Chicago trip!

Hello all. I am very excited! Why? This summer, I will be having a food-centric long weekend in Chicago with my father. As the designated meal planner in the family, I decided to consult my local Chowhounds on my decisions. We will be arriving Thursday afternoon and leaving Sunday after lunch time. I don't know the area really well, but I know the hotspots. There are a few places we'd like to hit, and any more suggestions would be welcome, but I also am asking about where certain places would fit best in our schedule. We would likely have breakfast (free!) in the hotel, so no brunch/breakfast spots needed - except maybe for Sunday. As we would be arriving by train, we would likely be staying the Lincoln Park/Downtown area.

Thursday Lunch: Would like a good, big welcome to Chicago. Thinking The Gage or Tobolobampo
Thursday Dinner: Avec

Friday Lunch: Cafe Spiaggia
Friday Dinner: Thinking either North Pond or Custom House. Thoughts?

Saturday Lunch: Thinking a lighter lunch like Fox and Obel. Any other suggestions for pre-Alinea lunches?
Saturday Dinner: Alinea

Sunday Lunch: Thinking about trying David Burke’s Primehouse Dim Sum Brunch. Sunday is usually limited to brunches. Any other good places? I've heard of Sweets and Savories, too.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome . I'm so excited for this little getaway, and want to make the best of the most important part of any trip: The food!

Any food-centric trip to Chicago should include consulting the list of LTH Great Neighborhood Restaurants, although it looks like you have picked some good ones to start. Missing in your list is some of our outstanding Mexican and Thai places as well as mid-eastern cuisine.

I would suggest North Pond over Custom House. The cooking is pretty much on the same level @ each, maybe a bit more interesting and locally driven @ North Pond, but North Pond's location is stunning. Especially in the summer. I'd also suggest getting there while it's still light out so you can see what I mean. If it's summer, it shouldn't be too hard.

pastry643 wrote:
Thursday Lunch: Would like a good, big welcome to Chicago. Thinking The Gage or Tobolobampo
Thursday Dinner: Avec
My experience at the Gage was nearly perfect but to me you can find a good bar/restaurant anywhere. Tobolobampo is more a of destination dinning spot in my mind and that's why I'd lean towards that.

Friday Lunch: Cafe Spiaggia
Friday Dinner: Thinking either North Pond or Custom House. Thoughts?
I'd go with North Pond for the creativity and atmosphere of not only the restaurant but the area it's set in. Custom House was a great meal but I wouldn't go out of my way to get there like I would for North Pond.

Saturday Lunch: Thinking a lighter lunch like Fox and Obel. Any other suggestions for pre-Alinea lunches?
Saturday Dinner: Alinea
For lunch I'd recommend somewhere like Tac Quick that you can get to by stopping at the Sheridan Red Line stop and walking a good 30 feet west or the $22 pri fixe menu at Blackbird. My experience at Alinea was unlike anything else I've enjoyed yet you don't need to starve yourself going in. We had 26 courses over a 5 hour period and I felt content at the end of the meal.

Sunday Lunch: Thinking about trying David Burke’s Primehouse Dim Sum Brunch. Sunday is usually limited to brunches. Any other good places? I've heard of Sweets and Savories, too.
I believe the Primehouse is a good choice and a good comeback from an Alinea dinner. Great comfort food with a little twist. Definitely get some drinks and enjoy the caping off the trip.


Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome . I'm so excited for this little getaway, and want to make the best of the most important part of any trip: The food!

Thanks for all the feedback! Once we find out exactly where we are staying, I'll know exactly what's in our vicinity. I'm so very excited, but I'm somewhat nervous as well. We are looking to eat at Alinea on Saturday June 13. Do you guys think reservations will be a problem? I've heard stories of people who have tried months in advance to get reservations but failed to do so. Also, what other places would you recommend to get reservations for on my list? I know Avec doesn't take them, but what about North Pond and DB?

pastry643 wrote:Thanks for all the feedback! Once we find out exactly where we are staying, I'll know exactly what's in our vicinity. I'm so very excited, but I'm somewhat nervous as well. We are looking to eat at Alinea on Saturday June 13. Do you guys think reservations will be a problem? I've heard stories of people who have tried months in advance to get reservations but failed to do so. Also, what other places would you recommend to get reservations for on my list? I know Avec doesn't take them, but what about North Pond and DB?

Free online reservations for NP at http://www.opentable.com

You won't need a reservation for brunch at David Burke's. I've been there 3 times in the past 3 months and it's always been 1/2 to 3/4 full.

How did you like it, Lancelac? I've heard it's buffet style (as in you can eat as much as you like), but they come around with carts and give you the food in a set course fashion. Does this mean that if I want something again I have to wait for them to come back around? Is there an actual buffet line, or will I be sitting the entire time? I guess I'm a tad confused as to how it will go down.

Lancelac wrote:You won't need a reservation for brunch at David Burke's. I've been there 3 times in the past 3 months and it's always been 1/2 to 3/4 full.

The American Dim Sum at David Burke holds much interest, details please.

Menu is right on their website:

http://www.brguestrestaurants.com/resta ... e/menu.php

We have a question on Alinea. Do you guys think that the Tour (24 courses, $225) is worth the splurge? Or, could we get the same experience, albeit less of an experience, from the Tasting (12 courses, $145)?

pastry643 wrote:We have a question on Alinea. Do you guys think that the Tour (24 courses, $225) is worth the splurge? Or, could we get the same experience, albeit less of an experience, from the Tasting (12 courses, $145)?

You'll have a great experience with either menu. But if you choose the tour, don't expect to get out of there in less than 4-5 hours (3 or less with the tasting).

As for your other choices, it sounds like you've picked very well. I much prefer North Pond to Custom House (mostly in terms of execution, but also because of the spectacular location), but if you are a big meat eater and less concerned with location/views, maybe you'd prefer Custom House . . . a lot here depends upon personal preference.

As for Avec, I love it . . . but it's not for everyone. You will wait, maybe for a long time. It will be loud, very loud. You will be sitting right next to people you don't know, and the seating is not the most comfortable in town. If this doesn't scare you off, then you'll be treated to great food but one should always go into Avec armed with knowledge of what to expect. If this bothers you, you may want to choose Avec's equally outstanding next door sibling, Blackbird.

One question: do you like Thai food? If so, a visit to Chicago and no meal at either (or both) Spoon and TAC Quick would be shame. And we're not talking about pad thai, noodles, etc. Search this site for reviews of both spots and pictures/descriptions of items from the translated Thai language menus at both locations. And for Sunday brunch, there's also PS Bangkok which offers a wonderful buffet.

Yes, we love Thai! Eh...too many choices to fit into such a short span!
By the way, our schedule has changed a bit. We will be going on a Sunday and leaving on a Wednesday. We hope to keep the same restaurants, but have to switch them around a bit because Alinea only serves Wed.-Sun.

Sunday Dinner: Alinea Tour (we have decided to go all out)

Monday Lunch: Could do a Thai place here. Lunches are a big question mark
Monday Dinner: Avec

Tuesday Lunch: Topolobampo
Tuesday Dinner: North Pond

Wednesday Lunch: Thinking maybe a good burger. We've heard good things from people who live in the downtown area about Blackies, Rosebud, and The Gage. We could also do pizza here as well.

pastry643 wrote:Yes, we love Thai! Eh...too many choices to fit into such a short span!
By the way, our schedule has changed a bit. We will be going on a Sunday and leaving on a Wednesday. We hope to keep the same restaurants, but have to switch them around a bit because Alinea only serves Wed.-Sun.

Sunday Dinner: Alinea Tour (we have decided to go all out)

Monday Lunch: Could do a Thai place here. Lunches are a big question mark
Monday Dinner: Avec

Tuesday Lunch: Topolobampo
Tuesday Dinner: North Pond

Wednesday Lunch: Thinking maybe a good burger. We've heard good things from people who live in the downtown area about Blackies, Rosebud, and The Gage. We could also do pizza here as well.

As for Wednesdays lunch...you can sub in a great burger at The Primehouse since you'll be missing the brunch. Their Burker with truffle fries are out of this world.

Hey all. So, the big trip is coming up next week (6 days, to be exact!). However, I had a question on some of the places we are going. I do not drink alcohol, so I was curious as to the non-alcoholic friendliness of Avec, Alinea, and Topolobampo. I've heard that Trotter's has non-alcoholic drink food pairings, and was curious if Alinea may do the same. As to Avec and Topo, any good things to have there that would fit the bill? Thanks for any and all help!

pastry643 wrote:Hey all. So, the big trip is coming up next week (6 days, to be exact!). However, I had a question on some of the places we are going. I do not drink alcohol, so I was curious as to the non-alcoholic friendliness of Avec, Alinea, and Topolobampo. I've heard that Trotter's has non-alcoholic drink food pairings, and was curious if Alinea may do the same. As to Avec and Topo, any good things to have there that would fit the bill? Thanks for any and all help!

I also don't drink very much alcohol. I've found the mixologist at Avec very accommodating. On one visit, he was able to mix non-alcoholic parings for me with absolutely no advance notice. Some were very good! I can't speak to Alinia and at Topolobampo, I drank ice tea, so I don't know about any other options. In any event. No one will get all bent out of shape if you decide not to order alcohol at any of those places.

stevez wrote:

pastry643 wrote:Hey all. So, the big trip is coming up next week (6 days, to be exact!). However, I had a question on some of the places we are going. I do not drink alcohol, so I was curious as to the non-alcoholic friendliness of Avec, Alinea, and Topolobampo. I've heard that Trotter's has non-alcoholic drink food pairings, and was curious if Alinea may do the same. As to Avec and Topo, any good things to have there that would fit the bill? Thanks for any and all help!

I also don't drink very much alcohol. I've found the mixologist at Avec very accommodating. On one visit, he was able to mix non-alcoholic parings for me with absolutely no advance notice. Some were very good! I can't speak to Avec and at Topolobampo, I drank ice tea, so I don't know about any other options. In any event. No one will get all bent out of shape if you decide not to order alcohol at any of those places.

Wait, I'm confused. I think you said Avec when you meant someplace else in one of those sentences.

Marmish wrote:

Wait, I'm confused. I think you said Avec when you meant someplace else in one of those sentences.

I meant to say I can't speak to Alinia. I've edited my post to correct.

stevez wrote:

Marmish wrote:

Wait, I'm confused. I think you said Avec when you meant someplace else in one of those sentences.

I meant to say I can't speak to Alinia. I've edited my post to correct.

Ah, that's what I thought it was supposed to be.