Dinner Rec's - LEY

Ok - I know their restaurants aren't the greatest, but can someone help me choose which is the best of the LEY restaurants? I have a $100 gift certificate that has to be used. Downtown or Oakbrook as we are coming from the South Burbs.


Thanks a million!!

No contest.

Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary Would be Proud [Pictures]

Best,
Michael

I would submit there is a contest, with Tru as my entry.

Tru and Everest are certainly the top 2 and are both outstanding. But the gift certificate will only take you so far at both as both restaurants are in the $100/person (or more) price range. Between the 2, I would choose Tru, but not by that much.

If you don't want to spend as much, Joe's (seafood & steak) and Shaw's (seafood) are also good options downtown, and Cafe BaBaReeba is very good for tapas (Lincoln Park). I think Wildfire is pretty decent too and they have locations both downtown and in Oakbrook. I've heard good things about Osteria Via Stato (State/Ontario) but I have not been there myself. I have not been to Nacional 27 (Latin) lately but have heard very good things about it, and there's always Mon Ami Gabi for a decent French bistro.

I highly recommend Nacional 27... especially if hand yourself over to Adam Seger, the sommelier. The food is very good - well balanced, nice blend of bold and nuanced flavors. The meal reaches another level, however, with spot-on wine pairings!

I would use it as a down payment on a high end meal; they do those well even when the mid-range leans toward mediocrity.

In the mid-range, however, I was pleasantly surprised by my first visit in a long time to Brasserie Jo, about 2 years ago.

tru ... then in 2nd plc everrest...

How much money are you willing to contribute to the meal? I don't think $100 would be a big dent in the Everest or Tru bill.

In that price range I would pick Shaw's Crab House. Just definitely NOT Maggiano's. Scoozi's pretty nice too, but better for pizza/pasta than meat. Haven't been to many others.

Nancy

I'd suggest Tru, but as was stated above, that $100 won't get you very far at Tru.

=R=

I would actually put in my 2 cents for Osteria Via Stato. Nothing spectacular, but having eaten there 3 times, I do find the food pretty consistent, and some of it very good. Plus, it is an interesting eating experience (they just bring you lots of food - whatever the chef is making that day - and you choose only the entree). Best of all, I think it is like $35 a person for all that food, which means 2 people can basically eat ALOT of food for free on a $100 gift certificate. Of course, I would stretch it and go for Tru if you could.

Just to muddy the waters: No one has mentioned Mon Ami Gabi. It's been a while, but they do some things awfully well and I think that $100 would make a nice dent in that meal.

I had a very good meal at Osteria, but after that there were any number of postings about mediocre food and service that made me wonder if they'd slid after a strong opening. I haven't had a chance to go back and find out.

I've never had a bad meal at Ba-ba-reeba, but I do find the paella's much less exciting than everything else on the menu.

which do you think would be better for a decent steak? Shaw's? or Joe's? we're sitting on a $50 gift card that i'd like to use toward the bill.

L. Woods?

we've been to Wildfire and found it very disappointing.

whitesnake wrote:which do you think would be better for a decent steak? Shaw's? or Joe's? we're sitting on a $50 gift card that i'd like to use toward the bill.

L. Woods?

we've been to Wildfire and found it very disappointing.

For steak at a seafood place, given the choices you have offered, I'd pick Joe's in a heartbeat. I would also throw into the mix Mon Ami Gabi and Petterino's, with my vote going to Petterino's. Keep in mind that I probably wouldn't pick any of them if I didn't have to use up a LEY Gift Card.

I've been pleased with Wildfire on a couple of visits (one in Oakbrook and one in Glenview). Plus, there's a fun "scene" there. If what you're looking for is a place where $100 will substantially cover the bill for a party of two (instead of merely making a dent in it), I'd consider it.

I've heard great things about Joe's, but a $50 gift card probably won't go too far. I'm surprised to hear you were disappointed with Wildfire. I also have been pleased with the Oak Brook Wildfire. It's crowded and the service is inconsistent, but the steaks (e.g., horseradish crusted filet) always have been very good.

For steak, I would go to Petterinos. I have steak often there (for logistical, carpooling and parking reasons, I am in Petterinos often after work) and have never been disappointed (okay, the garlic crust thing on the steak doesn't work, but the beef has always been really good). In addition, I am told that the chicken parmesan is good there and I can personally vouch for the shrimp cocktail. The bartender there is awesome and so are the martinis.

Cinny's Mom wrote:For steak, I would go to Petterinos. I have steak often there (for logistical, carpooling and parking reasons, I am in Petterinos often after work) and have never been disappointed (okay, the garlic crust thing on the steak doesn't work, but the beef has always been really good). In addition, I am told that the chicken parmesan is good there and I can personally vouch for the shrimp cocktail. The bartender there is awesome and so are the martinis.

And don't forget the world's best chocolate pudding made from scratch.

I think I'm sold on trying Petterinos next (of the LEY choices). Thank you.

I'll put Mon Ami Gabi and Joe's on the back burner for the next time the wife gets a gift card.


As for Wildfire, our experience was so unacceptably mediocre for the $100+ we spent that I'm not in any rush to back. And I'm really not that terribly hard to please.

As for Wildfire, our experience was so unacceptably mediocre...

You've said that twice now. I'm curious to know the details. (Wondering what could have been so different from my experience there.)

I wonder if it's mainly a difference in expectations. Although once upon a time I would have expected extraordinary things from a meal that cost $100 a couple, prices have gone up so much since then that today I'm simply pleased if that amount of money buys me a good time in a restaurant.

I can't speak for my wife, but for me it was simply the quality of the steak. It was flavorless. And a little tough at medium rare. Perhaps it was an off night, or a poor cut (it was probably a NY strip). Perhaps you're right, I had expected the food to be better than average. But I really don't think my expectations were too high. I certainly did not expect the food to be extraordinary. I've had better steaks at the Outback, frankly. And I can have a good time in a restaurant for far less than $100.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time, Whitesnake -- obviously you have a right to dislike Wildfire if you had a bad experience there. However, if you ever decide to give it another try, I recommend going with one of the crusted filets (either horseradish or blue-cheese crusted). I actually have found the quality of Wildfire's meat to be pretty high, and consider it a good deal relative to the high-end (high-priced) steakhouses (Gibson's, etc.). I haven't been to Petterino's, but from what I've read about it, I can't imagine you'd get a much better steak there.

I've got to jump in here to concur with whitesnake on his experience at Wildfire. I went to the one in Glenview for an office Christmas dinner in December. I had pretty high expectations for the place. I ordered a NY strip steak and found it dry, flavorless and overcooked vs what I had asked for in doneness. Service was slow and confused as well. I wouldn't call it terrible but I would rate it average. I'd note that I don't often order steak out and when I do, it's at the higher end steakhouses so perhaps my expectations were too high.

rickster wrote: I had pretty high expectations for the place. I ordered a NY strip steak and found it dry, flavorless and overcooked vs what I had asked for in doneness. Service was slow and confused as well. I wouldn't call it terrible but I would rate it average.

I think expectations of "average" (in both food and service) is about all you should set for yourself at just about any LEY restaurant (with the possible exception of Tru and Everest).

stevez wrote:I think expectations of "average" (in both food and service) is about all you should set for yourself at just about any LEY restaurant (with the possible exception of Tru and Everest).

I wouldn't disagree with this too much, especially if we define average as equating to "hey, this isn't bad!"

But I've found a good martini influences my grading system in a favorable direction, and many of the mid-level LEY places we're talking about (Wildfire, Petterino's, Joe's) have figured this out as well.