamese is usually restriceted to a couple of dishes and one or two accents). One can get a pretty good meal there. My one issue with it is that she pretty much uses the same set of seasonings (lemon grass, touch of garlic, etc.) on every dish, so it gets a bit boring. Not a problem for the first or second visit, though.

Luong Loi in downtown Wheaton is decent, not wonderful but decent, Vietnamese. Fairly authentic, though they do slip some Cantonese dishes in there, and quite cheap.

The Indian places mentioned above are also fairly enjoyable, not too expensive and quite authentic.

All of the nearby towns have charming little downtown areas, usually around the train station, that can provide a pleasant walk. Wheaton and Glen Ellyn are a bit nicer than Lombard, Westmont and Downers Grove, though Westmont offsets all that with the best selection of places to eat though those are mostly not downtown. Downers Grove has the benefit of the Tivoli Theater, which is quite nice - most of the towns have interesting old theaters, but the Tivoli is the only one in really good shape.

Naperville combines a selection of restaurants, some of which are even pretty good, with the river and river walk, plus it is by far the busiest so you get some people-watching in the bargain.

If you come back Tasty Boy, think of all the options you will have. Hey guys, maybe we should do a Tourist's Guide to the western burbs with all this info.

I was waiting for Flip to weigh in since I know he works right there (see, I got it right ) and thus is an expert in convenient and good places to dine in the neighborhood. But I see he limited himself to geographic clarification. Smart guy.

Flip wrote:

dicksond wrote:The Cedar Grill is also on Ogden, just a touch west of Finley (which becomes Main at Ogden, btw).

Not to nitpick, but Finley becomes Belmont at Ogden. IIRC, Fairview turns into Main St at Ogden, and Midwest Rd turns into Cass Ave. Sometimes people get very confused in that area due to all of the name changes.

Flip

oops, did I mention that this area is confusing? As others have mentioned Fairview remains Fairview south of Ogden, but somewhere north of Ogden it changes to Meyers Rd. Highland turns into Main St. and then you also have the Summit/Midwest/Cass confusion.

Flip

Luong Loi has a new owner. I ate there just after she took over and the menu hadn't changed yet. It's been a few months. Has anyone been there recently?

Perhaps I shouldn't have called Adelle's "bistro" and I apologize for the semantic slip. The meatloaf should have clued me in.

I've eaten at L'Anne a couple of times, once just after they opened and again last winter. Guess I wasn't really looking hard at the menu and I do tend to associate French influence with upscale Vietnamese. I eat at Mykha's more often.

Street names seem to change mostly at town borders. Heading north, Cass becomes Midwest at Ogden and then becomes Summit at Butterfield (not 22nd).

As long as this post has morphed into a general discussion of the western 'burbs, including Glen Ellyn and Wheaton, I was wondering if anyone has tried Figo in the space once occupied by the Glen Ellyn brewpub. I always have enjoyed downtown Glen Ellyn, and actually really liked the brewery before it switched over.

Also, I agree that Adelle's may not be too terribly exciting, but after a few visits I'd say that it's consistently solid. With the recent closing of Bistro Banlieue, I expect that it probably will become one of our "go-to" upscale places.

I have had some outstanding meals at Figo, but all were more than a year ago. As the place became more popular, the prices went up, and service and consistency went down. My last meal there was in November or December, and it was forgettable at best.

I'd also add that Niche, the new home of the chef and staff from 302 West, will be opening at the end of the month. Price point will be slightly lower than it was at 302 West, and BYO will be allowed (corkage applies) on weekdays. Phone is 630-262-1000. Bias alert: one of the principals at Niche is a friend.

Wow, I haven't lived back there since 1979, but still go back to DG and environs twice a year to visit my family (in fact, we go next Tuesday!). Let me see if I can sort out the street names.

N-S
Cass goes through downtown Westmont. As it goes north into the Oak Brook area it becomes Midwest Road and then Summit.

Fairview Ave skirts the eastern border of Downers Grove and as it goes north it becomes Meyers Road.

Downers Grove Main Street becomes Highland Ave on the N end (around 35th St/Good Sam Hospital) and then becomes Lemont Avenue going south (when it hits the curve a few blocks before 75th St)

On the west end of DG is Belmont Ave...as it goes N past Ogden Ave and over the I-88 and I-395 tollroads heading towards the Lombard area it turns into Finley Road.

E-W
The big culprit here is Maple Avenue in Downers Grove. Go east into Westmont and it becomes Naperville Road...go west and somewhere in the Lisle/Naperville area (I think around Naper Blvd) it becomes Chicago Avenue.

Well, not really fair to reply with only geography...it IS a food forum.
That being said, you've had some great suggestions, and I'll add a couple more.

A lot of Chicago is about casual food, and I hope you get the chance to have some good pizza or italian beef. For pizza, Giordano's (stuffed crust) is right in downtown DG and Home Run Inn (thin crust) is on the far south side of DG at 75th and Lemont in Darien. For italian beef, out of convenience sake there's Portillo's and Buona Beef right on Butterfield between Highland and Finley. They aren't the best in the Chicago area, but are both very good (I prefer a "combo" at Portillo's)

Finally, I'll suggest one other thing if you have a free night. Go to downtown DG...get some ice cream at Every Day's a Sundae (really good Sherman's Dairy) and go see a movie at the Tivoli. I don't care what's playing...just go. It is truly one of the great movie theaters in the country. It is the ONLY place where I will patronize a movie concession stand...get this...popcorn (real butter) and soft drinks at reasonable prices...and FREE refills. Also, if you are still in town Friday night, they do a classic car show along Main St in DG...kinda fun to walk around, shop, eat, etc.