Come and meet the baaaybee! In search of a meet up venue in Chicago.
April 16, 2015 7:05 AM Subscribe
Chicago Mefites: What public, family-friendly space would work for a casual gathering of a big bunch of friends?
My husband and I are bringing our 7 month old to the visit the U.S. from overseas. Our final stop is Chicago, where we will hang out for ten days (including only one weekend) in the beginning of May. We've got a big, disparate group of friends that we'd like to try to see with minimal running around. So we had the idea that we should try to plan a "meet the baby" gathering, where friends from different groups can either just stop by or hang out for a while. Where can we do this?
I thought about an outdoor gathering, but I know the weather may not cooperate. The next choice would be a restaurant, but we might lose some of the flexibility and space that would work best for trying to chat with lots of different people, sort of cocktail party-style. (We've considered asking a friend to host, but I wouldn't feel comfortable inviting a bunch of folks they won't know.)
Despite being from Chicago, I feel completely out of the loop as far as current knowledge of good restaurants and other family-friendly spaces in town. We'll be based in Andersonville, but I'm less concerned about location than about finding a big, flexible-ish place to meet. Is there another option that we're not thinking of? Is this even feasible, or should just we plan for several smaller gatherings?
Thanks very much for any suggestions!
My husband and I are bringing our 7 month old to the visit the U.S. from overseas. Our final stop is Chicago, where we will hang out for ten days (including only one weekend) in the beginning of May. We've got a big, disparate group of friends that we'd like to try to see with minimal running around. So we had the idea that we should try to plan a "meet the baby" gathering, where friends from different groups can either just stop by or hang out for a while. Where can we do this?
I thought about an outdoor gathering, but I know the weather may not cooperate. The next choice would be a restaurant, but we might lose some of the flexibility and space that would work best for trying to chat with lots of different people, sort of cocktail party-style. (We've considered asking a friend to host, but I wouldn't feel comfortable inviting a bunch of folks they won't know.)
Despite being from Chicago, I feel completely out of the loop as far as current knowledge of good restaurants and other family-friendly spaces in town. We'll be based in Andersonville, but I'm less concerned about location than about finding a big, flexible-ish place to meet. Is there another option that we're not thinking of? Is this even feasible, or should just we plan for several smaller gatherings?
Thanks very much for any suggestions!
Furama on Broadyway at argyle or so has their huge, huge upstairs dining room open on weekend for dim sum, and this is basically what people do there... show up, grab a huge tablet with 8-10 people, and then mill around showing off babies for two hours.
posted by Oktober at 7:39 AM on April 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Oktober at 7:39 AM on April 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Lincoln Square seems to be undergoing a HUGE family-friendly revival these days, and is Andersonville-adjacent.
-Certainly the Brauhaus has tons of space
-The new Gideon Welles craft beer place has party space specifically
-Rocks Northcenter seems to be equally sprawling and there are always families there.
In Andersonville itself you might check out the Brixton, which has a big upstairs lounge (and a wonderful back patio if the weather does cooperate), or Lady Gregory's, which is enormous and has dedicated space for large groups as well.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:49 AM on April 16, 2015
-Certainly the Brauhaus has tons of space
-The new Gideon Welles craft beer place has party space specifically
-Rocks Northcenter seems to be equally sprawling and there are always families there.
In Andersonville itself you might check out the Brixton, which has a big upstairs lounge (and a wonderful back patio if the weather does cooperate), or Lady Gregory's, which is enormous and has dedicated space for large groups as well.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:49 AM on April 16, 2015
Best answer: The Swedish American Museum has an awesome children's museum and arts and crafts rooms that you might be able to rent/use. I don't think a seven month old would get much out of either, but if your friends have somewhat older kids that would be bored at a restaurant, this might be a good option. I think admission is like $4.
posted by burden at 10:06 AM on April 16, 2015
posted by burden at 10:06 AM on April 16, 2015
In Andersonville, there's a back room at Jin Ju that you could rent. I went there for a friend's 40th birthday party and it's perfect for a cocktail-party type event.
If you're willing to get out of Andersonville, here's a few of my favorites:
If weather permits, the outdoor dining area of Bang Bang Pie Shop is perfect for something like this.
For in an indoor venue, the top floor of Floriole has space.
posted by photovox at 10:46 AM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you're willing to get out of Andersonville, here's a few of my favorites:
If weather permits, the outdoor dining area of Bang Bang Pie Shop is perfect for something like this.
For in an indoor venue, the top floor of Floriole has space.
posted by photovox at 10:46 AM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Great suggestions--thanks, all!
posted by sundaydriver at 7:58 PM on April 16, 2015
posted by sundaydriver at 7:58 PM on April 16, 2015
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You should call around to restaurants you like and ask about party rooms. If you don't need it to be entirely closed off to random diners and just want a relaxed area, that would open up your options even more.
One thing Chicago has is space, so definitely call around and ask. I was just at a thing on Tuesday night at Kaiser Tiger in their upstairs area, which was huge and open (and had spacious bathrooms, which is nice when you have a kid in tow).
posted by phunniemee at 7:28 AM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]