Graduation "linner" recs for 15-20 people

My graduation (Columbia College) is on Sunday, May 16. Ordinarily, finding a celebratory restaurant just for family would be no problem for me; however:

1: It's at the UIC Pavilion, I'm not very familiar with that general area, and we'll have 15-20 people in total. We'll have a car, but I obviously anticipate having to grab 2-3 cabs...which is fine, but we'd prefer not to have to go across town.

2: The graduation is at 10 am and we'll probably be getting out just as the lunch period at most restaurants ends. Even worse, there's really no place that I can think of for us all to go and hang out for ~three hours.

3: Some of those accompanying us are VERY picky eaters.

Price isn't really a problem...I think I've put enough restrictions on you all, and I'm just curious to see what you come up with.

(For those who want to chime in with, "Go where you want to go...it's your day!": I'm already planning to do just that on a separate evening. Much as I'd like it to be, this dinner isn't about me. I accepted that and moved on long ago. )

Thanks!

Is Chinatown too extreme for the picky eaters in your group?

Aldino's, a newer restaurant in the Taylor Street area, does a brunch on Sundays that might fit the bill:

http://www.aldinoschicago.com/

cccpr wrote:
3: Some of those accompanying us are VERY picky eaters.

First and foremost...CONGRATS!!!!

I'm not busting your chops here, I'm being completely serious - #3 is not a restriction until you explain it.

Without knowing what the definition of "picky" is, I'd suggest looking into some Taylor street Italian or Halsted for Greek Town - both are very close.

seebee wrote:

cccpr wrote:
3: Some of those accompanying us are VERY picky eaters.

I'm not busting your chops here, I'm being completely serious - #3 is not a restriction until you explain it.

Just a general reluctance to try things, honestly...a couple in the group refuse to eat pork, for instance.

That, and a few in the group will be "set in their ways" grandparents not used to having certain foods prepared in what they consider to be unorthodox ways. If they want grilled chicken, it would fall to one of us to find the closest menu item resembling that, and I don't want anyone to be placed in that position.

I'd kinda be thinking a fam style Italian thing if that agrees w/ everyone. Passed platters of pasta in red sauce, pasta in alfredo sauce, some italian sausage, sauteed spinach, chicken franchese, garlic bread - but then, you can sprinkle in some stuffed squid, or braciole, or anything else that you and others in the group might find a little more interesting, but the picky ppl can pass on, and still be extremely well fed&happy.

I'd also suggest tht for 15 - 20 ppl, you contact the joint before hand and work out a fam style menu, but that's me. I find it simply makes everything run smoother for the kitchen staff which translates into a better meal. Maybe something like:

Family style tossed salad with house italian dressing with bread / butter service

A few platters of a rigatoni with marinara, a few platters of fettucine alfredo.
A few platters of chicken francese, a platter of sausage&peppers, a fish dish, and a platter of braciole with some garlic bread.

See if they'll do a cake service if you bring one in? Maybe they'll have some gelati (is that the plural?) for you guys to pick from? Perhaps they can tray up some dessert samplers for you?

I would imagine that ANY Italian place that is open on Sunday would be thrilled to set this up for you for a post lunchy meal.

My wife graduated last year from UIC. With similar circumstances we had everyone present at graduation walk across the parking lot to Vernon Park Tap while a couple others drove in for lunch and used the valet. Everything worked out fantastically. Reservations or not on graduation day everything in the are gets swamped but you and your party can get seated and underway before most people get to their cars after the ceremony. Aside from Tufano's having pretty traditional food they will work with you if you have some special food requests and while they are not specifically set up for 3 hour private events our party sat in the front and occupied enough of the space that it felt like it was just us.

Tufano's Vernon Park Tap
1073 W. Vernon Park Pl.
Chicago, IL 60607
312-733-3393

Congratulations!!!

Tufano's is a great choice for this kind of thing. But I don't think they do brunch on Sundays. Call.

According to Yelp, Tufano's is open at 3pm on Sunday.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tufanos-vernon-park-tap-chicago