Steak, Italian & Pizza

Any dinner suggestions for three guys coming for Cubs games. Thurs, Fri, Sat. this week (8/27,28,29). Looking at Gibsons (steak), Mia Francesca (Italian) and Pequods (pizza)

atlanta wrote:Any dinner suggestions for three guys coming for Cubs games. Thurs, Fri, Sat. this week (8/27,28,29). Looking at Gibsons (steak), Mia Francesca (Italian) and Pequods (pizza)

Well if you guys are familiar with deep dish pizza and you want something a little different, then try Pequod's for sure. I don't know if I'd go there with people who have never had one before. It's a love/hate kind of pizza. Kind of like Al's Italian Beef is a love/hate thing. Otherwise, I'd go with Lou Malnati's (buttercrust), Gino's East, or maybe Pizzeria Due for deep dish.

If you are having hot dogs at Wrigley, remember there are a handful of different vendors there, and none of them are our famous Vienna Beef hot dogs. But maybe you already know this?
Gibson's is pretty solid, but not all the steaks are prime beef. Last time I checked the filet mignon was not prime.

Gibsons for steak? Mia Francesca for Italian? Three of us on first trip.

This list should get you started - viewtopic.php?f=28&t=20908

Atlanta -- Gibson's and Mia Francesca's are very solid calls for your steak and Italian fixes. I'll defer to others on Pequod's. I prefer Lou Malnati's pizza, but the downtown location is nothing special. Pizzeria Uno or Due would be good calls for visitors.

Dave148 wrote:This list should get you started - viewtopic.php?f=28&t=20908

Although it is fashionable to point every visitor to the GNR list without comment, in this case Atlanta had some pretty specific questions. I'm not sure how helpful it is to just tell him to read the list.

Although Pequod's is not on the GNR list, it has a very loyal following. I happen to love Pequod's deep dish. If you want thin or stuffed pizza, I'd probably steer to you different places. (I used to love Pequod's thin pizza, but it hasn't been that exciting the last few times I've tried it.) My other favorite is Malnatti's, which has multiple locations around the city. I've been disappointed the last few times I've had Gino's East. Uno's and Due's are great, but not worth the very, very long waits at the downtown locations.

The GNR list has these pizza recommendations:

Burt's Place-- A pizza master who started several of the area's best-known spots now holds court and serves great deep-dish in this homey little spot hidden on a side street in Morton Grove.
Coalfire Pizza Oven-- A genuine coal-fired oven is responsible for the tasty char on Italian and New Haven-style thin crust pizzas at this Grand Avenue newcomer.
Marie's Pizza-- Ageless bar and restaurant serving great thin crust pizza on the northwest side. Eat it hot and fresh!
Spacca Napoli-- Owner Jonathan Goldsmith studied pizza-making in Italy and imported a massive wood-burning oven (and a pizza chef) to make the best and most authentic Neapolitan-style pizzas Chicago has ever seen.
Stop 50 Woodfired Pizza-- Authentic Neapolitan-style pizza, topped with homegrown herbs, in the Chicago vacation-home community of Michiana Shores, Indiana.
Vito & Nick's-- A south side institution and paragon of the Chicago "cracker crust" pizza style.

Although I haven't tried all of them, it is safe to say that all are excellent. Some are rather far from downtown and Wrigleyville, and (as far as I know) only Burt's does deep dish.

I had one meal at Francesca's and was not impressed. If you want old school Italian (i.e. "Italian-American"), Sabatino's is a good bet. If you want more modern Italian that emphasizes fresh, local ingredients, try one of my favorite places (that happens to be about a 20 minute walk from Wrigley), Terragusto.

I don't go to Steak houses much, but I really enjoyed my meal at David Burke's Primehouse.

You could stay close to Wrigley by having your steak at nearby Tango Sur. Plenty of good American steak places in Atlanta (presumably where you are from). This very authentic and cheap Argentine place is a short walk, has a nice crowd, and is BYOB.

Italian -- you could do worse than the original Mia Francesca, but it still gets very crowded with long lines after all these years. You might consider some choices outside the neighborhood. For that, the GNR list helps.

Pizza-- again, if you want to stay near Wrigley, there are options. D'Agostino's is an anchor in the neighborhood and has good, not "best-of", but solid Chicago thin crust. Can't recommend the deep dish as I never get it and it isn't their specialty.

Consider Thai (several top options are nearby the field) and Mexican (Mexican is now solidly established in ATL, but still nothing like Chicago).