Piper's: Casual Elegance

Piper's, at 2130 W. Southport Road, is a casual-atmosphere fine dining restaurant.  It kind of puts me in mind of Eddie Merlot's but is a little less swanky (how's that for eloquent, articulate description, eh? eh?) My wife has a passing acquaintance with the owner, who has many years' catering experience although the restaurant itself is only about 15(?) years old.  I ordered one of the chef's specials, the Seared Duck.  I have a hard time finding duck at any of our regular haunts, so this was a real treat for me.  I reeeeally love roast duck, and I should have realized the implication behind the title "Seared" and maybe made a special request of our waiter to do more than sear it, but I didn't do either of those things.  My duck was tender and tasty, but it was a little underdone for my taste, but again, that was my fault and not the restaurant's.   Our meal was very good, and at a little over $70 for the two of us (including three glasses of wine), it was definitely a good deal for the price.  If I had more money than I knew what to do with, I would certainly eat here all the time.  www.piperscatering.com/restaurant