Post-Thanksgiving lunch

I'm looking for some recommendations for a fun lunch on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It will be about 6 people who are coming in from out of town. Normally we'd do a nice dinner, but schedules only permit day-time festivities. And while there are lots of weekend brunch threads, there's not much on lunch during the week. Where would you go that is slightly more special or fun than just grabbing a sandwich? (special doesnt have to equal expensive). I'm pretty open to any area north of downtown (including burbs) and east of Cicero.

Why don't you consult the list of Great Neighborhood Restaurants. That's what they're there for. Any one of them is almost guaranteed to be a great meal.

It depends on what you're looking for. Many ethnic restaurants are open for lunch and all afternoon. Many nicer non-ethnic restaurants are not open for lunch, except for those in the downtown area. And I assume that by "north of downtown" you mean north of the entire downtown area (i.e. not just the Loop, but north of say Michigan Avenue, the Gold Coast, and Old Town).

Also, wherever you decide to go, you should probably call ahead to make sure they're open. Since it's a day when most people are off work, some restaurants may not be following their normally scheduled hours (which means some could be open when they are normally closed, as well as vice versa).

For Thai food, my favorite Thai restaurant, Thai Sookdee in Evanston, is open for lunch. It's fun and I think it's got the best Thai food in the Chicago area, particularly their tom kha gai (soup) - mmmm! I know that there are some other places on the north side that have a Thai language menu and some claim are more authentic, but I've been to those, and for the more common Thai dishes I prefer, I think Thai Sookdee does a much better job.

For Mexican food, there are a few choices open for lunch, but some of them are pushing your geographical boundaries. My favorite Mexican restaurant by far is Flamingo's Seafood, but it's in Mount Prospect (near O'Hare), which is well west of Cicero. Sol de Mexico is a possibility; I've found that the food is okay, but I haven't been overwhelmed with it. It's right ON Cicero Ave. Short of Flamingo's, and excluding downtown places like Frontera Grill and Salpicon (Salpicon is not open for lunch, anyway), my favorite Mexican place is Lupita's in Evanston. If you go there, I recommend the innovative daily specials, rather than the more conventional items on their regular menu.

For Indian food, the many restaurants along Devon Avenue between Western and Sacramento are always fun. Most offer a buffet deal as well as food made to order. Mount Everest in Evanston is also good for Indian and Nepalese cuisine.

Other suggestions:

- Miramar in Highwood or Cafe Central in Highland Park, for French bistro

- Sola in North Center, for contemporary American

- Dixie Kitchen in Evanston, for Cajun

- Prairie Moon in Evanston, for American

- Convito Cafe and Market in Wilmette, for Italian bistro

- Mitchell's Fish Market in Glenview's the Glen Town Center, for seafood

- Player's Grill in Highland Park, for fresh seafood in a sports bar atmosphere

All of the above are normally open for lunch on Fridays, but again, it's best to double-check with them to make sure they will be open the day after Thanksgiving.

Whenever I have a weekday free for lunch, one of my first choices is Frontera Grill's lunch menu. I can't get lunch there on Saturdays because they only serve brunch then. I love their lunch menu - and their Topolo Margaritas!

True confession: When I saw the title of this thread I thought you wanted a good place for lunch after an early Thanksgiving dinner.

thanks for all the suggestions!

I'll second Convito Italiano. I took two friends from Canada there. They really enjoyed it. They loved the drive up from the city and the food was good (soups good) and its a cozy place. If you have time, you can walk around the shopping area and go to Crate and Barrel. Out of towners love seeing lake Michigan.

toria wrote:I'll second Convito Italiano.

Just so no one gets confused... Convito Italiano was the name of the Italian market and cafe when it was located on the south end of the shops at Plaza del Lago, next to Burhop's fish market. Betise was the name of the French bistro on the north end of the shops, near Starbucks. They tore down the former Convito property, and Convito Italiano merged with Betise. The new merged place, now renamed Convito Cafe and Market, is where Betise used to be. It offers the Italian market food products to go formerly found at Convito Italiano, and the cafe has the Italian and French specialties formerly found at both bistros.

nsxtasy wrote:
- Player's Grill in Highland Park, for fresh seafood in a sports bar atmosphere

Players is closed due to a fire about 6 weeks ago

stevez wrote:Why don't you consult the list of Great Neighborhood Restaurants. That's what they're there for. Any one of them is almost guaranteed to be a great meal.

This was a great suggestion, which I hope the original posts took Steve up on. Far as being open, I passed Podhalanka and La Pasadita yesterday around 2:30 and both were open. I also spoke to someone who had a typically killer post Thanksgiving meal at Khan BBQ.

So, rlguffman, where did you end up?

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:So, rlguffman, where did you end up?

He/she may not have decided yet. The post was looking for suggestions for lunch later today (Friday).

We've decided to go to Spoon Thai in Lincoln Square. It's a good central location, and though I've not been, I've read excellent things on the board. Plus you can never beat an inexpensive lunch special. Thanks for all the suggestions.

rlguffman wrote:We've decided to go to Spoon Thai in Lincoln Square.

Rlguffman,

While I'm sure Spoon Thai was it's usual delicious self, I'm surprised no one, including me, suggested the obvious, turkey sandwiches.

I'm a real fan of leftover turkey, especially sandwiches the next day, so went all out and picked up challah, new pickle, half-sour and picked tomatoes from Kaufman's. I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm convinced Kaufman's corn rye and corn rye bagels are amongst the best breads in the area.

T-Day next Day



Enjoy,
Gary

Kaufman's Bagel & Delicatessen
4905 Dempster St.
Skokie, IL 60077
847-677-9880