Which restaurant should i go to?

my boyfriend's bday is this sunday, originally we were going to new orleans to celebrate but something happen at his workplace and now we are going to stay put in chicago

made a reservation at sprout originally for dinner and then i got a call from them and they said they haven't had very good showings at sunday so they decided to close this sunday... (what a bummer)

was going to try Epic but they are not open on sunday

so any suggestions? we have no food allergies, no particular preference but would prefer having dinner within the city
i am thinking kith and kin, Cuna, Purple Pig, Balsan or Ria..... but any other restaurants i should consider?

I think Mado is open on Sundays

What about Publican for Sunday night/family style dinner?

Lots of places are open for dinner on Sundays. It's not a big constraint.

How about Cafe Des Architectes, in the Sofitel? The food is terrific - contemporary American with a French accent from Chef Martial Noguier, with Suzanne Imaz's amazing pastries. The room is beautiful. And Sunday is one of the evenings when they offer their special "neighborhood friends" menu, 3 courses for $29, in addition to their normal prix fixe and a la carte menus.

I love Bistro Campagne on Sundays...just feels like Sunday dinner at a french country inn...

okay, here's my recs:

kith and kin: this is a nice neighborhood place, but not amazing. the service, when i was there, was down right bizarre (weird pauses, awkward stares.) the poutine was good, but not memorable with just-okay fries and too little gravy (tho it was good.) i had a wonderful, simple, clean bibb lettuce salad. excellent sazerac. nice wine list. over all, this is not a special occasion place.

ria: i have not been to balsan, but have heard bad things. that said, ria is a wonderful restaurant for a special occasion. some wonderful amuses (hama-hama oysters). excellent wine list (ask for the pairing). incredible langoustine entree. pigs tail. cocks comb. everything! very very very expensive. but, if you've got the $$$$, pretty worth it.

if you don't want to spend a billion dollars... get a great bottle of wine (or two!) and head over to terragusto. get everything on the menu and have a wonderful, special, simple, excellent tasting italian feast. clean flavors. incredible ingredients. hand made pastas... amazing...

you had me at cock's comb

we are going to try Ria, and will report afterwards

sailingfanblues wrote:ria: i have not been to balsan, but have heard bad things.

Such as? I don't think you mentioned this in the cassoulet thread.

Bummer Epic and Ria are also closed on sundays for now, now we are going to purple pig, although PP said they don't take reservation for party that is smaller than 5

Hi...in case you change your mind, I'd recommend Custom House. Chef Aaron Deal's revamp of Chef Shawn McLain's menu is supposedly completed. Anyway, I'll be there tonight with a group of friends to try the new menu items. And they always take reservations.

fusionfan wrote:Hi...in case you change your mind, I'd recommend Custom House. Chef Aaron Deal's revamp of Chef Shawn McLain's menu is supposedly completed. Anyway, I'll be there tonight with a group of friends to try the new menu items. And they always take reservations.

I would love to hear your report on how you like it! I've been wondering how it is now that Chef Deal has taken over.

As for where to post, the most comprehensive thread on Custom House (that isn't specific to their $5 burger, anyway) is here, although nothing's been posted there in a while.

Had a good meal at purple pig, we got there 5 minutes before 5pm when it opens but already there were 2 other groups of diners there

we were led to the high communal table near the window and was able to score 2 corner seats

our server was helpful and gave us some good suggestions
was going to start with an Italian Nora beer but they were out, no matter, we had a couple good German beer which served us well as starter drinks

bf was starving and ordered 4 dishes to start: pork neck gravy with ricotta (it was rich and satisfying with good pork flavor, baccala brandade (salty goodness with no off putting fishy taste), fried brussel sprouts (crunchy with just enough thyme flavor), pig's ear with fried egg (as good as others have described).

we then turned to our server for our wine selection, he pointed us to a bottle of Dacu which was perfect for our next 2 courses: today's special razor clam with parsley (sweet, perfectly cooked and tender) and grilled chicken thighs with tzatziki sauce (juicy and the accompanying sauce was tangy)

dessert was mixed, the butterscotch "pudding" was rich and addictive, the hazelnut ice cream was good but was nothing special, the accompanying brioche was dry, very dry and easily the worst thing we had tonight.

Tab was only just over $150 which really wasn't much...
seeing that its the first month the restaurant is opened, we were impressed
will definitely be back again

needless to say, bf enjoyed his bday meal