Dinner walking distance to Old Town School (Lincoln & Montrose)

[DebbieJ]

Two couples from the burbs coming in for a concert. Would love to park once and walk to dinner. I'd say $10-20 per entree is the limit--the less expensive, the better.

Open to all cuisines, although we favor cafes and bistros and would like to avoid seafood.

We're clueless--please help!

[louweezy]

Probably too late but..
Jury's
4337 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60618
http://www.jurysrestaurant.com/

[Hinneni]

We've been very pleased with brunch at Fiddleleaf, and the dinner menu looks attractive. Bistro Campagne is a stand-out. Just south of Lawrence on Lincoln there are one or two German restaurants where I haven't been, but they should fit the budget nicely.

[lulubelle]

La Bocca Della Verita has wonderful food, probably the best roast chicken in town. I also really like the Grafton for pub food, the service is friendly, the room is cozy, all in all a nice, comfortable place. A litte further away, but still walking distance depending on the weather, Pizza DOC on Lawrence has really good pizza, in particular the potato and rosemary.

http://www.thegrafton.com/
http://www.laboccachicago.com/
http://www.pizza-doc.com/

[DebbieJ]

We ended up at 42 N Latitude and were underwhelmed. Good selection of beers on tap, but a VERY noisy room. I had the brined grilled chicken and my DH had the fish & chips special. Our dining companions both had the black bean veggie burger, which I guess they are known for.

The food was acceptable, but not outstanding. And the room was just so so loud! It didn't help that there was an NCAA playoff game going on either.

[jayh]

I live right nearby and second Eldon's suggestions of Los Nopales and Spoon Thai. If you go to Los Nopales, by all means venture outside of the standard chicken fajitas order and try the skirt steak, the shrimp with garlic, or one of the nightly specials. The freshly made guac. is a must. Also, get a few flans (they usually have 2-3 varieties) for the table for dessert. The total tab will be very reasonable.

[amoncada]

This place sounds perfect for you;
The Chaulk Board on Lincoln just south of Montrose is a newer French Bistro. I walked by it several times...the atmosphere looks very inviting. I've also heard a lot of buzz around about it. BYOB in think.

For a cozy upscale bar & grill with a very good menu with reasonable prices, try Bowman's at Montrose and Lincoln. This is not your typical sports bar and grill, there's an actual Chef/Eric from Kendall Culinary School working there. Ask for Johnny and tell him that Alex sent you.

[Eldon Kreider]

The Old Town School is near the north end of the 4500 block of Lincoln and backs onto Oakley (2300 west). This block is loaded with restaurants: 42 Degrees North Latitude, Tank Sushi, Bistro Campagne, Erba, The Grafton, Bad Dog Tavern and Daily Bar and Grill. The next block north has more: Fiddlehead Cafe, Essence of India, Brioso, La Bocca Della Verita, etc. Most of these either serve bar food or will push the price limit. Drinks tend to the expensive side as well.

Two BYOB with very good food fitting easily in the price bracket are on Western Avenue (2400 west) near Wilson (4600 north): Spoon Thai and Los Nopales. Parking in the 4400 and 4500 blocks of Western is likely to be easier than farther east and leave you very well positioned for these restaurants. Either is closer to the Old Town School than anything around Montrose and Lincoln and has a walk less exposed to wind.

Spoon Thai is a favorite on both Chowhound and lthforum. This thread on lthforum probably has more information than you really want but way down the thread includes a fairly current translation of the Thai-language menu by Erik M: http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7364

Los Nopales is a family-run Mexican restaurant that started off pretty good in 2005 and has improved since then. Business has been good enough to allow hiring more family members. They come from near the border of Guerrero and Michoacan. http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?...

Spoon Thai
4608 North Western
773-769-1173
Chicago

Los Nopales
4544 North Western
773-334-3149

[nsxtasy]

I don't think price will be a problem at any of them. Note that the OP mentioned $10-20 PER ENTREE, not total.

[sgwood415]

Bad Dog Tavern is just okay. I had pretty run of the mill food there that doesn't live up to the price. Daily Bar and Grill is pretty bad unless your primary mission is to drink, the food is just filler and the burger is the best thing there. I'm a big fan of the Grafton, although it gets quite crowded after concerts and getting a table can be a problem since people tend to camp out and drink at them for what seems like hours, but out of the bar options in the area, Grafton have the best food. Essence of India was quite good the last few times I went.