Five Great ... Restaurants and Pubs With Outdoor Seating

Photo by adventurejournalist on Flickr.Last week, I spent a beautiful evening outside with a close girlfriend, catching up over dinner and drinks. We were seated in the charming, fenced patio area at  Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant in the Arboretum shopping complex in South Barrington. That experience made me think about how, when the weather is right, I love dining outside.

But although that evening inspired the idea for a “Five Great … “ list, I was a bit stumped to come up with five suburban restaurants, bars or pubs with good outdoor seating areas, and the few I did think of were heavily concentrated in the Tri-Cities area.

So for the first time ever, we have a fill-in-the-blank “Five Great … “ list So can you help me fill in the following blank?

“When I want to dine outside, or just a drink or dessert with friends, one place I like to head to is __________.”

Note: When this post first appeared on the home page, readers had lots of great suggestions. Check them out by clicking here.