That's an informative, cogent article by Kate Wagner. Liked it a lot.

One thing, a chicken/egg conundrum--do restaurant acoustics beget loud talking or is it just a societal thing, where the behavior of people out for dinner have evolved/devolved to the point where they simply don't give a crap about other diners near them?

Been to Wildfire/Lincolnshire a couple times recently, and even with high ceilings, all faux-burnished wood tones, still was much louder & raucous than I would've liked. STFU and let me enjoy my steak! (Said the curmudgeon!)

Seems to me to be more reaction. What are you going to do if you can't hear your tablemates besides speak louder (outside of texting).

Crain's Chicago Business has a story Looking to dine in peace? There's an app for that.

Link to list on app's web site so you can see the list without getting tangled in Crain's pay wall.

The list is very short and almost entirely in the greater downtown area with a few as far north as Lincoln Park and Lakeview.

They really need more participants. The app is only for iPhone and not all models of it. Android phones present calibration problems due to their wide variety and may never work well enough to use. LTHers with iPhones could be very valuable contributors.

Listen Up, Chicago Restaurants: We Don't Want to Shout

Hi,

I was in NYC for a conference. One lady and I quickly figured out we knew a bunch of the same people in Chicago. While she left 35 years ago, she is up to date on our local politics and food scene.

After our program was over, we went to have Mexican food at a restaurant featuring a day-long brunch until dinner. The brunch menu featured a number of dishes and endless drinks for 1.5 hours. This brought in a youthful clientele who wanted their full measure of their 1.5 hours drinking allotment.

This place began loud and got even louder as time progressed. The list of topics we wished to talk about was wiped away by the loud voices toppling over each other and the ever present sound system beating away.

We ordered a la carte from the dinner menu, because all the dishes once loved on the brunch menu were no longer offered.

Once we left, my head continued to reverberate from the continuous thumpy music for another 30 minutes.

If there were not so many people smiling and gushing over their brunch, it would be hard to prove how abusive the atmosphere was to my lunch. I could tell my friend who just adored this restaurant had never encountered the Saturday brunch set.

The sparkling conversation never really happened, so it was pretty much time wasted.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy, I think your use of the word "abusive" is right on, and the seriousness of it applies to so many restaurants in Chicago. We regulate restaurants in other ways regarding health, and this is widely accepted as a good thing. Noise loud enough to cause reverberations in your ear for a half hour after leaving (as you report)--which I have no doubt you might have experienced in any number of Chicago restaurants along with the one you went to in NY--is noise loud enough to warrant regulation.