Downtown Anniversary Dinner

Before you roll your eyes at yet another request for a recommendation, I spend appx. 20 mins a day on this site...couldn't eat without it.


We are celebrating a 18 year anniversary and will be in the loop looking for dinner following a show. We are wanting to try a new destination. Our regular stops for fine dining are Blackbird, Avec, Boka, Alinea, among others. Places we are considering for a first time visit are Viand, Coco Pazzo, Old Town Brassirie, and Merlo on Maple. I've read the most current posts on these resturants and most of them seem mixed. Any of them score higher on atmosphere than the others?

A few places we haven't been to in a while that we might return are Osteria via Stato and the Melting Pot...which we are considering because we will be with another couple and thought it would be fun, but the atmosphere is so horrible I don't know if I could deal.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Jim

Here are my top two recommendations, both a short cab ride away, both with wonderful food, both with attractive atmosphere suitable for a special occasion:

1. one sixtyblue has spectacular food in a casual contemporary setting - similar to Blackbird but with food equally good (even slightly better IMNSHO), a warmer, less stark decor, and a more civilized atmosphere (i.e. more spacious and not as noisy).

2. North Pond which combines excellent food with a unique, exquisite setting in the middle of Lincoln Park (the park, not just the neighborhood) facing its namesake pond with the city skyline towering over the opposite shore.

If you haven't been to either of these restaurants, you're really missing something special, in both cases.

If it turns out that the forecast is for bitter cold or a lot of snow, and you want something really close by (so you don't have to worry about finding a cab etc), Vivere, Trattoria No. 10, Custom House, and Atwood Cafe may be within a few blocks walk of the theater, and are all worthy destinations as well.

We love North Pond, and never thought to consder One Sixtyblue. Thank you for the recommendation, I'll search it now.

Jim

Based on atmosphere alone, the view is incredible, you have to consider Everest. Factor in the food and the place is a tour de force. My wife and I had a romantic anniversary dinner there several years ago. We were not dissapointed.

Everest
440 S La Salle St
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 663-8920

iblock9 wrote:Based on atmosphere alone, the view is incredible, you have to consider Everest. Factor in the food and the place is a tour de force. My wife and I had a romantic anniversary dinner there several years ago. We were not dissapointed.

Everest
440 S La Salle St
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 663-8920

I agree that Everest is wonderful; I've had some of my very best dinners (and the very best service experience) there. It's also probably walking distance from the theater. It's not inexpensive, although it's the least expensive of the big splurge places (e.g. Alinea, Avenues, Tru, Trotter's). A couple of additional things to consider - they offer free parking in the building. And if you're not wedded to the idea of eating after the show, they have a great pre-theater dinner special, three courses for $50, at 5:00/5:30 every night they're open except Fridays.

We were excited about Everest as an option, however according to their website they are closed on Sunday. Still looking at one sixtyblue.

rhinopias wrote:We were excited about Everest as an option, however according to their website they are closed on Sunday. Still looking at one sixtyblue.

You hadn't mentioned that this was for a Sunday. Unfortunately, one sixtyblue is closed on Sundays, too.

At the high end, places open Sundays include Alinea, NoMI, and Spiaggia. So are my previous mid-priced recommendations of Atwood Cafe and Custom House, and the latter's sister restaurant in Wicker Park, Spring, as well as Cafe Spiaggia and most of the places you mentioned in your opening post. Another place worth considering, and open Sundays, is Sweets and Savories. And MK.

Ouch, Sunday is tough. Aside from that, a few comments on places mentioned in the thread:

Everest is really, really good. From a pure food standpoint, maybe the best executed meal I've had in Chicago. But it's *expensive*. Lots of expense account customers.

Onesixtyblue is way too overlooked, in general. I completely agree with all the positive comments. The only issue is getting a cab when you're leaving there (if you didn't drive).

Do yourself a favor and avoid Coco Pazzo. It might have been good at one point, but our visit (a few months ago) was almost offensively overpriced for what we got.

FYI, Old Town Brasserie is closed on Sundays even though metromix indicates otherwise. If you're fond of Blackbird and Avec, you could go just around the corner to Sepia. They are open until 10pm on Sundays. Powerhouse is another downtown option and they serve dinner until 10:30 on Sundays.

Sepia
123 N. Jefferson
Chicago, IL

Powerhouse
215 N. Clinton
Chicago, IL

You might want to add Custom House to your list. They are open on Sunday (unless you want to go later than 9 pm):

500 S. Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL 60605
312-523-0200

jbw wrote:You might want to add Custom House to your list. They are open on Sunday (unless you want to go later than 9 pm)

I think Custom House has been mentioned. However, the point about the hour for an after-theater dinner is a good one. I don't know what time your show lets out; you can probably find out from the theater. If you need a later reservation, that may knock out a bunch more places that are open on Sundays, but aren't open late enough to dine after your show.

Once you find out what time you would like to eat, you may want to go into opentable.com which lets you make a reservation for a particular date and time. It's a quick way to see what's open at a time when many places aren't. Not that every restaurant takes reservations on opentable.com, but most of the better ones are.

As you (or anyone for that matter) are trying to find a reservation, if you do use opentable you should be aware that the tables listed online do not represent the restaurant's entire availability for a given date and time.

I only give that warning because I've been on a pretty bad streak recently of trying to book on opentable, finding my desired time unavailable, but then calling the restaurant and getting the exact time I was looking for in the first place. Prairie Grass Cafe and Takashi are the two most recent restaurants where this has happened to me (so go figure).

I only give that warning because I've been on a pretty bad streak recently of trying to book on opentable, finding my desired time unavailable, but then calling the restaurant and getting the exact time I was looking for in the first place. Prairie Grass Cafe and Takashi are the two most recent restaurants where this has happened to me (so go figure).

I've had the same thing happen frequently enough that I've stopped using it locally. Unless you want to sacrifice convenience to get the points, it's...well, pointless.

jesteinf wrote:As you (or anyone for that matter) are trying to find a reservation, if you do use opentable you should be aware that the tables listed online do not represent the restaurant's entire availability for a given date and time.

If you're already interested in a particular restaurant, and it's not shown as available in opentable, by all means call them up and double-check.

If, OTOH, as I previously indicated, you're trying to identify restaurants that are open at an unusual time (e.g. open late on Sunday evening, or open on a major holiday), it can be extremely effective. I've had excellent success when using it in those circumstances (and it takes virtually no time to check).

Here are some of the better downtown restaurants with later seating times on Sundays (10 to 11), checking four weeks out on opentable:

Aria - 10:00
Bistro 110 - 10:00
DeLaCosta - 10:00
Hugo's - 11:00
NoMI - 10:00
Powerhouse - 10:30
Quartino - 11:00
Smith and Wollensky - 11:00
Sullivan's - 10:00
The Gage - 11:00
The Lobby - 11:00
Vermilion - 10:00

Lots more came up, but these are ones I'm familiar with. And looking them up took me about 15 seconds, a lot less time than it took to type them into this post.

Again, it's a quick way to come up with ideas for an unusual time when most restaurants are closed. In such a situation, it's a heck of a lot quicker to check one website which can give you dozens of possibilities, than checking dozens of websites to find one or two possibilities. And if you don't find what you're interested in, all you've lost is 15 seconds of your time.

I'd also throw in Aigre Doux. IMHO, the food is at least as good as Blackbird. They're open till 10 on Sunday and have excellent food.

Aigre Doux
230 W Kinzie Street
Chicago
312 329 9400

I loved my dinner at Aigre Doux last year; it was one of my top five dinners in Chicagoland all year.

BTW, is there any prevalent custom in the restaurant business for what the closing time means? What I mean is, if a restaurant says that they are open at 10:00, does that mean that 10:00 is the latest time at which they will seat a party? Or does it mean that 10:00 is when the kitchen closes, so that you really need to be seated at an earlier time?

How have I made it this long without ever realizing a significant number of restaurants are closed on Sunday!

We have a matinee Sunday so timing is not an issue.

Aigre Doux has been on our radar for sometime, so I guess we will be considering them.

We have had great meals at Sepia, MK, Sweets and Savories, and for some reason that I can't put my finger on...we are not big fans of Chef McClain's restaurants.

Thanks for all the input, this has been more challenging than expected

rhinopias wrote:How have I made it this long without ever realizing a significant number of restaurants are closed on Sunday!

A lot of them are closed on Sundays, but a lot are open. Mondays can be at least as difficult as Sundays.

Having a matinee means that the hour is not an issue at all, as long as it doesn't let out too early; I think Aigre Doux opens at 5 p.m. on Sundays. It's a great choice. Save room for the sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

rhinopias wrote:... and for some reason that I can't put my finger on...we are not big fans of Chef McClain's restaurants.

You know, my wife and I used to think that. Our first times at Spring and Custom House both just left us a bit "wanting". But in both cases, return trips were excellent, and now we're big fans. Your mileage may vary, of course.

basis wrote:

rhinopias wrote:... and for some reason that I can't put my finger on...we are not big fans of Chef McClain's restaurants.

You know, my wife and I used to think that. Our first times at Spring and Custom House both just left us a bit "wanting". But in both cases, return trips were excellent, and now we're big fans. Your mileage may vary, of course.

I've had consistently excellent experiences at Spring.