Triathlon dinner - Pasta for 12?

All -

So I got tasked with planning the dinner for the night before the triathlon. I am of course thinking some sort of italian place. Hopefully something that also offers some meats and fish. Moderately priced. BYOB is not a necessity.

Location wise, near north would be ideal or possibly b-town or west loop.

BTW, I realize there are about 1000 possible italian places we could go, but I thought I would seek out your favorites that could accommodate a large group.

Any ideas?

This is in River North but Buca di Beppo has, for three years now, been very accommodating to a large group of alumni from my employer (a downstate university) for pre-Chicago Distance Classic pasta meals. If you want a contact at the restaurant, PM me and I'll get it from my staff.

Davooda

I think Quartino could easily serve a group that large.

Also, I've had a pre-marathon dinner at Mia Francesca and was very happy. I know they can assemble tables enough for a dozen guests.

Quartino
626 N State St
Chicago, IL 60610
312-698-5000

Mia Francesca
3311 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60657
773-281-3310

One thing to keep in mind about a prerace dinner. Your largest meal of the day on the day prior to a race should be at about 3 or 4 p.m. You should keep your dinner on the smaller side.

Hope you have a great race! I'm looking forward to one!

JLenart -

I shot you a private message in regards to this.

J.R.

If you are interested, there will be a pre race pasta dinner party at Grace O'Malley's. I got this off of the Chicago Triathlon website:

Grace O'Malley's located at 1416 S. Michigan Avenue, just a few blocks South of the Chicago Hilton, site of the MultiSport Expo & Race Packet Pick-up, will be hosting a carbo-loading buffet dinner on Saturday, August 25th for participants and their families for only $15.95 per person. They will be serving salad, two types of pasta, grilled chicken breasts & breadsticks. You can RSVP at 312-588-1800.

Maggiano's on Clark might be a good option - they have some nice set menus that work well for a group as well as a private room depending on the size of your party. Details are on their website. This may not be the best location, but I went to a dinner a couple of weeks ago at Tucchi Benuch at 900 N Michigan that was held in a private room they had there & that worked well too, price was reasonable & while the food wasn't outstanding, it was still pretty decent.

Whatever you do, make plans for afterward! Last year's post-race catering was really dreadful--I was ravenous but couldn't finish what little I took.

Good luck! The weather looks like it won't be to hot.