I'm drawing a blank

My friend (from Baltimore) and her b/f (from Long Island) will be in town at the end of the month. I volunteered to help her w/ideas for a restaurant for a group dinner on a Saturday night. Here is what she requested:

Something new. Budget irrelevant for me, but keep in mind others will be attending that may be more $$ conscious. As for cuisine, surprise me. I love everything except celery.

Must be el accessible. That's a must. It would be nice to have some place
romantic. Since most folks who are attending will be couples ...

I really want to wow them w/something less obvious. First ideas that come to mind are TAC Quick and Bin Wine Cafe. I know they are fans of wine, Ming Tsai, Buddakan in Philly, Blue Water Grill in NYC but that is probably too $$ for the budget conscious. I don't want to pick anything too loud and crowded so that we can converse w/o yelling. Am I missing anything obvious? Thanks.

Patio reservations at Bistro Campagne.

Either:

The Stained Glass
1735 Benson Ave., Evanston
(847) 864-8600
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... b33a4f81d8
http://www.chicagoreader.com/cgi-bin/rr ... &numb=1555

or,

Chef's Station
915 Davis St., Evanston
(847) 570-982
http://www.chicagoreader.com/cgi-bin/rr ... &numb=1416

About a block or two apart, just off the Davis St el station, certainly in the "less obvious" category for out-of-towners, and both very wine-friendly.

If they like Buddakkan in Philly, then they might like something a bit more sceney than the suggestions above.

I'll throw in Scylla. It is about a 15 minute walk straight up Damen from the Blue Line Damen stop--so not right near the el, but pretty close. I consider it romantic (although I ate downstairs, so I can't vouch for the upstairs dining area), the food is great and the prices are definitely reasonable.

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=11864

www.scyllarestaurant.com

Bonsoiree
http://www.bon-soiree.com/cafe/dinnermenu.htm

a short walk from 2 blue line stops
http://www.bon-soiree.com/cafe/cafelocation.htm

Thanks for all the suggestions. She picked Sweets & Savories (one of my favs!) among a list of suggestions that I sent to her.