Help! Need Ideas for Party Room/Locations for Hubby's 40Th

I work in event planning in Chicago. Below are some contacts for great locations for a unique 40th birthday party, along with the contact numbers. Please tell them K. from CDEG referred you!

Dave And Buster's - great food, along with gaming entertainment
1030 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60610
Contact: Kristen Banks ###-###-#### ____@____.com

Howl At The Moon - Deuling piano bar (suggested by another Mom)
26 W. Hubbard St. Chicago, IL 60610
Contact: April Wolcott ###-###-#### ____@____.com


Lucky Strike Lanes (Bowling with bar, EXCELLENT food)
322 E Illinois Chicago, IL 60611
Contact: K. Zaleska ###-###-####


10 Pin Bowling Lounge (Bowling with bar, great apps, can reserve a spot with buffet-style food as well - next to the House of Blues downtown! Get a room there at Hotel Sax for the night!)
330 N. State St. Chicago, IL 60610
Contact: Erin Ellison ###-###-#### ____@____.com

Julia, we have had a few parties at

Blackthorn Manor & O'Connor Deli & Market
7280 West Devon
Chicago, IL 60631
###-###-####

Very good food and very reasonable pricing, the hall they have is a good size for a smaller party, we had my parents 45th Wedding Anniversary their and also our youngest sons un-wedding, (bride backed out a week before and we had a lot of guests coming in from all over the US, so we a dinner to show support for our son, he loved it and I think it was good to show him it was not him!). Any way the have buffet and sit-down and/or you can do appetizers and drinks, we brought in our stereo and played music and it worked out great.

Pompei bakery on Taylor St (Little Italy neighborhood). The party room is quite nice and you only need 25 people to reserve it. We have all our kids' birthday parties there as we have too many people to fit in our house. They're online at pompeibakery.com and the menus are reasonable. If you don't see what you like, call them. I have worked with them to alter things and was still happy with the price.

Sorrentos italian on mannhiem in melrose park, has a buffett and a room off to the side thats where i had my hubbys 40th bday and 2 baby showers.its like 12.95 a person and can buy a drink package,

We had my mother's 60th birthday party at 7/10 lanes. We were in Elmhurst but I think there's one in Lincoln Park. It's not a bar, but they do have one for people who will want alcohol. Although my mom didn't bowl, just about everyone else did. You have your own area with a few lanes. It's not a regular bowling alley if you haven't been there. The food was great. I paid about $1100 for about 50 people, but I did an open bar thing. You can easily stay on budget by having a cash bar. Have fun!

Dave and Busters, a pizza place, hard to think of places that aren't a bar but are inexpensive in Chicago!

If you are willing to wait until late spring you might consider doing a boat cruise. For my husband's 50th we chartered a smallish yacht (max capacity was 49 but we only had about 20) and did a day time cruise of the lakefront and the Chicago river. I think it was 2 hours but you should check the website - Angela's charters (just google it). We had a bar and light refreshments and lucked out with a beautiful day. Everyone really enjoyed it and thought it was quite memorable. Its a litlle over your budget if you cater a full meal but you might be able to economize on that. Good luck!

A couple thoughts for non-bar, non-sports venue ...
1) Is your husband into art, science, sealife, etc? You could ask guests to meet up at one of the many museums in Chicago (depending on cost, you could even pay for their entrance, a lot of museums have group rates) and then go to a nearby restaurant for lunch/dinner. Many restaurants will allow you to have space sectioned off (not private) at no additional cost to the food since they're guaranteed business, probably an automatic 18% tip.
2) Is your husband a foodie? How about a party at a hands-on type cooking place? ex. The Wooden Spoon in Chicago, Flavour in Forest Park, etc. These may be a bit more pricey, but a lot of fun.
3) There are so many small theatres in Chicago that are intimate, interesting, cheap! Maybe take in a live show?
4) There's always navy pier, may be a bit cold...
5) How about a haunted house? Sounds funny, but I think there are some in the nearby burbs you can rent and also haunted trails.
6) A dueling piano bar (I know you said no bars, but this would have a different vibe) - Howl At The Moon has a location in Chicago.
7) Roller skating party? Brings you back to the junior high days. Here's a place just outside the city limits with an inexpensive private party package - probably geared towards kids, but oh well! http://www.fleetwoodrollerrink.com/

All I can think of for now. Good luck!

Are you near a Lou Malnatis? The one out here has a party room and they had all you can eat pizza and salad and such and my friend had hers there.