Casual/ethnic near 640 N. WABASH AVENUE,?

Hi!

Not sure if anyone will be on-line on such a nice afternoon as this, but I figure I'll give it a shot. We're heading down spur of the moment to Chicago and will be staying at Hotel Cass at 640 N. WABASH AVENUE TONIGHT. Does anyone have any recommendations for a casual place within 10 blocks or less? Any ethnic or seafood would be great, especially any ethnic that is a bit harder to find in other places (Russian, etc).

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Debbie (from Milwaukee area)

Start with the GNR's, Great Neighborhood Restaurants & Resources here. There's also a guy who posted this morning here.

Good Luck.

Whether you go with a selection from the GNR's or not please let us know about your dining experiences. It enriches all of us here.

How about Armenian food at Sayat Nova? I have had better armenian food , but not in Chicago.

Sayat Nova Armenian Restaurant
157 East Ohio Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312.644.9159

http://www.sayatnovachicago.com

Looks like you'll be staying a half block north of GNR winner Ginza Sushi.

I like India House for excellent Indian food, just a short walk from your hotel. Has an upscale-ish feel to the room, but they welcome the casual crowd.

India House
59 W Grand
312-645-9500

Per a previous suggestion, I looked at the Great Neighborhood Restaurants. We decided to stop on our way to the hotel instead of walking somewhere and based on my perusal of the GNR thread, chose the Habana Libre. FANTASTIC!!! We got there early enough that we could get seated immediately. Thanks to reading the reviews, we had come prepared with a nice bottle of wine (2005 Earthquake Cab). Also thanks to the reviews, I ordered the oxtail. My husband ordered the roast pork. Both were very good, but the oxtail was definitely our favorite. The sauce was amazing! We skipped appetizers so we would have enough room for flan. My husband had the regular, while I had the very tasty coconut version (other flan options were pumpkin and passionfruit).

Service was actually quite good, perhaps because we were there before they got too crowded. We would definitely recommend this place to others and would love to return again the next time we are in the area.

Thanks to all of you that contribute to this site!

Debbie