Dessert around 11:00 PM? Late Night Desserts...

All,

My sister is coming into town to catch the 8:30 showing of Wicked, and I am meeting up with her and a few other folk to grab dessert while she's in Chicago.

I'm looking for a good place for dessert that isn't going to shut down too early. Any to every dessert is acceptable as long as the neighborhood isn't rough. Extra points for desserts of the fancier selection. Also, please mention if you think it would be fairly crowded at night at that time, as I'd probably like to avoid a long line or slow service. (Early morning the next day)

Any advice would be great! Sorry for the last minute notice! Thanks in advance!

How about the chocolate buffet at The Peninsula?

stevez wrote:How about the chocolate buffet at The Peninsula?

The Chocolate Bar at the Pen, served in the Lobby Restaurant, is open till 11:30. It's an excellent choice, as long as you aren't shocked by the price, around $32-34 per person for all you can eat, a selection of 30-40 chocolate-based desserts, most in smallish sized portions so you can try a lot of them. The Peninsula Hotel is on Superior near Michigan Avenue, about a mile north of the Ford center, where Wicked is playing.

As another option, the Atwood Cafe is only a block from the Ford Center. They're open till 11:00 on weekends for dinner, and if that's the time that they first seat parties (it usually is), they could probably even seat you a bit later if you're only there for dessert. Their dessert menu is here. (Sounds good, huh? ) The proximity to the theater makes this a perfect choice, and I bet they're not too busy at that hour. (You could always call ahead to ask.)

The Chocolate Bar at the Pen is more unusual and a unique experience, but from a logistical/distance standpoint, the Atwood Cafe is a lot more convenient.

Incidentally, according to the show's website, the performance is at 8:00, not 8:30. It also mentions a 2 hour 30 minute running time, so you ought to be able to arrive at Atwood by 11:00.

I third the Pen!!

John

Grand Lux Cafe might be an option, they are open til midnight (Michigan & Ontario I believe, so a short cab ride away). Also Bin 36 has a decent desert menu & is open pretty late (Dearborn at Marina City) & its close to the theater. Grand Lux will likely be a bit crowded but you can make reservations at both. Price is a bit more reasonable than the Penn if that isn't in your budget, both have websites with full menu details - I'd pick Bin 36 for the cheese selection.

I'll forth the Pen's Chocolate Bar, but make sure if that's what you want, to make reservations. There's a good chance, at that time of night, you won't have a problem walking in, but both times I've gone they've told me that walk-ins often wait 30-60 minutes depending on the time they arrive.

Also great music there...regular jazz quartet and singer every weekend.

cjk

Thanks all for the tips, and the stunning amount of recommendations for Peninsula's chocolate buffet!

Unfortunately, they were still full from a good meal at Grand Lux before the show, and weren't seeking dessert anymore.

Peninsula, however, has made my list as one of the places I will have to visit on a mostly empty stomach to enjoy the 40+ chocolate desserts... learn something new everyday.

Thanks again!

FWIW, I've had dinner at the Lobby Restaurant before having the Chocolate Bar, and I thought the food (i.e. all of it, not just dessert), service, and atmosphere were exceptionally good!