First-time visitors to Chicago!

Hi all,

I'm planning on surprising my husband with a dinner reservation at Alinea in a couple months--I might be jumping the gun here on lining up the rest of the restaurants I want to visit during the rest of our stay. Outside of Alinea, we are on a very tight budget so we won't be splurging on places like L20 or even slightly-upscale neighborhood restaurants like Sweet and Savory, unfortunately! I've put together this list based on recommendations I found on various threads at Lthforum, but please tell me if I've missed something!

Friday
(our plane lands around 6:30pm)

Dinner: Frontera Grill (this is moreso b/c we've never eaten at a Rick Bayless restaurant, and I did see that some of you enjoyed a nice brunch there recently...)
post-dinner: Violet Hour
post cocktails: possibly Mindy's Hot Chocolate?

Saturday:
Pasticceria Natalina

Cemitas Puebla

Alinea

Sunday:
Chicago deep dish (perhaps at Gino's East? Or Pizzeria Due? I've seen Lou's pizza on FoodTV and it didn't look appetizing to me at all...I am looking for something with a ton of meat and cheese! Gluttony to the max!)

The Publican (we love pork and gastropubs, but I'm also considering Avec and Vito and Nick's thin crust pizza)

Monday:
Johnnie's for an Italian beef sandwich

then we're off to the airport

Thanks so much in advance!

You'll probably spend as much at Frontera and/or the Publican as you will at Sweets & Savories.

^True, but my husband is a Rick Bayless fan. I'm indifferent to whether we end up at Frontera, Publican, or Sweets, as long as the food is tasty. What would be your vote?

Ling wrote:Saturday:
Pasticceria Natalina
Cemitas Puebla
Alinea

I would never, ever, discourage anyone from eating at Cemitas Puebla, but I would allot as much time as possible between your lunch there and dinner at Alinea. Any time I've eaten at CP after 1pm-ish, I've been too stuffed to eat a full dinner, much less one I'm dropping a mortgage payment down on. Maybe you have more self-control than I do . And it's not a quick drive from PN to CP, so your plan may be a little flawed, geographically speaking (though spot on gastronomically).

Perhaps I'm contradicting myself here, but think about pairing Cemitas Puebla with Johnnie's and do an all-out North Avenue sandwich splurge on Monday and just pass out on your flight home.

I'd also add that getting into the Violet Hour later into the evening on a Friday night can be a chore; you're probably better off going Sunday night, when it's a bit less harried there.

FYI: Keep in mind that the The Publican does a 4-course "family-style" pre-fixe on Sunday nights (salad, whole fish, pork or game, and dessert); no other menu is available. Given that the restaurant hasn't found its groove yet, and given your budgetary concerns, I'd actually recommend Avec over the Publican...

FYI, Frontera takes only a limited number of reservations--it's mainly first come, first served--so you could be in for a long wait if you show up at 7:30 or 8 pm on a Friday. If you're unable to get reservations, you might want to opt for his other restaurant, Topolobampo, which is in the same building.

BTW, Ling - allow me to congratulate you on researching and creating a list first, and then checking in; you clearly took some time and got the lay of the land, as there's been a lot of discussion here about many of the places you mention. I can only assume, then, that you've already seen the GNR list, pocket guide, and map already, but just in case someone else comes upon this thread, I'm linking to it.

I'll second that Cemitas Puebla is going to require a lot of stomach real estate, so you'd better do that early - and Pasticceria, well, I often wind up eating a lot more there than I intend to. In general, if you're coming to Chicago to eat, you want to pace yourself - no restaurant in any category here will allow you to starve - or even suggest that you might starve. Or be starving the next day. Or week.

As far as Chicago deep-dish, of course there is Burt's, but make sure you call and make a reservation/order well ahead of time, and make sure you'll be there on time - with all the recent and upcoming publicity, it can be harder to get in there than Alinea. There's a whole lot of information about where to go for Chicago pizza on this thread.

chezbrad wrote:FYI: Keep in mind that the The Publican does a 4-course "family-style" pre-fixe on Sunday nights (salad, whole fish, pork or game, and dessert); no other menu is available. Given that the restaurant hasn't found its groove yet, and given your budgetary concerns, I'd actually recommend Avec over the Publican...

Agreed. I'm one of the folks here who had an early wonderful meal at the Publican. But, it sounds like they still aren't consistently firing on all cylinders. Avec, on the other hand, is a culinary gem. Chefs, when asked where they eat out in Chicago, frequently recommend Avec. If I had to pick one, I'd pick Avec over the Publican.

Hope you have a great trip!

Thanks so much for the invaluable info! I will definitely try to arrange the restaurants in an order that makes more sense geographically, and try Avec over Publican. Thanks for taking the time!

"FYI, Frontera takes only a limited number of reservations--it's mainly first come, first served--so you could be in for a long wait if you show up at 7:30 or 8 pm on a Friday. If you're unable to get reservations, you might want to opt for his other restaurant, Topolobampo, which is in the same building."


Good advice. If the weather's nice and it's a touristy weekend, expect a 2 hour wait for Frontera. Topolobampo, although more expensive, might logistically be a lot easier.

For Deep Dish, there are a few styles:

Pizzeria Uno, Due, Gino's East, & Lou Malnati's are all pretty similar, but my least favorite Deep Dish.

Then comes the crystallized cheese Deep Dish: Burt's is great, but if you're in for only a couple days, it's a bitch to drive to Morton Grove. You can always go to Pequod's on Clybourn if this tempts you.

My favorite, however, will always be Art of Pizza (on Ashland). Their stuffed crust pizza is truly one of the best things I've ever tasted. Make sure you get stuffed.

If you're flying out of O'Hare it would be inexcusable not to hit up Gene and Jude's - considering it's possibly the best hot dog that Man has come up with.

Hardly anything I can add to that list, but I certainly agree that Avec would be a great choice.

Please note that Hot Chocolate gets crowded and you may have to wait . . . I doubt you'd want to go to both Violet Hour and Hot Chocolate in the same night anyway. But Hot Chocolate has a great selection of drinks in addition to dessert, so it all depends whether you seek sweets or cocktails more.

As for pizza, I prefer Malnati's over Uno's, Due's, Gino's and the like. I wouldn't avoid it and I wouldn't worry about a lack of cheese/meat. Request the buttercrust for a real treat. I love Burt's but unless you have to be in that area for some reason, it may not be worth the trip.

HELLO AGAIN! Due to the fact that my husband and I had to pay two mortgages for eight months, we had to postpone our Chicago eating extravaganza until August--next week! YAHOO, we are finally visiting your great city!

What do you all think of the plan? Any great restaurants that've opened up in the last while that we MUST get to?
(And what do you all think of Publican vs. Avec or Blackbird? I mainly want to go to Publican because I saw their chicarhonnes on TV. I know back in Jan. you were all suggesting Avec over Publican, but has Publican improved, now that it's been open for awhile?)

We are flying in Tuesday, and staying until Friday.

Tuesday:

d: Violet Hour, then Publican?

Wednesday:

b: we're probably going to be getting a late start, because we intend on staying up late on Tues!

l: Burt's for deep-dish

d: ALINEA!!!

Thursday (we are renting a car for Thursday and Friday, so it's OK if the places are a little spread out)

b: Pasticceria Natalina

l: Cemitas Puebla

d: Vito's and Nick's

Friday:

l: Johnnie's for Italian beef

lunch #2: Hot Doug's for foie gras dogs and duck fat fries

Hi,

Allow a lot of time for Hot Doug's. Recent reports had people waiting for 90 minutes plus in line.

Regards,

Oh wow, that's a good tip. I might move Johnnie's to Thursday, and pack in 2 lunches that day, then.

You know you're an LTHer when...

Ling wrote:Oh wow, that's a good tip. I might move Johnnie's to Thursday, and pack in 2 lunches that day, then.

Awesome.

As much as I admire your fortitude for suggesting Burt's for lunch then Alinea for dinner, I think you may regret it. Burt's is one of those places that you can't help but over-indulge. I would hate to diminish the Alinea experience by arriving with a full stomach. BTW if you are staying downtown, there is a Metra train from Union Station that drops you a short block from Burt's.

Khaopaat: heh...we only have the equivalent of 3 full days in Chicago, one of the best food cities in America. There is no way I'm going to leave without trying everything!

d4v3: Don't worry, we'll get to Burt's by noon and we have a late (8pm, I think?) reservation at Alinea. =) I promise, no snacking in between! Thanks for the tip re: the Metra station--yes, we are staying downtown!

Someone just suggested Greek Islands to me on Twitter--yay or nay?

Ling's husband chiming in.

Someone with a palate I greatly respect recommended Green Zebra. My response, "I wouldn't even consider wasting a meal at a vegetarian place!" His reply, "Trust me." Should we trust him?

Also, we are staying by Millenium Park. Would you recommend renting a car to get to some of the further away places, or is public transport and cabs fine (alla Burt's). I'm thinking of Hot Doug's, Cemitas Pueblo, Vito & Nick's.

Is Urban Belly worth hitting while we're in the Hot Doug's neighborhood?

Is Burt's worth the trek out, or should we just get something closer in? Same question about Johnies vs. Al's.

revised itinerary:

we fly into Midway at 2:51PM Tuesday the 11th.

after checking in and freshening up, Hotel at Millenium Park on Wacker. Dinner at Publican (Avec, Blackbird?) then drinks at Violet Hour.

Wed:
L: Burt's
D: Alinea!

Thursday:
B: sleeping off food coma
L: Cemitas Pueblo, then Johnies or Al's
D: Schwa? Green Zebra? Tru? Avenues? Topo?

Friday: rent a car at hotel to drop off at Midway
B. Pasticceria Natalina
L. Hot Doug's then Urban Belly?
D. Vito and Nick's takeout and drive to Midway. (7pm flight)

Thoughts?

hhlodesign@gmail.com wrote:revised itinerary:

we fly into Midway at 2:51PM Tuesday the 11th.

after checking in and freshening up, Hotel at Millenium Park on Wacker. Dinner at Publican (Avec, Blackbird?) then drinks at Violet Hour.

Wed:
L: Burt's
D: Alinea!

Thursday:
B: sleeping off food coma
L: Cemitas Pueblo, then Johnies or Al's
D: Schwa? Green Zebra? Tru? Avenues? Topo?

Friday: rent a car at hotel to drop off at Midway
B. Pasticceria Natalina
L. Hot Doug's then Urban Belly?
D. Vito and Nick's takeout and drive to Midway. (7pm flight)

Thoughts?

Just wanted to confirm that you're planning on taking a Metra train up to Burt's. It's walkable from the Morton Grove Metra station.

hhlodesign@gmail.com wrote:revised itinerary:
Thursday:
D: Schwa? Green Zebra? Tru? Avenues? Topo?

...Thoughts?

Just so you know, there is no way in hell you'll get a reservation at schwa this late. And while my meal at Green Zebra was interesting for what it was, I certainly would not waste a meal there if mine were as limited as yours.

Most of your itinerary sounds good, but the Friday plan has problems. Unless things have changed with Natalina's hours (which wouldn't be the first time) they open at noon. If you get to Hot Doug's on Friday after 10:45, expect to wait 2-2.5 hours.

Some Hot Doug's datapoints for you...

Friday, July 17 - Arrival time: 11:15am. Wait time: 1 hr, 25 min.
Friday, July 24 - Arrival time: 11:00am. Wait time: 45 minutes.

Yeah, it sounds like you should be having Hot Doug's for breakfast. If you're not opposed to a.m. sausages, why not start there? Then head up to Andersonville for pastries. If you want Urban Belly, you could stop there after Hot Doug's. And, if you're full by the time you get to Andersonville, you can always save the pastries for later.

Other thoughts . . .

I'd pick Avec over the Publican and Blackbird. Sure, it's a more casual experience. But, I also think it's pretty unique and special. Publican has been getting some middling reviews lately on LTH. Another option would be to choose Mado instead, which has been getting great national press in both the NYT and Bon Appetit. As a bonus, they take reservations and are a block away from the Violet Hour, which I think is a can't-miss.

If Cemitas Puebla is in the works, then I'd definitely go to Johnnie's. You're already pretty far west, and I think Johnnie's beef is just a bit better than Al's.

Glad you're finally making it here,
Ronna

I third the Metra recommendation for Burt's. Metra fares and schedules are on line Here. You want the Milwaukee District North Line that leaves from Union Station. Buy your tickets in the station as there's a surcharge for getting them on the train.

When you get to the station, walk north to the street (Lincoln) and turn away (East) from the forest preserve along Lincoln Ave to the first corner (Ferris) and go North (left.) The street dead ends at Lincoln, so it's the only way you can go. There's a row of town houses on the east side and Burt's is just north of the town houses. You'll walk a total of about a block and a half.

Don't forget to call ahead before you go.

If you go to Al's (which I prefer anyway) you can experience the 1-2 punch of Mario's Italian Ice across the St. Suggest going there first to get your ice so you can cut the Al's w/it. Stick w/the real fruit flavors though; lemon, tutti frutti, watermelon, banana, pineapple and cantaloupe. Then walk across to Al's and order as if a true Chicagoan "Combo, dipped, hot&sweet".

Also, Publican is my least favorite of the 3 w/Avec being #1 and Blackbird being #2.

Bon appetite.

Contact information for Burts: http://www.gwiv.com/BurtPizzaMenu.htm

Walking in without calling in advance to reserve your pizza would be very risky. I would do this at least a day in advance.

Regards,

ditto the anti-Publican leanings. I'm very pro Avec, but it just makes too much sense to take REB's advice and go to the unique and terrific Mado instead, as it's a 2 minute walk from there to the Violet Hour. You'll need to bring your own booze to Mado. Bin 36 cafe a couple of blocks south of the restaurant has bottles available for retail, as does a wine shop a couple of blocks north on Milwaukee Ave, and another a couple of blocks east on North Ave.

Mado followed by Violet Hour is a great call.

I would skip the Shawn McClain restaurants. I think they're good if you live here, but I'm not sure with such a short itinerary that they're worth a visit. You listed Avenues as a potential alternative, which is a good call if you're looking for something high end. If you want to go a bit more casual I'd recommend Graham Elliot.