Need Rehearsal Dinner Recommendation in Oak Park Area

Well, as the father of the groom I need to host a Friday night rehearsal dinner in May, and Oak Park seems to be the central location for where everyone in the wedding party lives. Since that's not my hood, I'd appreciate any suggestions for a group of 30 people, emphasis on burgers per my daughter in law, with parking. Does anyone know what kind of job Avenue Ale House does with large parties? Any other recommendations welcome!
>>Brent

brotine wrote:Since that's not my hood, I'd appreciate any suggestions for a group of 30 people, emphasis on burgers per my daughter in law, with parking. Does anyone know what kind of job Avenue Ale House does with large parties? Any other recommendations welcome!
>>Brent

Hey congrats, Brent -- I assume this is the son I sat next to during the LTH party last summer?

Ale House probably would have the room, and burgers are one of the things you might trust them to do (it's kind of a big joint of questionable soul, but my sense is that your primary concern is feeding the masses).

Of course, there's Jimmy's Place in nearby Forest Park (remember the Gorilla Gourmet premiere -- it was there). You could probably get the whole side room, it'd be a little more interesting, and parking would probably not be a problem. Also, they have burgers...and braciole.

Hammond

If the evening in May is nice, Ale House also has a very decent rooftop deck with full bar and kitchen service that would be nice. For what it's worth, there's something about Avenue's Ale House Burger (1/2lb, medium, with fried onions and blue cheese) that just holds on to me. It's rich and salty and fatty and just a hell of a burger. But YMMV. My mom and wife both quite like their turkey burgers, as well.

I agree that Jimmy's would be another good choice if Italian is an option.

Ale house has ok burgers, and the atmosphere out on the roof is nice, but for a great burger, i would recommend Goldyburgers in Forest Park. Atmosphere is less yuppie-ish, more blue collar. The also have a beer garden, while not as nice as the roof at the Alehouse, i think it could also hold 30 people and maybe they would let you take over the front room if you wanted to be inside. Plus you can get pretty tasty potato pancakes instead of fries with your burger.
LO

brotine wrote:Does anyone know what kind of job Avenue Ale House does with large parties?

My husband and I had our rehearsal dinner (on a Friday night) at Avenue Ale House. I think we had around 30 people. They let us choose a few different appetizers, a few different sandwiches, and a selection of beers. There were some negatives: it was pretty loud in there, they were a little disorganized with the set-up, they told us to order too much food, and they let people order whatever drinks they wanted instead of telling people they had a choice between the drinks we'd pay for or they'd have to pay themselves if they ordered something else. We were able to talk them into not charging us. Positives: pricing was pretty reasonable, there was enough space for everybody, everyone loved the food and had a good time, and we were able to invite our friends to meet us there for a drink once the rehearsal dinner was over.

See, I was completely nonplussed by my one visit to Goldyburger's. I wanted to like it, since it was a great vibe and they seemed to take the burgers seriously, but it just wasn't all that great. Most importantly, the burger wasn't particularly beefy.

I should really give them another shot...

Please do! They do have an occasional off night, rarely though, in our experience.
We love the vibe too. Its a real neighborhood place. While I was out of town for work for long stretches at a time, my husband went there almost weekly. The bartender already had his Leinie's waiting for him at the bar as soon as he saw him walking in.
LO

LO wrote:Please do! They do have an occasional off night, rarely though, in our experience.
We love the vibe too. Its a real neighborhood place. While I was out of town for work for long stretches at a time, my husband went there almost weekly. The bartender already had his Leinie's waiting for him at the bar as soon as he saw him walking in.
LO

Yea, I've had one or two poor showings over the years, but many, many very good showings. The thing is, the burger is smack in the middle of a thin, greasy type of burger and a fancy Smith & Wollensky style burger, so I can see perhaps why someone would not like it--being neither low nor high. Still, it is a hand formed, well cooked nice bar burger. On the other hand, I do not think it has enough style for a rehersal dinner.

I was at a bat mitzvah luncheon at Cucino Paradiso and it was very good for that kinda food.

Trattoria Pettino is not my favorite place in the area, but they are OK and have a nice space for parties. The real plus is that you can get a real nice discount at Restuarant.com

Down the street from Trattoria Pepino is Jim and Petes which I like better for Italian basics, maybe not quite as good as Jimmy's, but they do some stuff good and is a bit cheaper.

Rob

I second the rec for Goldyburgers. Your criteria is simple: burgers and room for 30. Goldy's fits the bill. Call ahead and reserve 30 seats in the beer garden (or inside if the weather is lousy) and you're all set. Outstanding burgers (I had the bacon-bleu burger for lunch yesterday-great) and inexpensive booze and beer in a neighborhood bar setting.

thick wrote:I second the rec for Goldyburgers. Your criteria is simple: burgers and room for 30. Goldy's fits the bill. Call ahead and reserve 30 seats in the beer garden (or inside if the weather is lousy) and you're all set. Outstanding burgers (I had the bacon-bleu burger for lunch yesterday-great) and inexpensive booze and beer in a neighborhood bar setting.

I like goldy's. I go there for beers and burgers with my buddies. But is it right for a wedding-type party? I guess it depends on the party-goers, but you called it right by describing it as a "neighborhood bar." It is. Brent, do you think your new in-laws would dig that?

Hammond

I was in the Oak Park area friday near lunch time, so decided I owed Goldyburger another try. As last time, I had the royal bleuburger (blue cheese and bacon) cooked medium. It was a much better burger this time. More and tastier cheese and a much richer, beefier flavor to the burger. That said, it was overdone (medium on one half, well on the other) and the fries were miserable, as they so often are.

I think Goldyburgers might be a find place for the rehearsal dinner. It's not nearly as fancy a place as Avenue, and the prices will surely reflect that, and the food is good.

I still give the nod to Avenue for the whole package, though. If only because their fries are so much better than Goldyburger's.

Excellent! Glad your burger was better. The fries do suck. next time ask for a potato pancake - its deep fried, more like a cross between a hashbrown patty and potato pancake, but its much better than the fries. They do a good job of deep frying there, IMO, I like their deep fried mushrooms, not greasy at all, the coating is a bit thick, but they are perfectly crispy on the outside.
LO

Ever had the beer cheese balls? I've only seen them on the menu at one or two other places in chicago. Frankly it seems like an idea doomed to failure... a stick of cheese would fry much better than a ball, no?

I noticed the potato pancakes but wasn't sure if I could sub or not. Next time.

gleam wrote:Ever had the beer cheese balls? I've only seen them on the menu at one or two other places in chicago. Frankly it seems like an idea doomed to failure... a stick of cheese would fry much better than a ball, no?

Ed, I'm no authority on balls (recent posts notwithstanding) and this is all theoretical as I've never had fried cheese balls, but it'd seem that a ball of cheese would actually retain its cheesy integrity better than a stick of cheese. However, if by "fry better" you mean the stick would allow for more consistent meltiness throughout, well, that may be the case, but depending on the cheese it would not necessarily be so; if the cheese has a low melt-point, it wouldn't take much to get it soft (Oaxaca cheese -- roughly equivalent to Wisconsin string cheese -- seems like it could melt in the glare of a bright monitor, it's that prone to reverting a liquid state).

Hammond

Yeah, I think a ball would hold its shape better but not cook as evenly. By the time the center of the ball is a gooey mess the breading is toast or approaching it.

I think the big problem is that cheese sticks/cheese balls are generally frozen before being dropped in the oil. This might even be necessary to maintain the integrity of the cheese while the breading cooks.

Nicky's in Berwyn had cheese balls on the menu. Last I saw, they had to be microwaved first to thaw them a bit, before they got fried. They weren't particularly good...

I haven't had them at Goldyburgers or Nicky's. I do recall talking to one of the women who work at Marion st. Cheese market about deep frying cheese curds and she did recommend freezing them before deep frying.
LO

Thanks, everyone, for all the good information so far. As of today, I have tentative reservations at both Avenue Ale House and (tah-dah!) Goose Island (who will do a buffet with mini-burgers.) It seems as though we may need a real live party room with a door, as some members of her wedding party are coming in that day and there's no way to rehearse at the synagogue on Friday, so this may be a real rehearsal combined with a dinner. Avenue can seat us in the back area, of course, but it won't be entirely private. Taking over Goldy's is an intriguing idea if it were just the immediate party, but her Persian relatives from out of town are kind of old-school formal and I need to go a little more middle of the road. I'll probably hightail it to both places with the kids this weekend.
>>Brent