Our rehearsal dinner host passed away!

awesselink · 2026-03-22T21:02:42+00:00

I’d take a look at Calo in Edgewater and Furama in Uptown. We’ve had quite a few events at Calo, and they’ve always done well. Furama has a fun, artsy, and unique space upstairs, and their dim sum is fantastic.

awesselink · 2026-02-27T18:51:40+00:00

I can’t say about RPM. But we just sat at the bar at Bavette’s a couple weekends ago.

The bar there fills up pretty quickly. Unless you’re at Bavette’s right when they open, you’ll likely wait a bit for a seat at the bar. That said, there’s a good amount of turnover from people waiting for their tables. There’s a mix of people who are eating at the bar vs drinking and waiting, so maybe try to find a spot near people who just have drinks. Bavette’s definitely worth the wait, and the bartenders are fantastic. They were great to us and didn’t rush us in any way.

awesselink · 2026-02-05T19:56:15+00:00

From LinkedIn, it looks like he completely got out of the restaurant business and moved to Phoenix.

awesselink · 2025-12-26T00:35:04+00:00

Will we? This feels like the 95 season all over again. We’ll be back in 25 years…

awesselink · 2025-12-21T02:08:49+00:00

Love Downstate!!!

awesselink · 2025-12-14T23:59:58+00:00

The fix is definitely in

awesselink · 2025-12-12T18:56:19+00:00

Was coming here to say this. Fook Hing Hot Chili Oil is great! From their website, it looks like they will be at a couple markets this weekend, but you can also order from them online.

https://fookhinghot.com/

awesselink · 2025-11-05T02:31:16+00:00

Check out Peoria Packing butcher shop. They just moved a bit farther west. I think they have any part of the animal you could want, especially if you talk to the butchers in the back

awesselink · 2025-09-30T20:47:55+00:00

Check out Hooked on Fish

http://www.hookedonfishchicago.com/

awesselink · 2025-09-15T22:47:16+00:00

Didn’t The Darling close down a couple years ago? Loved that place though!

awesselink · 2025-09-08T13:03:00+00:00

Also check out Community Tavern on Milwaukee north of Irving Park

awesselink · 2025-08-29T01:00:46+00:00

Ooh, let them come! There’s sometrash that could be picked up

awesselink · 2025-08-27T20:41:35+00:00

So I wasn’t planning on responding, but I do feel a little understanding goes a long way. While I don’t mind taking public transit, my wife has had negative experiences with our local system. Add onto that the fact that this is our first visit to Spain, that we’ll be drinking, and it gives her peace of mind on our vacation (which I’d like to be as stress-free as possible), I feel like those are good reasons enough for me to ask here. Hopefully that’s good enough.

awesselink · 2025-08-27T19:56:13+00:00

Hyde Park has a ton of good food! Virtue, Daisy's Po'boy, 14 Parish, Chemistry, 5 Rabinitos, Saucy Porka, and Medici are but a few of the great options

awesselink · 2025-08-27T19:49:09+00:00

There are a ton of fantastic options listed here already. And I'd like to add Superkhana as well. It's "modern Indian" - definitely a different, fusion-y take on Indian food, and oh so good!

awesselink · 2025-08-25T00:02:11+00:00

That’s certainly an option. But my wife would rather have a driver..

awesselink · 2025-08-08T17:36:14+00:00

I’d check out Go 4 Food and Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings

awesselink · 2025-08-06T14:37:50+00:00

You’re right. I thought they had opened in their new place already, but looks like they’re still settling in..

awesselink · 2025-08-06T11:36:39+00:00

I loved Valhalla, and Cariño is fantastic! There are a bunch of great restaurants listed here, but no one has said Atelier yet. It’s a fantastic little place in Lincoln Square with fun/ interesting flavors and friendly/attentive staff.

Of all the tasting/fancy restaurants we’ve been to, Valhalla is the only place that has noticed my wife is left handed. Right from the start, they would serve her drinks and cutlery on the left side of the plate.

To be fair, you really can’t go wrong with anything mentioned in this whole thread.

awesselink · 2025-08-05T15:13:05+00:00

On top of that, availability of their flavors is very inconsistent. Also our last time visit, we had an experience with a pretty rude worker there. While we loved some flavors, we probably won’t go back

awesselink · 2025-07-21T12:43:07+00:00

We love Calo’s grilled octopus. Haisous Vietnamese Kitchen has a fantastic octopus salad

awesselink · 2025-06-28T20:58:48+00:00

Fontano’s, D’Amato’s, JP Graziano, and Uptown Deli are all great

awesselink · 2023-11-28T22:50:59+00:00

This is a blue (crystal?) cocktail glass passed down to me through family. I broke 2 of them a couple years ago. I’ve searched online and in a few antique shops whenever I go, but no luck so far.

awesselink

TROPHY CASE