Latest hot restaurant for out of town relatives

My daughter and son in law will be back in Chicago for the holidays and have assigned me the task of making reservations at one of the latest hot spots for dinner. They are staying at the James but we don't need to stay in that area. We like everything but don't want over the top crazy expensive. Suggestions? Maybe even include a good place for a cocktail?

acadia, goosefoot, telegraph, yusho

Vera. Havent been to Acadia but my meals at Vera have all run rings around the other 3 recommended above. And a bonus suggestion--if they enjoy dim sum, check out Lao you jou the next day-took friends from out of town last weekend and we all loved it.

boudreaulicious wrote:Vera. Havent been to Acadia but my meals at Vera have all run rings around the other 3 recommended above. And a bonus suggestion--if they enjoy dim sum, check out Lao you jou the next day-took friends from out of town last weekend and we all loved it.

the question was for "hot restaurants". While I agree Vera is good , i've ben there in an empty dining room.... not crazy "hot" imo

gocubs88 wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Vera. Havent been to Acadia but my meals at Vera have all run rings around the other 3 recommended above. And a bonus suggestion--if they enjoy dim sum, check out Lao you jou the next day-took friends from out of town last weekend and we all loved it.

the question was for "hot restaurants". While I agree Vera is good , i've ben there in an empty dining room.... not crazy "hot" imo

I guess it all depends upon what "hot" means. You would have problems getting into Chuck's Manufacturing and RPM Italian, but neither may be appropriate for the really discerning diner. So if the requirement is that it be loud and packed with a wait, no Vera wouldn't qualify. But "wow" is about all I can say about my meal there last week. Really sensational in all respects.

I've also eaten at Acadia a couple of times now and I think it's excellent, but let it be known that it skews a little older (a bit more than Vera imo).

To dismiss Vera because it's not constantly packed to the gills is absurd. The food there is at an incredibly high level right now. I wouldn't hesitate a second to bring anyone there.

take them to one of the brendan sodikoff places.

Nightwood.

Bavette's

Oceanique is corkage free on Monday's.

Within a few blocks walk of the James, you have numerous hot, trendy, relatively new, and not-terribly expensive spots, including Sable, Piccolo Sogno Due, and GT Fish & Oyster, all of which accept reservations (including on Opentable). If you can go at an off hour (or lunch) to avoid waiting 90-120 minutes or more to be seated, also consider the Purple Pig, which doesn't take reservations.

All of these have great food. Sable has some of the best cocktails in town, and GT Fish is pretty darn great for cocktails also.

Carriage House. Avec. (Don't hate!) Blackbird. Nightwood. LULA! I still think, although cheesy/touristy and overpriced, that a martini or $12 domestic beer at the Signature Room is an awesome time on a clear Chicago evening.

Hmmm, I guess none of those are "latest" hot restos...maybe Carriage House qualifies.

Not sure if recently getting a first-time Michelin star would qualify a restaurant as a "latest, hot" spot, but if so, perhaps add Mexique to your list of possibilities?

jmc wrote:Hmmm, I guess none of those are "latest" hot restos...

I'm not sure I understand the craving for a "hot" (new and trendy and popular) restaurant. If you've never been to a restaurant, it's new TO YOU, even if it's been around for years. And if it's really good, not only is it really good, but it's likely to have made changes to its menu from time to time. Here are three examples of places that aren't that new, therefore aren't "hot", but deserve consideration (at least, if the visitors haven't been there before):

Naha has been around long enough for Chef Nahabedian to win her James Beard Award back in 2008. I ate there earlier this year and thought it was thoroughly excellent, one of the best restaurants in town - not usually mentioned in the pantheon with TRU, Everest, Spiaggia, etc, but deserving of that honor (despite prices that aren't as high). Oh, and it's only a couple of blocks from the James.

Topolobampo is the high-end dining room in Rick Bayless's triad of restaurants a few blocks from the James. It was opened in the 1980s but still turns heads as the pinnacle of Chicago's active contemporary Mexican cuisine scene. It too is just a couple of blocks from the James.

North Pond finally won the James Beard Award for Chef Sherman after making him a finalist each of the last five or so previous years. The food is excellent but what makes North Pond unique, and uniquely representative of a Chicago experience, is its exquisite setting in Lincoln Park (the park itself, not the adjacent neighborhood of the same name), two miles north of the James. It faces its namesake pond, with the city skyline looming over the opposite shore; the building formerly served as a warming shelter for skaters on the pond in winter.

These are three of our best. "Hot", maybe not. But still doing what they do oh so well.

Not sure what's hard to "get" about wanting a hot restaurant. For better or worse, trendy, hip, hot, places exude a different type of vibe and energy, and attract different types of people than stuffy, old classics. The food may be better at a not-so-hot spot, and may be attractive to some people, but there is quite a bit more to a dining experience than how the food tastes. Especially if you are coming from out of town and want a more urban experience.

MikeL wrote:Not sure what's hard to "get" about wanting a hot restaurant. For better or worse, trendy, hip, hot, places exude a different type of vibe and energy, and attract different types of people than stuffy, old classics.

That's a sweeping generalization that can be false as often as it is true. The vibe and energy at some places that have been around for a while can be every bit as exciting as at other places that are newer. Have you been to Topolobampo/Frontera Grill or Avec or Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba lately? Similarly, the vibe and energy at other new, trendy, hot places can be more subdued, because that's the kind of place they are; Goosefoot, Sprout, and Sixteen (with its new culinary team) are examples.

I don't think there is anything deep to figure out about asking to know about new, hot restaurants. I go to NYC about once every year or two. Obviously I haven't eaten at most restaurants there, so I could easily fill up several years' worth of trips just eating at the many good restaurants that exist today. But I'm also curious to know what's new there. How is the restaurant scene changing? What new places are exciting people?

jonathanlehman wrote:take them to one of the brendan sodikoff places.

FYI these include Gilt Bar, Doughnut Vault, Maude’s Liquor Bar, Au Cheval, and Bavette’s.

We had some family in town moving from Pennsylvania to Colorado and took them to Burt's. They had a great time!

The pizza was spot on, the pitchers of beer fresh and cold. The visiting gent had a great time talking to Burt about his old time radios.

Burt's Place
8541 Ferris Ave, Morton Grove
(847) 965-7997 ‎

Funny you should mention Burts. They love his pizza and we will probably pick up my mother and treat her also while they are in visiting. Thank you for all of the other great suggestions. Now I have to spend a little time looking over menus and make a decision. My daughter and son in law used to live in the city and knew the restaurant scene well. They've been living in San Francisco now for 3 years and want to try some of the new places. I charge them with the same task when I visit San Francisco.

A look at the updated Chicago Eater "Heat Map" is a good way to discover what Eater considers the current "hottest" restaurants:

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... ht-now.php

gocubs88 wrote:acadia, goosefoot, telegraph, yusho

I ate at Acadia last night and LOVED it, as I just posted in the Acadia discussion. Hot? You betcha! It's been open less than a year, it's in an unlikely location (good luck finding it - no outside signage and it's next to a vacant lot), it's not hideously expensive, and it's one of the very best restaurants in Chicago IMHO, with "wow delicious" food. Yes it's rapidly getting attention and recognition.

Incidentally, Goosefoot is very good too, but my understanding is that their reservation book has been filling up 2-3 months in advance so it's tough to get a reservation. No such problems with Acadia!

Lerdawg wrote:A look at the updated Chicago Eater "Heat Map" is a good way to discover what Eater considers the current "hottest" restaurants:

(EDIT - Comment deleted)

Chicago Magazine does their own "Hot List", which names ten restaurants, all very VERY new; the most recent list is here.

nsxtasy wrote:

Lerdawg wrote:A look at the updated Chicago Eater "Heat Map" is a good way to discover what Eater considers the current "hottest" restaurants:

It's interesting how many of their "hottest" restaurants have been around for a while. I bet half of them have been open at least two years, and many of them way longer than that (Avec I think 2002, Calumet Fisheries 1948 ).

I think you are confusing the Eater Heat Map (http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... now-11.php ) and the Eater 38 (http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... y-12-1.php ).

The Eater Heat list is by a large majority places open less than a year.

jfibro wrote:I think you are confusing the Eater Heat Map (http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... now-11.php ) and the Eater 38 (http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... y-12-1.php ).

You're correct, I was confusing the two, so I deleted that comment. (I had gone to the article in the link in the post to which I was replying, but then clicked on Eater 38 in its first paragraph. My bad.)