When it comes to matters of the heart, it’s hard to deny the
very best for your romantic paramour. 
However, in reality, wining and dining your sweetheart can be a costly
affair.  Here are the five best Chicago ways to have a
seemingly luxe – but fundamentally inexpensive – date with the one you love:

1)      As
Pepe Le Peu proclaimed, what more do you need than “a loaf of bread…a bottle of
wine…”?  How about the grass between your
toes and the sound of Bach in the air? 
The grounds at Ravinia offer
$10 lawn tickets to virtually all of their summer season performances.  All it takes is a short train ride (there’s a
$5 special) and a picnic basket, and you’re there.

2)      Bring
Your Own Bottle restaurants are popping up all over the city, so hop on the
brown bag wagon!  The cost of alcohol can
easily double the total on your dinner bill, so why not bring your own and skip
the double (or even triple) markup on the standard restaurant wine?  Here’s a tip: a lot of newer restaurants in
the city will start off BYOB while waiting for their liquor license – just call
ahead and ask what their policy is.  You
just might be able to score a table at a hot new restaurant that you may not be
able to afford otherwise!  Check out www.byob-chicago.com
for restaurants.

3)      Create
a theme and your creativity will outshine any frugality.  Check out one of Chicago’s Independent Film theaters (try the Landmark Century Cinema at Clark and Diversey) and pick out one of their foreign
films to see.  The first tickets of the
day there are only $7.  Picked a Chinese
flick?  Head up to Ecce Café (3422 N. Broadway) post-show for some pan-Asian – and
very moderately priced – fare.

4)      Want
totally free entertainment?  Take a
stroll through Chicago’s
Lincoln Park Zoo – one of the
nation’s largest free zoos.  Afterwards,
you can mosey on over to the Treasure Island (1639 N. Wells) – on Saturdays, there
are samples of artisan cheeses, breads, and meats abound – and if you ask
nicely, the bakery will give you a piece of chocolate to try!

5)     
Every girl loves to window shop, so take your lady
friend for a relaxing walk down one of Chicago’s
best boutique streets – Armitage
Ave, west of Halsted and up to Racine. 
Check out the latest duds at Cynthia
Rowley and Active Endeavors,
before treating yourselves to some quality Italian ice at Tom and Wendee’s – yum!

Ok. So you’re working downtown. You haven’t gotten a raise in what seems like years. You hate brown bagging it and you have to eat. But you can’t spend all your money on lunch. Do you starve or do you eat downtown on less than $6 a day? Is that possible?

Yes it is. And I’m here to tell you how.

If you like pizza, Baccino’s on Clinton and Adams has a carryout only lunch deal of a slice of pizza and a beverage for $3.30 (thin) or $3.50 (thick). If you’re worried about where you’re going to eat your lunch, don’t. Beginning each spring, they set up a sidewalk cafe. If you’d rather eat somewhere where diesel particles from CTA buses don’t drop on your food, you can walk two blocks to the Chicago River where you will find a myriad of places with outdoor seating and a river view. Union Station Plaza would be the closest one and my personal favorite.

For more Italian food, go to Venice Cafe on Wacker and Jackson. Not only is it great food but there is plenty of it. I usually have a hard time finishing. At the height of lunch hour the line is long, but the wait is worth it. You order your food, move down the line and by the time it’s ready, you’ve paid for it. They actually make the pasta fresh for each customer, cafeteria style service with a sit down restaurant atmosphere.

The Alonte Deli on Wacker and Jackson serves pasta with marinara sauce and French bread for $4. It also has a self service steam tray section with daily specials and soups, as well as a made to order deli section. A salad bar is alsoavailable but watch out the daily specials and the salad bars are charged by weight.

Presidential Towers is a little known jewel. Located on Monroe and Clinton,
walk past the restaurants and go directly to the grocery store. There you will find
not only groceries, but also the best selection of homemade soups made
daily. For less than $5 you can get a large soup, fresh roll (from sourdough
to rye) and a beverage (wander the grocery store for this). They also
offer an executive meal which is a hefty sandwich, a medium soup and a bag of
chips. There is a salad bar and a hot meals section where there are daily
specials from pot roast to catfish. You can order side dishes a’ la carte or
buy an entree with two sides. Though more than $6 (if you get the whole meal) and a beverage, still a bargain with generous, tasty portions.

If you like sub sandwiches, Charley’s on Clinton and Monroe frequently has
people passing out 2 for 1 coupon on the sidewalk. Team up with a buddy and you get your sandwich half price.