Triangulating where to meet for lunch in Loop

If Train "A" leaves the station at 9 a.m. traveling 50 mph ...

Actually, I will be on a train tomorrow, arriving at Ogilvie at 12:23 p.m. My friend that I am meeting for lunch works at 600 S. Michigan. There's a lot of territory between the two locations to consider! Any suggestions as to how one might start narrowing down the hunt?

Because she is probably on a tighter schedule than I am, I don't mind heading more her way vs. trying to find a restaurant that is equidistant between the two points.

As far as restaurant preferences and cuisines go, the only limitation is that I would like a place with table service vs. one where you order at a counter, in case anyone has a recommendation. Well, I suppose that the food should be good goes without saying!

Sharon

Mercat a la Planxa at 638 South Michigan Avenue might work. It's a few buildings away on the same block, IIRC. Reservations seem plentiful on OpenTable for tomorrow around 1ish or so.

Mercat also usually has some lunch deals available, and it's certainly appropriate for business lunches. Terzo Piano at the AI is another good possibility, but the service there can sometimes be slow.

The thought occurs to me that the Blue Line from Cumberland might be a better bet than Metra, as far as arriving in the Loop in a more central location than 500 W. Madison. That might also help narrow down the geographic territory to be considered.

kathryn wrote:Mercat a la Planxa at 638 South Michigan Avenue might work. It's a few buildings away on the same block, IIRC. Reservations seem plentiful on OpenTable for tomorrow around 1ish or so.

I just looked at their lunch menu, and they have a very nice selection available for $18 called "The Catalan Express:"

http://mercatchicago.com/dining/chicago ... nus/lunch/

Looks really tasty, so it is definitely on the list of suggestions I will provide to my friend KT.

Thanks!

If you like sushi, OYSY is on south Michigan avenue. Good food and nice atmosphere for meeting.

The Gage at 24 South Michigan is a short walk for your friend and a good lunch spot. It's best to make a reservation, however, as it's a popular spot.

Jonah

We did go to Mercat a la Planxa, and it worked out great. To get to the Loop, I took the Blue Line from Cumberland to Jackson, then met up with my friend at her office, 600 S. Michigan. The restaurant is at 638 S. Michigan, and here's a location tip: The entrance is inside the Renaissance Hotel. I don't recall signage at street level; KT just happened to remember from a previous visit.

Oh, another tip, from a safety perspective: Change your prescription sunglasses for regular lenses before navigating the steps to the restaurant so you may avoid tripping "up" the stairs and appearing less than graceful ...

Anyway, the food! As mentioned upthread, the $18 Catalan Express lunch menu offered lots of tasty-sounding options. You choose two courses; because it is a tapas restaurant, I was assuming portions would be small, but that was most certainly not the case here. The lunch deal also includes a fountain drink or iced tea; be forewarned that they serve Pepsi products! Their tea was good; nothing fancy or flavored, just straight-up and fresh-brewed.

For the first course, KT opted for the salad featuring Serrano ham and figs over spinach with a sherry vinaigrette, and pronounced it very good. I can't provide any other nuances, but she did not leave anything on her plate and did not offer me a bite!

I had the gazpacho; their version was tomato and watermelon. It was light, refreshing and quite pleasing on the palate. Serving temperature was just right; not so chilled that you couldn't taste the flavor. It was accompanied by a a toast crisp topped with a crab-and-goat cheese mixture. I would most definitely order this again! I couldn't finish the bowl of soup, though; there was just too much of it, even though I really liked it.

We both ended up ordering the same thing for our second course -- hangar steak -- which is described as being prepared with "Potato Croquette, Braised Short Ribs & Beech Mushroom Escabeche." It was very flavorful, and grilled to medium rare as requested, but seeing that description now, I don't think the short ribs were definitive enough to add to the dish; at least, I can't remember tasting them as a component. I'm also unclear as to what Mercat means by "escabeche," since that would usually indicate something prepared in an acid-based marinade, and that was not the case here. In fact, if anything, the dish trended toward having an "oily" (not greasy) vs. acidic profile. I didn't ask our server about it, though, so this may remain a mystery!

All in all, recommended; I would definitely return.

Mercat a la Planxa
638 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
(Inside Renaissance Hotel)
http://mercatchicago.com/

Glad it worked out!