Suggestions for birthday party, western suburbs?

Help!

I am trying to plan a birthday dinner party at a restaurant for about 25 people. The occasion is my mother's 80th birthday, and the crowd will be largely family members of several generations, ages ranging from 6 to 86. The family is in the La Grange area, so I would like to keep it in that general vicinity, although a little travel would be ok. Parking is a necessity. The extravaganza is slated for a Sunday afternoon.

There are not that many adventurous eaters in the bunch (no spicy foods), appetites vary greatly (the kids eat very little, so do some of the older crew, and there are hearty eaters too). This makes it a bit of a challenge to find a restaurant, especially since the area has changed since I left it.

The only thing that occurs to me at this time is Maggiano's family style dinner. I could order for the table and people could take as much as they want, they have items (spaghetti and meatballs, pasta, chicken) that would appeal to the rather narrow range of tastes without being too bland altogether and the whole thing would not necessarily break the bank. It is ok, but I want to explore other possibilities before I commit.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Also, I need a good bakery for the birthday cake.

I was actually going to recommend Maggiano's from reading the start of your post. My family just held a funeral lunch there for 86 people, and the service, food, and atmosphere were enough to please the varying ages (12-80) of the attendees. I believe the cost was around $19 per person for 2 salads, 3 mains, 2 desserts, soft drinks and iced tea).

Flip

Admittedly this is very far west, but I really love The Cakery in North Aurora. Cakes have been good and moist, they have good flavors. And the cupcakes are sublime -- beautifully decorated and not that expensive. But it is very far west.

The Cakery
937 Oak Street
North Aurora
630-892-0771

There's a couple nice places in LaGrange that might fit the bill. Marconi's is a demi-decent Italian restaurant that could certainly accomodate your party. Their food isn't out of this world, but it's pretty decent. Across the street is Via Bella which is another acceptable Italian restuarant.

There's also Cafe 36, which is a little more upscale, but I also like their food a lot better, too.

I don't know if this is out of your range, but there's also The Flame in Countryside, which is kind of an old-school joint that seems good for an 80th birthday party.

Marconi's
15 Calendar Court, LaGrange, IL
708-352-1621

Via Bella
75 South LaGrange Road, LaGrange, IL
708-482-0055

Cafe 36
22 Calendar Court, LaGrange, IL
708-354-5722

The Flame (Citysearch link) & picture
803 Joliet Road, Countryside, IL
708-352-3442

Thanks so much.

This is interesting in that so far, I have narrowed it down to Maggiano's and The Flame, which are the top two suggestions from the forum. Surprisingly, the Flame, which is an old-fashioned steak and prime rib place, is cheaper than Maggiano's for a luncheon party. I would have thought the price of filets would have exceeded pasta, but what do I know?

I will look into the other places, too, thanks for the suggestions.

It is mainly a difference of being able to get family style service with a greater variety (Maggiano's) or soup/ salad, choice of entree and dessert with individual servings (Flame).

The Flame was quite the place to go, back in the day.

For a large group, I've always liked Buca di Beppo in Lombard by Yorktown. It's great familiy-style Italian.

Bohemian Crystal in Westmont does a great job with groups and the food is very good and reasonable. No one would walk away from there hungry and it seems to appeal to the older generation.