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Actually, that's just what we were considering -- a drink and a bite or two at Moto, then dinner at Primehouse.

Has anyone done the Moto lounge experience? I phoned and they said there was a limited lounge menu from which you could order a la carte, but that in practice most things from the regular menu were available, and that prices were $12-$14 each. Also, lounge reservations are recommended, although not required as far in advance as at the restaurant. I have some friends coming in from out of town who are curious, but not up for the whole deal (they want steak). Current Moto prices, by the way: 5-courses, $75; 10 courses, $115; grand tasting, $175 (according to their obnoxious web page that plays music you can't turn off).

None of them have formal dress codes of the jacket-and-tie variety. I'd guess the Violet Hour has the strictest code. According to partner Toby Maloney: If I were going, I would do smart casual for Blackbird and the Violet Hour, although you probably could get away with jeans. Jeans are definitely OK at Lao Sze Chuan, which is very casual (and I assume we are going to be in their private room anyway). By the way, those of you who've decided to skip LSC...you don't know what you're missing!

There's a branch of Gold Coast Dogs at 159 N. Wabash Ave.: Classic Chicago-style hot dogs, natural casing, neon-green relish and all the toppings. They're open till 8 p.m.

LuckyGirl, is that 4 of you altogether? Or you plus 4? If you would like to come on the ethnic shopping tour, I need to know so that I can make sure we have enough cars to get everyone from place to place. (Thanks to Jean and Fresser for volunteering to drive!) Update: Ethnic shopping tour Saturday, Aug. 9, a.m. Niles ethnic grocers (list) tammylc Jean Blanchard* LuckyGirl+3** torakris white lotus+1 Fresser* Fat Guy *Additional drivers **probable

Late afternoon Friday is not an option due to the time it would take to get from the northern suburbs down to Chinatown. Do not underestimate Chicago traffic. Inbound on Friday night is horrible, especially now with the Edens Expressway under construction. If we shifted the ethnic tour to Friday, I would not want to start later than noon. If we shop on Friday, we'd also have to figure out how to store perishables overnight. Also, I think some of the people who wanted to go on the ethnic tour also wanted to do the bread or chocolate workshops on Friday.

The first respondents on the ethnic tour seemed to think that Saturday morning was the best time, and if we adhere to that, no, I don't think it will possible for someone to do both. Some stores in Niles open at 8 a.m., but there are more than 50 food stores in Niles, so we won't be able to visit more than a fraction of them before lunchtime no matter how early we start. I am assuming we can skip Lo-Carbs R Here and the Sara Lee Outlet, but I assure you that it would be easy to spend the entire morning just at Super H-Mart. The Evanston farmers' market opens at 7:30 a.m., although the time currently set for the group shopping is 9. There are roughly 30 vendors.

Update: Ethnic shopping tour Saturday a.m. Niles ethnic grocers (list) tammylc Jean Blanchard* Lucky Girl + husband torakris white lotus + Dance Fresser* *Drivers. Plus I have a minivan and can take four or five, so we're good on wheels so far. BTW, Niles also has the nearest Costco to Evanston, so if there's something that needs to come from there on the day, we can easily pick it up. There's also a branch of Binny's, which is a large liquor/wine store with a fairly good stock. white lotus, there isn't a tea shop in Niles, but several of the ethnic stores have good selections of teas and tisanes appealing to their respective customer bases. Nothing too rarefied, but definitely interesting.

← If you're willing to collaborate, I can do some of the cheese shopping. I have a wonderful source for artisanal American cheeses here in Chicago. (Unfortunately, too far from Evanston to work in a visit or I'd try to arrange it.) What kind of budget would we have? Unknown at this point, I haven't started running any numbers yet. Probably somewhere in the $100-$150 range? We should be careful in thinking about the cheese course. It's often been our downfall. Served as pre-dinner noshing, everyone is too full for dinner. Served after dinner, we rarely make a dent with the typical quantities purchased. I'd recommend planning on no more than 1 oz per person, or around 5.5 lbs total. ← Sounds good. Nyokie6, let me know how much you're bringing from France and then we can coordinate on what I can get here. Another alternative would be to lay out some cheese and things as a mid-afternoon snack. Surely, we won't want to go all the way from lunch to dinner without eating? Ethnic shopping tour Saturday a.m. Niles ethnic grocers (list) tammylc Jean Blanchard Lucky Girl + husband Torakris

One of the biggest selections of artisan-produced American cheeses in the Chicago area is at the bi-weekly warehouse open houses of the Great American Cheese Collection. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. alternate Saturdays (next: July 5, July 19) 4727 S. Talman, Chicago 773-519-5055 Payment: Cash, Check, Credit card More info

← If you're willing to collaborate, I can do some of the cheese shopping. I have a wonderful source for artisanal American cheeses here in Chicago. (Unfortunately, too far from Evanston to work in a visit or I'd try to arrange it.) What kind of budget would we have? Ethnic shopping tour Niles ethnic grocers (list) tammylc Jean Blanchard Lucky Girl + husband It sounds as if people are interested in doing this Saturday in lieu of the farmers' market. Some of the stores open as early as 8 a.m., so we ought to be able to visit several and still be on schedule to get to the church. My recommendations for places we ought to visit include H-Mart, a vast Korean supermarket with terrific produce and fish departments; Schmeisser's, a German-style butcher that smokes its own sausages and meats; and at least one of the Polish or Serbian delis. Others could depend on what people are most interested in. There are plenty of good options for lunch in Niles, too.

Add me to the list. I am local, so I was thinking I could do something that could mostly be prepped in advance. I had been thinking along the lines of a cold soup, but I see Alex has that already covered. Ethnic shopping tour? If anyone is interested, I'd be glad to lead a tour of ethnic stores in Niles, either Friday during the day or in lieu of the farmers' market on Saturday morning. (The Evanston market is a fine market, but I doubt it's significantly different from farmers' markets in your hometown.) Niles, about 5 miles west of Evanston, offers one of the most diverse ethnic shopping experiences in Chicagoland, with about 50 different food stores, including: Armenian Assyrian Eastern/Central European Filipino German Greek Indian Italian Korean (with two of the largest Korean supermarkets in the Midwest) Polish Serbian and more. This article, Super markets: Niles' plethora of ethnic grocers makes town food-shopping mecca, is somewhat dated but it will give you an idea.

Can you play "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" and "Chicken Cordon Blues"?

I concur with this, although she is 1) definitely someone with a vested interest, and 2) in New York. You might contact the Illinois Restaurant Association, which sued the city over this ban. They can surely suggest someone. Other possibilities: Bryan Scott Oedzes is an animal agriculture lobbyist who works with the North American Foie Gras Association and the American Veal Association (but he's also based in the East). The Artisan Farmers Alliance represents foie gras duck farmers. On the other hand, you could invite Mayor Daley, who denounced the ban as silly, to talk about just what legislators ought to do with their time instead of grandstanding over laws like this one. And be sure to ask Moore to detail exactly what research he did before proposing this law.

Here are a few ideas from Greek Islands: Tzatziki A creamy yogurt-cucumber-garlic spread flavored with lemon and pepper Skordalia Smooth garlic-potato spread, blended with imported extra virgin olive oil Sweet Peppers Roasted red peppers marinated with olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs Beets in Olive Oil Crisp beet slices marinated with garlic in an olive oil vinaigrette Cold Lima Beans Greek gigantes (Giant White beans) with herbs in olive oil Hot Lima Beans Greek gigantes (white beans) baked in a tomato-herb sauce Lahanosalata Finely chopped cabbage with carrots, and celery in garlic vinaigrette Horta Blanched fresh dandelion greens served with lemons and olive oil Greek Potato Salad Potato chunks flavored with onions, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic Vegetarian Mousaka Baked eggplant and potato casserole with bechamel sauce (might have cheese--ask) Vegetarian plate An assortment of vegetables baked in olive oil (briami) Fresh artichokes in homemade egg-lemon sauce Spanacorizo Spinach and rice sauteed in tomato sauce Fasolakia String beans in tomato sauce Bamies Baked okra in a light tomato sauce Potatoes Oven baked in olive oil Rice pilaf Rice served with a dollop of tomato sauce Your husband should try the loukanico, sausage flavored with orange rind, and any of the lamb dishes. Also, if you've truly never been to a Greek restaurant, and he eats cheese, the saganaki. But almost everything here is good. Strictly from a meat perspective, the best steakhouse in town is Primehouse in the James Hotel. I just had their 70-day dry-aged aged rib steak and it was divine. I think they might do OK for a vegetarian if you called in advance and talked to the chef, Rick Gresh, who is pretty inventive. But expect that all around you people are going to be eating food that looks like a dinosaur's dinner.

Greektown offers many options for you both. You may have to do a little selection for cheese-free items, but they are there. I like Greek Islands, Venus and Artopolis (which has great desserts, although you might have to work with them a bit to get cheese-free vegetarian entrees). You also may want to look at Middle Eastern places, such as Reza's. Honestly, I can't think of a steakhouse that offers much of interest to a vegetarian.

It seems to me that since Cub Foods pulled out and Dominick's scaled back, we have more independents and small local chains than ever. Up in the northwest suburbs, I really like Shop & Save (Des Plaines, Niles and Schaumburg), Harvest Fresh (Arlington Heights) and Joe Caputo's (Des Plaines and Palatine) and the expanding Garden Fresh is pretty good, too. There are also a whole lot of interesting independents in Niles. Not much help for the South Siders, I guess, though a friend of mine is really happy with Pete's Market. There's one near 47th and Kedzie handy to where the Great American Cheese Collection is doing its biweekly open houses.

Here are a few good places within a half mile of the Hilton. Russian Tea Time 77 E Adams St (312) 360-0000 Very good Russian cuisine. Custom House 500 S Dearborn St (312) 523-0200 Highly regarded upscale American. Reservations required. Edwardo's Natural Pizza 521 S Dearborn St (312) 939-3366 Chicago's best stuffed pizza, in my not-so-humble opinion. Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli 1141 S Jefferson St, Chicago, IL (312) 939-2855 The city's best deli, in most people's opinion. Open for breakfast and lunch only. The first week of December should still find plenty of coats for sale, though not as much selection as a little earlier. You will find prices downtown to be quite high, though.

Chicago's not a great late-night town. However, both Greektown and Chinatown offer many options for dining after 10 p.m. Greektown places serve until 11:30 or so, typically; Chinatown has a number of restaurants open till the wee hours. Both are short cab rides away. (I would not recommend that a lone female tourist attempt public transit late at night.) Outside of those areas, Quartino, an excellent enoteca with house-cured meats, Italian small plates and more, is open daily till 1 a.m. For omelets and diner fare, Tempo is above average as 24-hour diners go. Quartino 312/698-5000 http://www.quartinochicago.com 626 N. State St. Tempo Cafe 312/943-4373 6 E. Chestnut St.

Not that this group can't do anything it wants to, but I've mostly heard "crawl" in connection with pub crawls, which often have a pre-scheduled itinerary, like this. The trouble with catch-as-catch-can explorations is that you can wind up with bad food as often as good. So it depends on whether visitors want to be danger-seeking urban explorers or whether they want a map to circumvent likely pitfalls and highlight treasures.

An issue with choosing restaurants will be selecting those that can handle a big group successfully. Some of Chicago's finest, I'm sorry to say, are not at their best when serving a crowd. While there a number that can cope well, it's definitely something to keep in mind. As to Green City Market for shopping -- it's a fine farmers' market, but it's not really that different from others throughout the Midwest, and less extensive than some. Wouldn't people rather visit venues more unique to Chicago? Devon Avenue, say, or Niles? Regarding restaurants, too, I'd suggest looking at some of the things that Chicago does best that aren't ubiquitous elsewhere in the Midwest, such as nsxtasy's suggestion of Mexican. (Although Flamingo's might be awkward to get to -- there are similar spots in the city, including Fonda del Mar and Sol de Mexico. But you aren't going to find so many places specializing carne en su jugo or birria elsewhere in the Heartland, either.) Every city in the Midwest has contemporary American fine dining. Not everywhere has a Lao Sze Chuan, a Garden Buffet or a Szalas.

Clearly this is a style of pizza you don't like, since they both do the same thing. They do it very well if you like that style of thick-crust, caramelized pizza. This isn't my favorite style, but I like it a lot better than Lou Malnati's. On this one, I disagree seriously. Dave's is a great place for over-the-top, hugely portioned, Italian-American food. It's the real thing all the chains try to emulate. If you don't like that kind of food, you won't care for it, but they do what they do really well.

You could go completely in the opposite direction and have a charming, retro evening at Sabatino's. Strolling musicians, waiters in bow-ties, Old World menu, flaming desserts. It will remind your parents of places they probably went to when they were dating. "New" + "Italian" in Chicago just now means Neapolitan-style pizzerias. Eh. Specific "don't miss" recommendations require some idea of where you'll be staying, how far you want to travel, etc., but here are a few things I'd put on any tourist's list. Not to be missed in Chicago: - Deep-dish or stuffed pizza (my favorite is Edwardo's). - Chicago-style hot dog (some are better than others, but anywhere with a Vienna beef sign will probably be all right -- get it with "everything." Non-canonical but fun spots include Hot Doug's and Superdawg; however, you should visit a standard stand for comparison). - Italian beef (Johnnie's Beef, 7500 W. North Ave, Elmwood Park, is the best, but Al's No. 1, 1079 W. Taylor St., Chicago, is more convenient for tourists -- and you can get Italian lemonade across the street at Mario's). - Mexican food (not at all what you have in California. Frontera Grill gets all the press at the high end, but there's fabulous Mexican at every level, including stands at Maxwell Street Market). - Other cuisines in which Chicago excels include Polish, Korean and steak. There are some notable Thai places, Italian of almost every variety and some excellent Chinese and Japanese. You might also want to check out Midwestern-style comfort food at Atwood Cafe or the more upscale North Pond. - Besides eating, you should definitely see a few plays, take in some improv or sketch comedy, go to the beach (Lake Michigan is a completely different experience from the Pacific), visit some museums and perhaps take an architecture tour.

Killer Stoves: A Preventable Hazard in Millions of American Homes According to the source above, it should have an anti-tip bracket installed, but probably doesn't. Without the bracket, it's likely to tip over if weight is placed on the open door.

Chefs Christopher and Mary Spagnola cook together at Emilio's Sunflower Bistro in LaGrange, Ill., where they are partners with Emilio Gervilla. Other chef-sommelier couples include Didier Durand & Jamie Pellar of Cyrano's Bistrot and Priscila & Vincent Satkoff of Salpicon. As for examples where one partner cooks and the other manages the front of the house, a couple of Japanese spots come to mind: Chef Isao & Chiyo Tozuka run Chiyo in Chicago. They also own Chicago Kalbi. And Chef Hidemizu & Sayaka Fukuyama run Kamon in Buffalo Grove. But there are many more, since that's a common model for entrepreneurial restaurants.