On your knees, boys

Perfect spots for popping the question

By Ellen Fox

January 16 2003

Let's be frank: Once you propose, you relinquish control of the next six months to a year of your life. The cake, the gown, the reception seating arrangements--it's a whirlwind of decisions that (thankfully) you're not privy to. The proposal is the one thing you can control, so you'd better make it earth-shattering.

ComedySportz. Call ahead and the funny folks at this improv face-off--where two competing teams use audience suggestions to perform scenes and songs--will find a way to work your proposal into the show. But before you hop up on stage to surprise her in the middle of a game of "Freeze," make sure your intended has a good sense of humor.

Garfield Park Conservatory. It's a lush oasis in the middle of our wintry city. If you can't take a trip somewhere warm right now, kneel amid the ferns and waterfalls at this sprawling garden under glass. The 2003 Spring Flower Show, which will showcase azaleas, camellias and hydrangeas, starts Feb 8.

La Creperie. From "La Boheme" to "Moulin Rouge," the French know that being penniless is no obstacle to true love. This well-worn nook serves up cheap French food, as well as several bottles of wine priced about $20. Even if it's your first time, the two of you can feast like a couple of starving artists who've been dropping in for years.

McCormick & Schmick's. For a more intimate setting, reserve one of the wood-paneled private booths at this moderately priced seafood restaurant. Raw oysters and a bottle of bubbly beneath the Tiffany stained-glass lighting in one of these "snugs" is far less cliche than fondue at Geja's or drinks at the Signature Room. The restaurant is currently sponsoring a "Most Romantic Couple" contest, with dinner and a hotel stay for the pair with the best story.

Art Institute of Chicago, America Windows by Marc Chagall. Thanks to a cameo in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" as the spot where Matthew Broderick and Mia Sara share a kiss, these blue stained-glass windows are forever ingrained in a generation's mind as the embodiment of all that is young, reckless and in love in Chicago. She might not know why it feels familiar, but she'll be a lot less irritated than if you'd held a boom box blaring "In Your Eyes" outside her window.

Ellen Fox is a Chicago freelance writer.


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