Different sort of parental dining question

My parents, 60 and 65, grew up and still live in a small town in Michigan. They have never been to a "fancy" restaurant. Outback is a nice night out for them.

This year, for a combined Mother's Day, Father's Day, and birthday present, my sister and I would like to get our parents a night at the Palmer House Hilton and dinner at a nice restaurant.

Unfortunately, my sister and I, a law student and a librarian, haven't been able to afford to visit any of the more expensive restaurants in the loop/River North area, and could really use some guidance.

What would you recommend for parents like ours? We are thinking a steakhouse would be best, but we don't know which one. We don't want our parents to feel out of place or uncomfortable, but we do want them to feel special. Oh, and they don't drink, so that doesn't matter.

Help!

Custom House?
http://www.customhouse.cc/

Here is a similar recent thread:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=12643

How much ya wanna spend?

For some reason I am thinking Gene & Georgetti's or the Italian Village. A pasta option might make it simpler if they are suffering from steak sticker shock. And some place that is tourist-friendly might be more comfortable for them. I also imagine noise could be a challenge for the parents.

The Bride's family is Central Illinois farm folks, and they always found the restaurants I took them to "up here" weird and excessive, not to mention crowded and noisy with strange people. So I am not sure how well this will work, but I know you gotta try.

I know that my parents will not be impressed by fancy chef tricks, unusual ingredients, and shiny, pretty people. They do enjoy food, and have enjoyed all of the cheaper places I have taken them (Reza's, Lao Sze Chuan, etc.). That said, I think they would be absolutely appalled by a $50 steak. A place with entrees in the $30-40 area would probably be best, although considering they don't drink, I might be able to convince them that it's okay to spend a little more on an entree.

I'm hoping to find a nice restaurant with a non-trendy atmosphere where they can enjoy a nicer meal than they normally would. They both really like steak and seafood, so I was leaning toward that, but I'm really unfamiliar with the nicer restaurants in Chicago.

ETA: Gene & Georgetti looks like a very strong contender. Thanks.

dicksond wrote:For some reason I am thinking Gene & Georgetti's or the Italian Village. A pasta option might make it simpler if they are suffering from steak sticker shock. And some place that is tourist-friendly might be more comfortable for them. I also imagine noise could be a challenge for the parents.

I agree with the suggestion of Italian Village. The fact that it's only a block or two from the Palmer House is a huge plus IMHO, rather than forcing them to deal with taking a cab. It just makes everything sound so much easier.

Keep in mind that there are three restaurants there: Vivere, the fine dining restaurant on the first floor; La Cantina, the steak and seafood restaurant downstairs, and the Village, the casual restaurant on the second floor. (In their case, I think they are better off with Vivere or La Cantina.)

Vivere
71 W. Monroe
312-332-4040

La Cantina
71 W. Monroe
312-332-7005

There are lots of other places within a couple blocks of the Palmer House, that are also worth considering: The Big Downtown (right in the Palmer House), Rhapsody, the Atwood Cafe, and Trattoria No. 10. Check out the discussion in this previous topic.

Again, it's easy for young (or not so young) people to walk eight blocks or take a cab somewhere, but for older folks, I think they would appreciate the convenience of walking a block or two. Whether it's Italian Village, or the Big Downtown, or Rhapsody, they will enjoy that convenience. And Trattoria or Atwood are only an extra block or two.

If you would prefer doing Gene and Georgetti, or Brasserie Jo, or someplace else, that's fine, but then I suggest getting them a different hotel, one within a block or two of the restaurant you're arranging for them.

(If they really like seafood, then Shaw's Crab House is IMHO the place with the best seafood whose atmosphere is most likely to appeal to an older couple. Again, this is another place north of the river, so you might consider the Marriott or another nearby hotel.)

I think I'd suggest Brasserie Jo. My parents enjoyed it on one of their visits here, and my risk-averse dad was happy to be able to order a steak. I think it would feel "big-city" and special enough, without being too weird or outrageously expensive.

Here's their menu, but annoyingly enough they don't have the prices listed on the web version:
http://www.brasseriejo.com/second_level ... erMenu.pdf

A possible drawback, though, is that as I recall the noise level is fairly high. I don't know if that would be an issue for your parents.

This is a great question, because it never hurts to think about how to answer this question in anticipation of one's own relatives visiting.

Here are a couple of places that I've had great personal experience of, that specialize in steak and/or seafood, and are a short cab-ride from the Palmer House:

Shaw's Crab House
21 E. Hubbard St.
312-527-2722

I know Shaw's is a Lettuce Restaurant, but to me it's just a great place, with comfortable, classic decor, top-flight but not stuffy or condescending service, and impeccably fresh and wonderfully prepared food. You'll spend a fair amount at Shaw's but it's not 4-star expensive, and you can almost always see the price in the value of the food and service. The restaurant has lot's of nice, big old-fashioned booths, perfect for a party of two that doesn't want to know the personal details of the other diners in the place. Also, I don't think the Shaw's staff will care that your parents don't drink. (At a place like Trotter's, you'll see the dollar signs falling like tears out of their eyes). I greatly prefer Shaw's to its flashier Lettuce sib Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, which seems more expensive, more crowded, more noisy, etc.

Keefer's
20 W. Kinzie St.
312-467-9525

It's been a number of years now since I've been to Keefer's, but I had a great meal and experience there. It's brighter and busier than Shaw's, but still has a great feeling of clubby, not off-putting elegance. (Lot's of fireplaces, if that is a turn-on or turn-off for the 'rents.) Because it has south-facing floor-to-ceiling windows, it's great to arrive a little before sunset when you have all that wonderful late-afternoon sun filtering through the wood-slat window coverings. Keefer's food is traditional but fantastically prepared, and the steaks and the seafood are equally good, and not sticker-shock inducing. The menu has a strong French influence, but again it is not hoity-toity French.

Good luck and I hope your parents have a wonderful time!

My husband and I had dinner at the Atwood Cafe yesterday after a theater matinee. I made reservations via OpenTable.com and told them that we were going to be celebrating our wedding anniversary. When we arrived, we were greeted with "happy anniversary" and were seated at what I considered to be the best table in the room. It is such a charming space - some of the tables have chairs on one side and sattees (sp?) on the other. We ordered from the $45 prix fix menu - this month's theme being "An American In Paris". I loved the frisee salad (with lardon - yum!), niciose tuna, and creme brulee. My beloved enjoyed a corn and crabmeat chowder, steak and frites (so tender!), and they generously substituted bread pudding as a dessert even though it wasn't on the prix fix menu. The food was top notch and the service was amazing. This is in keeping with my other visits there - I never hesitate to recommend them.

I have the feeling that if you tell them that you're celebrating special occasions with your parents, they will help make the meal something really memorable. Our server was Rachel and she is a gem!

Russian Tea Time has great food and is pretty reasonably priced (entrees are around $16-$25), and is not overly posh, but still elegant enough to seem special. You can get a glimpse of the interior -- Old World posh, not hip modern posh -- at their website: http://www.russianteatime.com

Everything I've ever had there has been great -- beef stroganoff, Pumpkin Vareniky (dumplings filled with pumpkin, farmer's cheese, garlic, and onion, drizzled with cinnamon butter), Pozharskie Kotlety (flavorful balls of ground chicken baked and served with mushroom cream sauce), cabbage rolls, meat dumblings, duck, everything. I also adore their salads, especially the beet salad and the carrot salad. If you want to get carried away, they have loads of caviar, but you can have a splendid feast and still not have anyone faint from sticker shock.

77 E Adams St
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 360-0000

I have a couple of friends with conservative palates, also from Michigan. Both are meat-and-potatoes types. She is, however, much more concerned with atmosphere than he is-- and she is a bit tired of his steak house rut, and being dragged into it when she wants to feel romantic and not as though she is along on a men's club outing that will end with cigars. Both were delighted with the Custom House for their anniversary.

Some caveats on Italian Village. Vivere would likely give them sticker shock (especially as to the pasta dishes) and is, on the whole, underwhelming. If they go the more reasonable route and eat upstairs, it is crowded, the service is disorganized and snippy and they might end up at a table wedged unserviceably into a corner in a side room lit as bright as a hospital. For similar reasons, I'd caution you on Gene and Georgetti's, which has notoriously bad and gruff service. Some people may call that character, but people from a small town in Michigan, where everyone is "nice," might not be so amused.

My last visit at Atwood for weekend brunch was absolutely underwhelming. Out of six people, nobody liked their meal.

I would think that Keefer's would be appropriate in decor and food. It's not fancy schmancy, priced as high as Burke's, and is lacking in the beautiful trendoids. If they're seafood people, I think Shaw's would be perfect. I know someone who always entertained her downstate labor union clients at Shaw's, and they always loved it.

I think Osteria Via Stato might fit the bill. I really love the atmosphere and the food is plentiful and wonderful. It's prix fixe, with about 9 or 10 entrees to choose from but lots of antipasti and pasta and some of the best bread in the city (IMHO). You just sort of feel as if you're in the middle of the tuscan countryside and i think its a much more relaxed yet elegant way to celebrate than a stuffy steak house.

I also think it's fun to go to Joe's Stone Crab -- much in the same way that Shaw's works for folks, I think Joe's does service and seafood equally well -- and you get that sort of pampered feeling that a restaurant charging that kind of cash should give you. But it's definitely a celebratory place -- although it can be rather loud depending on the crowd.


Osteria Via Stato
620 N. State St.
312-642-8450

Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab
60 E. Grand Ave.
312-379-5637