A change of pace entry for me, perhaps.

I was thinking about restaurants to go to for Valentine's Day tomorrow and then I thought that there are an awful lot of good ones around. And I thought it might make for a good entry, to list, and write a few words about, my favorite Chicago area restaurants.

(in no particular order)

1. The Clubhouse, Oakbrook. This might be my favorite restaurant, because of the variety on their menu and the quality of their food.

2. Heaven On Seven, Chicago and Naperville. New Orleans themed food, great atmosphere, and great taste. Good Hurricanes and Abita beer, too!

3. Maggiano's, Chicago and Oakbrook. A Lettuce Entertain You (LEY) restaurant, this Italian restaurant has massive portions, good pricing, and great food.

4. Wildfire, Oakbrook and Chicago. (never been to the downtown location). Another LEY restaurant, this one has great steaks for not terribly expensive prices. Might be my favorite steakhouse when you balance money and quality.

5. Adobo Grille, Chicago and Lombard. Mexican food with style. Great guacamole made tableside.

6. Flattops, Chicago and Lombard. A stir-fry restaurant, this one is fun and easy on the wallet. You can make your own creation or follow their "recipes" as you select your own ingredients. (Their downtown location is right across from Oprah's Harpo Studios.)

7. Petterino's, Chicago. Another LEY restaurant, this one in the theater district. An Italian steakhouse, good food and convenient if you're seeing a show.

8. Trattoria No.10, Chicago. Also an Italian restaurant in the theater district. We've gone here two New Year's Eves in a row.

9. P.F. Changs, Chicago and Orland Park. Very good Chinese food, great presentation.

10. Harrison's, Orland Park. A microbrewery closer to home. Very nice, varied menu, good quality food. Their microbrews are a bit more hit-or-miss, but I still like them.

11. Capital Grille, Chicago and Lombard. An excellent high-end steakhouse. Never get a bad meal here.

12. Reza's, Chicago and Oakbrook. Persian and Mediterranean food, one of our favorites, great bang for your buck. No one leaves hungry from here. The dill rice and their koubideh kabobs are great. (Get the Soltani, a combo of beef koubideh and filet kabobs.)

13. La Mex, Joliet and Orland Park. Closer to home again, this Mexican restaurant is as good as any I've been to. Good quality, good margaritas and nice atmosphere, especially the Joliet location.

14. Granite City Brewpub, Orland Park (or is it Palos Park?). Another brewpub in the 'burbs with good food and pretty good microbrews. Great Sunday brunch.

15. Pizzeria Uno, Chicago and suburbs. The downtown location is good, but their suburban locations have more varied menus. I think the restaurants in the 'burbs are run by a different company.

16. Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse, Chicago and Lombard. Very good Italian food and steaks. I've never been to the one downtown, but the Lombard location is good, and fun.

17. Zed, Chicago. This is one of those places where they keep bringing you meats and sausages, some cooked on skewers over an open flame. Great salad bar, all you can eat. Only been once, but we're going back.

18. Quartino's, Chicago. Italian tapas (small portions). This has great food, and a fun atmosphere. Great in a bigger group!

19. Star of Siam, Chicago. Really good Thai food. 'Nuff said?

20. Benihana, Oakbrook and Schaumburg. Japanese hibachi restaurant, where the chef prepares your food hibachi style in front of you. It's not cheap, but you do get a lot of food. They have pretty good sushi, too, not that I'm a sushi connosseur exactly (nor do I know how to spell "connosseur" for sure). We like the shrimp crunchy roll. My kids LOVE this. It's their favorite restaurant of all the ones listed!

There. A Top-20 of sorts.