My (little) brother will turn 60 in a couple of weeks. He lives in
Naperville, just east of Chicago. I thought I would send him a gift
certificate for a nice restaurant in the Chicago area for him and his
wife. Unfortunately, I don't know the Chicago area at all.

Can anyone suggest either a nice restaurant or an unusual one? He
likes Italian and general American (steaks), but I think he would be
up for pretty much any type of food.

I'm willing to spend up to $200 or so. Neither he nor his wife drink
at all, so that will keep the price down.

Thanks

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LurfysMa > wrote:

>My (little) brother will turn 60 in a couple of weeks. He lives in
>Naperville, just east of Chicago. I thought I would send him a gift
>certificate for a nice restaurant in the Chicago area for him and his
>wife. Unfortunately, I don't know the Chicago area at all.
>
>Can anyone suggest either a nice restaurant or an unusual one?

La Frontera Grill is world famous and also really god.

(It it not Italian or Steak though, it is high-end Mexican.)

Steve

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 10:56:44 -0800, LurfysMa >
wrote:

>My (little) brother will turn 60 in a couple of weeks. He lives in
>Naperville, just east of Chicago. I thought I would send him a gift
>certificate for a nice restaurant in the Chicago area for him and his
>wife. Unfortunately, I don't know the Chicago area at all.
>
>Can anyone suggest either a nice restaurant or an unusual one? He
>likes Italian and general American (steaks), but I think he would be
>up for pretty much any type of food.
>
>I'm willing to spend up to $200 or so. Neither he nor his wife drink
>at all, so that will keep the price down.

Well, $200 won't do for Charlie Trotter's, but it will cover Spiaggia
on Michigan Ave., which is about as good as Italian gets anywhere.
Quite formal, though -- very elegant.

But if I were having only one meal in Chicago, I would go to Rick
Bayless's Topolabampo, which is absolutely spectacular. It must be the
best Mexican restaurant in the country, and I don't even particularly
like Mexican food. But when we go there, I'll eat anything he puts in
front of me -- it's that good.

-- Larry

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 21:07:36 +0000 (UTC),
(Steve Pope) wrote:

>LurfysMa > wrote:
>
>>My (little) brother will turn 60 in a couple of weeks. He lives in
>>Naperville, just east of Chicago. I thought I would send him a gift
>>certificate for a nice restaurant in the Chicago area for him and his
>>wife. Unfortunately, I don't know the Chicago area at all.
>>
>>Can anyone suggest either a nice restaurant or an unusual one?
>
>La Frontera Grill is world famous and also really god.
>
>(It it not Italian or Steak though, it is high-end Mexican.)
>
>Steve

Actually, Mexican is probably close to a top cloice as well.

I see from their website (http://www.fronterakitchens.com/home.html)
that they have two restaurants. The other is Tompolobampo.

Have you tried both? The Grill appears to be more casual.

Thanks for the tip.

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LurfysMa > wrote:

>On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 21:07:36 +0000 (UTC),
>(Steve Pope) wrote:

>>La Frontera Grill is world famous and also really god.

>I see from their website (http://www.fronterakitchens.com/home.html)
>that they have two restaurants. The other is Tompolobampo.

>Have you tried both? The Grill appears to be more casual.

The Frontera Grill has higher prices, but there was less
of a wait than Tompolobampo, so we ate at the Grill. I
would guess food quality is about the same but that is
just a guess.

Probably, one gift certificate could be used at either place .

Steve

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 10:56:44 -0800, LurfysMa >
wrote:

>My (little) brother will turn 60 in a couple of weeks. He lives in
>Naperville, just east of Chicago. I thought I would send him a gift
>certificate for a nice restaurant in the Chicago area for him and his
>wife. Unfortunately, I don't know the Chicago area at all.

For a drive...I would definitely recommend

Le Francais Restaurant
269 South Milwaukee Avenue
Wheeling, Illinois 60090-5097 ph: 847.541.7470

a little closer....don't overlook the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton
on Pearson.

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 10:56:44 -0800, LurfysMa >
wrote:

>My (little) brother will turn 60 in a couple of weeks. He lives in
>Naperville, just east of Chicago.

Are you sure that he lives in Naperville....since Naperville is about
40 miles WSW of the loop.

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:02:06 GMT, Ward Abbott >
wrote:

>On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 10:56:44 -0800, LurfysMa >
>wrote:
>
>>My (little) brother will turn 60 in a couple of weeks. He lives in
>>Naperville, just east of Chicago.
>
>Are you sure that he lives in Naperville....since Naperville is about
>40 miles WSW of the loop.

I meant west -- not east. Dyslexia and Alzheimers -- bad combination.

--
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On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 22:10:34 +0000 (UTC), (Steve Pope)
wrote:

>The Frontera Grill has higher prices, but there was less
>of a wait than Tompolobampo, so we ate at the Grill. I
>would guess food quality is about the same but that is
>just a guess.

The other way around. Frontera Grill is the much more casual, mostly stand up
and bar tables, with much simpler dishes. Topolabampo is a formal, world-class
restaurant. Quality of ingredients is the same; complexity of the dishes is not.

>Probably, one gift certificate could be used at either place .

I believe that is true.

-- Larry

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 23:41:19 GMT, Ward Abbott > wrote:

>For a drive...I would definitely recommend
>
>Le Francais Restaurant
>269 South Milwaukee Avenue
>Wheeling, Illinois 60090-5097 ph: 847.541.7470

Le Francais is definitely worth the trip when it's on its game. It took us two
taxis and two train rides to get there, though. And the commuter trains don't
run in-bound to Chicago very often (if at all) at night.

And only if Roland Liccioni is still cooking there when you visit. He seems to
have shuttled in and out of proprietorship every two weeks or so over the past
ten years... 8

-- Larry

pltrgyst > wrote:

> (Steve Pope) wrote:

>>The Frontera Grill has higher prices, but there was less
>>of a wait than Tompolobampo, so we ate at the Grill. I
>>would guess food quality is about the same but that is
>>just a guess.

>The other way around. Frontera Grill is the much more casual, mostly stand up
>and bar tables, with much simpler dishes. Topolabampo is a formal, world-class
>restaurant. Quality of ingredients is the same; complexity of the dishes is not.

Okay, the one of the two we ate at is to the left (if you
are standing at the street entrance, facing the two restaurants).

If you can tell me which one that is that's much appreciated.

I can see by the website that entree prices are higher at
Topolabampo.

Steve

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:23:10 +0000 (UTC), (Steve Pope)
wrote:

>pltrgyst > wrote:
>
>> (Steve Pope) wrote:
>
>>>The Frontera Grill has higher prices, but there was less
>>>of a wait than Tompolobampo, so we ate at the Grill. I
>>>would guess food quality is about the same but that is
>>>just a guess.
>
>>The other way around. Frontera Grill is the much more casual, mostly stand up
>>and bar tables, with much simpler dishes. Topolabampo is a formal, world-class
>>restaurant. Quality of ingredients is the same; complexity of the dishes is not.
>
>Okay, the one of the two we ate at is to the left (if you
>are standing at the street entrance, facing the two restaurants).
>
>If you can tell me which one that is that's much appreciated.
>
>I can see by the website that entree prices are higher at
>Topolabampo.
>
>Steve

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:23:10 +0000 (UTC), (Steve Pope)
wrote:


>>The other way around. Frontera Grill is the much more casual, mostly stand up
>>and bar tables, with much simpler dishes. Topolabampo is a formal, world-class
>>restaurant. Quality of ingredients is the same; complexity of the dishes is not.
>
>Okay, the one of the two we ate at is to the left (if you
>are standing at the street entrance, facing the two restaurants).
>
>If you can tell me which one that is that's much appreciated.

Facing the restaurants from the street, Topolabampo is on the left. It's the one
with tablecloths. 8

-- Larry

pltrgyst > wrote:

> Facing the restaurants from the street, Topolabampo is on
> the left. It's the one with tablecloths. 8

Thank you.

My dining partner confirmed for me that it was Topolabampo
we ate at, not Frontera. So invert everything I said about
these two restaurants in my earlier posts.

Steve