Business lunch in or near Evanston or Skokie?

Hi all,

I'm looking for a place in or near Evanston or Skokie that meets the following criteria:

1) Conversation-friendly
2) Decent -- or better -- food, with at least a few options for less adventurous eaters
3) Table service
4) Positive experience not dependent on diners sharing food

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

=R=

Assuming Boltwood is filtered by being too adventurous and small plate sharing focused, Symphony's Cafe on Central St could do the job.

Symphony's Cafe
1945 Central St
(847)475-1200
http://www.symphonystogo.com

For business-appropriate and conversation-friendly in downtown Evanston, I'd suggest either Boltwood or Terra & Vine. Food at both is good (I prefer Boltwood for food), but the restaurants are certainly competent and pleasant places to talk. Both have burgers and one or two other choices for the less adventuresome; both are near public parking lots with the first hour free.

If you can expand to Lincolnwood, I'd suggest Renga Tei. While Japanese food might be a bit "exotic", the menu includes items like salmon or steak teriyaki, grilled fish, etc. for the unadventurous.

Would GNR Cross-Rhodes be too adventurous?

Cross-Rhodes
913 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL

If Skokie-adjacent Lincolnwood is in the mix then Stefani's is now doing lunch.

Assuming it's not a huge group - https://anniespancakehouse.com/ - should fit the bill.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and please keep them coming. I'm going to lay a few of them out for my companions and let them decide.

I'd initially ruled Boltwood out because of the noise factor. Is noise no longer an issue there? It never bothered me personally but since it's been noted in these forums more than a couple of times, and I don't know my companions well, I wanted to check again just to be sure.

Thanks again,

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions, and please keep them coming. I'm going to lay a few of them out for my companions and let them decide.

I'd initially ruled Boltwood out because of the noise factor. Is noise no longer an issue there? It never bothered me personally but since it's been noted in these forums more than a couple of times, and I don't know my companions well, I wanted to check again just to be sure.

Thanks again,

=R=

I've had several talking lunches at Boltwood without any difficulty with noise. It might be different at dinner.

EvA wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions, and please keep them coming. I'm going to lay a few of them out for my companions and let them decide.

I'd initially ruled Boltwood out because of the noise factor. Is noise no longer an issue there? It never bothered me personally but since it's been noted in these forums more than a couple of times, and I don't know my companions well, I wanted to check again just to be sure.

Thanks again,

=R=

I've had several talking lunches at Boltwood without any difficulty with noise. It might be different at dinner.

Ok, good to know. Thanks again.

=R=

Scoot west down Lincoln Ave to China Chef or east on Lincoln to L. Woods.

Smylie Brothers -- http://www.smyliebros.com -- fits your requirements well:

1) In downtown Evanston and open at 11:00, every day except Monday, with easy-to-talk areas both inside and out.
2) Brewpub menu with interesting options for those who want a basic-foods menu: burger and other sandwiches, salads, pizza, good BBQ, apps and sides.
3) Table service, inside and out.
4) We use Smylie Brothers as a dependable place to bring first-timers because it is dependable and appeals to a yuuuuge range of eaters.

And, you (and other LTH-type guests) will probably enjoy its more-than-just-a-brewpub options, such as: Cheese & Charcuterie Platter, Belgian Ale Mussels, Pork Belly Poutine, Soppressata & Honey Pizza, BLPT Sandwich and Spoon Bread.

Hope you close the deal.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Hi all,

I'm looking for a place in or near Evanston or Skokie that meets the following criteria:

1) Conversation-friendly
2) Decent -- or better -- food, with at least a few options for less adventurous eaters
3) Table service
4) Positive experience not dependent on diners sharing food

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

=R=

It's pretty simple and it's technically Morton Grove but I would throw in Pequod's. Definitely conversation friendly, one of the best (and unique) for pizza, table service, and not dependent on sharing unless you want to. Best lunch deal around for $5.00 (7" personal pizza and huge pop).

I agree with bwieny's suggestion of Symphony's Cafe. There is plenty for the non-adventurous, but it's well-executed. For those wanting a tiny amount of adventure, I suggest the grilled calamari salad.

The chocolate mousse cake for desert is excellent and may help to close a deal.

Near Symphony's, but higher up on the funky scale, is Prairie Joe's. That is, if your business associates are into funk.

nr706 wrote:Near Symphony's, but higher up on the funky scale, is Prairie Joe's. That is, if your business associates are into funk.

Well . . . I've eaten there before, so I ruled it out from the get-go.

=R=

I would second Smylie Brothers. It is where Oak Street Market used to be. I am not a barbecue expert, but I think they have wonderful ribs, and they have a really nice area to eat outside. Another possibility is Prairie Moon which has relocated, and taken over the space that used to house Dave's Italian Kitchen on Chicago Avenue across the street from WF. The restaurant is in the basement of the building though, and so you would not get a great view.

NFriday wrote:Another possibility is Prairie Moon which has relocated, and taken over the space that used to house Dave's Italian Kitchen on Chicago Avenue across the street from WF. The restaurant is in the basement of the building though, and so you would not get a great view.

Has Prairie Moon reopened yet? All I've heard is projected timelines. I didn't pass that stretch over the weekend though, so it's possible.

bweiny wrote:

NFriday wrote:Another possibility is Prairie Moon which has relocated, and taken over the space that used to house Dave's Italian Kitchen on Chicago Avenue across the street from WF. The restaurant is in the basement of the building though, and so you would not get a great view.

Has Prairie Moon reopened yet? All I've heard is projected timelines. I didn't pass that stretch over the weekend though, so it's possible.

Website says “soon”

I liked Symphony's when the LTH Evanston Lunch Group™ ate there recently. It was a bit on the noisy side; not obnoxiously so, but I would hesitate to call it conversation-friendly. I'd say the same about Smylie Brothers. Both have good food, including options for non-adventurous eaters. I also like Terra & Vine, which is not as noisy and a bit more refined; that's my second highest choice for the stated criteria.

My top pick and the place that I think fits perfectly is Ten Mile House, on Central Street. The food is terrific, the tables are spaced far apart so it's conversation-friendly, and they even take reservations over the phone.

I heartily second Ten Mile House. Great food, service and not too noisy...

mchodera wrote:I heartily second Ten Mile House. Great food, service and not too noisy...

While Ten Mile House is an excellent choice, and seems to meet all the criteria, it should be noted that it's named after the original Ten mile House, which was approximately on the site of the current St. Francis hospital, in the late 1800s. It was so named because it was about 10 miles from downtown Chicago. The current location should probably be called Eleven or Twelve Mile House, given its location.

I think the title was amended to include Skokie after I suggested Symphony's, so I would be remiss to not include my beloved, and list-satisfying Larsa's Mediterranean on Dempster.

I don't care how picky someone is, their basmati and lentil soup has the person at least 80% satisfied.

Just in case, note that Ten Mile House isn't open for lunch on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Thanks again, for all the suggestions. Owing to geographical and logistical parameters, and the fact that it had been on my "to try" list for a while, we ended up at Ten Mile House for our lunch today.

As was mentioned above, the space was conversation-friendly, comfortable and pleasant. The north-facing windows provided a ton of beautiful, indirect daylight. Our server was friendly/feisty and ultra-efficient. I ordered the Mile High Club, which was a solid and ample take . . .


Mile High Club @ Ten Mile House - house smoked turkey, bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, bacon-shallot mayo, whole wheat toast

I thought the sandwich was very good. I appreciated the restrained smoke on the turkey, the fancy mayo and the freshness of all the ingredients. All in all, it was a very nicely conceived and composed sandwich. Fries were very crispy but insanely salty. Because of how well they were cooked, I wanted to eat more of them but there was so much salt on them, doing so would have been painful.

In the end, the food was plenty good enough and the space was just about perfect for our meeting. There were moments during which I was grateful it was so quiet, as one member of our party was talking pretty softly. In a louder room, I might have had trouble hearing him. And, not surprisingly, he was an interesting and experienced person with quite a bit of wisdom to share. I'm glad I didn't miss any of it.

Thanks again, for the fine suggestions.

=R=

nr706 wrote:

mchodera wrote:I heartily second Ten Mile House. Great food, service and not too noisy...

While Ten Mile House is an excellent choice, and seems to meet all the criteria, it should be noted that it's named after the original Ten mile House, which was approximately on the site of the current St. Francis hospital, in the late 1800s. It was so named because it was about 10 miles from downtown Chicago. The current location should probably be called Eleven or Twelve Mile House, given its location.

If you are going to make mock pedantic posts it behooves you to use a properly pedantic approach. Your suggestion that “Eleven or Twelve Mile House” be used fails on two counts. First, no true pedant would give a choice. Second, the straight line distance from Ten Mile House to St. Francis is almost exactly three miles.

It’s Thirteen Mile House or nothing.

Pedantry is a dish best served hot.

Or, in the words falsely attributed to Winston Churchill in a discussion about ending a sentence with a preposition, “This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.”