Pick a warm sophisticated spot, or mix it up with bellydancing and Bollywood.
Are you and your date in the mood for good wine, pasta or wood-fired pizza in a sleek setting? Or are you up for something daring, like smoking-hot Indian food, Latin dancing or a Bollywood film?
Take your pick.
Graziano's Brick Oven Pizza easily accommodates a couple or a double date in a stylish setting, with exposed-brick walls, artsy posters and flattering lighting. The daily specials are well worth considering, but the regular lineup of pasta, meat and fish dishes, plus wood-fired pizza, will leave you feeling good about each other--and the world.
Mykonos Greek Restaurant can stir a hungry couple's dining passions with saganaki, taramosalata, roast leg of lamb and fresh fish, along with staples like moussaka and pastitsio. Be sure to say "Opaa!" when the flaming cheese arrives.
Indian or Nepali? At Himalayan Restaurant, you can choose one, your date the other--and fall in love with the delicious mingling of spicy sauces covering chicken, fish, lamb or vegetables. Even the fancy little brass pots the dishes come in conjur the mystique of the subcontinent.
Twist and shout, or get cheek to cheek, at Chambers Seafood Grill & Chop House, which offers a restaurant, a bar and live music for listening and dancing on weekends. It ranges from oldies to '80s to ballroom and Motown.
Enjoy some salsa, and then dance some salsa, at Mango, a fun Mexican restaurant which has Noches Latinas dancing starting at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. If you can't stay up that late, the Brian Patti Orchestra performs live music for dancing from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays. And on the occasional Saturday, Mango offers a Middle Eastern belly dancing show. When the show is over, you and your date can join the belly dancers and groove to Beyonce and other modern Scheherazades.
Naturally, you and your date want to keep up with the latest movies from India. Big Cinemas features Bollywood flicks on the big screen. It's in a shopping center dotted with small Indian, Korean and Vietnamese restaurants, which makes it feel more LA than Chicago. If you and your date have an adventurous spirit, you can get samosas, instead of popcorn, at the concession stand to eat while watching the movie.
Have fun! Let us know in the comments if you enjoy these suggestions.
