The bbq place is Smokin' Joes BBQ at 127th and Ridgeland in Palos Heights. Awesome food. Too far south to be Chicago Ridge, and the Pit is in Hickory Hills.

I have been reading reviews of amelias and noticed mention of it being BYOB, but the website has a wine/alcohol menu... any idea if it is? Maybe it changed? Can it be both?

For Polish near Midway, definitely try Szala's or Bobak's.
I am a South Sider and do not truly believe "Chicago Pizza" to be deep dish Uno's/Lou Malnati's/Giordanos so I wont recommend that... on the South Side we eat thin crust pizza.
Jewish Deli- actually at Midway in the A concourse( I worked at the airport for many years) there is a Manny's Deli.. fantastic food -yes I know its in an airport but its great (or it was as recently as 05 when I stopped working there)

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Szalas Restaurant
5214 S Archer Ave, Chicago, IL 60632

you are so knowlegable! last question... Colombian or Venezuelan restaurants, anywhere... besides El Llano.. which I already know about

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El Llano Restaurant
3941 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60613

Amelias looks great... I may call and see if I can get a reservation there! We frequent the Oak Brook/Lombard/Downers area and were trying to go with something different.
Also, wondering if you know of any good Middle Eastern(maybe I am wrong in the classification) restaurants? We eat at this amazing place called Steve's Shish Kabob- one in the West Lawn area of the city and one in Palos Hills- and love thier Hummus, Kabobs, and such, and would love to try something slightly more upscale.

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Steve's Shish Kabob
10719 S Roberts Rd, Palos Hills, IL 60465

Coming from the south side of the city. The suburbs are easy because we have easy access to both 294 and 55...
My hesitation to go so far north is not so much the distance but the route to get there is more of a challenge than a straight shot on an expressway.
I have read reviews of Emilios and they arent so great, and at this point am scrapping the Tapas Idea because of the menus I have looked at only Cafe BaBaReeba looked like somewhere we would order one of everything!
I appreciate all of your help.. I may just have to scrap the birthday dinner idea this year!

Thanks guys, sorry I wasn't more clear, would rather not go as far as Lincoln Park or Evanston. Also not opposed to suburbs (western) if you have any reccomendations there. Not tied to tapas either. I really appreciate all of your input!

Thank you so much for the info, I guess I should have specified that since so many people are driving separately 11 dollars for parking adds up to about 100 bucks! When you consider 100 bucks applied to a check for food and alcohol, it just doesn't seem ideal.

Looking for a fun, different place for a group of 10 for a birthday party. I have a reservation at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba, however I just learned that there is no street parking and that Valet is $11, I think that is ridiculous. We we aren not tied down to any one area be it suburbs or city, however we dont want to go too far north (Evanston, Lincoln Park). Also, we do not want to do Sushi. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!