# United States & Canada Vacations Forums > General Discussion >  >  Windy City Recs?

## GayleR

Going to Chicago for a deposition and anniversary long weekend later this month (quite the combo huh?). Haven't been in many years. Looking for resto recs from the casual to the high end from all my favorite SBH foodies. Thanks in advance. 

P.S. No tapas/small plates please - Michael's always hungry after.

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## Dennis

Gayle,

Will you be in the city? Assuming you will, these are all within an easy cab ride/walk:

Pops for Champange:   Pre or post dinner. The food is tasty but it's small plates. You go here for the bubbly. 

NOMI:  If it's a nice evening, go to the rooftop outdoor lounge for a cocktail. Celeb-spotting alert: David Schwimmer this past Saturday night...looking so Ross it was funny.

BOKA:  A little away from downtown in our 'hood, Lincoln Park. Ask for Daniel at the bar or Adrian, a waiter. Tell them Dennis and Lisa sent ya.

Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia:  will knock your socks off. Cafe Spiaggia will just untie your shoes for half the price but with equally great views. 

North Pond:   Again, in Lincoln Park but an amazing setting and awesome food. Difficult to get a reservation.

Salpicon:   Interior of Mexico mexican food with an huge wine list.

Old Town Brasserie:   Good French Bistro style.

Shaw's Crab House:   (Hubbard location) Walk in, go up the steps and go to the right, to the Oyster Bar side. Sit at the bar and slurp oysters. Excellent for a nice lunch.

David Burke's Primehouse:   If you want steak, go here. They sometimes have a 78 day dry-aged ribeye available. They also make a tasty leather-infused Manhattan.

one sixty blue:   Modern French. A favorite of mine but, Lisa, not so much. So I don't get to go here anymore. It's great.

Of course there are the top tables in the city:

Charlie Trotter's, Alinea, Tru, Moto, etc. Break the bank expensive for sure. L20 is a new seafood place that just opened up with Laurent Gras as chef. I hear it's out of this world.

Let me know if I can help with anything else and enjoy Chicago!

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## MIke R

this is clearly Dennis territory but here are three  I have enjoyed more than once....

http://www.kamehachi.com/

http://www.heavenonseven.com/

http://www.lawrysonline.com/theprime...o_gen_info.asp

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## GayleR

Dennis, this is a fabulous list! Thank you so very much for taking the time to put it together and including all the links. I was thinking of L.20 for the anniversary dinner actually.

Gayle

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## GayleR

Oooo, now that I looked at Spiaggia's menu maybe that should be the anniversary dinner! So many choices...

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## Dennis

> Dennis, this is a fabulous list! Thank you so very much for taking the time to put it together and including all the links. I was thinking of L.20 for the anniversary dinner actually.
> 
> Gayle



 Open this thread and scroll down to the photos. It's my favorite "food porn" site. There are two pages in the thread with more photos on the second page.

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## MIke R

hey Den -  what about that place we met for drinks??..hows the   food there?

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## Dennis

small plates.

Bin 36

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## GayleR

> Open this thread and scroll down to the photos. It's my favorite "food porn" site. There are two pages in the thread with more photos on the second page.



Thanks, I've been on that site all morning! Mmmmmmm.

Thanks MikeR, but small plates (Michael) and steaks (me) are out.

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## bto

Dennis, was Bin 36 all small plates?  I don't remember but it was a great spot.

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## Dennis

> Dennis, was Bin 36 all small plates?  I don't remember but it was a great spot.



They do have a full-size entree menu. I've only gone there for cheese and assorted small plates...and wine, lot's of wine.

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## Skeeter

Speaking from Chicago, and realizing that I take food more seriously than just about anything else --
If price is no object:
1.  Alinea.  According some the best restaurant in America. It may well be. It is molec. gast. without being annoying or gimicky. We've had two meals there and they may have been the best two meals that I've ever eaten;
2.  Charlie Trotter's: Haven't gone to the Chicago location in a few years (I did his LV place a few weeks ago though). The man is a genius.  There is more attention to detail here than anywhere else. It is not just that the food tastes good. On top of that, the textures work. The color works. Everything works.
3.  Everest: Another favorite. French-influenced. Outstanding.
4.  Spiaggia: Shows what amazing things can be done with Italian food. He uses Italian ingredients and techniques and goes far beyond.
5. Topolobampo -- The Rick Bayless place. Outstanding.

The next level (PM me for more detail):
1.  Graham Elliott: The former 4 star chef at Avenues has gone casual.  Amazing food, but you can show up in jeans.  The foie-pop is a classic.
2. Naha
3. NoMi
4. North Pond.  Great food in a place set in a park just north of Lincoln Park.  I was there for the first time a few weeks ago and was amazed.

Depending on price/food preferences, I'm happy to provide more info.

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## Skeeter

> this is clearly Dennis territory but here are three  I have enjoyed more than once....
> 
> http://www.kamehachi.com/
> 
> http://www.heavenonseven.com/
> 
> http://www.lawrysonline.com/theprime...o_gen_info.asp



Of those: Kamahachi is pretty good sushi and the Ontario Street location is convenient.
I would AVOID Lawry's (partly because their valets almost ran over my wife and partly because it has seen better days generally)
If you are looking for steaks, try Chop House or Keefer's.  For a "meat-centered" meal at a place that is not a steak house, try Custom House.  The owner also runs Spring and has won James Beard awards.

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## Skeeter

> small plates.
> 
> Bin 36



Bin 36 actually has a very good wine bar. I actually prefer that to Pop's, since Bin 36 is more comfortable and because the staff generally knows more about wine.

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## MIke R

shame about Lawrys.....I had excellent Prime Rib in that one and the one in Vegas albeit a few years ago

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## Dennis

> 1.  Graham Elliott: The former 4 star chef at Avenues has gone casual.  Amazing food, but you can show up in jeans.  The foie-pop is a classic.



Skeeter...when you get back, me and you and the wives we were lucky enough to marry go here for dinner.

Deal?

GEB is a genius.

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## Skeeter

> shame about Lawrys.....I had excellent Prime Rib in that one and the one in Vegas albeit a few years ago



That's how I feel too. I was there about 10 years ago today, to celebrate my father's birthday (I remember only because of the coincidence that his birthday is a few days before my wife and I were married, and my now-wife showed up very late for dinner. The tailor doing alterations on her dress had screwed some stuff up, so she had just taken it someplace else to fix).  Back then, it was very good.
Now Lawry's tends to make news because fumes spill from the kitchen into the dining room, causing the City to shut the place down (a few years ago) and because going in there, you really get the idea that they just don't care.
It is too bad, because it was a nice place.
And then there was the valet incident, but that's another matter.

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## GayleR

Thanks all...We've booked the following:
Cafe Spiaggia
onesixty blue
NAHA

We've been to Charlie Trotters, Everest, Topolobampo and Frontera Grill in previous years. I wanted to try L20 but couldn't deal with a four hour $600 dinner. 

I am not a meat eater so steaks are out. I was considering GE but the reviews are very, very mixed, mostly bad so I thought I'd pass.

We'll do drinks at Pops, or Nomi. Anyone know about The Violet Hour?

Thinking about brunch at Sepia.

So many places, so little time.

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## Skeeter

One thing to keep in mind about One Sixty Blue: Although the food ie excellent, the location is not that convenient. It is on the far edge of the Randolph Street area. Another thing -- the area immediately around there is OK, but it is not an area to walk around. It is not necesarily dangerous, but it borders some pretty rough areas.  Still, the food, wine and service are all excellent and worth the trip.

Cafe Spiaggia and Naha are both excellent choices.  Cafe Spiaggia has a few great tables set by the windows that provide excellent views of Oak Street Beach.  They are sort of set into the windows, so they almost provide some seclusion. It is worth waiting a bit for one of those tables.  Naha will always be special to me because on New Year's Eve (2006-2007), when my wife was on bed rest due to pregnancy complications, they put together an incredible meal for carry out. We ate well that night.  We've been there many times, and have never been disappointed.

NoMi is also a great choice, either for dinner or for drinks on the terrace.

The only thing that I am second-guessing on your list is Pops.  Let me toss out a few better options. Bin 36, which I mentioned earlier.  Depending on the season, there are two outside choices. Wave, at the W Lakeshore (Ontario and Lakeshore Drive) has some great lake views with tables outside.  It is a hotel bar that does not feel like a hotel bar. It is a dog-friendly neighborhood place.  Good drinks, a decent wine list, decent service, and great views.  Another place for more of a Chicago experience is Lizzy McNeil's (I may be off on the spelling) at McClurg and the River. It is an Irish bar/pub with tables overlooking the river. Again, a good relaxed scene. It is nice to walk up the riverfront there before or after having drinks.  I've also heard that there is new outdoor bar at the hotel immediately adjacent to Nordstrom's (Michigan Ave.). I haven't been there yet, but I've heard some great things.

With regard to Sepia -- I had a great dinner there, but haven't been there for brunch. If you want to splurge on a great breakfast, do NoMi.  The east-facing windows provide great early morning views, and the food is wonderful. More of a conventional breakfast than a brunch, but still worth the effort. For breakfast on our anniversary or my wife's birthday, we go to either NoMi or Four Seasons.

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## Dennis

> Anyone know about The Violet Hour?



Been there, done that. Find the door (no signage). Cell phones off. See if you pass muster from the door guy.

Inside, it's dark and cozy. If you really like well made craft cocktails, this place rocks. (They have 7 different types of ice, fercrissakes) If you're just looking for a glass of wine and/or bourbon on the rocks, skip it. A bit of a cab ride...in Bucktown/Wicker Park. If you're going to head that way, stop for dessert at Hot Chocolate. 


Do not, I repeat, do not ask for a cosmo or a Miller Lite.

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## GayleR

> Anyone know about The Violet Hour? 
> 
> 
> 
> Do not, I repeat, do not ask for a cosmo or a Miller Lite.



:-D we do not drink beer or Cosmos!

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## MIke R

Miller Lite isnt beer....its the urine of a yet to be determined mammal

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## Dennis

> Anyone know about The Violet Hour? 
> 
> 
> 
> Do not, I repeat, do not ask for a cosmo or a Miller Lite. 
> 
> 
> 
> :-D we do not drink beer or Cosmos!



I didn't think so...nor do I. They don't have that stuff and don't want the crowd who drinks it.

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## GayleR

We enjoyed a lovely anniversary weekend in Chicago. God I love that city! We stayed at the new Trump International Towers perfectly located at the south end of N Michigan Avenue at the river. The hotel has only been open for a few months and it has a few minor wrinkles to iron out, but all in all it was a lovely experience. Our hotel of choice is usually The Peninsula, and while The Trump is not equal to our venerable favorite, it did come close in many ways. We had a very large room with a large sitting area and a kitchenette with a fabulous view of the river and Lake Michigan from the 23rd floor. The suite was decorated in muted shades of grey with dark furniture and mohair upholstered pieces. The bathroom was very big with a lovely deep porcelain soaker tub and a separate glassed shower. Despite the generous size of the bathroom, it was curious that the vanity only had one sink, rather than two. Also of note was that in a hotel of this caliber, the kleenex and toilet paper were cheap, one ply products. Also, surprisingly, there wasn't a full length mirror in the suite! All amenities were excellent and top quality, as were the linens, furnishings and electronics. Service was ahem, uneven. On Saturday at 3:00 p.m. housekeeping had not visited our room, despite our early 8:30 a.m. departure. The service in Rebar (great name for a bar and a bar with a great river view) was horrible and required frequent gesticulations to enquire about our appetizers (they'd been forgotten), or a second drink, or the requested glass of ice. The service at breakfast was equally abysmal. We were only one of three occupied tables but the blase waitress made mistakes on all of our orders, forgetting items, or getting details incorrect. No coffee or water refills were offered either. The concierges also varied in skill. One woman didn't have a clue about anything we asked her (and she even gave us incorrect directions - turn left which should have been right), but thankfully a young man came to her rescue and saved the day with a fantastic lunch recommendation. The door and front desk staff and all the staff we encountered in the hallways as well as housekeeping, (other than on Saturday) were terrific. Would we return? Yes, we would. We have faith they'll get the kinks out.

OK, now to the good stuff...where did we eat?
Thursday night we went to Wave in the W Hotel on North Lakeshore Drive. We were possibly going to meet up with one Skeeter and Mrs Skeeter and they suggested Wave because of it's close proximity to Navy Pier where we planned on heading to afterwards for the outdoor salsa dancing. (I never go to a city without my dance shoes). Though the Skeeter family didn't end up joining us due to their SBH return home to find sick twins, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Wave. This contemporary Med-influenced room overlooks the lake in the distance and the vibe is cool and trendy. Service was superb. We started by sharing hummus and taboulleh with crisp vegetables and warm pita with cocktails, followed by ahi tuna crudo with pear, red onion pickle and pomagranate salad and peeky toe crab with piquillo pepper and manchego cheese fondue. Then we moved onto the mains - for me a whole fish Thai style, special of the day which was superb, sweet, salty, spicy, stuffed with fragrant herbs and for Michael New York strip with mustard and smoked paprika rub, herb potato hash and romesco sauce and we guilded the lily by sharing an order of truffle french fries with harissa aioli. I know we had dessert that we shared but can't recall the details. It was a plate with three or four small differently flavored items, which was just OK and in fact the waitress removed it from the bill when she saw we didn't seem to enjoy it. Overall a very nice dinner.

Friday night's dinner was at Cafe Spiaggia. We chose this over the more formal and costly Spiaggia as we wanted something more casual. The room is very, very casual and in an office building, or is it a condo - anyway a very cold, austere building at the corner of Michigan Ave. and Oak St. Rustic Tuscan trattoria in feeling, small and a bit cramped with not many tables. Service was very attentive and we shared  an appetizer of fluffy, light hand made potato gnocchi with a robust wild boar ragu and Parmigiano Reggiano. Michael followed with a ubiquitous caprese salad which he declared good. Mains were the wood roasted Alaskan halibut with baby artichokes, San Marzano tomatoes and parsley for me - excellent and a roasted rack of lamb for Michael - also excellent. We shared something for dessert but again, I can't recall what it was, perhaps a traditional Tiramisu. Overall a very nice experience.

Saturday we headed to Wicker Park to browse and walk the leafy side streets. The hotel concierge who jumped in to aid the young woman who couldn't think of a lunch recommendation in Wicker Park suggested the neighborhood spot Milk &amp; Honey on North Damen. We LOVED this place. We lined up to place our order while a number was placed on a table to hold our seats and for our lunch to be delivered. This funky, kind of earth-mother, a bit hippy-dippy spot was just what we wanted. Very local. I watched many folks order the Huevos Rancheros served  "Casserole-Style" in a huge souffle dish filled with scrambled eggs, black beans, salsa picante, tortillas and smothered in Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheeses and broiled until hot and bubbly. This is only served weekends and I was tempted but I'd had eggs for breakfast and wanted lunch eats. So instead I scarfed an Antipasto Sandwich on an excellent crunchy baguette stuffed with grilled artichokes, red peppers, zucchini, eggplant and provolone, smeared with yummy black olive tapenade. Hubby had a fabulous Rueben which he raved about. Both were served with the best hand cut, warm, crunchy, thick potato chips I've ever eaten. Mmmmm. A great lunch.

Saturday night was the big anniversary dinner at Naha. We got all dressed up. Michael even donned a jacket and off we went. The room is cool and a bit spare with a long wall of windows to the street. It's contemporary elegant, but not opulent or over the top. BTW when I made the reservation I did let them know it was our anniversary. Not because I expected anything from them (in fact I made a point of saying no candle on the dessert please) but because I wanted them to know it was a special occasion. We arrived on time and were promptly seated in the only full section of the resto, where clearly the waiter was overwhelmed because we had all been seated at once. We were asked if we wanted bottled water (we did) but not offered a cocktail. 20 minutes later we literally flagged down the waiter, and rather curtly by now, as we were frustrated in trying to gain his attention, to say that we wanted to order drinks. Champagne and single malt forthcoming we toasted and perused the menu. 

I started with the organic carnaroli risotto, with wood-grilled cavolo nero Italian greens, braised Pleasant Valley Goat and crisp squash blossom, confit green garlic, Parmesan Reggiano and Tuscan olive oil. It was a lovely starter sized portion, velvety and flavorful and delicious. Michael began with gulf of Maine roasted scallops with vanilla bean, citrus and spices,caramelized belgian endive, ruby red grapefruit and candied rind scented with chocolate mint, which he declared was ambrosial (OK, that was my word, but he said something like that). I followed with blossom fig and honey lacquered moulard duck breast, black velvet apricots, yellow helios radishes and young turnips with broccoli rabe, port and anise hyssop and though I haven't had duck in sometime, I loved the complex flavors of this dish and the tenderness of the fowl. Michael had the wood-grilled "Painted Hills Farm" natural rib eye of beef and garlic scapes with a gratin of macaroni and Capriole Farm goat cheese, oxtail red wine sauce and Murray River Sea Salt and he said it was outstanding. I tasted the gratin and it was the best comfort food elevated to the power of ten! Dessert for Michael was a  Chocolate "Delice" of Columbian "Single Origin" chocolate - kind of like a fondant. He said it was very good. I enjoyed one of the best cheese courses I've ever had (OK, Gary Danko beat it by half a mile).

The cheese course is gigantic and so after some protesting about how full I was, I was offered half a cheese course which consisted of "NANCY'S CAMEMBERT Sheep and Cow's Milk Cheese from Hudson Valley, New York "VALDEON" Spanish Blue Cheese from Blended Milk, "PETIT BASQUE" Sheep's Milk Cheese from the Pyrenees, "BAMALOU" French Cow's Milk Cheese from the Bethmale Valley served with Organic "Future Fruit" Farm Pear and Apple Butter, Mostarda di Fichi, Honey Roasted Nuts, Gala Apples, Port Syrup and Toasted Fruit Bread. I was in heaven!

We enjoyed a lovely bottle of 2003 Robert Craig Affinity.
I must say the waiter felt badly about how the evening started and while he didn't do anything to make the evening special, he did engage, relax and become more attentive, thus redeeming what could have been an evening with a different outcome.

Sunday brunch needed to be a very casual meal. We were still stuffed. So of we went to Toast, on N. Webster in the Lincoln Park hood. We were told it would be a 2 hour wait so we headed down the street to Starbucks, had coffee, read the Sunday papers and headed back after an hour and were seated 15 minutes later. This is a good local breakfast/brunch/lunch spot and I had a very good breakfast burrito while Michael had a chicken club. Overall a good Sunday brunch meal, washed down with a very, very good Bloody Mary.

So, that wrapped up our Chicago eat-fest. Not enough time, too many great places to try...we can't wait tor return. Thanks Chicago!

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## GramChop

very enjoyable report, gayle!  i, too, love chicago and now with all this new information in my pocket, i can't wait to go back!

sorry you missed the skeeters.  they are very nice folks...albeit a little old for my blood, although they look young. (wink, wink...skeeter!)

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## andynap

Great food reviews Gayle.

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