List for visitors to Naperville/Lisle/Downers Grove

Apologies for a long post in advance!

Former LTH lurker when I lived in Chicago for a couple years, and now getting hitched at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle with a reception in Downers Grove in August. I forgot how much I missed reading these boards

I’m putting together a list of places to eat as part of a welcome gift to guests, since a good chunk of the guest list (about 100) are from out-of-state and about 20 more have been invited from India. Since the hotels we’ve reserved room blocks for are in Naperville, I’m concentrating more on places near I-88 west of the Arboretum. Unfortunately, we don’t know people who live(d) in the area recently.

Checked out the current GNR list for the area (Naf Naf Grill, Katy’s Dumplings, Fabulous Noodles, Lao Sze Chuan), which are going on the list, but even taking into account those who likely won't come due to travel, we’ve got a somewhat diverse group of invitees. So I'm looking for anything in any of the following categories, or any opinions on what I’ve found via Yelp/Chowhound/the occasional hazy memory so far:

1. South Indian options, as authentic as possible (I've been told that of the roughly dozen guests that are guaranteed to come of the invitees from India (all from around Bangalore), this will be their first trip out of India ever, and that they are older, vegetarian, and likely to travel and eat together.)

Possibilities:
Dakshin Indian Cuisine
Sri Krishna Catering
Shree Restaurant
Curry Leaf

2. Other as-vegetarian-friendly-as-possible options (no vegans afaik, but concerned with meat being served on the same plate or having vegetarian-in-name meals prepared in meat-based broths/sauces)

Borrowed Earth
The Indian Harvest
Cuisine of India

3. Upscale omnivorous options (for at least a couple relatives and a boss or two)

Meson Sabika
Chama Gaucha
SugarToad (we have a block reserved at the hotel this is part of, but haven’t tried the restaurant itself)

4. Family/kid-friendly options (definitely having kids and some adults who are in the "familiar comfort-food" zone)

Butterfield’s
Egg Harbor Café
Gingko Restaurant (part of the Morton Arboretum)
Biaggi’s
Lou Malnati’s

5. Potentially unique options

The Bavarian Lodge (reviewers enthuse about their beer list if nothing else)

Those who come will have cars or be carpooling with someone, so there’s some mobility.

Wedding is on a Saturday, morning to early afternoon; we're providing lunch, and then a dinner reception later. We expect most people to come in Friday night and to leave Sunday morning, so breakfast and dinner places are paramount (one hotel does breakfast, the other does not). Also, people with kids attending the reception will likely need to feed them dinner before then, especially once time zones factor in. We’re also guessing that most people will be looking for relatively low-key places after traveling and probably after drinking, too (there will be an open bar Saturday night, and I know folks who will want to take advantage of Friday night as well...).

Thanks for slogging through this post! Any and all help is greatly appreciated (and if there’s anything I need to clarify or any logistics I’m grossly overlooking in prepping this list, please let me know)!

Congrats on the wedding! I currently live in the area, and can comment on the restaurants on your list. First off you can't go wrong with the area's GNRs, specifically LSC, Katy's (Naperville for a larger party), and Naf Naf for a fast casual option. For other options, please see below...

1. South Indian - I love Dakshin, and they have a very solid veg and non-veg weekend lunch and Friday dinner buffet. The dining area is pretty spartan however, and it may not be my first choice to entertain.

Shikara in Downers Grove is further south than Naperville, but not by much. The dining area and service level are much more appropriate for entertaining however, and the food is great. Plenty of veg and non-veg options and North and South Indian dishes to choose from.

On Curry Leaf, I want to like the place because I live close enough to walk to it, but the service borders on Clouseau-esque. Their griddle has been out for quite some time now, and there are often times a line of people in the lobby waiting on orders. The waitstaff is apologetic but unfortunately clueless as well. For now I would avoid it.

2. Other Indian - I like Cuisine of India, but would go with either Dakshin or Shakira described above.

3. Omnivorous - Meson Sabika is a solid choice. The property is beautiful, the brunch buffet is excellent, and if it's a nice day the outdoor seating in the garden is quite scenic.

Chama Gaucha - Good, but not significantly better than any other Braz-gentinian steakhouse. A good choice if your guests haven't been to one before, but I would bench it for a GNR.

4. Family Friendly - (I'll leave this for another poster -- not my strong suit... )

5. Other - You mentioned that people might be looking for... entertainment... on Friday. Crosstown Pub in Naperville is a great choice. It's a local bar that has fantastic wings (semi-recently featured on the Travel Channel's Food Paradise program). If you go there, I recommend the dry-rub hot (or medium), the jerk, or the wet pepper wings. It's loud, and probably can't seat an entire wedding party, but it's a bar...

The Pancake Cafe does a mean breakfast. They specialize in pancakes (obviously), and I can recommend the baked apple and Dutch Baby, both of which are the size of hubcaps. Their bacon is almost obscenely thick-cut, and any breakfast should include a few sides of it.

Good luck!
Mike

Shikara Restaurant
1620 75th St
Downers Grove
(630) 964-1720

Crosstown Pub
909 East Ogden Avenue
Naperville
(630) 357-9775

Pancake Cafe
1292 Rickert Dr # 168
Naperville
(630) 637-1010

I live in the area and can, perhaps shed a little light on this to help you.

First of all, food quality and ethnicity is one thing, but you may want to consider the type of environment and ambience of the place. Many people do not care if a place has great food if it does not seem comfortable, or even clean. Here goes, from what I know:

Katy's Dumplings: The very definition of 'hole in the wall'. No atmosphere, seems a little dirty, no waitstaff. For hardcore Chinese purists only.
Lao Sze Chuan: Nice atmosphere, waiters, and awesome chinese food. Busy at lunch.
Naf-Naf Grill: Great food and clean and modern but a fast food atmosphere - order at counter, wait for food. It is very loud - not good for jangled nerves or conversation.
Borrowed Earth: Hardcore Vegan. No cooked food. Very casual atmosphere. For die hard vegans only.
Chama Gaucha: Brazilian meat fest - pay once and eat as much meat as you can - ~40 per person. Big salad bar. Not really a casual place.
Butterfields: Good, busy breakfast place. At breakfast time you will wait. They do have lunch, but they may close early to mid afternoon
Egg Harbor: Very similar to Butterfields - above average Breakfast food. Very popular. You will wait in morning for Breakfast.
Gingko Cafe: Decent cafeteria style food (some salads, pizza, burgers, etc) looking out over a beautiful part of Arboretum. Food is ok, the real thing is the view.

If someone is at Butterfield's they also are within seconds of a decent Mexican Restaurant called Cozymel's. Good guacamole, margarita's, etc. Waitstaff - decent atmosphere. Also right there is SmashBurger if someone wants upscale fast food - also Panera, Whole Foods, Chilis, Red Robin and many other places that tend to be corporate and comfortable to travelers, especially those with kids.

Right near Chama Chaucha are these places: Red Lobster, Cheeseburger in Paradise (Jimmy Buffet themed), Portillo's (if someone wants real Chicago hot dog or Italian Beef experience), among others....

Good luck.

One more thing:

Lou Malnati's - while not a favorite of mine, could be considered a 'real Chicago' experience since they specialize in deep dish pizza. Many people are curious about this, and like this. It is definitely a family friendly place, but not a GNR hot spot.

I'll chime in on categories 3 through 5.

3. For carnivores, I think Chama Gaucha is a step up from the other Brazilian meat-houses. The service is significantly better (no trying to sneak a type of meat on your plate that may not be to your liking, asking how you like things cooked). The quality is a step up as well (no oversalting like at some other places).

4. On the family-friendly front, I think Naf Naf's louder atmosphere with counter-service is a plus for this category. For breakfast/brunch, I prefer Juicy-O in Downer's Grove (at Finley and Butterfield) to Butterfield's. Another option with good food, a nice kids menu, and a good beer list is Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton. Alfie's in Glen Ellyn is also a good family-friendly spot. Portillo's was mentioned, and is also a good kid-friendly spot.

5. You mentioned the Bavarian Lodge. I am a big fan of their huge beer selection. The German food is good, but as I'm sure you know, German food is not for everyone. Another unique spot is Cho Dang Tofu (around the corner from the Super H-Mart, a few doors from Cuisine of India). It's been a while since I've visited that location (and some of the recent yelp reviews are iffy), but the Mt. Prospect location is excellent.

Juicy-O
2942 Finley Road
Downers Grove

Arrowhead Golf Club
26W151 Butterfield Road
Wheaton

Alfie's Inn
425 Roosevelt Road
Glen Ellyn

Cho Dang Tofu Village
1271 E Ogden Ave # 119
Naperville

Malahini Terrace is within walking distance of Downer's Grove.

This list will come in handy when visiting my parents!

There is another Indian restaurant called Masala on Diehl Rd near Winfield Rd which would be quite near the area you are in.

Here is a link to reviews on Yelp, reviews are a mixed bag but some really good reviews.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/masala-warrenville

There are quite a few chain restaurants around this area. I also like Go Roma which is in the same area as Masala. Buffalo Wild Wings, California Pizza Kitchen, and Red Robin and others are across the street.

Keep in mind there is another Katy's in Naperville on Ogden avenue that is not the tiny seemingly dump of a place like the one in Westmont. Its more like a regular Chinese restaurant and much more spacious and has broader appeal.

Is the food as good at that Katy's as the one in Downer's Grove?

DKoblesky wrote:Is the food as good at that Katy's as the one in Downer's Grove?

If you mean the one in Westmont, I'd say it's very close, but not quite as good. The advantage to the Naperville location is that they have a much broader menu and is large enough for a group.

I, personally, prefer the dandan at naperville to westmont. I also appreciate the wider menu. I'm always torn between the two, but Westmont is considerably closer and their rendition of the pancakes with shredded pork is superior, so I usually end up at that one.

I always order the pork with onion "pancake" which are really like a chewy noodle in my book. Addictive and delicous. I personally think the Westmont version I had was just a tad tastier but its pretty similar. Like was said, the Naperville location won't scare anyone half to death if they are queasy about hole in the wall type places and you can have a large group there.

Thanks, all, for your tips and recommendations! This is incredibly helpful; now to convince fiancé that we need to schedule the next round of vendor visits around trying some of these (or at the very least, one of the bars)...