Late Night Near the Loop

I am heading up to Chicago this weekend and have prepared for the trip by reading up on what's new and good on this board. I will be there for three nights, but due to the nature of my trip (Lollapalooza!) I will not have any good blocks of time to dedicate to a dinner. I can, however, grab something at 11 pm or midnight, so I have been researching good restaurants open late. I went to Blackbird last year, so I definitely want to go to Avec which is open late. Other than that, the only place that I could find that is open really late and that is quality is Agami, but that's pretty far from the loop. Does anyone have any other suggestions for a good meal late night on Friday or Saturday? I appreciate the help.

Quartino's keeps late hours. A good spot for small-plate Italian:

http://www.quartinochicago.com/information.html

Thanks for the recommendation. I will give it a look.

Does anyone know how late Al's and Mr. Beef are open?

sbhaskar wrote:Does anyone know how late Al's and Mr. Beef are open?

Al's is open until 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, but make sure you go to the Taylor street location and not the Ontario (River North) location. Mr. Beef closes much earlier -- 5:00 p.m. on Fridays and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

Mr. Beef closes much earlier -- 5:00 p.m. on Fridays and 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

Mr Beef is now open until 5am Friday and Saturday.

Mr Beef
666 N Orleans
Chicago
312-337-8500
Mon-Thu 8am-7pm, Fri 8am-5am, Sat 10:30am-3:30pm and 10:30pm-5am

In Chinatown Lao Se Chuan is open until midnight and 'Little' Three Happiness until 4am.

Lao Sze Chuan
2172 S. Archer Ave.
Chicago, IL 60616
312 326-5040

'Little' Three Happiness
209 W Cermak Rd
Chicago, IL 60616
312-842-1964

Many places in Greektown are open till midnight or later on weekends.

Thanks for the tips. Maybe I'll do Mr. Beef's and Avec on Friday and Saturday night in some order and then Quartino on Sunday night. Suggestions still welcome.

Also, does anyone have any insight on what the best places are for lunch on Saturday and Sunday? Because I am going to miss a good dining window for dinner every night, I really want to go to a great lunch spot.
I know Frontera Grill is open, but I have already been there. North Pond and NoMi look really strong.

Hmm, the Gage is near where you'll be.

Thanks for the help, everyone. Ended up going to Avec, Agami, and Quartino late night after Lollapalooza. I would say that Avec was excellent, Agami was very good for what it is (though the atmosphere is not my style) and Quartino is solid but unspectacular. For lunch/brunch, I went to NoMi, Al's #1, and Aigre Doux.

Best food: Avec

Best atmosphere: NoMi

Best service: NoMi

Best dish: shrimp salad at Aigre Doux

Biggest disappointment: so many Chicago restaurants not being open late night, or on Sunday or Monday

Surprised nobody mentioned Tempo Cafe... Large menu, open 24 hours and a decent skirt steak and eggs.

FoodSnob77 wrote:Surprised nobody mentioned Tempo Cafe... Large menu, open 24 hours and a decent skirt steak and eggs.

It's in River North and the request was for the Loop. Tempo is a fine example of a Grecian diner, and one of the few 24-hour places anywhere near downtown, but it's nothing special, otherwise.

Tempo Café
312/943-4373
6 E. Chestnut St., Chicago

sbhaskar wrote:Biggest disappointment: so many Chicago restaurants not being open late night, or on Sunday or Monday

It is a disappointment -- however I think it has to do entirely with the area in which you were staying and your deep pockets -- plenty of late night cheap eats are to be found all over the city (and accessible to downtown via the L). Wish I could go to Avec and NoMi!