Not silly at all. Can you bribe a friend? Dinner? Expensive dinner? Multiple expensive dinners? Backrubs? Free services related whatever-you-do-for-a-living-and/or-are-good-at?

Which direction are you coming from? I live in the northern suburbs .. I've never been to a meetup.

To paraphrase our Fearless TINCC leader: you want, you make it!

Would you be coming into Union Station? There's stuff in the loop (Monk's Pub, Cardozo's). Pick a night, suggest it, and I guarantee someone will be there.

I live in northwest Indiana. The farthest in I can go on the South Shore is Millennium Station: http://www.nictd.com/stations.html After that it's either find a new train or a bus.

I probably would have better luck, treepour, bribing a Mefite to meet me at the train station and accompany me to the meetup and back. :) If I drive it's fine, but then the problem becomes finding a parking place.

Last night Juliet Banana was teasing me with Xoco. I've been wanting to go to one of Rick Bayless' restaurants for a long time, but right now I'm sick anyways so I wouldn't have been able to make it last night. Can't stop coughing!

Hey IndigoRain, I take the Metra to Millennium Station to get to the Billy Goat. From the station it is only four blocks up Michigan Avenue. There are always a lot of people and cars on Michigan, so it's very safe (well, big-city safe). Here is the route on Google Maps. You go down the stairwell that looks like this.

I have a friend in NW Indiana (Highland, to be specific) who works right across from the opera house. Much like my baby, he takes the morning train; I could ask him for tips.

That would be great Madamina, and ty for the map halonine!