To the dismay of many of us non-smokers, yes, they do. There are separate smoking/non tables at restaurants but bars are fair game.
There can never, NEVER be enough guacamole.
Let’s not forget that Chi-town is famous for a few things:
Pizza
Hot dogs
Steak
Some very tall buildings.
The last one I care nothing about, but if anyone wants me to plan a meal for anyone of those food things, let me know. Pizzeria Uno, Gino’s East, Hot Doug’s, many and various are the steakhouses. Tapas could also be fun–always better in a big group, much like sushi.
And if anyone wants to do the Museum of Science and Industry (www.msichicago.org), I’d gladly take a group that way on Museum day.
Oh, I have to say I’m going to Reza’s? I thought being a member of the Secret Cabal was enough to merit an invitation.
Haha! I jest. There is no Secret Cabal.
Well, actually, there is. So, never mind.
Anyway, I am in for Reza’s. bristlesage said that she’d want to go too, unless a number of people are into her Chicago Food Tour dealie. (If you’ve never had Chicago-style pizza, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you go with her!) I’m going to reserve spots for my three houseguests as well. They can back out if they like, no pressure, I just don’t want to have a situation where I abandon them to the wilds of Chicago.
JavaMaven, you are welcome to come over right now and test your recipes in my kitchen. Mmmmm…
Sassy!!! I can’t wait to see you!!!
Count me in for dinner Saturday.
(meat on a stick? how many WW points are there in the stick?)
Even the sangria got drunk? WOW! You throw some party, Gundy! Oh and my hubby and I are in for dinner on Saturday because I figure I should at least hang out with you guys since that’s sort of the point. Heh.
You misunderstand - I’m a non-smoker, and I border on allergic, as well as being pregnant - I wasn’t looking for a smoking venue!
Gundy and KrustyKlown
porcupine and UncleBeer
Jane D’oh!
Judith Prietht
Mike G
Lurkmeister
Random
jeevmon and jeevwoman
Aries28
JavaMaven and JustPlainBryan
Garfield226
Kyla
Bristlesage and 3 unnamed houseguests (if you named them previously, I either missed it or lost track; if there’s overlap with people on this list, please let me know so I can adjust the count accordingly)
**Miss Creant
Metrochic ** and hubby
That’s 23 right there, so we’re darn plumb overfilled already for Saturday Night Plan A. I think the Secret Cabal will have to confer and come up with a Plan B. I’ve got an idea or two…
(Oh, and **Ginger, ** being a nonsmoking asthmatic, I’d certainly prefer a nonsmoking table at dinner myself. There will be plenty of smoke in the bar later, and my smoke tolerance on any given evening seems to be cumulative; the longer I can stay out of the smoke, the longer I’ll be able to stay at the bar later.)
Does anyone have an issue with us having a nonsmoking table at dinner?
We could do an ancillary dinner at Hopleaf a block or so down the street. Great food and an amazing selection of Belgian beer. How about dim sum at Furama a couple blocks east on Broadway? No problem with party size there I can assure you. I’m thinking we want to keep things close by so we can coordinate our apres dinner plans more easily.
Or we can just sneak in with another 3-5 person table at Reza’s.
**MikeG, ** we’re doing the Ontario St. location of Reza’s, not the Andersonville one. But the last part of your plan might work, or alternative locations for the first part(s).
Regarding the Reza’s puzzle, I’d say let’s wait it out for some attrition. If we still wind up over 20 attendees a couple of weeks before, then we can discuss going to a banquet menu or choosing another site.
Regarding the smoking problem, at Black Rock we’ll have the back room and will be able to close the French doors that separate the back room from the main bar area until midnight. (There’s a full bar in the private room.) As long as our group agrees to confine smoking to the main bar area or outside, we should be able to accomodate non-smokers.
I concur with all of this. The rooms really are huge. Last year three of us shared a room and there was more than enough room. Plus, the hotel bar is really cool. 
Also, HOORAY for being able to smoke in Chicago bars!
re: The mailing list. Have any emails actually gone out? Because I think I’m on that list but don’t believe I’ve recieved any emails so far.
Nope, no e-mails have gone out. Don’t worry, you’re on it, princess.
Flattery will get you everywhere, Miss Gundy.
::bats eyelashes::
Pssssssssssst! Hey, Eva, you forgot me!
Not at all…for simplicity’s sake, I decided to start fresh, because I didn’t feel like slogging through 4 pages of stuff. But we’re working on Plan B. Check your Secret Cabal e-mail, dude.
Secret Cabal Email?!?
What, I’m just the Secret Cabal Cute Doper Chick Chauffeur Service*? Feh, Feh I say!
*Hmm, SCCDCCS has a certain palindromic charm, but I’m having some difficulty with how that acronym would be pronounced…
Thanks for that Mike, that is just what I needed after a three hour meeting from hell. I lauged out loud!! Plus, now that I know you have a chauffer service, hell, that changes everything!
Hey Kids
There hasn’t been ANY interest in the Mini-Golf so I’m cancelling with Par King.
You might want to wait a few more weeks, since I think some people don’t know when they’re coming in and leaving yet. I haven’t had more than a couple of people say they wanted to do the Architectural Boat Tour, but I suspect I’ll get more as people firm up their plans.