Stumptown (Portland) foodie returning to Chicago for (modestly priced) celebratory dinner, suggestions?

[mincewords]

Hello- I was looking for suggestions on a place to go for a celebratory dinner (just finished residency, yay!).
I've essentially been away from the Chicago food scene for a decade, so am not very up to date, and am looking for some suggestions.
Here is what I'm looking for:

- 7 people on a Thursday night (being able to make reservations would be nice)
- "modestly priced" (my parents are paying): ~20-35 per person without drinks
- people will be coming from Southwest suburbs and University Village - would be nice if no one had to drive more than an hour (EEK! in PDX I never drive more than 20 minutes to go anywhere fantastic!)
- would like to be able to accommodate one non-chowhound (non adventurous, fairly bland meat and potatoes, and currently I think on a lower-carb kick)
- I am open to any style/ethnicity. I get a lot of really good farm-to-table, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisine in the Pacific NW, so maybe something different that Chicago excels at?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions!

[camusman]

Taylor Street Italian might work.
Since you have a nonadventurous eater, I would suggest Francesca's on Taylor. I had a family event there earlier this year that eveyone enjoyed.
http://www.miafrancesca.com/static.as...