Khaopaat wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:Looking to suburbanites (and I'm using the term in reference to people who rarely enter the city limits) for a definition of "downtown" is like asking Moldovans to create a Chicago tourism flyer ("Al Capone! Bang-bang!")

The point I was trying to make was that we shouldn't bust the OP's balls by nitpicking when their intent was clear.

Actually, it wasn't clear. I can call myself "The King of Siam" but that doesn't make it so. Nothing north of the river is "downtown." "Down" had meaning.
Depending on the context, downtown lunch after shopping Michigan Ave. may make sense. For instance, if the person took the train, then it would seem to be on the way.
The bottom line is that we really shouldn't assume. The person asked for downtown. We should be polite enough to provide downtown suggestions.
Edited to add -- and although my Miracle/Mag Mile comment was in jest, the downtown part was not meant to "bust" anybody. I was not assuming about the other person's intent, and you really should not assume about my intent.

New York (Manhattan) is the only American city I can think of in which "downtown" is widely recognized as a direction rather than a destination. In most other large American cities, downtown is the central business district, containing large office buildings as well as major hotels and transportation hubs. Most of those neighborhoods called "downtown" are smaller than a mile square.

The corresponding neighborhoods in Chicago, more specifically those that are walkable from the major hotels and transportation hubs, can include the Gold Coast, Magnificent (not Miracle) Mile, Streeterville, River North, Loop, West Loop, and South Loop. These neighborhoods extend up to three miles from north to south.

Many of the people who ask about "downtown Chicago" are from out of town, and don't realize that the relatively compact "downtown" they're accustomed to back home covers a much broader area here in Chicago. They don't realize that restaurants within walking distance if they're staying "downtown" at the Ambassador East are entirely different from restaurants within walking distance if they're staying "downtown" at the Hilton on South Michigan Avenue. So to me, as someone who has lived here for decades and is familiar with the area, the term "downtown Chicago" is very non-specific; when someone asks for restaurant recommendations in "downtown Chicago", I often reply by asking them to be more specific about exactly where they're staying or spending time.

In the context of our discussion here of a "comfort burger" (which as far as I can tell is what I would call a "hamburger" ), all of the recommendations made here, with the exceptions of Monk's Pub and Epic Burger, are within a few blocks of the Magnificent Mile, which sounds like what the OP is looking for.

It seems that "downtown" has two distinct definitions, both of which were noted here.
For some, anywhere in the City is "downtown." For others, it is another word for The Loop.
It makes it tough to make recommendations when you are not sure which of the two is the one used by the person.
So we might as well respond both ways -- as if the person is looking for anywhere in the city, or if the person is looking in the loop.

Big and Littles. They grind their own ground beef, cook it perfectly they way you want it, fried egg as well, and for 6!

nsxtasy wrote:New York (Manhattan) is the only American city I can think of in which "downtown" is widely recognized as a direction rather than a destination. In most other large American cities, downtown is the central business district, containing large office buildings as well as major hotels and transportation hubs. Most of those neighborhoods called "downtown" are smaller than a mile square.

The corresponding neighborhoods in Chicago, more specifically those that are walkable from the major hotels and transportation hubs, can include the Gold Coast, Magnificent (not Miracle) Mile, Streeterville, River North, Loop, West Loop, and South Loop. These neighborhoods extend up to three miles from north to south.

Many of the people who ask about "downtown Chicago" are from out of town, and don't realize that the relatively compact "downtown" they're accustomed to back home covers a much broader area here in Chicago. They don't realize that restaurants within walking distance if they're staying "downtown" at the Ambassador East are entirely different from restaurants within walking distance if they're staying "downtown" at the Hilton on South Michigan Avenue. So to me, as someone who has lived here for decades and is familiar with the area, the term "downtown Chicago" is very non-specific; when someone asks for restaurant recommendations in "downtown Chicago", I often reply by asking them to be more specific about exactly where they're staying or spending time.

In the context of our discussion here of a "comfort burger" (which as far as I can tell is what I would call a "hamburger" ), all of the recommendations made here, with the exceptions of Monk's Pub and Epic Burger, are within a few blocks of the Magnificent Mile, which sounds like what the OP is looking for.

Very well said. I tried to respond with a similar post, but got tired a paragraph in and gave up