Romantic Dinner Special Occasion Rec

LTH,

After perusing the site for the past couple of days I’ve yet to settle on a choice for dinner this coming Saturday evening. My GF and I are celebrating her birthday and I’d like to take her to a nice, romantic dinner. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps a few parameters might aid our discussion and your recommendations:

1. The GF has somewhat of a rigid palate. She will not eat any seafood at all and she does not like eggs (eggs as a lesser ingredient in a sauce, dish, etc. is OK). GF also does not like exotic or gamey plates like venison, boar, duck, you catch my drift. GF likes steak, pork dishes and chicken (but chicken breasts not dark meat or roasted whole or half chickens).

2. I would like a romantic setting. This does not mean it has to be quiet, just a little upscale in ambience.

3. Geographically, I would like to stay in Chicago and perhaps have the restaurant situated close to other bars, nightspots that would be attractive for a few after dinner libations for semi-formally/formally dressed patrons. Any bar, tavern recs around the restaurant would be a greta help too! Not a huge requirement – we can always take a cab.

4. I probably don’t want to spend above $200-$300, all inclusive, but I certainly don't have to spend that much. We will probably order one bottle of wine and maybe an aperitif each.

5. The place must be either BYOB or have a wine list that is not too egregiously priced.

6. I do not want to go to a steak house or a place primarily, or heavily, seafood-influenced. No French Bistro this time around either.

7. Basically, I want the GF to have at least 2 or 3 good choices (for her) for each course and not have to settle for something that looks just OK to her.

8. Any place that has a ridiculously good chocolate dessert would be outstanding....and would make GF very happy...which would in turn make Bster a very happy man

9. The GF loves a good French Onion Soup and adores any inspiring cheese plate.

9. Feel free to violate any of these parameters if you really have an otherwise great rec in mind.

Thank you very much.

LTH has never let me down, I really need your help to plan a special evening.

Bster

I had immediately thought of North Pond until you put it on your "no" list.

It's definitely not a steak-house, nor is it seafood-heavy. I think they have a pretty diverse menu.

http://www.northpondrestaurant.com/text ... ?menuid=10

Best,
Michael

Hey Michael,

Great minds think alike! I thought of NP right away too and spent about an hour perusing their menu to see if this would work. God, I love their menu...but I fear it too restrictive for my GF's rigid palate. I thought the ambience and romanticism of the place might obviate the need for choice on the menu for the GF. But, ultimately, for the price point I'm talking about I want to try and do better. But TY, NP looks great and may still be in the works.

You know, I was thinking and edited my original post to include these thoughts...the GF loves a good cheese plate and a nice French Onion soup. If NP had a good cheese plate or FOS that might make it possible.

I further edited my OP to take out any names of places I didn't want to go to avoid stunting possible recs.

Bster

Your GF sounds a lot like the Chow Poodle in her tastes. What about GNR Winner Sweets & Savories? Or, another thought for an old school romantic dinner with strolling musicians and flaming tableside-prepared desserts, GNR Winner Sabatino's. Neither of those places will break the bank, but both are quite nice.

P.S. If Sabatino's is your ultimate choice, avoid the onion soup. It will surely dissapoint your GF. It's Onion soup, but not French Onion Soup.

I had immediately thought of North Pond until you put it on your "no" list.

It's definitely not a steak-house, nor is it seafood-heavy. I think they have a pretty diverse menu.

I like North Pond, and it's definitely romantic. However, I do think the flavor combinations might be a bit too "exotic" for the OP's SO. It’s also not all that convenient to post-dinner imbibing options.

My immediate thought was a French bistro, until you said "no French bistros". If you reconsider that, La Sardine has an amazing chocolate soufflé for dessert, and very nice beef and pork preparations for dinner. The Tasting Room down the street would be a nice after-dinner spot for well-heeled patrons.

In La Pomme Rouge, you'll find some of the best-dressed staff and clientele around, along with tables in nooks and crannies that allow privacy for romantic conversation, balanced by fun people-watching views. The service is attentive, and the atmosphere more relaxed than the formally dressed staff might make one assume. The food's surprisingly (for a place that seems more focused on atmosphere) good at la Pomme Rouge, and the wine list is diverse - including a number of reasonably priced bottles. There's a great rib-eye entree, and an intoxicating chocolate-hazelnut dessert.

La Pomme Rouge:

http://www.lapommerouge.com/

I'm gonna look into La Pomme Rouge and Sabatino's...thanks! S&S is one of our favorite places - but we've been there a few times...same is true of La Sardine - excellent French Bistro - but we've been there often. The reason I threw out French Bistros is because the GF and I love them and are a little French Bistroed out if you know what I mean.

Thanks

Bster

We just ate at Copperblue for our anniversary and it was wonderful! It was recommended by the concierge at our hotel, and is truly a hidden gem. It's in the ground floor of Lakepoint tower, and after we walked on Navy Pier and there were fireworks, which was fun, but you could also have had drinks at Riva, etc, or on a party boat. We had the 5 course menu tasting, paired with 1/2 glass per course of wine. The server asked if there was anything we especially wanted to try or didn't care for and we mentioned a couple of dishes and also mentioned a wine preference or two.
After an amuse of melon soup, the first course was a crispy pork belly with not foie, I could eat that pork belly every meal for the rest of my life it was that good!
Next was an amazing heirloom tomato salad. Perfectly seasoned, paired with a delightful spicy chilled rose wine. A phenomenal lobster/seafood saffron risotto, and then a wonderful grilled ribeye. For dessert we finished off with a chocolate cake and lemon fluff and blueberries, paired with a Riesling icewine. Service was fabulous! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place to anyone! BTW our bill (before the tip came to $194- so pretty close to your price point, and your GF could easily ask for no seafood.)
just a suggestion-
http://www.copperbluechicago.com/menumain.htm

Romantic, great cheese plates, great chocolate desserts, and a not-too-challenging menu, with many postprandial options in the 'hood:

Hot Chocolate
1747 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago
(773) 489-1747

nr706 wrote:Romantic, great cheese plates, great chocolate desserts, and a not-too-challenging menu, with many postprandial options in the 'hood:

Hot Chocolate
1747 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago
(773) 489-1747

I'm torn in terms of whether or not I can call Hot Chocolate a "romantic" dining destination, but it's certainly on the upscale side of things and I think the food is fantastic . . . especially, the desserts. Without question, the menu is dessert driven, but I've eaten full dinners there and come away more than pleased. And yes, they do a decent cheese service. Here's a link to their website where you'll find their menu.

How about Cafe Spiaggia?

The food is outstanding. The place is dark. A few tables are set into windows offering some seclusion and also some great views. The desserts are very good. Also, give the cuisine, it should be relatively easy to choose main courses that will pair well with one bottle of wine.

One additional note: The location is great for either a before or after dinner walk.

One note about Copper Blue: It may be difficult to get in and out of there on a Saturday night. During the summer, you are dealing with Navy Pier traffic which can be a pain. You may want to go there on a weekday night (other than Wednesday, when it is also a pain due to fireworks).

Why not give Custom House a shot? They do meats well, and they usually have one rich chocolate dessert. Let them know it's a special occasion and they'll treat you well:

http://www.customhouse.cc/menu.html

Afterwards, if you want to let your hair down a little you can pop over to Buddy Guy's for some blues or--if you don't mind rubbing elbows with conventioneers and out-of-towners--Kitty O'Shea's in the Hilton, where you'll usually find some Irish folks singing after 9:00.

All,

Thanks so much for your recs!

I've decided to take a swing and try Sabatinos on Saturday night. I'm in the process of reading all of the posts on this place. Sounds like a good choice. The GF and I love Old School Chicago places and Sabatino's seems to fit the mold of G&G's, Laschet's, Chicago Brahaus, etc.

The flaming desserts put me over the edge as the GF will love this.

Any current menu/course selections you might recommend for the GF given her palate restrictions?

And for me whose dietary restrictions are good food, preferably unhealthy, I was leaning toward a veal? Marsala perhaps?

Thanks LTH!

Bster

For extra romantic points at Sabatino's, try to reserve one of the grotto tables. They are very private and secluded. The downside is that you don't get to see much of the action in the room, but you can be alone if that's your bag, baby (channeling Austin Powers).