I may be crazy but I would recommend davanti enoteca on Taylor street. This is absolutely my favorite reataurant right now. They do not accept reservations so you would have to go early, but if you arrive by 6 or so the wait should't be too long. The prices are fairly reasonable and I have never felt rushed or packed in like sardines. Great atmosphere and great food. Check it out.

slater wrote:Is there anything a step up in price that's a huge leap in quality? I've got a picture in my head of a place that may not even exist: a small-ish, locally owned, cozy or funky decor, delicious but not terrifically expensive place that serves either small plates or bistro-style food or even pasta. Is that way too broad, or way too narrow? Can anyone read my mind to tell me what restaurant in or around downtown Chicago might fit that bill?

Check out West Town Tavern ... a quick cab ride from downtown proper and it definitely fits the bill of what you describe above. Definitely call to check for availability, as they can fill up quickly on weekends:

http://www.westtowntavern.com/
1329 West Chicago Avenue
312-666-6175

As for brunch, a quick warning that Bongo Room will probably be an 1hr+ wait on the sidewalk outside ... one suggestion would be Wishbone in the West Loop (there are multiple locations). They will likely be busy as well (it is Mother's Day, after all) but it's a much bigger place and the food is delicious ... you can also wait indoors and they have coffee and drink service while waiting.

http://wishbonechicago.com/dining/westloop/
1001 W. Washington Blvd.
312-850-2663

Apparently they take reservations via Open Table, I had no idea!

http://www.opentable.com/wishbone-west- ... &rtype=ism

While I've had some good dishes at Quartino, it would be very noisy even early on Saturday. I was there pre-theater, and there were many large, boisterous groups, so conversation became difficult very quickly.

slater wrote:Xoco, huh? Last time we were up there (for an even quicker trip, just grabbing lunch and wandering for an hour before dropping a relative at Union Station), I dragged the same family members over that way because I was so intent on trying his food. But after stepping in, we left ... it looked too much like a Taco Bell for me to think I'd see any of Bayless' cooking in it. That was probably just me being a snob, so if you all say it's worth it, then I'll put it on the list of possibilities.

FWIW, I empathize with this. I love Xoco, but I don't think it makes a good first visual impression at all. People and restaurants may not fit for countless reasons, whether on just one occasion or in perpetuity. I don't think that's a good or bad thing, but I do respect people who can be honest about a place not fitting them because of personal style, mental model, etc. I had a similar walk-in-then-decide-it's-not-for-me experience on Tuesday at GT Fish and Oyster. I stopped in looking for a later dinner and drink and walked into a sea of dudes in their late 20's, early 30's wearing seemingly identical light blue button down shirt and gray slacks, like tables and tables of them, and it was just not where I wanted to be. I was seeking refuge at that late hour after coming out of b-school boot camp (i.e. lots and lots of blue button down shirts and gray slacks, kind of traumatic), and I felt like I had entered a Vanessa Beecroft performance. GT Fish and Oyster may be good, and I still might find out one day, but it felt entirely wrong for me earlier this week.

Just to throw a crazy idea in there - and your Mom would not approve of the price - but given your mention of Top Chef, you might like Dale Levitski's Sprout which does 3 courses plus two intermezzos for $60 pp. Nice comfortable room adventurous but relate-able food and nice tone. It would be a cab ride from your hotel but not super long.

Have to say, I love-love-love the ambiance for Kiki's Bistro. I am definitely more enticed by the Sable menu, though, at least for this group. So back to open table, and I snagged the only pre-10 p.m. dinner slot left for three ... at 5:30! Oh well, maybe we'll have a small lunch, eat some small plates at the cocktail hour at Sable, and even make our way somewhere else for a late snack or dessert. A progressive eating tour of Chicago!

Siun, love the Sprout suggestion. Mom would definitely blanch at the prices, but it's on the list for next time...

Thank you all for your many suggestions. I have a lengthy list of places I want to try on return trips, as well as a solid list of possibilities for this weekend!

Just back from our much-too-short visit to Chicago, and I wanted to report back and thank all of you who helped us eat well on our trip.

We arrived in town Saturday just in time to get a late lunch in Xoco. My mom and sister gave me worried looks when they saw the line out the door at 1:30, but I promised them it would be worth it. For the guacamole alone, they were not disappointed. All of us are guac snobs who think our homemade is better than any restaurant, but we loved Bayless' version (which actually tasted a lot like our homemade... but better). We gobbled it up at our outdoor table, which we were led to after a short 10-minute wait, as we were able to jump ahead of many who wanted to eat inside on that gray day; we had decided to brave it and hope the rain held off ... which it did. We then sampled the pepito and the ahogado tortas, on the suggestion of several members. Both were met with lukewarm excitement from my sister, who isn't a huge meat eater and has issues with "stringy" stuff, which this meat sort of was. I expected it to be more like braised meat, but it seemed like it was pit-fired (which I assume is what it always is?), and maybe a little tough. The flavors were great, and I enjoyed both tortas, but I think everyone else was a little underwhelmed. Not important, though, because they were still on the guac high, and they were about to be wowed by the hot chocolate and the churros. I'm not a huge sweets eater, so I finished off the tortas while they dug into the desserts. Both loved the churros but said they actually could have done without the chocolate (said the fried dough concoction reminded them of a state fair elephant ear, which may be their favorite food in the world, just a little crispier). The hot chocolate was very good, very thick, and very unlike anything we've ever tasted before. Overall, I'm very glad to have tried it, but next time I'll bring my husband, who will appreciate the food more.

We tried to work off our late lunch in time for our very early dinner reservation at Sable, with not too much success. We decided when we got there to sit at the bar and concentrate on cocktails, snacks and conversation. We let mom order, since it was almost Mother’s Day and it was “her” trip. She picked the bison sliders and a small cheese plate. Both were delicious, and by the time we’d eaten those and had two drinks, my sister and I were ready for one more plate. We chose tuna tartare, which was light and delicious. We left satiated but not stuffed, fully intending to hit another spot late-night for either dessert or another round, but mom got tired and we got lazy, so we all ended up heading back to the hotel before we could eat any more.

Sunday morning we woke up to a beautiful spring Chicago day, the opposite of the previous rainy/dreary day, so we decided to start the morning with a long exploratory walk. We got hungry as we headed south and ran into a place called Yolk, which I hadn’t really heard about or written down as a possibility, but it was there and we were hungry. I had a frittata with green onion, avocado, bacon, and cheese, which was huge, filling and good. My mom had a couple of eggs, bacon, sausage, and French toast, and my sis had biscuits and gravy with eggs and fruit. None of us finished our entire breakfast, which were about $9/each, and it kept all of us full til dinner (which won over mom, who had noted that it was “a little pricey, don’t you think?” as we put our name in). The place was crazy busy because of the breast cancer walk taking place across the street at the park, but we were there early enough that we waited just a few minutes. I later noticed in my notes that we were probably less than two blocks away from the Bongo Room, but we just never made our way over and were too hungry to walk anymore by that point.

By the time brunch ended, it was time to head home and spend the rest of Mother’s Day with my own little ones, who aren’t quite big enough yet to enjoy a shopping-and-eating weekend in the city with us. But they were sad I didn’t home a deep-dish pizza as I had intended, so I’ve promised we’ll go back soon and do a little-kid-friendly trip (bring on the pizza, Italian beef, Hot Doug’s and more).

Thanks again for helping to make this a fun trip for all of us. Even with our diverse tastes and interests, we were able to have three good meals that satisfied all of us.

slater-

Thanks for reporting back. It sounds like you had a good weekend with your mom and sister.

-Mary