Recommendations for Chicago [General]
2012 Mar 8
I found Chicago had a whole bunch of regional specialties. I didn't go anywhere high-end when I was there. I'm assuming it's probably too late to get a reservation at Alinea as it's apparently the best restaurant in the world.
For BBQ, check out Honey1, Uncle John's or Barbara Ann's. (Rib tips and hot links are key!)
Chicago hot dogs (Either at the Vienna Beef Factory, Wiener's Circle, Hot Dougs and many more)
Maxwell polish sausage (Check out the express counters -- its contest which one of them is actually 'the original')
Deep dish pizza -- Again, this is contested. Pizzaria Uno is apparently the original and I enjoyed it, although people will come out in favour of Lou Malnati's (although I think they mean the original, not one of the chain locations) and Giordanos also get tossed around a lot.
Italian Beef Sandwich - Really delicious. I got mine at Al's Beef which is now a chain, because Mr. Beef was closed for renovations. But apparently Mr. Beef is the king.
Also, if you're a beer drinker, I can recommend the Goose Island tour/tasting. Even if you don't go in for the spiel, it's a great brewpub and highly recommended.
For BBQ, check out Honey1, Uncle John's or Barbara Ann's. (Rib tips and hot links are key!)
Chicago hot dogs (Either at the Vienna Beef Factory, Wiener's Circle, Hot Dougs and many more)
Maxwell polish sausage (Check out the express counters -- its contest which one of them is actually 'the original')
Deep dish pizza -- Again, this is contested. Pizzaria Uno is apparently the original and I enjoyed it, although people will come out in favour of Lou Malnati's (although I think they mean the original, not one of the chain locations) and Giordanos also get tossed around a lot.
Italian Beef Sandwich - Really delicious. I got mine at Al's Beef which is now a chain, because Mr. Beef was closed for renovations. But apparently Mr. Beef is the king.
Also, if you're a beer drinker, I can recommend the Goose Island tour/tasting. Even if you don't go in for the spiel, it's a great brewpub and highly recommended.
2012 Mar 8
If you can't get into one of the Bayless places, we had an excellent meal when we were there at a place called De Cero Taqueria.
decerotaqueria.com/reviews.htm
decerotaqueria.com/reviews.htm
2012 Mar 8
Funny that I should stumble upon this thread as I've spent this entire past week doing research for my Chicago trip next weekend (for St. Patrick's day!)
I tried the deep dish pizza last time I was there and decided it wasn't for me since I'm slightly lactose-intolerant and I found it to be more of a cheese pie than a pizza :P I also didn't like the Italian beef sandwich, which I tried at Al's - it was an incredibly messy experience.
Topolobampo was definitely a highlight last time around and I'll be trying to get into Frontera Fresco this time. As well, this time we're following in Guy Fieri's foodsteps (haha, that was a typo but I'll leave it since it's so fitting) and checking out some restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. (We're staying away from fine-dining and going budget-friendly)
Namely, we've got our eyes set on:
- Irazu (Costa Rican)
- Cemitas Pueblas (really interesting Mexican sandwiches!)
- Tre Kronor (Scandanavian)
- Tufano's Vernon Park Tap (Italian homestyle cooking)
As well, just last night I stumbled upon this interesting forum regarding "Great Neighbourhood Restaurants" (GNR's)by LTHForums - which tags themselves as a Chicago-based culinary chat site (much like ours I hope!) They're starting nominations for this year's GNR's and seem to have an incredibly passionate group surrounding their forum. They even have a map of all previously nominated GNR's (g.co/maps/497ng) which I'm slowing reading up on! Definitely another hub to do some research in :)
Happy eating in Chicago!
I tried the deep dish pizza last time I was there and decided it wasn't for me since I'm slightly lactose-intolerant and I found it to be more of a cheese pie than a pizza :P I also didn't like the Italian beef sandwich, which I tried at Al's - it was an incredibly messy experience.
Topolobampo was definitely a highlight last time around and I'll be trying to get into Frontera Fresco this time. As well, this time we're following in Guy Fieri's foodsteps (haha, that was a typo but I'll leave it since it's so fitting) and checking out some restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. (We're staying away from fine-dining and going budget-friendly)
Namely, we've got our eyes set on:
- Irazu (Costa Rican)
- Cemitas Pueblas (really interesting Mexican sandwiches!)
- Tre Kronor (Scandanavian)
- Tufano's Vernon Park Tap (Italian homestyle cooking)
As well, just last night I stumbled upon this interesting forum regarding "Great Neighbourhood Restaurants" (GNR's)by LTHForums - which tags themselves as a Chicago-based culinary chat site (much like ours I hope!) They're starting nominations for this year's GNR's and seem to have an incredibly passionate group surrounding their forum. They even have a map of all previously nominated GNR's (g.co/maps/497ng) which I'm slowing reading up on! Definitely another hub to do some research in :)
Happy eating in Chicago!
2012 Mar 9
grant achatz two other spots besides alinea are www.theaviary.com/ and www.nextrestaurant.com
charlie trotter's www.charlietrotters.com
this place looks awesome, lots of awards blackbirdrestaurant.com/#
5 years in a row james beard pastry chef nominee www.hotchocolatechicago.com/
just looks awesome www.girlandthegoat.com/
charlie trotter's www.charlietrotters.com
this place looks awesome, lots of awards blackbirdrestaurant.com/#
5 years in a row james beard pastry chef nominee www.hotchocolatechicago.com/
just looks awesome www.girlandthegoat.com/
2012 Mar 9
LTH Forum is a great resource. If you are there on a Sunday, DO NOT MISS the Maxwell street market. The best local/cheap/region Mexican food. Also some other neat things for sale, such as copper cookware. Lots of kitsch too.
Blackbird mentioned above is good - but I would head to Avec, same management group, awesome place.
For Frontera a good bet would be to go for Saturday brunch, as they don't take reservations and if you get there 30 to 45 minutes before they open you will get a spot. XOCO just around the corner has the most awesome tortas and mexican hot chocolate and other goodies, if you can't get in to Frontera then go here (or do both like me)
Chicago has so much good food, you'll have an awesome time.
Blackbird mentioned above is good - but I would head to Avec, same management group, awesome place.
For Frontera a good bet would be to go for Saturday brunch, as they don't take reservations and if you get there 30 to 45 minutes before they open you will get a spot. XOCO just around the corner has the most awesome tortas and mexican hot chocolate and other goodies, if you can't get in to Frontera then go here (or do both like me)
Chicago has so much good food, you'll have an awesome time.
2012 Mar 10
Again Frontera is yummy. You can eat apps in the bar if the wait is long for a table.
You have to try Al's beef don't forget to get it juiced!
Lou Malnati's for deep dish the place is a bit small and it takes 40 minutes to cook your pizza but the wait is worth it.
Get some popcoorn from Garretts to munch on in the hotel room.
You have to try Al's beef don't forget to get it juiced!
Lou Malnati's for deep dish the place is a bit small and it takes 40 minutes to cook your pizza but the wait is worth it.
Get some popcoorn from Garretts to munch on in the hotel room.
2012 Mar 10
Ken V you're so right about Frontera. Impossible to get a reservation because they don't give out many, and especially not to small parties. But even though the wait can be two hours, we were inside in less than an hour and having great drinks and apps in the bar until our table was ready.
2012 Mar 12
Merlo on Maple street was awesome italian. Very nice atmostphere and nice part of town.
The roof, was cool place for over-priced martinis and good live music.
Had the Deep dish at Gino's east and wasn't disappointed. Although i don't know what a great deep dish should taste like.
If you are driving there, take a bike. Great town for biking. Bike rental is ridiculously expensive.
The roof, was cool place for over-priced martinis and good live music.
Had the Deep dish at Gino's east and wasn't disappointed. Although i don't know what a great deep dish should taste like.
If you are driving there, take a bike. Great town for biking. Bike rental is ridiculously expensive.
2012 Mar 12
Thanks everyone. The problem is narrowing down the choices. I want to try everything. I've been to Chicago many times, but not in the last 10 years and not since my priorities changed from Bars on Rush Street to good food.
@Qster - thanks for the link to LTH forums. I've been checking out Road Eats and Chowhound as well.
@eastcoast chef - I had a reso at Charlie Trotters, but I cancelled it. Since booking the Chicago trip, I've booked a trip to Italy in June. The budget this trip couldn't quite stretch to include a meal at Charlie Trotters.
@Qster - thanks for the link to LTH forums. I've been checking out Road Eats and Chowhound as well.
@eastcoast chef - I had a reso at Charlie Trotters, but I cancelled it. Since booking the Chicago trip, I've booked a trip to Italy in June. The budget this trip couldn't quite stretch to include a meal at Charlie Trotters.
2012 Mar 16
I hit Frontera for lunch, either early or late--never had a problem getting in then. Merkat is very nice, too. For tapas, I have always liked Cafe Ba-Ba-Ree-Ba on Halstead N of Armitage. It is loud, crowded, and young. But with a reservation (they are on Open Table), it is golden. Very consistent quality, great value.
Heaven on Seven (the one in the loop, not the one off the Mag Mile), is an interesting experience--on the 7th floor of a nondescript office building--great, inexpensive Cajun fare. I have only ever been there for lunch, which I think is all that they offer at that location.
Heaven on Seven (the one in the loop, not the one off the Mag Mile), is an interesting experience--on the 7th floor of a nondescript office building--great, inexpensive Cajun fare. I have only ever been there for lunch, which I think is all that they offer at that location.
2012 Mar 21
It sounds like a few of us are headed to Chicago. I'm there for a week in May, so hopefully people will post wrap ups when they get back.
I managed to score a reservation for 2 at Frontera, and we might try to explore other parts of the Bayless culinary empire.
I've heard that brunch at The Publican is great, and have also been told to try Garrett Popcorn and the Doughnought Vault. Staying a few nights at the inn above Longman & Eagle, so we'll probably eat there too.
Budget probably won't bring us to anything Achatz or Topo, but if anyone finds something great, please do build this resource.
I managed to score a reservation for 2 at Frontera, and we might try to explore other parts of the Bayless culinary empire.
I've heard that brunch at The Publican is great, and have also been told to try Garrett Popcorn and the Doughnought Vault. Staying a few nights at the inn above Longman & Eagle, so we'll probably eat there too.
Budget probably won't bring us to anything Achatz or Topo, but if anyone finds something great, please do build this resource.
2014 May 23
Frontera (or any piece of the Bayless empire) is well worth it, and the wait is usually shorter than they tell you it is.
Best and most memorable for me was the Maxwell St Market, a Sunday flea market with a myriad of great (mostly mexican and central american) options. This set the bar for mexican for me. Order what most people seem to be ordering from any particular tent/truck.
Updated, with link (PDF): www.greatermidwestfoodways.com
Those two were the real stand-outs from when I was last there.
Serious Eats has a city site for Chicago which was a pretty great resource to figure out where to get good versions of the local classics (Italian Beef sandwich, Chicago-Style Hot Dog, Deep Dish Pizza). There isn't really consensus on "best" places for these things. Great food city though, go hungry.
Some other good restaurants for certain, and if you can get a ticket/reso to something that Achatz is doing, that'd be well worth it - but I didn't really find that any of the mid to high-end places I went to were really all that different from what you might be served in some of Ottawa's more creative restaurants. That's more of a compliment to Ottawa than a slag on Chicago.
One thing I noticed though is that the food tends to come out quick. Even in the Michelin star place (along with a few others), there was no leisurely pace to the meal. It didn't feel "rushed" in a negative way, but it also wasn't the ~2hr meal pacing that you might typically expect. Apps and mains came out very quickly.
As for other things to do, I enjoyed jogging through the city (mostly to work up more appetite) to see the landmarks (the bean, grant park, etc) efficiently, and the CAF architecture boat tour (I'm no architecture buff, but this really changed the way I saw the city and I wish I had done it at the start of my visit).
Also, baseball games. Great baseball town.
Best and most memorable for me was the Maxwell St Market, a Sunday flea market with a myriad of great (mostly mexican and central american) options. This set the bar for mexican for me. Order what most people seem to be ordering from any particular tent/truck.
Updated, with link (PDF): www.greatermidwestfoodways.com
Those two were the real stand-outs from when I was last there.
Serious Eats has a city site for Chicago which was a pretty great resource to figure out where to get good versions of the local classics (Italian Beef sandwich, Chicago-Style Hot Dog, Deep Dish Pizza). There isn't really consensus on "best" places for these things. Great food city though, go hungry.
Some other good restaurants for certain, and if you can get a ticket/reso to something that Achatz is doing, that'd be well worth it - but I didn't really find that any of the mid to high-end places I went to were really all that different from what you might be served in some of Ottawa's more creative restaurants. That's more of a compliment to Ottawa than a slag on Chicago.
One thing I noticed though is that the food tends to come out quick. Even in the Michelin star place (along with a few others), there was no leisurely pace to the meal. It didn't feel "rushed" in a negative way, but it also wasn't the ~2hr meal pacing that you might typically expect. Apps and mains came out very quickly.
As for other things to do, I enjoyed jogging through the city (mostly to work up more appetite) to see the landmarks (the bean, grant park, etc) efficiently, and the CAF architecture boat tour (I'm no architecture buff, but this really changed the way I saw the city and I wish I had done it at the start of my visit).
Also, baseball games. Great baseball town.
2014 May 27
I really enjoyed Sable Kitchen and Bar; good food, atmosphere and a really extensive drink menu.
www.sablechicago.com/
www.sablechicago.com/
2014 Jun 2
You will love the market. Hot Doug's is closing/closed, so if you were thinking of checking it out - check that it is still there. Beside my other recommendations earlier, Girl and the Goat comes highly recommended from a reliable source. Do check out the LTH Forum for the latest comings and goings in Chicago - great resource, similar to OF.
2014 Jul 7
And we're back!
@bwc, sourdough - Maxwell Street Market... Thank you, thank you and thank you.
I have nothing particularly to say about the market itself, but the food. The Food. OMG THE FOOD. The tacos were things of beauty, each place slightly different, each awesome. I had the bestest tortillas i have ever had ever, made on the spot by someone's million-year-old grandmother, and the crowning glory, the mole rojas tacos at Rubi's, verged on a religious experience. The churros were made like every thirty seconds and roughly the temperature of magma if magma tasted like heaven. The fruit juices were juice candy. The tamales... i could go on. If i had been there another Sunday, i would have gone back and fasted for 24hrs first so i could eat more.
Bayless' Frontera was good. Not mind blowing but is see why people like it. The hot chocolate and empanadas at his Xoco next door were great.
@gaby - Sable may have ruined me for lamb from anywhere else ever again. Everything we tried was amazing. They do small plates brilliantly. Great suggestion, thanks muchly.
@sourdough - there is a tremendous amount of hype around Girl and Goat. It is utterly meritted, we had a superb meal there. Small plates again.
...and for future travellin foodies...
LUXBAR - American food done great. Had lobster tail/filet mignon sliders that were like surf/turf butter on a bun, great whiskey selection, rockin music.
PERES RESTAURANT - Classic mexican massive menu but everything we had we loved. Extra points for the chile ralleno tacos, and poblano tacos as goods as anything at Maxwell Market. Killer mexican breakfast too.
BONGO ROOM - does an evil evil brunch, fully worth the wait in line which went from 20min to 5min in seconds. The white chocolate caramel pretzel pancakes were wrong in an entirely good way.
ANN SATHER - also does an evil brunch. Perhaps not quite as evil as the Bongo Room but that's slicing it rather thin, and what can't be loved about a place that gives you hot just made biscuits AND/OR (yes, AND / OR ) massive hot just made cinnamon buns, AS A SIDE DISH. WITH EVERY MEAL (yes, EVERY. MEAL.).
MALNATI'S PIZZA - does the classic Chicago deep dish damn fine. I'm not moving away from thin crust any time soon, but this was a loaded feast delivered fast.
FIRECAKES - Donuts. On fire. Or they should be considering how fast they disappear. Decadent.
THREE-DOTS-AND-A-DASH - Bestest Tiki Bar ever. Great decor. Massive, STRONG creative and classic drinks in novelty mugs, great nibblies, the Rum List is like a Rum Bible complete with miracles and singing angels.
GARRETS POPCORN - lives up to the hype but goes stale really really fast.
...anyhow, Chicago... great foodie town, totally worth the visit and dollars.
@bwc, sourdough - Maxwell Street Market... Thank you, thank you and thank you.
I have nothing particularly to say about the market itself, but the food. The Food. OMG THE FOOD. The tacos were things of beauty, each place slightly different, each awesome. I had the bestest tortillas i have ever had ever, made on the spot by someone's million-year-old grandmother, and the crowning glory, the mole rojas tacos at Rubi's, verged on a religious experience. The churros were made like every thirty seconds and roughly the temperature of magma if magma tasted like heaven. The fruit juices were juice candy. The tamales... i could go on. If i had been there another Sunday, i would have gone back and fasted for 24hrs first so i could eat more.
Bayless' Frontera was good. Not mind blowing but is see why people like it. The hot chocolate and empanadas at his Xoco next door were great.
@gaby - Sable may have ruined me for lamb from anywhere else ever again. Everything we tried was amazing. They do small plates brilliantly. Great suggestion, thanks muchly.
@sourdough - there is a tremendous amount of hype around Girl and Goat. It is utterly meritted, we had a superb meal there. Small plates again.
...and for future travellin foodies...
LUXBAR - American food done great. Had lobster tail/filet mignon sliders that were like surf/turf butter on a bun, great whiskey selection, rockin music.
PERES RESTAURANT - Classic mexican massive menu but everything we had we loved. Extra points for the chile ralleno tacos, and poblano tacos as goods as anything at Maxwell Market. Killer mexican breakfast too.
BONGO ROOM - does an evil evil brunch, fully worth the wait in line which went from 20min to 5min in seconds. The white chocolate caramel pretzel pancakes were wrong in an entirely good way.
ANN SATHER - also does an evil brunch. Perhaps not quite as evil as the Bongo Room but that's slicing it rather thin, and what can't be loved about a place that gives you hot just made biscuits AND/OR (yes, AND / OR ) massive hot just made cinnamon buns, AS A SIDE DISH. WITH EVERY MEAL (yes, EVERY. MEAL.).
MALNATI'S PIZZA - does the classic Chicago deep dish damn fine. I'm not moving away from thin crust any time soon, but this was a loaded feast delivered fast.
FIRECAKES - Donuts. On fire. Or they should be considering how fast they disappear. Decadent.
THREE-DOTS-AND-A-DASH - Bestest Tiki Bar ever. Great decor. Massive, STRONG creative and classic drinks in novelty mugs, great nibblies, the Rum List is like a Rum Bible complete with miracles and singing angels.
GARRETS POPCORN - lives up to the hype but goes stale really really fast.
...anyhow, Chicago... great foodie town, totally worth the visit and dollars.
lovetoeat
I have Happy Mouths blog book marked.
I have reservations at Mercat de la Planxa (thanks blubarry) and Topo. I'm also hoping to score a reservation at Frontera Grill.
TIA