Visiting Foodie seeks Guide

SWM 53, from New Orleans, coming to Chicago for a week or so, with the primary intention of finding great food. I will be staying up in Evanston,and probably will do some cultural/art stuff, but the truth is, I am just a bit obsessed with finding great food, and am posting her to find a new friend to eat and eat and eat. And the deal is that I pay for everything, the food of course, and any out of pocket costs (eg gas, metro fares, and cover charges) So here is your chance to eat everywhere you love, for free.

Pardon me, if this is out of place on your forum -- I have run similar ads in SF bay area, NYC and LA on CL, and met up with some real nice people and had a great time, but I thought i would get true foodies here. This not being a fair world, I prefer women, but I want to make it clear that, although I am not opposed to romance, that is not the point here, and there is no expectation in that regard.

I want true local and ethnic food -- maybe even a hot dog beause it seem like such an obsession up there -- and until I am conviced otherwise, I like thin crust pizza -- though Grimaldi's in NYC was not worth the wait, (and I bypassed the list by ordering to go and eating it in the nearby park -- I liked "two boots" better). I am not particularly impressed with famous names chefs -- we have them here in New Orleans, and it is more pretty than tasty. I grew up in cajun country with a Jewish momma whe learned how to cook from a cajun lady next door, so lots of flavor is what I am about. My NYC foodie friend took me to a Jean Georges place for lunch, and it was nice, but I liked the real gyro in the Villiage better. Oh, and Peter Luger in Brooklyn was nothing special.

MY favorite day in LA was when my foodie friend there and I went to about 8 places, a nosh here and a nosh there, trying a slice at three different places just to compare. So I am really a taster -- I have long championed three appetizers and no entres,and mandatory sharing.

I say this all, to let you know who I am, and what I want, and to find someone similarly inclined. I promise you, I am one of the funnest person to eat with in the world -- and I have references on that. Sound good? marcaroni@live.com

Hi, Macaroni, you've come to the right place: we even have a guide, the GNR program. Or you can peruse the Events board and see if you can join some of us at some of our culinary adventures. The Chicago area has an awful lot of really great food from all over the world, I hope you find what you're looking for!

When are you coming to town? We could probably get a few people to join you, should you want company. You must realize that it would be hard for any sane woman to say yes to an invitation like "hi, I'm a complete stranger from another town, and you know nothing about me, including my name, but I want you to commit to spending several days showing me around" -- so a group might be a better bet, at least for the first night -- Dutch treat -- and then if you turn out to not be an ax murderer, you can decide who in the group you'd like to join you on other evenings.

Of course, as Mhays notes, this forum is an amazing place to find out the really great dining destinations in Chicago.

I got a PM from Mark (aka, Marcaroni), and this is clearly something he enjoys doing, and he also clearly understands the need for care (meet in public places -- that sort of thing -- so no danger for the person who volunteers to dine with him).

He loves the idea of getting a group together for a meal -- he didn't think that would be an option. I assured him we were the most hospitable crowd imaginable, and actually quite enjoyed gathering together, so I was sure we could find people willing to both join him and make recommendations.

I did suggest he search the site to get an idea of what he'd like to target, as five days would barely let him touch the surface of what Chicago has to offer, but that LTHers could guide him within a category, offering enthusiastic recommendations for favorite places.

He'll be setting the date based on when people might be available, but wants it to be in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I'll be unavailable (a convention, and then heading for Michigan, to help my mom post-spinal surgery). However, I feel certain there are many in the group who would be delighted to offer guidance to a foodie from New Orleans. (He will be staying with relatives, so he won't need a guide every night, plus it doesn't have to be the same person all weekend -- which wasn't clear in the OP).

Any volunteers and/or recommendations for an "introduction to Chicago dining" gathering?

How about a group of three?

Cynthia wrote:the first night -- Dutch treat -- and then if you turn out to not be an ax murderer, you can decide who in the group you'd like to join you on other evenings.

He could be a very patient ax murderer who waits for his second dinner.

I'm really surprised that no one seems interested in the opportunity to both gather with other LTHers and show off our town to a visitor. I'm hoping it has all just been handled by PMs, and we haven't simply abandoned the party spirit.

Cynthia wrote:I'm really surprised that no one seems interested in the opportunity to both gather with other LTHers and show off our town to a visitor. I'm hoping it has all just been handled by PMs, and we haven't simply abandoned the party spirit.

As the excellent #1 piece of advice in the Tips for Event Planners thread says:

1. Choose a definite date and time. Saying "Sometime next week" will limit interest and result in a ton of people saying "maybe" and very few people committing to your event.

The OP said he'll plan his trip based on when someone -- one or more -- was available.

I'll be out of town (I need to go take care of my mom post-op, so I'll be gone an indefinite amount of time), so I'm not even going to be part of this. I just felt that, since I responded to his PM with enthusiastic commentary about what a friendly group we have, I'd bump this, to see if we can't get someone to volunteer a few possible dates in the next few weeks that might work. It shouldn't be that hard to find one or more people who want to show off Chicago.

Cynthia wrote:The OP said he'll plan his trip based on when someone -- one or more -- was available.

I'll be out of town (I need to go take care of my mom post-op, so I'll be gone an indefinite amount of time), so I'm not even going to be part of this. I just felt that, since I responded to his PM with enthusiastic commentary about what a friendly group we have, I'd bump this, to see if we can't get someone to volunteer a few possible dates in the next few weeks that might work. It shouldn't be that hard to find one or more people who want to show off Chicago.

In that case, Mhays' suggestion is an excellent one. Find an event that's already planned, and come to that.

Kennyz wrote:
In that case, Mhays' suggestion is an excellent one. Find an event that's already planned, and come to that.

Well, aside from the fact that there really isn't anything on the calendar in the next few weeks other than the Beef Symposium, that doesn't help him with the rest of his trip.

But I can't solve all the world's problems, much as I'd like to, so I'll just hope marcaroni connects with someone who has the time to show him the town.

However, if he does check back here, I will say that this is still probably the richest source anywhere for information on places worth eating in Chicago, and mhays is right to direct him to the GNR list -- only the best.

(from the original poster, Marcaroni)

Actually, I have had a nice number of responses (both PM and direct eMail) since I originally posted. And although I kinda expected a little bit of suspicion (after all, this is not Craigslist) , I want you to know how impressed I am with your forum and its many many posted food events large and small. I wish we had such a scene here (I am a bit jealous) and now making one of these events is something I want to work into my trip. That and maybe tickets to "Wait, Wait ...

And it seems many of you are swamped until early November, so my arrival looks like November 13, 2009.

Mark

Marcaroni wrote:(from the original poster, Marcaroni)

Actually, I have had a nice number of responses (both PM and direct eMail) since I originally posted. And although I kinda expected a little bit of suspicion (after all, this is not Craigslist) , I want you to know how impressed I am with your forum and its many many posted food events large and small. I wish we had such a scene here (I am a bit jealous) and now making one of these events is something I want to work into my trip. That and maybe tickets to "Wait, Wait ...

And it seems many of you are swamped until early November, so my arrival looks like November 13, 2009.

Mark

"Wait, Wait" is fabulous, but when I was in the Chase building earlier this week for lunch the sign said sold out for several dates. If that is a must do go to their website now for tickets & get them. Tickets for the December shows go on sale on 10-23 @ 10 am.

For those of you following this thread, I just want you to know that I am arriving about noon this Friday, and leaving early early the next Thursday, have a few things set up with you guys but welcome any others. And I plan to do the Devon a thon on Saturday as posted elsewhere on this site.

Also if any one tell me the best site for finding goings on in Chicago, I would appreciate it.

Marcaroni wrote:Also if any one tell me the best site for finding goings on in Chicago, I would appreciate it.

There are quite a few - Gaper's Block, Metromix from the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Reader's listing of events, Centerstage from the Chicago Sun Times, Chicagoist, etc. and a lot of the national ones you've heard of (Thrillist, Daily Candy) have listings for Chicago.

http://gapersblock.com/
http://chicago.metromix.com/
http://www.chicagoreader.com/
http://centerstagechicago.com/
http://chicagoist.com/
http://www.dailycandy.com/chicago/
http://www.thrillist.com/list/Chicago