Planning a 40Th Birthday Party

Nacionale 27 is a latin cuisine restaurant, with live music/salsa dancing. I haven't been myself, but I have some friends who celebrated New Years there and said it was tons of fun and the food was great. It's on my list of places to go to, and something you could consider! It's part of the Lettuce Entertain You consortium.
Hope you have fun wherever you end up!

Not really sure what is "hip", but I know restaurants like Bin36 and Park Grill have party rooms with party planners that can help you decide what you need--from just drinks to the whole deal. Elizabeth at Bin36 is especially friendly (I used to wait tables there and she was always bending over backwards--which is great for you!).

If you at least got a walk through and did some calls these two places would give you an idea on what you can afford to do.

My husband and I both turned 30 2 years ago and we threw eachother a joint party. We were in the same boat as you- we had just moved to the suburbs from the city (Andersonville area). After looking around for somwhere with a private room that wouldn't be too expensive, we decided on Calo's in Andersonville (www.calorestaurant.com). They were great. It was very reasonably priced, they were very helpful and the private room was really nice. We did appetizers and drinks. For the bar, we paid for all of the beer, wine and soda. They had a full bar available if someone wanted to order a mixed drink, but that kept the cost down for us. For the appetizers, we ordered a mix so that if people wanted to make a meal out of it, they could or they could just nibble. We also brought in our own cupcakes from our favorite bakery! I hope this was helpful and that the party goes well!

Well first I have to say you have you hands full with the little ones! hats off to that one. Parties isn't that hard you just have to be considerate of what the husband is interested in? you have to look at the location of your guest will they travel that far? also how far are you willing to drive? and to have a safe non-drinking driver. lincoln park area has many place to lounge and to still enjoy yourself but you have to know what type of crowd you, your husband and your guest would like to be around. Then you begin to look at finances. Now if it is at a club most places will give you the free options before a certain time. Now inform your guest the time of the free options or they will have to cover their own charge after a certain time. eating out you will be out of a lot of money. I don't know how the finaces are but you have to remember christmas is coming up and you have gifts to purchase if you celebrate that holiday. so go the cheap way out.

Early December may be a hard time to get a place to hold the party with all the company business parties. There are a slew of great bars/restaurants in Lincoln Square and on West Randolph. We even had 12 of us take a cooking class in honor of a birthday boy. Drinks were included and we cooked, ate and laughed for 3 hours at the Chopping Block in Lincoln Square. You can even hire a teaching chef for a night and do it at a friend's home. Best of Luck!

Check out Lush in Roscoe Village. It is on Roscoe and I believe the cross street is Bell. I was there for a colleague's 30th last year, and it was great. It is actually a wine store, but you can use it as a party room. (The room is adorable) They open up about fifteen different bottles, and you get to try a different glass everytime you go up to the bar. You can also get appetizers there such as cheese plates and chocolates. My colleague's family had all of the guests pay $20 a person. I'm not sure how you feel about this. According to the girl who through it, she said it was reasonable, but not sure what the cost is. It was a great place for a party though...I highly recommend looking into it. :)