Ciao! Cafe & Wine Lounge, Chicago

At Ciao Cafe & Wine Lounge, chefs toss pastas in rich cream sauce, bake flatbread pizzas, and sate appetites with small plates of Italian favorites, all with gluten-free and organic offerings. A banquet room accommodates as many as 50 guests, facilitating corporate parties and championship musical-chairs tournaments. During Saturday wine tastings, the staff pours samples from among the eatery's dozens of wines from around the world, to be enjoyed amid ambient lighting at round wooden tables. On Friday nights, live musicians fill the restaurant with acoustic tunes and experimental prog-rock odes to flatbread.