I am meeting a high school friend in Chicago in a couple of weeks. I live in St. Paul and she lives in D.C. I lived in Chicago for five years, but that was over 20 years ago and when I've visited since I've either been on a restricted schedule or with kids so I haven't explored the restaurant scene in recent years. We have only one weekend so it's not a lot of time, but what restaurants would you suggest? We are staying in the theater district on State St. She likes any kind of food. I like seafood and used to love Greek Town, but again that was awhile ago.
Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for, some personal experiences and recommendations. Obviously there are too many choices and not enough time. It's fun to learn about some new places and interesting to see that some of my old favorites and places I used to bring visitors (Greek Town, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba and Ann Sather's) are still around and popular.
Just came back from the "girls weekend" and had a very nice time. We had dinner at the Pegasus in Greek Town and it was good; I would recommend it. We had lunch at Terzo Piano in the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute. It was an eclectic menu and I just had soup, but it was good. For our second dinner we chose "geb," the Graham Elliott Bistro. It is in a part of the city called "West Loop" that has been revitalized. It was fun to see a part of the city that was new to me and see some of the new restaurants that had been mentioned or that I had heard about it. We give "geb" a mixed review. The service was good. My friend had an appetizer that was so fatty she couldn't finish it and we shared a dessert that was so dry we couldn't finish it. However, the server took both of them off of our bill,which was very nice. My friend ordered the skirt steak entree which she said was one of the best she's ever had. I had an heirloom tomato appetizer that was very good and a risotta entree that was very unique. It was good, but very different. We wished we had more time to try all of the suggestions here! We considered Iberico (?) for tapas and sangrias, but my friend said it had gotten a mixed review on Yelp. We also considered Frontera Grill, but we didn't want to wait for two hours. Oh, and we took the suggestion to stop at Sugar Bliss cupcakes, which was just a few blocks from our hotel. We both got mini cupcakes boxed up to bring home to our families and at my house they were a huge hit! I loved the carrot cinnamon cupcake. Thanks again! I find this to be a great website for travel recommendations.
Check out Avec, Public House and Girl & the Goat. All are great choices and a short cab ride away from downtown. Have fun!
Wow, there are so many great restaurants in Chicago, and it really depends a lot on your budget. However Greek Town is still awesome and you can find very reasonably priced meals there. My husband and I had our first date at Greek Islands, so that is a favorite for us and I also love Roditys (if you like it, there octopus is fantastic).
Also, since you are staying on State St. 312 would be close and is a really nice restaurant (http://www.312chicago.com/). I also love the lamb curry at Elephant and Castle and my husband loves their fish and chips.
Enjoy!
Yelp. Read reviews, it's my goto program for going out to eat especially in new places.
What's your budget?
Sky's the limit? Japonais (sushi & steaks) - off of Chicago Avenue, on the river - across from the old Montgomery Ward's HQ -- there is only 1 other in the US, in NYC
I agree with Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba too--best sangria I've ever had :)
Greek Town is still good. OPA!!!!!
I love Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba. It's my go-to restaurant when I had friends visit. The bacon wrapped dates and sangria are amazing. It's in Lincoln Park on Halstead just north of Armitage, so you would have to either take the brown line or a cab.
Italian Village is right down town. It's a few blocks south of the Theatre district - but that's usually where I go before a show.
You MUST have Sugar Bliss cupcakes. On Wabash, right out the Macy's doors and across the street. You can get an Icing shot, but the red velvet is fantastic.
They changed Bistro 110 and it is now a high end Tapas place (I hear). I haven't been there, but I read the write up in Time Out magazine and it sounds delicious. It's just west of Water Tower on Pearson - across from the Hershey Store.
For brunch on Saturday - you must eat at Orange. FANTASTIC. I Love the Steak & Eggs Benedict and they have "frushi", which is made of fruit to look like sushi. Very cute and quite tasty. There are several locations and I've been to all of them - I prefer the one in Roscoe Village (but it may be too far north) but I have eaten at the location on Halstead / Milwaukee many times as well.
Also- don't forget breakfast at Ann Sather's with the GIANT cinnamon rolls!
Also - not sure if you were a Top Chef fan.... but Stephanie Izard's restaurant Girl & the Goat is fantastic. I ate there for my b'day 2 years ago.... it took us MONTHS to get in, so you might want to see about reservations. That was right after it opened, though... so the wait has probably died down and it may be easier to get a table.
Chicago is so much fun..... Have a great weekend!
A Rick Bayless restaurant. I went to La Frontera (or Frontera Grill?) and it was exceptional. Get there early or have a long wait.
Have fun!
I would ask the concierge at your hotel-they know all the best sleeping spots. But I've also been wanting to try one or all three of these...
Japonais is really nice and has a great atmosphere, excellent service and good food.
Alhambra Palace restaurant is fun. The inside is stunning and when we went there was live music and belly dancing if I recall correctly. Food was good too. The only downside was that for some reason it took our server forever to get back to us with the check once we were finally ready to leave.
Cafe Baba, is excellent
Hugos Frog Bar has excellent Seafood
Smith & Wollensky has great steaks
Purple Pig is very good, different, & good atmosphere
Joes Stone Crab on Grand has excellent seafood too
Gosh I'm hungry for some seafood now, have fun
You may also want to go on opentable....decide what type of cuisine you want and see which restaurants have reservations. Girl and the Goat is impossible to get into unless you book months ahead. There are lots of great new restaurants on Randolph street (check out TimeOut Chicago)...Nellcote is one of them. Quartinos is great and has outdoor seating...I think its on State (north of the theater district). Joes is great for seafood as well as GT Fish.
I would definitely do some research online through metromix or timeout...then check out the reviews. A restaurant on Randolph street should definitely make your list....its the new "restaurant row".
Also...someone suggested Graham Elliott....highly recommend as well!
Have a great time!!
Check out the site below. Select the areas around "downtown" if you don't want a pricey cab ride. West Loop has lots of great choices. Have fun!
I love Hugos Frog Bar! Tavern on Rush- Chicago has lots of great places!!
I also love Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba - but my favorite tapas restaurant is Iberico - it's on LaSalle St, in River North, so more centrally located - and such a fun atmosphere. sit in the main dining room. awesome sangrias. and lots to choose from. have fun!
