Tell me about the best restaurants in Chicago

[5280]

cannot get reservation at Alinea or Goosefoot. damn impossible.

have reservation at Les Nomades and Henri and L2o
emailed El Ideas but have not heard back
considering Ria... is it worth it? what about TRU?
Charlie Trotters is classic but have heard its stuffy, they require jackets, C.T. is full of himself, etc etc etc

[UTmilktoast]

Girl and the Goat
Spiaggia

or

try some of these:
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Ma...w-Restaurants/

[Texas St. Armadillos]

Any Rick Bayless joint will be great:

Frontera Grill
Topolobampo
XOCO

[scrumptiouschef]

Huge thread on Chicago barbecue on roadfood http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/Barbe...o-m692292.aspx

[Gardner Barnes]

I ate at Blackbird and thought it was awesome.

[Chewbacca]

Any Rick Bayless joint will be great:

Frontera Grill
Topolobampo
XOCO

Never been there, but this. I will eat at a Rick Bayless restaurant before I die. Watching him cook on Top Chef Masters gave me wood.

[huge]

I ate at Blackbird and thought it was awesome.

This is all I can contribute as wel. Place was great.

[dhamalrdr]

Yolk was pretty good for breakfast. It was a bit of a wait though.

[JohnGradyCole]

Any Rick Bayless joint will be great:

Frontera Grill
Topolobampo
XOCO

Must. Ate at Frontera and XOCO last year, both were awesome. I actually preferred XOCO, even though it's just the sandwich shop, over Frontera. So if you can't get in at Frontera or Topolobampo, definitely hit XOCO for lunch.

Table 52 (Art Smith restaurant) was nice too, really enjoyed it.

[Hammer Hands]

Ever had Foie Gras on a Hot Dog? Hot Doug's is the place to find it, only in Chicago. Nice lunch spot.

[Stuck in CO]

We are planning on trying out Smoque when we are out there in a couple of weeks.

[Buzzrock]

I ate at Girl and the Goat a few weeks ago and it was a Top 10 Ever meal. That place is $#@!ing awesome. Me and my brother in-law were drinking at the Matchbox bar (awesome place) and decided to see if we could get in. It was a drizzly cool Wednesday at 5:30 and the place was slammed. Initially we were told we were out of luck, but then the hostess said she had a table for us but we could only have 90 minutes. Everything was insanely good.

I haven't been to Topolo but I ate at Xoco once for lunch and it was very good (I remember the guac in particular), and I've eaten once at Frontera. Similar story to G&G, me and a coworker showed up around 8 and they said they were done seating people for the night, but we were able to snag a spot at the bar. Very good as well.

$#@!ing love Chicago (in the summer). Great drinking and eating town. Related but different: the Skybox on Sheffield is a great way to take in a Cubs game, and it's all the beer and food you can handle, all provided by the Goose Island brewpub.

[BolivianBulldog]

Must. Ate at Frontera and XOCO last year, both were awesome. I actually preferred XOCO, even though it's just the sandwich shop, over Frontera. So if you can't get in at Frontera or Topolobampo, definitely hit XOCO for lunch.

And if you don't have time for Xoco, hit up Frontera Tortas at ORD in Terminal 1 (United) or 3 (American) for some kickass sammiches.

[bigbevo76]

I have been to Mastros for steaks twice and the last time it was bad. Tough as leather steak. I actually brought this up to our waitress and I never do that type of $#@!. I told her there was no way it was prime.

Grimaldis has the best pizza imho

[Bottlecap]

I ate at Blackbird and thought it was awesome.

Also, sister restaurants Avec and The Publican

[BearLakeHorn]

Chicago Chop House is the best steak I've ever had. This was ~2004.

[KingBobo81]

I went to Tru a few months ago and it was one of the more enjoyable meals I have ever had. Worth every penny.

I went to Girl & the Goat the night before - it was good and a more social environment, but the food was much better at Tru.

[BuckeyesSuck]

Also, sister restaurants Avec and The Publican

These are all good.

Another awesome option is that I always pimp when chicago restaurants come up is Tango Sur. Its an Argentinian steakhouse, its BYOB (I'd suggest a bottle of scotch), very cool place with MASSIVE perfectly prepared steaks. I'd highly recommend the spinach mashed potatos.

It's not going to be on the cover of "trendy food magazine tomorrow," but gotdam if i didn't walk out of there with half a cow for the car ride home.

[Blackhawks24]

I'll chime in for any of Rick Bayless' offerings. Some of the best food I've ever had.

Far from the 'best,' but there's no beating the views at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Han$#@! building. Decent wine list, too.

Alinea is (obviously) fantastic. Powerhouse in the South Loop is a place I always enjoyed (not sure if they're still open)

[5280]

Hit xoco for lunch. Right at opening time. Before it got megacrowded. Food? Meh. Yes, its different from Mexican.because its Mexican inspired. Was it good? Was my life changem. No. Couldve been.insignificant middle of the road sandwich shop and I wouldn't have cared

Long man and eagle. Totally unexpected. Was a gastropub style place. Beautiful outdoor seating in heights-like neighborhood. Lots of hipsters. Food wasn't incredible bit great for pub. Highlight was selection of libations - spirits and beers. Friendly service. Would hang out every week if I lived there. Odd to have michstar here but not wholly undeserved

L2o. Great service. Nice folks. Gorgeous albeit time-period interior (think park Hyatt). Food? Mostly forgettable. 1 or 2 good tasting dishes but not mind blowog or remarkable. The others were useless


Les nomades -- french cuisine by ayleasy formerly Vietnamese guy. Easiest restaurant to secure. Pretty down to earth setting. Mind blowingly good food. Simple but forward flavors. And relatitively inexpensive. Fully deserving of its michstar.


Will post pics later



Unable to get table at alinea, next
Ria, trotters, etc

[tigolbiddies]

Hit xoco for lunch. Right at opening time. Before it got megacrowded. Food? Meh. Yes, its different from Mexican.because its Mexican inspired. Was it good? Was my life changem. No. Couldve been.insignificant middle of the road sandwich shop and I wouldn't have cared

Long man and eagle. Totally unexpected. Was a gastropub style place. Beautiful outdoor seating in heights-like neighborhood. Lots of hipsters. Food wasn't incredible bit great for pub. Highlight was selection of libations - spirits and beers. Friendly service. Would hang out every week if I lived there. Odd to have michstar here but not wholly undeserved

L2o. Great service. Nice folks. Gorgeous albeit time-period interior (think park Hyatt). Food? Mostly forgettable. 1 or 2 good tasting dishes but not mind blowog or remarkable. The others were useless


Les nomades -- french cuisine by ayleasy formerly Vietnamese guy. Easiest restaurant to secure. Pretty down to earth setting. Mind blowingly good food. Simple but forward flavors. And relatitively inexpensive. Fully deserving of its michstar.


Will post pics later



Unable to get table at alinea, next
Ria, trotters, etc

Well, we now know that the bartender pours heavy.

[Bottlecap]

mindblowing

[5280]

Well, we now know that the bartender pours heavy.

this trip was NOT good on my liver.

[irishtexan]

It was very controversial when longman got its star but avec was snubbed. I love longman and went there weekly when I lived around the corner from there.

[5280]

These are all good.

Another awesome option is that I always pimp when chicago restaurants come up is Tango Sur. Its an Argentinian steakhouse, its BYOB (I'd suggest a bottle of scotch), very cool place with MASSIVE perfectly prepared steaks. I'd highly recommend the spinach mashed potatos.

It's not going to be on the cover of "trendy food magazine tomorrow," but gotdam if i didn't walk out of there with half a cow for the car ride home.

Sir

I would like to tell you, I've done lugers in new York. All the world famous places in Buenos Aires. The top of the list in houston and Vegas. But tango sur made me jizz in my pants.


The fact that we.can bring in our own champagne and Zinfandel is just extrea cream on the top. My Pants are wet as I'm typing this. Thank you

[SMUlawUTGRAD]

bump.

Going to chicago the first weekend of November for the GF's birthday. Where is a nice place on the Mag Mile (hopefully with a view) that we can have a nice birthday dinner at?

[stunns38]

http://www.signatureroom.com/

[SMUlawUTGRAD]

http://www.signatureroom.com/

Thanks
I actually was thinking about this. Just wondering if there were any other suggestions.

[BuckeyesSuck]

http://www.signatureroom.com/

If you want a view, this is it. Doesn't get any better.

I'll say it again tho, in this weather, with the leaves turning, tengo sur is an awesome bet.

[hornimal]

went to EL ideas last week with gucci suit. it was pretty $#@!in' incredible.

didn't take pictures as we were too busy drinking and talking to the couple seated at the communal table with us to dork out. the menu is still packed in my bag, I might start a separate thread for it when I find it. the pop rocks foie gras mousse was mind blowing awesome.

this is a must do if you find yourself in chicago. the whole place is really laid back and you are encourage of going into the kitchen to interact with the staff.

[dfwtexex]

Unexpected trip trip to Chicago this weekend for my birthday. Want a kick ass, memorable meal. Will try to get into Next or Alinea through after market tickets (any tips)? But, failing that, what's the hottest place in town that might have a table for Saturday?

[Buzzrock]

Girl and Goat, Graham Elliott, G. E. B., Japonais, Frontera Grill, Tru.

[hornimal]

Unexpected trip trip to Chicago this weekend for my birthday. Want a kick ass, memorable meal. Will try to get into Next or Alinea through after market tickets (any tips)? But, failing that, what's the hottest place in town that might have a table for Saturday?

start stalking the alinea facebook page for last minute table openings.

also, can't stress enough how badass and fun EL ideas is.

[dfwtexex]

Psyched. Thanks to a last minute cancellation, we got a reservation for Saturday at EL ideas. Sounds like exactly what I want. We did e in Las Vegas last year and loved it. I am sure this will be great. Thanks for the heads up.

[CBT]

Girl and Goat

One of the best dining experiences I've ever had.

[scottsins]

Holy $#@!! No one has mentioned Alinea, which is the answer to your question. Go to there.

[hornimal]

Psyched. Thanks to a last minute cancellation, we got a reservation for Saturday at EL ideas. Sounds like exactly what I want. We did e in Las Vegas last year and loved it. I am sure this will be great. Thanks for the heads up.

you will not be disappointed. hang out in the kitchen, they encourage it, just don't try to mess with their ipods. and bring booze for the staff. they'll love you for it.

[brew]

Most of these have been mentioned, but here's the places we go when we are there a couple times a year: Frontera, Yolk (breakfast - have to eat there every visit), any of the pizza places, Hugo's, Weber Grill, Purple Pig, and Girl & the Goat. We've also eaten at Joe's Stone Crab and Mon Ami Gabi a couple of times and liked them. Lucky's Sandwich Shop near Wrigley has some really good sandwiches. If you make your way up to Evanston, Bat 17 is the place to go there and if you want authentic Asian check out Joy Yee's.

We're planning to try Alinea when we go back in the Spring.

[dfwtexex]

Report from Chicago:

We had a great experience at EL ideas and highly recommend it. They make a big deal about taking the pretentiousness out of fine dining, and they pretty much deliver. We got 11 courses. Each was imaginative, pretty to look at and – except for one– tasted great. There were small bites like a crudo of cobia, with ossetra and miso marinated steelhead with bottarga roe and cucumber gelato, and bigger courses like a perfect piece of wagyu tenderloin with royal trumpet mushrooms and their take on a béarnaise. The one fail was a raw oyster with frozen greens. I am a fan of oysters, but this one did not work.

Even though the food was terrific, the experience is really about the interaction with the chefs and kitchen. That part was really fun. The place is very casual and the playlist was fun. Of course, the location is really out of the way, which means you have to taxi/Uber/town car it. From downtown, that’s about $30-32 each way on Uber. The BYOB part also makes it a great choice as you can take what you like. You can open up a special bottle of wine, or take a bottle of tequila like the table next to us did. Thanks Hornimal for the head up on this. Even our friends in Chicago were impressed we found this place.

Our friends also announced that dinner on Sunday would be at 4:30. This was odd. But the plan was to get a bar seat at The Girl & The Goat. We got there about 4:37 and the bar was full. There were seats on the couches and we took those. In a few minutes another group took the other half of the table. We ended up having a really memorable evening / late afternoon of food and fun. The food was incredible. Highlights were roasted cauliflower and the goat empanadas and goat ribs. But, again the atmosphere made the night. We bought shots for the folks the joined us and the reciprocated. Good times.

We were really in the mood for kick ass food, but without having to dress up and be too fussy. Both these places were perfect for that.

[irishtexan]

Holy $#@!! No one has mentioned Alinea, which is the answer to your question. Go to there.

he went last weekend. not one year from now. Which is about how long you have to wait to get a table there.

[Dr. Samuel Johnson]

Ever had Foie Gras on a Hot Dog? Hot Doug's is the place to find it, only in Chicago. Nice lunch spot.

This is one spot (Hot Doug's) I would definitely check out for lunch.

[CBT]

+1 to Hot Doug's

[ORD_Buckeye]

We're planning to try Alinea when we go back in the Spring.

Just to let you know, Alinea has moved to a ticketing system now. You need to register on their website and then purchase tickets for the night you want to dine. One good thing about this is that there will now be a grey market of resellers as has occurred with NEXT.

[irishtexan]

This is one spot (Hot Doug's) I would definitely check out for lunch.

not that it really matters, but Doug is one of the nicest dudes in Chicago.

[BuckeyesSuck]

Bump cuz I'm going next weekend.

I'll be staying at the Mariott Magnificant Mile. Thinking Tango Sur for dinner one night (best restaurant EVA) and Publican/Blackbird/Avec another night. Our party is 2 couples, one doesn't eat meat.

Any other suggestions, bars we should hit up, etc?

[AggieGirl2005]

Bump cuz I'm going next weekend.

I'll be staying at the Mariott Magnificant Mile. Thinking Tango Sur for dinner one night (best restaurant EVA) and Publican/Blackbird/Avec another night. Our party is 2 couples, one doesn't eat meat.

Any other suggestions, bars we should hit up, etc?

Tango Sur is good, but they have a sister restaurant in Wicker Park (my old hood) called Folklore that you might want to try out if you just want something similar but different. It's not BYOB but the drinks are good.

The best $#@!tails I've had in my several years living in Chicago were at Silver Palm (two stops down the Blue Line from WP). It's an old diner train turned into a restaurant and holy $#@!, their drinks are good. Anthony Bourdain creamed himself over their three little pigs sandwich too. (link). I liked it alright, but not as much as he did.

If you're out in WP/Bucktown, some other interesting places to try are Map Room (dedicated to world travel, great international beer selection, ~300 beers) and Violet Hour ("secret" bar, kinda pretentious but different). Smoke Daddy was my go-to restaurant back in my hood. Great BBQ, live music every night - but it's not something you can't find back home in Texas. I still loved it. One of my other favorites was Blue Line Grille. Seemingly simple menu, but everything they do, they do it well. Cuban sliders hands down the best sandwiches I've ever had. Kinda tearing up as I write that because I miss them so. Good whiskey list too. It's designed to be a modernized old-timey train stop diner, if that makes sense.

In Old Town, just north of where you'll be staying, there are great ribs at a bar called Twin Anchors. It used to be Sinatra's favorite haunt. I can't remember the name of the sauce, but it has ghost peppers and I'm hoping I can get a bottle delivered here in Detroit because it's wonderful. Also, a bar called Old Town Ale House has a really, uh interesting art display. The resident artist paints humorous and serious nude portraits of famous people and politicians. Tons of character and it's BYOFood there.

Just FYI, with the exception of Folklore, my suggestions tend to be more divey/lowkey than fine dining since those have been covered.

[irishtexan]

Bump cuz I'm going next weekend.

I'll be staying at the Mariott Magnificant Mile. Thinking Tango Sur for dinner one night (best restaurant EVA) and Publican/Blackbird/Avec another night. Our party is 2 couples, one doesn't eat meat.

Any other suggestions, bars we should hit up, etc?

Publican will be tough for a non meat eater. I would guess Avec is more vegetarian friendly

[AggieGirl2005]

Publican will be tough for a non meat eater. I would guess Avec is more vegetarian friendly

I missed the vegetarian comment.

Green Zebra is widely considered the best "fine-dining vegetarian" if you're looking for that type. I can't vouch for it personally but I've heard amazing things. It's right down the street from Silver Palm over in Ukranian Village. It's not in the fanciest of neighborhoods.

Oh and google Carnivale and see if you're interested. Never dined there but went to events held there and enjoyed the food. Really wanted to go back for dinner - seems interesting (if not a bit touristy).

[BuckeyesSuck]

Publican will be tough for a non meat eater. I would guess Avec is more vegetarian friendly

She eats fish, so shes interested in publican.

[SavageHorn]

Yolk was pretty good for breakfast. It was a bit of a wait though.

Ha! This was actually the first place to come to mind when I saw this thread.