places similar to Carnivale for drinks and dinner???

My girlfriends and I went to Carnivale this past weekend and loved it! The atmosphere, the people, the drinks, and the food were all fantastic. We loved the crowd- young, hip, etc and the food was fantastic. The mojitos and sangria was just what the doctor ordered. The chips and guac chunky, creamy, and addicting. Three girls said the skirt steak over black beans and rice with carmelized red onions was cooked perfectly medium and "bursting w/ flavor". My friend's roasted half chicken came on an enormous platter w/ a jalepeno-parsley puree sauce with perfectly roasted potatoes and tender, crisp green beans. She loved it! (Mushy vegetables are a pet peeve for her). I had the seared ahi tuna over roasted/sauteed diced potoates and mushrooms topped with a salty, vinegary olive-caper relish and romesco sauce to finish off the plate. The kitchen was definitely on tonight. Our waitress was friendly although said we were wimps for not ordering dessert. She said it in a joking manner, but we knew she was somewhat disappointed with our decision. Oh well! We were too full. I was wondering if anyone had any recs for another place for my girlfriends and I to try out in the Chicagoland area for our next girls' night out. Nothing pricier than Carnivale, and everyone loves all types of cuisine. We go to school at Northwestern so we'd just take the el or one of us would drive. Thanks!

Nacional 27 is probably most similar overall. Opera has a similar vibe, but Asian-themed food. Both are probably in the same price range.

Bravo on Division would probably fit the bill.

I would suggest Cuatro in the southloop. My girlfriends took me there for my birthday 2 years ago and it was great. Hip space (although not visually as stunning as Carnivale based on sheer size), good cocktails, good food.

Cuatro
www.cuatro-chicago.com
2030 S Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 842-8856

easy: delacosta

even hipper. even pricier. with a famous(er) chef/proprietor.

Agami is much closer to Evanston than the downtown places, it's close the the Red Line el stop at either Lawrence or Wilson, and it's close to the Green Mill and Annoyance Theater if you wanted something to do after dinner. Cool atmosphere, excellent food, definitely unique.

Agami
4712 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
773.506.1854

Are you more interested in replicating the mood (fun, hip, lively) the food (spicy latin) or the drinks (good cocktails)? Would you be interested in something that had two of the 3 but the 3rd was a different variable? (I'll assume fun, hip, lively is non-negotiable )

TonyC wrote:easy: delacosta

the office buzz has been that delacosta is nearly identical to carnivale in many ways, but the drinks are more expensive and the food not great? don't know, haven't been to either.

What about Sangria or Coobah? Sangria is loud and boisterous, like Carnivale, tapas which are fun to share with a group of girlfriends and good drinks. I love Coobah...it's a little harder to get to from Evanston(at least by el), but worth the trip for delicious food and drinks (much smaller and more intimate than the Carnivale space).

Sangria Restaurant and Tapas Bar
901 W. Weed St.
312-266-1200
(near the North and Clybourn Red Line stop)

Coobah
3423 N. Southport Ave.
773-528-2220
(right underneath the Southport Brown Line stop)

I haven't been there, but Victor Hotel is another Jerry Kleiner production that sounds like it might be what you are looking for (sushi instead of latin food)

http://www.victorhotelchicago.com/