Second wedding aniversary suggestions

Hello, my wife and I will be celebrating our second wedding anniversary early this November. I'd love some suggestions on where we could go for an excellent and romantic meal. We are somewhat tired of the tasting menu format though, we've enjoyed it many times at many places, but perhaps a bit too often. We recently moved here from NYC and have been thoroughly impressed overall by the cuisine in Chicago.

Just to give some perspective of places we've eaten since moving here (and to avoid repeat suggestions) We've had a great time at: Tru, Spiaggia, Trotters, Schwa, Sweets and Savories, Bon Soiree... (perhaps you can see why I'm a little bored with tastings) We had our first anniversary shortly after moving here at NoMI.

I suppose I'm looking for a less popular gem. We are both pretty open to most styles of cuisine and price ranges. I'd prefer it to be somewhere in metro chicago.

Thanks in advance for the ideas!!

Bryan

Have you looked at the list of the Great Neighborhood Restaurants? That would be a great starting point. They are a varied lot from fine dining to cabbie joint. All are recommended by the members of LTH Forum.

yeah Ive checked out the GNRs I guess I was hoping for something perhaps a bit more formal/upscale. I have not of course been to all of them, but they seem to be more appropriate to a great weekend dinner than a special occasion.

Two good options would be North Pond or Naha. North Pond would probably be the more romantic of the two, but I prefer the food at Naha.

ETA - Although neither of these could be considered "hidden gems" they're both perfect for celebrating special occasions.

You might want to checkout Oceanique, nominated for a GNR in this round:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=14929

bryangodwin wrote:yeah Ive checked out the GNRs I guess I was hoping for something perhaps a bit more formal/upscale. I have not of course been to all of them, but they seem to be more appropriate to a great weekend dinner than a special occasion.

I guess that's where you and I differ.

Do you beg to differ on the formal/upscale nature of the GnRs or on your preference for a special occasion? I can certainly understand having a special occasion at a spectacular casual space... and perhaps for another occasion I would prefer it as well. But, for both the occasion and my wife's preferences/expectations I'm looking for something upscale. The dinner is basically our gift to each other.

But, if there are some standouts that are a bit more formal that I might of missed, forgive me and please feel free to point my nose towards them.

Also, thanks to all thus far for the suggestions. It's all much appreciated.

Bryan

Well, there's Moto and Sabatino's

Vie has been nominated for an award but not received one yet.

But I tend to agree, most current GNR's trend toward casual...

I think the OP is looking for something more celebratory and special occasion.