Meeting a college roommate in Chicago to see Blue Man at an afternoon show on Saturday, and I'd like to find a good place preferably within walking distance where we can get a good meal afterwards and talk -- in other words, not too noisy. Suggestions?

You might try Fez - the lounge at Time Cafe - located at 380 Lafayette - a few doors away. Time Cafe itself is a bit noisy but the lounge is in a separate room in the back. It's dark and cozy with a sort of Morroccan/mid-Eastern feel to the decor. Although it gets lively with lots of folks chattering during the early evening cocktail hour, in late afternoon it's likely to be very quiet and a nice oasis away from the bustle of other areas. Food is on the light side - appetizers, salads, individual pizzas etc. The house pizza is bacon, sauteed red onions, walnuts, grilled green apple slices and gorgonzola cheese. It sounds a bit bizarre (to me) but is one the tastiest dishes I've ever eaten. There are sure to be many other choices in the area but this is one worth investigating.

Vinci, just down the street. Great Italian.

I live two seconds from the theatre. There are a lot of options for you, as you will see, but I would suggest "Jacks on Halsted." It is a cool menu, great atmosphere, and great wine. I also like Mia Francesca for Italian (but may be busy). A great tapas place on Halsted is also fun for catching up. Also Mongolian Barbeque (stir fry) and Thai Classic on Clark is a short walk. enjoy!

Message: Please include city/state/region name in message title, EVEN if you are picking a state from the "keyword list"

Author: helpful ([email protected])
Date: 6/28/2001, 2:46 pm ET

Message: I've noticed a lot of ambiguous message titles lately, and many people responding in frustration along the lines of "Why don't you say what state/city you're talking about?!?!

Posters AND readers may not realize/remember that when you post a message you are given the option of both a message and a 'keyword'.
For example, someone might use "best hotel" as a message and choose "arizona" from the keyword list, not realizing that the keyword does NOT show up in the message title or text, and is only useful for searching among all the posts.

I really enjoy this forum, but I don't want to 'waste' my time reading posts on topics I thought were about something else, nor do I think posters deserve rude (ok, frustrated)
responses to their posts because they are unaware of how the system works.

Thank you !