Grant Park and late nights

Ok, so tomorrow is the day I will fly into Chicago! That means my questions will soon end and my roundup of what we did will begin:)

If you guys were going to spend some time at Grant Park where would you go first to get some food to take with you and have a little lunch in such a lovely place? Something good and close enough to grab and go to the park...

And second, if you're leaving a bar after a long night and want to get some good food where would you go that's open late, late? I know good food doesn't stay open late in LA, we only really have diners which are okay but I want something with more ambiance.

This time of year, our weather is not conducive to eating in the park. Tomorrow's forecast is for snow showers!

If you're looking for places to eat right near the park, Pizano's on Madison has authentic Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. Park Grill is a bistro at the entrance to Millennium Park (at the north end of Grant Park) and is a good place for lunch, with good burgers, salads, etc. A bit further south, Bongo Room at Roosevelt and Wabash specializes in creative breakfast dishes (pancakes and eggs); if you want to try more than one of their dishes, they offer smaller portion sizes (one or two pancakes rather than the standard three) at reduced prices.

For late nights, Pizano's (on Madison and also further north on State) is open till 2 a.m. during the week and 3 a.m. on weekends. Many of the "small plates" places are open late. The kitchen at Quartino is open till 1 a.m. Cafe Iberico is open till 1:30 a.m. The kitchen at Avec is open till midnight during the week and till 1 a.m. on weekends. Some of the steakhouses are open that late as well. For late late late nights, White Palace Grill is open all night.

Incidentally, if you're accustomed to looking up hours, addresses, etc. on the "calendarlive.com" website of the Los Angeles Times, the corresponding listings in Chicago can be found on Metromix, the entertainment website of the Chicago Tribune (which also owns the L.A. Times).

When I go to Millennium Park for an evening concert in the summer, I often stop at Pastoral on Lake Street. Not technically all that convenient to what is technically Grant Park, but good sandwiches and may still fit your bill.

Pastoral
53 E. Lake Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601
312-658-1250
Hours: 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. seven days
http://www.pastoralartisan.com/

Or looking just up thread, try Miller's Pub for late night right near Grant Park.

Miller's Pub
134 S. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603
312-645-5377
11 a.m.-4 a.m. daily (Bar)
11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily (Food)

germuska wrote:When I go to Millennium Park for an evening concert in the summer, I often stop at Pastoral on Lake Street. Not technically all that convenient to what is technically Grant Park, but good sandwiches and may still fit your bill.

Explanation for the OP (who is visiting from out of town):

Grant Park is the park along our lakefront, east of Michigan Avenue, extending from Monroe Street south to the Field Museum of Natural History. The northern boundary of Grant Park was formerly along Randolph Street, three blocks north of Monroe Street. A few years back, the city and local businesses combined to use the parkland between Randolph and Monroe to build Millennium Park, complete with its Frank Gehry-designed bandshell, "the bean" ("Cloud Gate") stainless steel sculpture, the two obelisks depicting faces of Chicagoans in the Crown Fountain, and other delights. So technically, as germuska indicates, Lake Street (one block north of Randolph) is four blocks from Grant Park; however, when asked for eating recommendations near Grant Park, most of us locals are liable to think of the park area all the way up to and including Millennium Park as part of any recommendations for visitors to Grant Park. Similarly, your plans for visiting Grant Park might very well include visiting Millennium Park too.