I need Post Thanksgiving Help with my Annoying Family

Here's the deal: I'm trying to come up with someplace I can take the nine members of my family on Friday for lunch that can satisfy all of them. I'd like to go into the city (we're in Evanston) but not downtown (I will already have a headache and don't want to deal with the holiday crowds -- at least not the Michigan Ave/ State Street throngs). I'd like to go someplace somewhat hip and groovy to satisfy my college-age nephew and high-school age niece but must also deal with my extremely cranky father-in-law, who won't eat anything unusual (and will make a big fuss if there's nothing on the menu he likes.) So anything too ethnic is out -- Chinatown/dim sum won't work because my in-laws will only eat governor's chicken style dishes and don't even want to look at anything more "exotic." Other ethnic cuisine is out for that reason, sadly. I thought of Kitsch'n but they won't take reservations this week (and standing in line doesn't work for them, either.) Any great ideas? Goose Isand Brewery, maybe? I haven't been there in a million years -- will it be too zoo-ey on Clybourn on Friday? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Could I come to your house for a while? That might work, too.

I'm also in Evanston, and, sure, you can come over to my house. I'll be out of town of course, and all the doors will be securely locked, but you could look in the windows.

But based on your description of what you're looking for, Mod on Damen comes to mind ...

Goose Island Brewery's quite good all around. Last time I ate there the waitress forgot our appetizer then offered to comp it and/or package it for take home. Excellent service! As good as the pub food is(GREAT buffalo strips, tasty Stilton burger) half the experience is the brew. I wouldn't suggest it to people who don't drink. Also, as you mention it can get packed, though I've never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes for a (smoking)table.

I'd try Wishbone, on Lincoln. It's a funky place, good southerny food, not too pricey. I think it's a safe bet for a varied crowd.

Other choice for me would be Alice & Friends' on Broadway. It's a vegetarian restaurant, but has always satisfied me. Again, kind of a funky place; think Blind Faith, Rogers Park-style.

Wishbone
3300 N. Lincoln

Alice & Friends'
5812 N. Broadway

Good luck,

Alex

Your father-in-law must know mine; we're still reeling from the hissy-fit he threw some time back at Pine Yard when he was told they don't serve egg foo yung. Anyway, we've had good success recently with whole-family dinners at Noon-O-Kebab and other middle eastern places; Dad can order a chicken or beef skewer while everyone else goes the more adventurous route. (If you're heading downtown from Evanston, you can stop at Andies in Andersonville.)

I'll look for your family sitting next to mine at Mandarin Village in Skokie where my in-laws like to go for tasteless Chinese after going to the movies at Crown 18 (where they get a discount with their ticket stubs!!!)

>>Brent

I've alwas found good, solid, don't offend the squemish type of food at L.Woods in Lincolnwood. It's a LEYE place, but they do a very good job with the "standards" (Steaks, fish, chicken, slald). Here's my tip to you. They usually have deep fried clams as an appetizer on the specials menu. They are outstanding. They are breaded in-house with a light, but flavorful batter and fried up just right. The appetizer order is more than enough for a main course and is what I usually order when dining there with the folks.

Also, another place that handles large parties well without challenging anyone with the menu is Hackney's. THey offer one of the best burgers in town and the onion ring loaf is legandery.

L Woods Tap
7110 N. Lincoln
Lincolnwood, IL
847-677-3350
Limited reservations taken

Hackney's
1241 Harms Road
Glenview, IL
847-724-5577
The Original Location

Hackney's
1514 E. Lake Ave
Glenview, IL
847-724-7171
Bigger and better for large groups
Reservations Accepted (but expect to wait at busy times)

We seem to have alot of annoying if not downright dysfuctional families here in Evanston.Something in the water?

I forgot to add: I want to go into the city, if possible, because my niece and nephew are from Indiana and the most interesting dining they can get to where they are is Appleby's. (My in-laws are also from out of town, thankfully.) But we haven't yet gone to Hackney's so if all else fails that's a good suggestion. And unfortunately I've tried the middle-eastern route: once took them to Reza's when we lived in Edgewater -- I was pregnant, tired and it was MY birthday so I thought I might be allowed some input -- and thought kebabs would be acceptable -- but to make a long story short, they weren't. At all. Food and family -- not all Norman Rockwell, all the time.

A place that was very successful for my "I'm-easy-to-please-just-a-meat-and-potatoes-kind-of-a-guy" relative was Carson's (612 N. Wells). It's a little bit off State st. so it may not be too crowded on Friday, and it certainly does have a nice Chicago ambience for your out-of-town folks. It's fairly reasonably priced, too.

If you want some info go to Chowhound and do a "Control-F" search.

"All happy families are more or less dissimilar; all unhappy
ones are more or less alike," says a great Russian writer in the
beginning of a famous novel -- Opening lines to "Ada..." by Vladimir Nabokov.

If you want to go to Carson's but avoid downtown, there is a Carson's on Ridge just West of Clark/Ashland.

How about a nice italian place like La Scarola? That's pretty basic stuff. I hope Italian isn't too ethnic for them.

Cafe Erwin on Halstead can be inventive. But, it offers some real middle of the road menu items done extremely well, too.

"All happy families are more or less dissimilar; all unhappy
ones are more or less alike," says a great Russian writer in the
beginning of a famous novel -- Opening lines to "Ada..." by Vladimir Nabokov

He was commenting on the beginning of an even more famous novel:

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Chapter 1, first line

JBW, you are correct. Ada was a parody and included deliberate mistranslations of other works such as Anna Karenin.

This is a very late reply, but for next time your family needs good eats, you may want to check out El Barco on 1035 N Ashland. This is a Mexican place that specializes in a table top grill and whole deep fried fish. Your college age nephew will like the hot waitresses and your father in law can get his deep fried shrimp or battered fish meal.

I know Brent's father-in-law very well... He eats at Andies and Noon-O-Kabab, but also left with a full stomach from El Barco. I'm surprised many more people don't know about El Barco. My family has eaten there many times and always orders too much food so we can take home leftovers.