Historic restaurant / building

Mr. Sodypop works with many europeans and one group of Germans will be here this week and on Friday they want to go to a Historic feel / type of restaurant. They like to stay in small hotels that have a more Architectural feel than just fancy ( no W, Hilton, etc). They real admire Chicago's old historic buildings and they have taken tours around.
So to the food part, where should they go for dinner on Friday? they will be 3 men ( kind of VIP's of his company)
This is what I have so far by doing a search:
* Bruna's Ristorante
* Atwood cafe
* Northpond restaurant

Any other suggestions?

I know that they are many great little resturants that are big part of Chicago but taking them to a dinner ( Manny's is sooo good but...) it won't work.

I'd maybe throw in Lawry's. It's housed in a fantastic old building on Ontario. Of course, if they're not into Prime Rib, then it wouldn't work so much, but they really do still put out a fantastic product imo.

100 E Ontario St


edit:

Wouldn't La Luce fit this bill too? Not a historic restaurant, but certainly a historic building, under the el, in a great, undertrafficked stretch of Lake street. Plus they make great house raviolis...

If history is their bag, then why not choose a place like The Pump Room or The Cape Cod Room? Cape Cod is going to be much more casual, but it's location in the Drake can't be beat.

The Cape Cod Room
The Drake Hotel
Oak Street East of Michigan Ave.
http://dining.thedrakehotel.com/capecod ... intro.html

The Pump Room
1301 N. State Pkwy.
In the Omni Hotel (I think)
http://www.pumproom.com/

Best,
Michael

That's a tough one-- there are few if any high-end restaurants that have been around forever in an architecturally impressive spot, I'd almost suggest wrangling your way into somewhere like the University Club over any restaurant of a suitable vintage.

However, one of your answers strikes me as almost perfect-- new restaurant, but great old building-- North Pond. Beautiful Craftsman-style building, very Chicago in an upscale, Louis Sullivan way, good restaurant (not absolutely top tier, given the scene, but high quality and reliable).

Another possibility would be to dine at one of the good restaurants on West Randolph -- Blackbird, say -- and on the way there stop by the new sculpture at Randolph and Desplaines that commemorates the Haymarket Riot. My experience is that many Europeans, and Germans especially, are familiar with that incident and are often surprised that most Chicagoans don't know anything about it. Since the Haymarket was a center of 19th century working class life (meaning, largely German) in Chicago, it might interest them to see it, especially if they are particularly attuned to history -- one can visit the good website put together by the Chicago Historical Society for more info:

http://www.chicagohs.org/dramas/

ToniG wrote:Another possibility would be to dine at one of the good restaurants on West Randolph -- Blackbird, say -- and on the way there stop by the new sculpture at Randolph and Desplaines that commemorates the Haymarket Riot. My experience is that many Europeans, and Germans especially, are familiar with that incident and are often surprised that most Chicagoans don't know anything about it. Since the Haymarket was a center of 19th century working class life (meaning, largely German) in Chicago, it might interest them to see it, especially if they are particularly attuned to history...

T,

Good idea! The broader neighbourhood still includes a lot of nice old buildings too...

Another suggestion, not far from there, Gene and Georgetti's. River North, especially over toward the west a little, also has a lot of good old buildings, plus the elevated El-train.

Just a thought. I've never eaten at G-and-G... I'm waiting for someone to take me there.

Antonius

Another restaurant in a turn-of-the-last-century three-story building (on a block of the same) is Crofton on Wells, one of the better prix-fixe restaurants in the River North area (where you can get a good look at how a neighborhood of small industry, commercial, and warehouse structures morphed into a neighborhood of galleries, boutiques, and (at its edges) rampant tourism).

Here's the website of one of the more "civilized" restaurants in the area:

http://www.croftononwells.com/cw/index.php

Both Merlos, Charlie Trotter's, are in nice old homes. Unfortunately, most Chicago high rise masterpieces house places such as Cheesecake Factory, Hard Rock, Au Bon Pain and Sbarro. We, in the old Midland Hotel, now W is in a surprisingly nice setting.

How about Spring? The bathouse doesn't really come through in the interior, but it's a great space. Ditto Japonais.

And one other possibility would be Custom House (much on CH on this site but here's their own site as well: http://www.customhouse.cc/) in the restored Hotel Blake, smack in the middle of Printer's Row. A walk south down Dearborn, say, from the elevated tracks on Lake to the Blake is a condensed tour of some of the best in Chicago architecture.

This is great!! thanks for the help, I sent him all the info and now they just have decide.
What suck is that I don't even get to go... they are talking "business"...is a "business" dinner...
Maybe next time...