College Night Out

Yo, LTH.

Some people from the University of Chicago (including me) would like to end the quarter with a nice-but-affordable dinner. Where could we go that would give us good food, has a decent atmosphere, is easily accessible from the CTA, and can keep the price below $30 a person?

I have a short list right now, but I'm looking for feedback and other suggestions. Here's the short list, with my questions:

The Purple Pig (worried about price)
Marigold Indian Restaurant (somewhat far, and a little pricey)
The Green Zebra (vegetarian, also concerned about portion size)
Vincent (far away)
Tre Kronor (far away)

Thanks!

dsblair wrote:Yo, LTH.

Some people from the University of Chicago (including me) would like to end the quarter with a nice-but-affordable dinner. Where could we go that would give us good food, has a decent atmosphere, is easily accessible from the CTA, and can keep the price below $30 a person?

I have a short list right now, but I'm looking for feedback and other suggestions. Here's the short list, with my questions:

The Purple Pig (worried about price)
Marigold Indian Restaurant (somewhat far, and a little pricey)
The Green Zebra (vegetarian, also concerned about portion size)
Vincent (far away)
Tre Kronor (far away)

Thanks!

do you need alcohol to be included in the $30 tab?

BYOBs would be your best bet, especially during weekdays, numerous places with prix fix specials. Do call for reservations and confirm BYOY status and corkage fee, too. Here are some suggestions that are mostly transit friendly.

Marigold has the following specials during weekdays that are worth checking out:
http://www.marigoldrestaurant.com/events.html

Le Sardine (prefer sister restaurant Le Bouchon - check out their website, but not transit friendly from HP) has weekday specials as well:
http://www.lasardine.com/specials.html

TAC Quick has a nice dining room, great food, and is BYOB. Right off the Red line at Sheridan. Check out what LTH has to say here.

Siam Rice (closes at 8pm), not as authentic as TAC Quick with solid good "American" Thai, but much closer to HP:
http://www.siamricethai.com/

Several places in Chinatown including Go4food. Have not been to Han 202, but good reviews here.

Thanks!

Alcohol will not be included, since most of us are underage. A shame, but oh well. So the $25-$30 limit applies to food only, and possibly a soft drink.

Thanks for your help!

Quick question--does anyone know how much the Sunday-Wednesday prix fixe menu for Marigold costs?

dsblair wrote:The Purple Pig (worried about price)
Marigold Indian Restaurant (somewhat far, and a little pricey)
The Green Zebra (vegetarian, also concerned about portion size)
Vincent (far away)
Tre Kronor (far away)

Should the $30 include tip? I don't know about Marigold or Tre Kronor, but the others on your list will run you very close to $30/person, and most likely over with tip. I second petite_gourmande's TAC Quick suggestion. Han 202 would be very nice, though that'll also bring you possibly over $30 with non-alcoholic beverages.

I think Mixteco Grill would be a good choice. It is just a few blocks from the Montrose Brown Line stop. You could easily get out of there for $30 a person, and it's something definitely not found in Hyde Park.

I doubt you'd want Thai since there is plenty of good Thai in Hyde Park.

GNR Sweets & Savories. I think they still offer 3 courses for just shy of $30 before tax and tip.

Lula is right off the Blue Line if you're willing to travel to Logan Square. Not byob, but affordable.

Many thanks to all of you. I'll see what the group votes on.