I know we are supposed to be off the transportation thing, but just wanted to make a quick comment on the Metra to Burt's. I take that line every day (that I don't bike) to work and get off at the Morton Grove stop. It takes 30 minutes from Union Station to Morton Grove. With Burt's capability of having a pizza sitting on the table ready for you, and trains running every hour (on average). You can easily make it there and back to Union Station in 2 hours (which can't always be said for the Kennedy>Edens, even on a weekend).

As for food...I really like the Wicker Park - Tierra/Big Star>Violet Hour combo, as I've done that with a few other out of town guests. We usually end up adding a dive bar (Happy Village or Beechwood Inn) or Bar Deville to that combo though.

Given that you seem to be interested in more local and ethnic choices and not particularly pursuing fine-dining options, my rec's would be a little different from what youve gotten so far - more where I take friends of similar tastes who come down to Chicago.

The most important IMHO, as mentioned by others, is to do things Chicago is famous for, best at - and which cant be found nearly as well-done in Toronto.

Thusly, I'd rent a car (to be able to travel further afield). Id hit a great Chicago-style pizza spot for sure (Lou Malnati's for deep-dish IMHO). I'd hit a great Italian Beef spot (my choice would be on Friday - and the beef, plus the Friday-only pepper-and-egg-with-sausage at Johnnie's, the best Italian Beef spot in the city IMHO). Id suggest Hot Doug's (for a uniquely Chicago gourmet-hot-dog experience).. but it'll be too long of a wait for someone here for a short time.

Id drive down to the SouthSide, and hit Uncle John's BBQ - for rib tips and hotlinks, and maybe ribs. (Id usually also suggest Jamaican food on the SouthSide, but Toronto is pretty good for that, I reckon?) Instead, while on the South-Side, Id suggest cutting across west... and getting Birria at Zaragosa, very good regional Mexican, a Chicago speciality. Maybe Cemitas Puebla and a Carnitas place too, if possible.

Id suggest a trip for some authentic Thai on the northside (Spoon Thai, TAC Quick)... and, if time is left over, to Albany Park for Middle-Eastern food (Salam et al).

These are usually all on the list of places I take out-of-towners to, for downhome Chicago-specails.. and theyre usually very well received. (Almost all of them have plenty of extra info on them in the Great Neighborhood Restaurant section).

c8w

potus wrote:Two of us will be flying into Chicago Thursday evening (Feb 16) and leaving Sunday night. Just realized that we will be in Chicago right in the middle of Chicago Restaurant Week; that makes me worried that it would be difficult for us to get into any good restaurants without having made reservations way ahead of time. 

We will be staying at the Fairmont and will probably not be renting a car. Saw No Reservations episode of Bourdain visiting Chicago in which he was driving all over to get to interesting places: Burt's Place, Calumet Fisheries, Silver Palm Restaurant, L2O Restaurant, Fat Johnnies Famous Red Hots, Blackbird Restaurant, Moto Restaurant, Hot Doug's, and Avec Restaurant. Is it worth our while to rent a car?

Wondering what real people in Chicago would recommend if we would like a real Chicago experience. I am very adventurous about ethnic cuisine being from Toronto, Canada, but not trying to find the best of the cuisine of any particular part of the world that Chicago has to offer; I was on a coach tour of Europe operated by Chinese people once and instead of sampling the local flavors, ended up in a Chinese restaurant in Rome, Venice, Paris, etc. However, I would be interested in ethnic restaurants that are representative of the culture of a city, e.g. Japanese food is very important in Vancouver.

I am more interested in simple food cooked well and not that interested in molecular gastronomy, foam, plating, the hipness and decor of the restaurant, or any other fancy frills. It is probably impossible to get into Charlie Trotter's restaurant, but do people think that it is worth it? I am not against fine dining, but am not focused on the fancy, ultra-expensive places which are just about hype.

Sorry for the long post with so many specific details. This forum has been very helpful. Any further help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

I'm guessing that you are coming to Chicago for a nice weekend, not necessarily a "food tour," but I may be wrong. It's easy to eat well in Chicago without running all over the place, renting a car, or booking reservations months in advance (you can do that to but it's not required).

I recently moved to Minneapolis and just shot back to Chicago last weekend. One of the things I enjoyed was grabbing an early dinner (6-6:30pm) on Friday at Longman & Eagle in Logan Square. We took a cab from downtown. It's nothing fancy - just a gastropub feel with really good food. They were recently awarded a Michelin star. They do not take reservations so get there early. If you have to wait, not problem, it's also a bar. This is a neighborhood place and where my friends in Chicago go for dinner. From there, we walked across the street to the Logan Square "L" stop, went downstairs (subway), grabbed a $5 fare card and shot south (towards Forest Park, NOT Ohare), to the Damen stop (or just take a cab if you can find one). It was still early enough to hit Violet Hour for some cocktails without standing in line. Violet Hour is a "prohibition" style cocktail bar but is also laid back, albeit pretty hip. You are now in the Bucktown/Wicker Park area and cabs are everywhere. Across the street, you'll see Big Star - a whiskey bar that serves small tacos, run by the same group that owns Publican, Backbird, Avec. The food is good here but the bar is nice as well. Hipsters listening to country music and snacking on tacos - if that sounds interesting to you. If you like beer, you can go a little south ($5-6 cab) to Small Bar or Bangers and Lace for a nice selection of U.S. micro brews, or north ($5-6 cab) to the Map Room for a nice selection of beer from everywhere. Again, cabs still everywhere.

That's one idea for one night - hit a neighborhood, eat well and drink well - all with locals, all within a cab ride from your hotel.

Beefs are a good idea, so is pizza but I would just shoot for lunch to sample these old school, Chicago "must haves." As mentioned, Portillo's on Ontario is good for a beef or hot dog and the above mentioned pizza places should work for you as well.

Mexican is a must while in Chicago. The most touristy/travel friendly is the above mentioned Frontera Grill -but locals still go here as well. The other options above are great also. Just do some sort of quality Mexican here.

You won't need a car, unless of course you ARE doing a food tour, then throw my suggestions out the window.

As you know, LTH is a great reference but it can be hard to search through all the posts so also take a look at Time Out Chicago. Grab one at a local book store in Toronto (if available) or grab one when you get off the plane. It's a decent overview for the weekend.

Have fun.

I agree completely with Tyrus. For such a short visit there's no need for a car, and while Burt's or Calumet Fisheries are great destinations I think they're best handled as part of a tour or during a longer trip. I'd recommend getting to see the city a bit, and doing one night for dinner and drinks using the Red Line and another using the Blue line. Do lunches and one other night downtown/Fulton St.

For the Blue Line you can't go wrong w/Longman & Eagle followed by Violet Hour. Some other Blue Line places I'd recommend checking out would be Takashi's, The Bristol, and Yusho. If you're into beer Revolution Brewing, Goose Island (Clybourn), and Haymarket are worth going to. My wife and I live in Logan Square and Longman & Eagle followed by Revolution or Quencher's is a regular ritual for us.

Chicago has loads of great places where 2 people can get an outstanding meal with drinks for $100-150, use this board and other resources like Chicago Magazine, Time Out, etc. to find places that look interesting and just go for it. On a recent trip to Boston I had a whole food tour planned out and ended up eating at Craigie On Main half the time because I saw many things on the menu I really wanted to try. There's no need to survey everything during a visit, just consider it research for a return visit.