Overhyped restaurants and underhyped restaurants-hidden gems

First post - Hi! New to LTH. Maybe this question has already been asked before so feel free to direct me to those posts. So what do you think are the most hyped or overhyped restaurants? I've been reading up on Girl and the Goat. It's very hyped right now or is it overhyped...?

I'm just starting to get into the fine dining scene so I'm trying to decide where to go? I hate snotty restaurants where people just go because it's the trendy thing to do and I want to be satisfied at the end of my meal. Looking into places like Tru, Schwa, MK, etc.

When you say "overhyped" to you mean on an absolute basis or just relative to quality? Girl and the Goat has certainly gotten a lot of hype, but early reports seem to indicate that the hype was justified.

As for higher end place, I can't think of a single one that gets by because of trendy-ness alone. Perhaps if you could provide a bit more information on the type of experience you're looking for (modern vs. traditional cuisine, style of service, setting, etc) people could give you some recommendations.

@jesteinf

Good point. I'll probably end up trying all of these restaurants. I guess I'm looking for places I can return to on a regular basis. I guess that's my criteria for not being "overhyped". For example, Chilam Balam. I'm starting to think this place is overhyped. I have been here twice and it's feel like the novelty is wearing off fast. Maybe it's just time to try something different.

It's an interesting question. One thing to realize, though, is that many restaurants get a lot of attention when they first open. Then later on, nobody talks about them (and in some cases, nobody goes there). So a place that gets a lot of press because it just opened may not continue to get that much press. Also, when a place first opens, it's hard to tell whether it's "hyped" or "overhyped" because you won't really know until you go there, and you can't get to every place as soon as it opens. And of course places sometimes need a few weeks, sometimes even a few months, after opening to iron out the bugs (hopefully not literally!).

The other aspect to realize is that you or I may think a place is "overhyped" because we try it once and we don't like it. Maybe it was just a bad night, or we chose a dish that they're not good at, but for whatever reason, we aren't impressed. And when we hear praise from others, we think that a place is overhyped. The tough part about this impression is that it's not likely to be turned around; with all the great places in Chicago, it's hard enough to get around to trying all the places I've never been, and to go back to the places I've really liked. I rarely choose to go back to a place that I didn't like. Maybe I'm missing out on a place that's better than I thought - but I'm just playing the odds, that say that if I didn't like it the first time...

guinness wrote:I guess I'm looking for places I can return to on a regular basis. I guess that's my criteria for not being "overhyped". For example, Chilam Balam. I'm starting to think this place is overhyped. I have been here twice and it's feel like the novelty is wearing off fast. Maybe it's just time to try something different.

Loving food and living in Chicago, there are always too many restaurants to ever possibly keep up with, and new ones are opening all the time. If you go to a place and aren't overwhelmed - either on the first visit, or on the second visit - take it off the "rotation" of places you want to return to. There are always plenty of others to try, and there are probably some that you will continue to like a lot on return visits.

Good idea. Will do. I guess I'm also looking for hidden gem restaurants that are not getting hyped. Chez Joel is a good example. They were not on open table until last year maybe and now they're number 2 rated French restaurants based on 100+ reviews. They've been around for 10 years--I think. I need to find more places like this.

I would consider a restaurant that you've been to more regularly and you still like it as a criteria for not being overhyped.

guinness wrote:Good idea. Will do. I guess I'm also looking for hidden gem restaurants that are not getting hyped. Chez Joel is a good example. They were not on open table until last year maybe and now they're number 2 rated French restaurants based on 100+ reviews. They've been around for 10 years--I think. I need to find more places like this.

Please nobody yell at me for this

jesteinf wrote:Please nobody yell at me for this

Because we don't want posts that say "Go look at the GNR list" because they may seem unhelpful? Or because the list could be considered a means of hyping restaurants?

My overhyped list consists almost entirely of chain restaurants. Sonic, 5 guys, in and out, etc.

The Money Shot.

If you don't mind, I'd like to take a step back for a moment. Because it seems like you're not really looking for the most (or least) hyped restaurants, but instead, you're asking a different question:

How can I discover really good restaurants, without relying on "media buzz" which may rely more on hype (or overhype) than on actual good food?

Here are ways to discover restaurants to try.

One is to review the "GNR" list and recommendations on LTH. Another is just to read evaluations posted here in the "Eating Out in Chicagoland" forum on LTH. Consider those recommendations and whichever ones sound to you like you would enjoy them, go there and try them.

Consider what kind(s) of restaurants you enjoy, and try more of them. You've mentioned Chilam Balam; this is one of 10-15 restaurants in Chicagoland specializing in creative/provincial Mexican cuisine. If you like, you can try more of those 10-15 restaurants. Same thing with French bistros like Chez Joel. (You can even find a list of most of the French bistros here on LTH.)

Try other kinds of food. The listings on Metromix identify almost a hundred different kinds of cuisine for their restaurants, and even those have variations (for example, their "Central American" category includes restaurants specializing in Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Belizean, etc cuisine). If you've never tried an Ethiopian restaurant, then go try one and see how you like it.

Try places close to home. Just about every neighborhood in the city and suburbs has a variety of places to choose from. Even if they're not great, the convenience factor is there - and if they do turn out to be great, then you've discovered "hidden gems" yourself.

And I wouldn't discount the media entirely, either. Sometimes when a place gets a lot of hype, it's because it's actually good (which appears to be the case with the Girl and the Goat). Who cares whether or not it's hyped, as long as it's good? Just make a reservation and see for yourself.

I guess that is what I'm really asking. Too bad you can't edit topics, can you?

White Palace Grill and Tufano's--good example of overhyped. They were both on Diners and Dives. Borderline inedible.

If you started the topic you can edit it.

Girl & The Goat is an overhyped restaurant. The Girl & The Goat is also a good restaurant.

It also had a goat heart satay last week.

There.

chezbrad wrote:Girl & The Goat is an overhyped restaurant. The Girl & The Goat is also a good restaurant.

It also had a goat heart satay last week.

There.

Oh, no doubt that it's good. I'm definitely going to try it. Just asking if you would go to places like that on a regular basis?

guinness wrote:Just asking if you would go to places like that on a regular basis?

Places I go on a regular basis either (a) are close to home, or (b) have really impressed me with their food - food that is not just very good, but among the very best of their kind, enough for me to return there rather than trying someplace I've never been.

Here are the places I've been to for dinner more than once in the past three years, that are not within 5 miles of home: Michael (contemporary American, Winnetka), Inovasi (contemporary American, Lake Bluff), Cafe des Architectes (contemporary American, Chicago/Mag Mile), Tallgrass (contemporary French, Lockport), Mixteco Grill (provincial Mexican, Chicago/Lakeview), Mundial Cocina Mestiza (provincial Mexican, Chicago/Pilsen).

guinness wrote:
Oh, no doubt that it's good. I'm definitely going to try it. Just asking if you would go to places like that on a regular basis?

Well, my girlfriend works there--not like I have a choice. Then again, I don't really have a choice of going there given the crowds--I suspect Yogi Berra would have a more memorable comment here. You can really only get in without a rez at like 5 and 10:45, and I'm not a huge fan of dining at either time--that's an overhyped restaurant, yo.

You can really only get in without a rez at like 5 and 10:45, and I'm not a huge fan of dining at either time--that's an overhyped restaurant, yo.

No, that is a busy and sucessful restaurant.

How about restaurants overhyped on LTH Forum?

My personal example: Patty's Diner.

ld111134 wrote:How about restaurants overhyped on LTH Forum?

My personal example: Patty's Diner.

Based on what? That many folks here love the place, or that you went based on its LTH popularity and didn't like it?

Khaopaat wrote:

ld111134 wrote:How about restaurants overhyped on LTH Forum?

My personal example: Patty's Diner.

Based on what? That many folks here love the place, or that you went based on its LTH popularity and didn't like it?

Based on (a) the fact that many people on the board love it, illustrated by the drama documented here surrounding (what seemed to be) it's impending closing and (b) I had lunch there and was underwhelmed (I found it rather run-of-the-mill and not as good as similar places such at the Depot, which have better food and more charm IMHO).

On the other end of the scale, I was also disappointed by Tru, although I wouldn't necessarily call that place over-hyped (at least on this board).

ld111134 wrote:

Khaopaat wrote:

ld111134 wrote:How about restaurants overhyped on LTH Forum?

My personal example: Patty's Diner.

Based on what? That many folks here love the place, or that you went based on its LTH popularity and didn't like it?

Based on (a) the fact that many people on the board love it, illustrated by the drama documented here surrounding (what seemed to be) it's impending closing and (b) I had lunch there and was underwhelmed (I found it rather run-of-the-mill and not as good as similar places such at the Depot, which have better food and more charm IMHO).

On the other end of the scale, I was also disappointed by Tru, although I wouldn't necessarily call that place over-hyped (at least on this board).

I'm sure it would help if you would offer substantive comments on the food you ordered and how you found it wanting. I find it a tad odd to compare Patty's and the Depot - Patty's is a breakfast and lunch place where, other than a few daily specials, I'm typically having a (large) breakfast or a (lunch) burger. The Depot has a larger menu and longer hours (Patty's closes at 2 PM most days and 1 PM Sundays) - and is great in its own right.

Of course, for a restaurant like Tru that serves such a complex series of courses it also might help to share how they also disappointed you. The point of having this forum is more to share the experiences than it is to short-cut to "thumbs-up"/"thumbs-down".

Kman wrote:The point of having this forum is more to share the experiences than it is to short-cut to "thumbs-up"/"thumbs-down".

Exactly.

Patty's and the Depot may both use the word diner but are very different. The Depot Diner takes classic diner fare and runs it though the prism of a professionally trained chef, refined without being pretentious. Patty's Diner goes for the outer edge of char, crisp, salty, greasy. Diner food teetering on the edge without quite tipping over.

Patty's is WWE, Depot fencing

Funny, nobody said anything about brief responses until an LTH sacred cow was mentioned.

teatpuller wrote:Funny, nobody said anything about brief responses until an LTH sacred cow was mentioned.

They are both comparing and passing judgment without so much as a howdedo, I for one am interested in a little more detail. Doesn't have to be a sacred cow either, just this morning I garnered detail on the BBQ buffet at Hyatt O'Hare. Now closed, but the opposite of an LTHForum scared cow if ever there was one.

I found the repeated querries to be inhospitable, that's all.

teatpuller wrote:I found the repeated querries to be inhospitable, that's all.

Some might say that drive-by "you know what sucks? XYZ Café" comments are inhospitable.

I don't just feel this way about "sacred cows"...hell, I've never even been to Patty's Diner (or Depot, for that matter). It's just that it's always been my belief that negative feedback should be accompanied by some form of elaboration in order to be at all useful or trustworthy. Without some supporting explanation, who's to say I'm not being petty or vindictive, or running some sort of a smear campaign?

Khaopaat wrote:Some might say that drive-by "you know what sucks? XYZ Café" comments are inhospitable.

I don't just feel this way about "sacred cows"...hell, I've never even been to Patty's Diner (or Depot, for that matter). It's just that it's always been my belief that negative feedback should be accompanied by some form of elaboration in order to be at all useful or trustworthy.

I agree. And you made your point with the first response. Others continued to belabor the point.

Personally, I didn't think there was anything inhospitable or belaboring about the replies. If anything, I thought they were polite and restrained.