Four days in Chicago: A hypothetical itinerary

A KC local said she was going to Chicago for four days, Sat thru Tuesday, had all meals open (but Saturday dinner and another dinner committed to Sweets & Savories), and asked if there was anything she shouldn't miss. Hmmm, kind of a loaded question, so I responded in my typical restrained manner.

Thought I'd post that response here, both to make the suggestions of use to others who pose that frequently asked question, and also to solicit response from those so much closer to the scene than I. Oh, and the visitor is staying in Wrigleyville, has a car, and is willing to travel, which is some consideration.

One other thing, to any visitor, LTHers are quite good about banding together and showing visitors the town, allowing you to sample a lot more of a given menu then a party of two. You might post on the events board and gather a crowd.

Saturday
breakfast...Victory's Banner is a delightful vegetarian spot in Roscoe Village that we (devoted carnivores) loved to go for surprisingly typical American breakfasts. Great omelets, funky vibe, run by devotees of Sri Chimnoy, all peaceful and wearing saris.

lunch...middle Eastern along the Kedzie strip. This is my old neighborhood, and I haven't really even approached its equal since moving. Go to Semiramis for a little nicer or to Salam for a more home-style cabbie joint. Food at both is excellent. I usually got the shawerma, lamb-beef special, at Semiramis, but the rotisserie chicken was great too (and a heck of a bargain to boot). At Salam, get some fresh from the fryer falafel, hummus with meat (make sure it's not ground beef, get the shawerma meat, and an order of foul. Too much food but so worth it. Either way, stop at Nazareth Sweets afterward for a semolina cake.

late night...Weiner's Circle. Okay, I know you don't need Sat dinner, but this place really gets fun after midnight anyway, so if you want a late night snack, this is not too far from where you're staying. Hot dogs are a big Chicago thing, and though WC is a little unorthodox in charbroiling, I really enjoy it. And the fries are excellent too. Late night, the waitstaff screams and curses at all the drunk louts hoping to get their food. It's both entertaining and delicious. Cheap

Sunday
breakfast...Maxwell Street Market...DO NOT MISS...here's a guide, not sure when it was updated, but feel free to PM creator David Hammond as he's a swell guy and loves talking Maxwell Street. I've got a DVD you can borrow if you like, though I think it's online now too. Anyway, this is a huge (mostly) Mexican market, with everything from tube socks to used dental equipment to pirated DVDs to the best Mexican street food this side of the Rio Grande. Highly recommend Rubi's for tacos (the Masa Madonna) and the goat consomme. Really a one-of-kind experience. Give yourself a couple hours to wander around. Cheap.

lunch...Spacca Napoli. You'll be full for a while after Maxwell, so do a late lunch and late dinner. Maybe split a pizza here (they're smallish) and not such a late dinner. I think this is the best pizza in town, and orders of magnitude better than anything I've had here. Jonathan Goldsmith really cares about what he's doing and puts out a tremendous Neapolitan-style pie. I would skip Chicago deep-dish, though it is iconic.

dinner...TAC Quick...you could eat Thai every night and not get bored. Oh man, there is great Thai food in Chicago. Check out the menus translated by Erik M., and many Thai food posts on the board. If you are going to try to arrange a larger group meal, I would do it for Thai, as that's my favorite way to eat Thai (well, and lots of other things). It's a little more challenging to get a well-rounded meal for two, but it's sure possible. I can help on menu, if you like, but I really forget most of the names off-hand, because someone else is usually putting it together. This place (quite close to you) and Spoon Thai are both really excellent. The translated Thai menus are on LTH on the reference board. They have more pedestrian menus too, which are good, but not at the same level. I believe TAC is closed Tuesdays.

Monday
breakfast...Tre Kronor, another fairly traditional breakfast spot, a little farther north and off the beaten tourist path. It's Swedish, so they serve pancakes with lingonberries and such. Like Victory's Banner, this isn't so much a "don't miss" but was one of our favored breakfast spots. There's a cool shop called The Sweden Shop a few doors west in this old Scandinavian neighborhood that's worth a look.

lunch...Spring World in Chinatown, one of relatively few Yunnanese restaurants in the country I believe, also with a full Szechuan menu. Skip the lunch specials (one from A, one from B, good in their own right) and get lamb with cumin, beef and maw salad, and shredded chicken with spicy vinaigrette. Mmmmm. Lao Sze Chuan is also reputed to be excellent, but another place I never made.

dinner...Sweets and Savories...their tasting menu used to be $50 on Monday, hell of a deal, do dinner not brunch. Don't know if price is the same.

Tuesday

breakfast...Tank Noodle (Pho Xe Tang). You can only have eggs and pancakes so many times, right? So why not make like the Vietnamese and order a steaming bowl of pho! I've not actually been to Tank Noodle, for some reason, but I've come to think it's the best Vietnamese restaurant in the Argyle strip (Little Vietnam, about Argyle and Broadway). You can search for more detail on what they do best, but it's all supposed to be excellent. Fun area to wander around. I also really like Sun-Wah Bar-B-Que in the area for excellent roast duck and other Chinese delights. Great for takeout too, tons of ducks hanging in the window. cool place

lunch...Italian beef is to Chicago what the Philly cheese steak is to Philadelphia. The best example is probably Johnnie's out in Elmwood Park, which you should definitely hit if you're interested in Frank Lloyd Wright architecture or former KC Star reporter Ernest Hemingway's home. On the north side, I really like Max's. Maybe you'll want to just go back to Tank for lunch.

dinner...Avec. Not sure what to put here, as there are a lot of great options. I realize I've completely left off Japanese. Katsu is closed Tuesdays, so may need to bump something else. Make sure you check your days/what's open. Avec is a fairly trendy, Mediterranean-inspired small plates place that can be very affordable or kind of expensive, depending on how you order and how much you drink. Seating is mostly communal, which is cool, but my favorite is to get the two seats at the end of the bar...the "chef's table", where you get to watch the cooks cook and chat with them about what they're doing (they're usually cool with that). The food here is fantastic, and the vibe is great, I really dig this place.

Other possibilities are Sabatino's, a really old school Italian-American red sauce joint, but one that actually takes it's food seriously. A gem in all respects.

Lascshet's Inn, one of a handful of German places holding down the fort in an old German neighborhood just north of Wrigleyville. Excellent German fare, good beer, and a thoroughly enjoyable mural.

The Hopleaf, in Andersonville, an excellent Belgian restaurant with the best Belgian beer list I've ever seen. I miss this place dearly. Nice place to stop for a snack, a beer, or a meal, but probably best avoided on a weekend night.

I don't know African well, but there are a couple places that I've been intrigued by, Yassa and BQ Afro Root Cuisine (may be moving, not sure if it's open). Yassa is way on the south side.

Off of dinner, if your into the uber-cool cocktail scene, a place called The Violet Hour just opened that is one-of-a-kind in Chicago. I thought it was worth a trip, despite being kind of goofy.

Also really like the Matchbox for cocktails and the Map Room for a beer bar.

Coffee-wise, Intelligentsia is the Chicago roaster that everyone loves, and they're quite good. They've got a cafe in Lakeview, and their coffee is available lots of places. Uncommon Ground is a nice coffeehouse/bar/cafe, smoke-free since before the smoking fan, lots of acoustic music etc. Can't vouch for the food there. You also shouldn't be too far from Julius Meinl, the lone (I think?) US outpost of the Vienna-based chain, serving their coffee and pastries.