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Chicago restaurant Rec?
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 9:56 am
by Xislandgirl
We are heading to Chicago in January and want to have a fabulous meal. Not Charlie Trotters or Alinea fabulous, but close.
Any suggestions?
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 10:16 am
by Laura T
A helpful website for you may be Metromix (
http://chicago.metromix.com/).
Some of my favorite upscale restaurants are:
Spiaggia (upscale Italian - wonderful view of the lake)
NoMI - upscale french and more great views
Crofton on Wells - American cuisine
Naha - American
LeLan - French/Asian
Topolobampo - Mexican (Rick Bayless)
As you know, Chicago has countless restaurants...let me know if I can answer any specific questions about these or other restaurants.
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 10:19 am
by California Girl
I only really got to one nice restaurant while I was in Chicago, but I recommend it highly. It's Shaw's Crab House. Excellent (and I mean Excellent!) crab & lobster! Nice ambiance and top notch service!
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 10:20 am
by Xislandgirl
Thanks. That is a great starting place.
It really is overwhelming when you realize that there are so many great restaurants in the city. We will be in the city for 2 nights and in Buffalo Grove with friends for 1.
The plan is to have drinks and a casual dinner the first night with some other friends and then have a fabulous meal with just us on the 2nd night before we head to our friends on the 3rd day.
I would love to try CT's or Alinea, but I have some odd food allergies (one being truffles) and I find that most restaurants these days use truffles in everything. I would hate to ruin a $400 meal by having to pass on several items because they could make me ill or not know that they are an ingredient and end up in the hospital.
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:02 am
by mbw1024
ohhhhh I'd go for Rick Bayless for sure! I need to file that in the ol' memory banks!
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:11 am
by Schnell
Mentioned this in the other Chi town thread, but Lawrys is always a great choice if you like prime rib.
Signature Room on the 95th flr of the Hancock bldg is nice too. Food is not anything out of this world, but the view surely is.
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:58 am
by chicagoans
Agree that there are countless restaurants to try in Chicago. What kind of food do you like and where are you staying? (PM me if you don't want to say online.) There are walkable restaurants in every part of the city.
One of my new favorites is RoSal's -- wonderful Italian in the Little Italy area (it's on Racine and Taylor.) Great service.
If you like Mexican I second Topolobampo or the sister restaurant Frontera Grill.
I haven't been to Bistro 110 in a long time, but at least a few years ago the chef there had some provisions for serving people with allergies. (My friend's daughter has severe allergies and they were able to work around that.)
I'll pop an email to a friend who works as a concierge downtown and see what she recommends. She's way more in tune with stuff like this than me.
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:16 pm
by Xislandgirl
We are staying at the Intercontinental. I have stayed there once other time and I really enjoyed my stay.
My food allergies are to high end food...truffles and oysters. It is sad really since they are both so popular in high end cooking and most fine dining chefs do not like to leave out an ingredient.
We really enjoy a nice high end meal but for me the most important is impeccable service. I was in the business for 20+ years and I seldom get great service because I am picky. I have yet to find the perfect combination restaurant of great food and great service. I am not saying that I have never had good service, because I have had some very good servers, but never great. Maybe it is because my expectations are so high, but I will continue on my quest.
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:20 pm
by California Girl
X - I also stayed at the Intercontinental. Don't fall for that $6.95 bottle of Evian in your room! They sell the same bottle in the gift shop for $2.95. But if you go across the street to Walgreens, you can get a gallon of drinking water for $1.79 (or something like that)!
Shaw's Crab House is definitely walking distance from the Intercon. That's how we got there! 
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:40 pm
by mbw1024
Xislandgirl wrote:We are staying at the Intercontinental. I have stayed there once other time and I really enjoyed my stay.
My food allergies are to high end food...truffles and oysters. It is sad really since they are both so popular in high end cooking and most fine dining chefs do not like to leave out an ingredient.
We really enjoy a nice high end meal but for me the most important is impeccable service. I was in the business for 20+ years and I seldom get great service because I am picky. I have yet to find the perfect combination restaurant of great food and great service. I am not saying that I have never had good service, because I have had some very good servers, but never great. Maybe it is because my expectations are so high, but I will continue on my quest.
Have you ever been to the White Barn Inn in Maine?
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:46 pm
by iowaguy
The Intercontinental is a great hotel---you should have fun. We recently had cocktails at Spiaggia, then dinner at Cafe Spiaggia, which is a bit less expensive. Both are wonderful spots-- Barack and Michele Obama had a special dinner at Spiaggia last Saturday night. Last week I ate at Frontera Grill, which I love---its not incredibly fancy---but I really love it---so charming, and delicious. I had dinner last week at Bistro 110, which someone mentioned---great bistro food, probably not up to "memorable meal" category, but a good spot. We also had dinner last week at a newer Italian restaurant called "Prosecco" and I enjoyed it a lot---really pretty place---romantic. Blackbird, Naha or Bin 36 might fit the bill---I haven't eaten at these places myself, but I hear good comments. Another personal favorite for me is Cafe Ba-Ba-Ree-Ba. Its up in Lincoln Park. Not a fancy spot---but wonderful Spanish tapas in a lively atmosphere. And you have to get pizza while you're there---Lou Malnati's is my pick.
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:47 pm
by DELETED
DELETED
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 2:41 pm
by iowaguy
X--You might already be familiar with it, but a fun site for researching restaurants pretty much anywhere is Chowhound:
www.chowhound.com/
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 2:54 pm
by Xislandgirl
iowaguy wrote:X--You might already be familiar with it, but a fun site for researching restaurants pretty much anywhere is Chowhound:
www.chowhound.com/
I am a chowhound junkie!
Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 3:35 pm
by chicagoans
Hi X,
I heard back from my friend (a concierge) and here are some of her recommendations:
Japonais -- hip and upscale;
http://www.japonaischicago.com
Graham Elliot -- youngest 5 star chef ever; 2 James Beard awards. Warning if looking at work -- website has music.
www.grahamelliot.com/
L20 -- elegant seafood; Located in the Belden Stratford, a beautiful historic building in Lincoln Park (north side of Chicago). (If you go there take a peek at the Cafe Brauer building across the street and south a bit. Got married there!) This is right near the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is beautiful. warning: another noisy web site:
www.l2orestaurant.com/
16 at the Trump Tower.
www.trumpchicagohotel.com/; new and gorgeous views.
Sepia -- cool old building (1890's print shop); another singing website:
www.sepiachicago.com/
Nomi -- in the Park Hyatt on Michigan Ave. I figure it must be good if a concierge from a competing hotel recommends it!
www.nomirestaurant.com
Ralph Lauren -- has the RL ambiance/furnishings.
http://rlrestaurant.ralphlauren.com/
Hope this helps!