Recommendations for dinner in Pilson after art crawl?

Hi. I am going to the second Fridays art crawl in Pilsen (the strip of 18th and Halsted), and I wanted to ask for recommendations for good food and good beverages. I know Nuevo Leon is there but I think that is BYOB. We'd like to have cocktails mixed by someone else! Any and all suggestions would be helpful.

fusionfan wrote:Hi. I am going to the second Fridays art crawl in Pilsen (the strip of 18th and Halsted), and I wanted to ask for recommendations for good food and good beverages. I know Nuevo Leon is there but I think that is BYOB. We'd like to have cocktails mixed by someone else! Any and all suggestions would be helpful.

Decima Musa has a bar but a number of us have felt the food is a bit bland; still, that would be a possibility you should perhaps look into. Search on 'decima' and you'll get a smattering of comments in various threads.

Real de Catorce is another possibility that I mention without great enthusiasm. My original optimism along with my subsequent disappointment and qualms, as well as the muted praise, disappointment and qualms of others have been expressed here:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=24720#24720
I do, however, think it would probably be possible to order carefully, drink some drinks and enjoy oneself there (though I've not been back for some time).

Myself, I would most likely head down Ashland to La Condesa, which I'm pretty certain has a full bar. The food I've had there was quite basic but also quite good. But La Condesa is a little bit south of the main part of Pilsen, down at Cermak and Ashland (southwest corner), or...

If you're willing to consider non-Mexican food, how 'bout the Skylark, a great bar down at the intersection of Cermak and Halsted (northeast corner). A search should turn up some notes on food offered there (all I've tasted was a bite or two of my son's mac-n-cheese, which was a respectable version thereof). Nice beers on tap, full bar, great urinals...
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=57722#57722

These last two places are a little off the main drag but to my mind are well worth visiting.

Antonius

P.S. Up toward the UIC nouveau urban blight project, on the westside of Halsted just north of 18th is 'Picante Grill', a place which has been reported on here (favourably too, I think) at least once. I have no recollection of whether they serve alcohol but would bet they likely do.

Perhaps the info comes too late, but Picante Grill does have a full bar. We had (decent) margaritas there last week.