Rosemont area. Again. Help.

I know this comes up all the time, and there are probably no new answers, but friends are coming to town for a meeting in Rosemont and have prevailed on me to pick a dinner destination. We would all like to go somewhere like Alinea, but they don't have the time and we don't have the money.

I'd like to keep it under $100 a head altogether (less would be great). But cost will likely not be a problem given the time constraints. We will be starting from Touhy and Mannheim and we shouldn't take more than 2 hours or so, which pretty much cuts out going into the city and probably even such NW suburban gourmet spots as Le Francais and Le Titi de Paris. So we're looking at Rosemont and the nearest 'burbs (Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Elk Grove, etc.) for a reasonably leisurely dinner or slightly farther for something good but relatively fast.

I don't think this is a group to appreciate the dusty charms of places like Cafe la Cave or the Rosewood, or the big, bland beef at Gibsons. Seafood and Italian are out (they're from Boston), so no Nick's Fishmarket, Carlucci or Harry Caray's.

So far I am coming up with Retro Bistro and David's Bistro, which are both fine but not thrilling. I keep thinking there must be somewhere I'm forgetting, perhaps a destination-worthy ethnic spot. I was thinking maybe of Sankyu, but without anyone along who reads Japanese to translate the specials menu board, it might be rather challenging. Has anyone been to Sakura in Mount Prospect under its new management?

I'd also be interested in hearing anybody's recent reports of anything at all near Rosemont, since other people coming to this meeting are sure to ask me. I have lately been to Cafe Zalute, which has thoroughly ordinary food and a clientele who cannot be mentioned on this board.

There's a Morton's in Rosemont, but when you rule out Gibson's, you might be ruling Morton's out, too. On the other hand, you might not, which is why I'm mentioning it.

The one thing that's occured to me slightly farther afield is Edison Park. There are a couple of restaurants there that might be right. Don Juan's is one of them, and I seem to recall a Vietnamese place, like Don Juan's also on Northwest Highway, being praised here. And there might be others. You could probably get from Rosemont to there in fifteen minutes, allowing you an hour-and-a-half for actual dining when you subtract the round trip, which might work.

Collette, in the Sofitel, offers a nice French bistro menu.

i second don juan's. their special gourmet-ish menu is about as close as you can get to frontera grill without going downtown.

it's quite close to your starting point, it's a very friendly family-owned place with excellent food and good service, and i've had dozens of really good mexican meals there.

good call, riddlemay.

Sankyu is just really underwhelming to me... translated menu or not.

however, 2 doors down to the right is Pusan Restaurant. yah, it's a friggin hidden gem, yes it's gonna be < $100/pp, yes you can get TANKED on the yummy Chum Churum soju. the panchan is not SSGS level, but everything's well made and not padded with pickled vegetables. bulgogi + daegi bulgogi, tho gas fired, were both very flavorful and can hold their own against anything from lawrence. services is just above horrible but we thoroughly enjoyed the food...

there's of course also:
D&J bistro, a "nicer" alternative from operators of Retro Bistro

Kurumaya in Elk Grove Village is still one of the better Japanese options in the entire area, especially if you have the japanese menu boards translated.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Please keep them coming.

Riddlemay, yeah, I ruled out Morton's on the grounds my visitors can go to the one in Boston. Thanks for mentioning Don Juan. It struck me as a brilliant idea.

Unfortunately, I've gotten e-mail from my friends being dubious about Mexican. I have written back to clarify that Chicago-style Mexican is different from what they're probably thinking of, and to ask whether that means they don't like spicy food -- in which case Korean probably isn't the best option either.

Tony, have you tried New Seoul? They use oak charcoal and we liked their spicy pork and stuffed peppers, but rice and soup aren't included (unless they just forgot to bring them -- their service left a bit to be desired). The banchan were decent, though not particularly notable, and all vegetarian.

There are a ton of Korean places in the Mount Prospect/Des Plaines area, and I've tried only a fraction of them. It might be a worthwhile project, but I doubt there are enough NW suburbanites here to make a dent.

I agree with you on Sankyu vs. Kurumaya. The latter is also probably a little more accessible to people with no Japanese.

D&J, up in Lake Zurich, is regrettably too far away. Btw, Retro Bistro was started by the D&J people, but it's now owned by the daughter and son-in-law of one of the D&J owners and managed separately.

If it does turn out the Bostonians don't like spicy food, I suspect we're back to either Retro Bistro or David's. It's been a while since I've been to either. Anyone have any fresh insights?

(Y'know, I really wonder whether people who aren't so obsessed with food worry so much about where they take their out-of-town friends ... like it somehow reflects badly on me if I pick a restaurant they aren't absolutely thrilled with.)

New Seoul Restaurant
847/439-3720
638 W. Algonquin Road #4
Des Plaines

If it's between Retro Bistro and David's, I definitely vote for Retro Bistro. Much better food.

Taking advice from Bibi Rose and others, we wound up at Retro Bistro. It was fine, but nothing exceptional. They do offer an inexpensive three-course prix fixe.

I had a salad Lyonnaise that was a special (and would have been better if it hadn't been all frisee) and an adequate steak -- one of three on the menu -- that reminded me of this thread. The mashed potatoes were very good, though, with whole cloves of roasted garlic mixed in. The others ordered mainly from the specials menu -- I recall a seared tuna appetizer that they enjoyed. I would go there again if I had to eat in that area with people who weren't keen on more exotic fare.

But the place was cramped and noisy and the food not overwhelming and I kept thinking that if we'd had more time, we could have gone somewhere more impressive in the city.

In fact, everybody had a much better time the next day when we took them to a hot-dog stand. Parse's on Higgins does good Vienna natural-casing dogs and decent Italian beef.

Parse's Red Hots
7049 W. Higgins Ave., Chicago
(773) 763-9693

MJ2 Bistro is pretty close. It's owned by Mike Kurotobi, who is also the chef. He's Japanese, obviously, but was born and raised in Peru, so his cuisine is a genuine fusion from his heritage. I've only eaten there once, but everything was imaginative and good -- and reviews tend to be primarily raves.

Too late for this trip, but maybe something to keep in mind for next time.

MJ2 Bistro
800 W. Devon Ave.
Park Ridge 60068
847-698-7020

http://www.mj2bistro.com/

Cynthia wrote:MJ2 Bistro is pretty close. It's owned by Mike Kurotobi, who is also the chef. He's Japanese, obviously, but was born and raised in Peru, so his cuisine is a genuine fusion from his heritage. I've only eaten there once, but everything was imaginative and good -- and reviews tend to be primarily raves.

Too late for this trip, but maybe something to keep in mind for next time.

MJ2 Bistro
800 W. Devon Ave.
Park Ridge 60068
847-698-7020

http://www.mj2bistro.com/

I'm always apprehensive of rehashing old threads in which requests have already been made, but I've been watching the Rosemont threads with some intensity as I'm stuck out here for a hellish work project and like to escape to something delicious whenever possible. Thanks for the recommendation!

This is a good thread for options in the Park Ridge & Edison Park areas:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... light=zias

Don't think you can go wrong with Zia's at 6699 Northwest Highway for great food at reasonable prices.

Thread Bump.

pairs4life wrote:Thread Bump.

What do you need in particular?

Well, I know it's a steakhouse, but I had an amazing meal at the Hugo's Frog Bar.

Thanks Elaine.

Brad- Alistair has a business meeting out there on Friday & he is looking for something.

I have no idea how simple or fancy but know he is out there often enough that he could use some insight to good food in an array of settings.

Romano's on Higgins just west of River for very casual (but delicious) thin crust pizza, pasta and the like.

In same strip mall as Romano's, Maharajah for pretty decent Indian (buffet at lunch).

Gibson's or Hugo's Frog Bar (the latter in the casino on River Rd about 1 minute north of River/Higgins.

The Ram - decent burgers . . . Higgins, just west of River.

Carlucci's - alright for salads and pastas . . . in office complex on east side of River Road, just south of Higgins.

There's more, depending upon location, but that will give you some ideas.

BR wrote:Romano's on Higgins just west of River for very casual (but delicious) thin crust pizza, pasta and the like.

In same strip mall as Romano's, Maharajah for pretty decent Indian (buffet at lunch).

Gibson's or Hugo's Frog Bar (the latter in the casino on River Rd about 1 minute north of River/Higgins.

The Ram - decent burgers . . . Higgins, just west of River.

Carlucci's - alright for salads and pastas . . . in office complex on east side of River Road, just south of Higgins.

There's more, depending upon location, but that will give you some ideas.

This was really helpful. Thank you.

There's a really good Indian restaurant called Mantra on Irving Park two blocks West of River called Mantra... Highly recommended

9438 W. Irving Park Road
Schiller Park, IL
(847)260-5777

Hello,

I live in the area... and there are several nice restaurants not far from OHare or Rosemont that constantly get overlooked. Folks always look at Rosemont and Park Ridge but there are finer venues just a stones throw from those towns.

I live in Franklin Park and several new great dining venues have opened up in the area south of Rosemont.

Smoked on Rose ===an upscale white tablecloth restaurant that serves barbecue with the side dishes being Greek. They also serve fish and seafood. The address is 3531 Rose Street, Franklin Park, IL... it is accessible by Irving Park Road. This place does not get very crowded...it is off the beaten path.

http://franklinpark.suntimes.com/2014/0 ... oked-rose/

http://www.smokedonrosechicago.com/#!


Mantra by Indian Gardens--- a very beautiful Indian dining venue... this is not buffet style... a very extensive menu separated by the types of food... ie..fish, vegetarian, lamb, etc.
9438 W. Irving Park Road, Schiller Park
http://www.mantrachicago.com/

Ristorante Agostinos
2817 N. Harlem Avenue
Elmwood Park, IL
http://agostinogustofino.com/
This is a very good upscale Italian restaurant. A hidden Gem.

Basilico
4701 N Cumberland Avenue
Norridge, IL
http://ristorante.net/basilico/bisilico_lunch_menu.htm


If you want a simple place that has simple surroundings but great food... there is a gastropub ..that serves great food.. but not sure... I think they have sandwiches at lunch... If upscale hamburgers and chicken wings are ok... along with phenomenal craft beer and whiskey.. There is Hopscotch Beer and whiskey Bar..9743 Franklin Avenue, Franklin Park. They have seasonal changing menu. Their butternut squash arancini are very very good. This may be not upscale enough... basically a bar that has phenomenal food.. and it is peaceful during lunch time.... it is off the beaten ..path. Their pear cider is good.... It doesn't get crowded like other areas and is in a residential area. Parking is no problem. but it is not white tablecloth. This place has a young chef who is very talented...so if you don't mind not having white tablecloths...this could be the place. Similar to Leadbelly or Kumas..if you like burgers...Also very very reasonably priced and again...peaceful at lunchtime...Just down south on Mannheim, past Irving..turn left onto Belmont..take Belmont until it meets with Ruby..it will be on your right hand side.

http://franklinpark.suntimes.com/2014/0 ... -bar-food/
https://www.facebook.com/HopScotchBar/p ... =3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/HopScotchBar

Zalute is now closed, and if anyone ever wanted classic
Chicago hotdogs, burgers, and beefs, you are just a few moments away from Paradise Pup, which is fabulous!

Ram was so bad it stands as the only meal in my life where the manager comped our entire meal and apologized when we explained our litany of concerns. I don't want to rehash it, suffice it to say that every single non canned beverage item had some major deal breaking flaw. Burger, steak, salad, side.

Any one of them alone would have given us pause but all four plus egregious lapses in service mean we'll never go back.

I had a very bad experience at Ram also. I would never go back there. Overrated.

Last year we had a holiday party at RAM in Schaumburg and it was excellent.
The people were great and the food was really nice.
They did a good job of working with us, and everything came out hot and to order.
Maybe we got better attention because we were a group of 30 in a private room?
Anyhow, just a different experience.
Desserts were really delish!
And of course this was the one in Schauburg, so it was a different chef, different manager, etc.

I find the burgers at the Ram to generally be decent and well cooked (they'll cook to medium rare). If you go fancier than a burger you'll likely be disappointed. I don't know that I'd really call it overrated only because I don't hear anyone saying anything special about it. But for me, it's very convenient (a minute from my office) and I've never had any service issues.

Mark me down as hating the Ram - have a friend who likes the place and we used to meet there for lunch, probably half a dozen times, and I never had one thing I enjoyed.

When we are out there we have switched over to Rosewood, which has a solid if unspectacular menu - think pre-1980s steak and "continental" food. Fortunately I have successfully reintroduced him to Manny's since my move and we tend to meet there, but that does not apply to Rosemont. The Hofbrauhaus is not terrible for a stein and a sausage, though not a vegetarian destination. Don Juan is okay. Both places compare unfavorably to many similar options downtown.

I had one passable meal at Elliott's Seafood Grille and Chop House in Edison Park, perhaps more enjoyable than most of my meals at Don Juan, though that may be because of lowered expectations. Not that dissimilar from Rosewood in every way, but a little more interesting and tasty as I recall, though to be fair, I have done Rosewood many times and Elliott's only once.

On the plus side, Paradise Pup is just plain wonderful.

Elliott's
6690 N Northwest Hwy
Chicago, IL 60631
(773) 775-5277

Rosewood
9421 W Higgins Rd
Rosemont, IL 60018
(847) 696-9494