Where would you spend your final meals?

Say hypothetically that you were leaving Chicago...forever. You have two weeks left and a limited budget and you've pretty much tried it all but you want to make sure that your last weeks were spent wisely. Where would you go? Why would you go? And what is to be taken in outside of food?

I'm sitting here at nearly 5am thinking about the biggest move of my life and it's harder than I could have ever imagined. I'm leaving my family, my career and my city. It's a long story but the destination is San Diego, CA.

So if you were in my shoes where would you go? I wouldn't necessarily rule out any options other than Portillo's since there are two out there.

My current list of places to hit before I leave include (food and non-food)
-White Sox game
-Deep dish pizza (I've never been a fan but I might as well relish what I've got)
-The Sears tower (Willis tower...whatever, US Cellular is still Comiskey)
-Chicago dogs (hopefully Jene and Judes pending my schedule)

And then I draw a blank...because I can't possibly limit this list to a few places when I've experience so much, enjoy everything, and yet haven't seen nearly enough. I guess I'll leave it at that for now.

Sun Wah...Peking Duck is my current last meal on earth selection

probably in jail.

not in a restaurant, that would be like getting to hell before I died.
my grandmother's kitchen no longer exists, so that's out.

I would like my last meal to be cookies and milk in my own bed.
but it will probably be jail, which is OK,
they let you order anything you want before they fry ya.
and I would order the buffet one more time.

there's no such thing as a final meal in Chicago while you still have breath.
Don't worry, you'll be fine in San Diego. you can get tacos in Tijuana in an hour. avocados out your front door. try the original Tommy's in LA, it should make you happy. 20 years ago, my substitute for Tommy's became Maxwell Street Polish at 4 am. either one is fine at that time, but now they're gone, and that's the big problem w/ time.
spend time w/ the people you love, where makes no difference in the big scheme.

I d have to agree with the first, maybe a weekend of Sox games, including some grilled hot dogs,

then:

- a run of Italian Beefs, Johhnies, etc(since nowhere else in the country seems able to produce this sandwich correctly)

- Sun wah bbq & Tank Noodle back to back for a few dishes at each

- being a newly converted deciple of Hot Dougs, I would have to add him to the list

- David Burkes for a steak blowout

-run to Honey 1 & SMoque for what the each do best imho) Honey 1(links, spare s, tips) Smoque(baby backs, and brisket) If I am moving to K.C. or Memphis I might skip this step

- a visit to Cajun Connection if I am not moving to Louisiana

- a visit to Smitty's for a pork tenderloin sandwich & some broaser fried chicken

I think I would be set to depart Chicagoland after these meals

I've got to agree with the suggestions for Sun Wah & Hot dogs, etc...

How about a trip to a place with a view (I think North Pond is over-rated):
The Everest Room, Spiaggia, or even The Signature Room would leave you with significant memories, I believe.

Noodle platter (spicy) at Yu's in Schaumburg would be one of my last, if not the last.

No doubt my last meal on Earth would be the lobster at Ron of Japan with the goop on top. I would keep eating until my arteries burst. But if I were only moving, well I'd have to think about that one a little more.

My recent departure tour included the following:

Lao Sze Chuan assuming, incorrectly, that my new home town wouldn't have decent Sze Chuan. It was most enjoyable with a fine group of LTHers.

Glenn's Diner because its just so darn unique.

Paradise Pup- one more Chicago style char dog for the road.

Danny's for neckbones on Wednesday.

Smith and Wollensky for their wonderfully gluttonous surf and turf for three (or four or more). The Big Porterhouse and a four pound broiled lobster.

AYCE fish and chips at Duke of Perth on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Johnnie's for beef.

Sabatino's for their unique and delicious housemade ravioli.

Bella Notte for their wonderful grilled calamari appetizer.

The lunchtime seared tuna salad at Gibson's.

Several going away breakfasts (including my last morning) at Melrose diner for the best corned beef hash in Chicago.

If I had to do it again, I would definitely have included Cemitas Puebla on North Avenue.

Mrs. Greasy Spoon and I left Chicago in Aug of 2006. And in the last two weeks we were there we ate at about 10 places a day. We didn't necessarily eat everything on our plates, we just went to take in as many memories as we could before we left...

Now I am a foodie through and through, and have been for as long as I can remember... But the older I get, the more it seems that my memories of Chicago food alter. I remember less and less of what a particular food tasted like and I begin to remember more of the loved ones who were there eating with me.

If I were you and having that 'Final Meal' again I would gather as many family and friends as I could and eat somewhere that would let me sit, relax, and reflect on the great times I had in Chicago... And if I had to make a choice I might (as bean mentioned) do something like dinner at a long table by the window at the Signature Room. That way I could take in the people and the city I love one last time...

Signature Room at the 95th
875 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 787-9596
http://www.signatureroom.com/
<map>

(oh and great luck to you in San Diego, I hear the fish tacos are killer... )

~GS

I've got a real-world example, and this thread was a perfect find for my question.

I live Downstate and periodically come up to the City to dine and do other things, and this forum has been an amazing resource. I've eaten at Hot Doug's, Podhalanka, Katy's, Amanecer Tapatio, and Sticky Rice - and had great experiences at all of them. I tried twice to go to Xni-Pec, but was embarrassingly stymied both times by the Pink Line.

I'm moving to Portland in the summer, and they have a good food scene there, but without the depth and breadth of Chicago. I have one more visit planned - a day trip to see the Munch exhibit. Where should I eat my last Chicago meal? I was sort of leaning towards Khan's, because I don't see Pakistani BBQ much in other places, but I've noticed that no one has put it in their selections. Sun Wah seems popular, but I can probably get good Chinese in Portland, and certainly in Seattle. What would be the thing I would be missing out on the most, and the most difficult to replicate in another city? As you can probably tell, I like cheap eats, ethnic food, hot and spicy, all of it really. I also loved Avec too, so I'm pretty open to anything.

Thanks!

Off the top of my head: Chicago-style barbecue, Honey 1, Smoque... Khan BBQ... Hot Doug's (again), Gene and Jude's, Superdawg...Kuma's, Johnnie's Beef, Sol de Mexico, the Berghoff Bar for a root beer, a dark beer while a Cubs and/or Sox game is on the tube, Blackbird, Greek Islands...

For breakfast:
dim sum from Shui Wah. including shark fin dumplings, fried squid, stuffed eggplant, and fish ball congee
blackberry bliss cakes from m.henry
corn arepas at Tweet, with a peach bellini to wash it down
For lunch:
jibarito from Borinquen
gigantic half veggie sandwich and half spinach salad at Fox and Obel
For dinner:
any pizze from Spacca Napoli
any burger from Kuma's
the veggie burger from Uncommon Grounds, with a side of outrageous sweet potato fries
For dessert:
giant whoopie pie from Sweet Mandy B's
banana eclair from Cafe Selmarie

-M@

Emile wrote:I've got a real-world example, and this thread was a perfect find for my question.

a day trip to see the Munch exhibit. Where should I eat my last Chicago meal?
Thanks!

go to Tre Kronor to have the herring, and you'll understand what all the screaming was about

I'm kidding of course, but why not combine a Norwegian artist w/ some Swedish meatballs?

edit to add: the food court in the State of Illinois building covers all the "cheap-ethnic" bases.
some aren't so bad, and you can hit almost every ethnicity the city has to offer in one fell swoop.

I'd have to do Doug's a couple times, just to get a variety of sausages. Then Smoque, Taqueria Puebla, Katy's, and Podhalanka, for things I don't think I'd be able to get a better version of in San Diego.

At Smoque, it would be the St. Louis ribs with a side of sausage, mac & cheese, and peach cobbler. At Taqueria Puebla, I'd have to order a cemita milanesa and a couple of tacos arabes. Katy's would be noodles, of course. Beef noodle soup, dan dan noodles, stir fried noodles with dried chili. Maybe an order of potstickers, too, just to round out the meal. Finally, at Podhalanka, I'd get the white borscht and an endless supply of potato pancakes.

I'm sure I'd think of other places I'd want to fit in before I left, but those are the essential foods it would break my heart to leave.

oh man, I was thinking about how I'd answer this question seriously, and I realized that many of the places that I'd want to eat at again in order to remember Chicago, are all gone.

I gotta make some new memories. Mostly I'm finding new places for myself to eat in the suburbs. probably because most are nostalgic throwbacks that are at least 30 years old. says a lot about the eater, eh?

hoo-ray for Sabatino's hanging in there.
it seems that it is hard for many restaurants to make it through generational changes, be it of themselves or their neighborhoods or the whims of taste.

I guess I'll have to take my restaurant w/ me when I go, in a flame of fryer grease

(and Sophie's Busy Bee was a thousand times better than Podhalanka ever thought about being, but I'm glad it's still there)

GardenofEatin wrote: Taqueria Puebla, . At Taqueria Puebla, I'd have to order a cemita milanesa and a couple of tacos arabes. .

good call on Taqueria Puebla, I cant believe I left them off my list.

With my face in a bowl of miso soup.

As a former San Diegan who's been in Chicago for 5 years or so, I wouldn't worry about it TOO much. San Diego isn't a culinary wasteland, but it does have different strengths than Chicago. For example it's kind of lacking in good Indian and Italian, and of course you can't really get all the Chicago-specific goodies like deep dish and dogs, etc. It does, however, have plenty of great Asian and Mexican places, so I wouldn't be too concerned about eating those before I left.

Personally if I were moving back to SD I'd make sure to finally try out Hot Doug's, have a last burger at Kuma's, pig out on deep-dish, and take a trip up to Devon. Maybe have a jibarito and some barbecue. And then I'd go back to SD and eat all the food I miss from there, with the knowledge that I'd probably be back in Chicago for a visit sooner or later.

Skip anything with fish- everything you find with fish can be easily and wonderfully replicated in San Diego

This list might give you something to look forward to...

http://aliceqfoodie.blogspot.com/2009/02/100-good-things-to-eat-and-drink-in-san.html

My husband and I are trying to make the same move - - I'd be ready to go tomorrow!