long weekend in Chicago

I need the ultimate 3day+ plan for a long weekend in Chicago
I am taking my husband for his 60th in mid-August (a surprise) We lived there throughout the 1980's and have returned from time to time since. We have also lived in various parts of the US and the UK and now live in FL so fish/seafood is not a priority.
We will be going to Cubs v. Cardinals so will definitely have some Chicago Dogs (Sports Corner?)
Some of his favorites in the past were -
cheeseburgers at the Billy Goat; Giordano's stuffed spinach pizza; martinis at the Pump Room; ribs at Twin Anchors; steak at Gene and Georgettis; breakfast at Lou Mitchells or the Oak Tree (when it was on Oak Street); Spiaggia; Cafe Babareeba; I need a Greek Town recommendation (Courtyards of Plaka was our old favorite): ;Michael Foley's Printers Row (ooh, the duck); The Garden at the Art Institute; Hatsuahana; Bistro 110; so many choices...
We will have dinner on TH after we arrive and dinner alone on Fri; dinner with friends for the birthday celebration on Sat night; we are meeting some old friends for what we have termed a "casual evening" on Sunday; of course there are breakfast and lunch oppotunities throughout the visit.
I want this to be fun and memorable but we don't need to gain 10 pounds nor do we need to do three big meal "events"every day.
Anyone fell up to suggestind a complete weekend itinerary???

cwmcm54 wrote:Some of his favorites in the past were -
cheeseburgers at the Billy Goat; Giordano's stuffed spinach pizza; martinis at the Pump Room; ribs at Twin Anchors; steak at Gene and Georgettis; breakfast at Lou Mitchells or the Oak Tree (when it was on Oak Street); Spiaggia; Cafe Babareeba; I need a Greek Town recommendation (Courtyards of Plaka was our old favorite): ;Michael Foley's Printers Row (ooh, the duck); The Garden at the Art Institute; Hatsuahana; Bistro 110; so many choices...

Nearly of these still exist, except Printers Row and Courtyards of Plaka, so if you want to revisit old favorites, you are all set.

In Greektown, I'd suggest Greek Islands for the classics, Artopolis for something lighter or Venus, a Cypriot specialist, for something trifle different.

Michael Foley is now cooking at Le Petit Paris.

The Daily Herald wrote:LE PETIT PARIS, 260 E. Chestnut St., Chicago. (312) 787-8260. Two years after closing his Printers Row restaurant, chef Michael Foley has returned to head up the kitchen of this modern French bistro whose still evolving menu will likely include some Vietnamese and other innovations in the future. Highlights include delicious onion suit and open-faced onion tart with a delicate crust cupped around caramelized onions; beautifully roasted duck in orange sauce plated with wild rice and a Grand Marnier sauce; meaty and fork-tender braised lamb shank; and a succulent coq au vin, plump chicken marinated in red wine and slowly simmered to tender perfection. Entrees range from $16.50 to $25. Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. daily. Accepts most major credit cards.

Greek Islands
312/782-9855
www.greekislands.net
200 S. Halsted St.
(entrance on Adams)
Chicago IL 60661

Artopolis Bakery Cafe & Agora
312/559-9000
www.artopolischicago.com
306 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60661

Venus Mezedopolion
312/714-1001
www.venuschicago.com
820 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60607

If you are looking for new spots, a search of this board will find many options.

I can understand your wish to revisit old favortites, but in the last 15 or so years there has been a sort of an explosion of steakhouses in Chicago. You might want to look at old threads here and check out Keefer's, Gibson's, or some of the good chain steakhouses, like Smith & Wollensky. David Burke's Primehouse also recently opened a Chicago branch.

Hatsuhana is also gone. Meiji is, IMHO, the best Japanese restaurant in the city, and the $95 chef's degustation (a kaiseki meal composed of items not on the regular menu) is simply wonderful.

I do like BaBaReeba for tapas (I think it's one of the best of the LEYE chain), but lately we've been going to Rioja (on North Clark Street just south of Foster). The three or four times we've been there the tapas have been excellent, with different choices than seen on some of the other tapas menus in town.

Akatonbo wrote:I can understand your wish to revisit old favortites, but in the last 15 or so years there has been a sort of an explosion of steakhouses in Chicago. You might want to look at old threads here and check out Keefer's, Gibson's, or some of the good chain steakhouses, like Smith & Wollensky. David Burke's Primehouse also recently opened a Chicago branch.

None of the newer steakhouses will deliver the same Old Chicago feel as G&G, although you can get something of that with nicer service at Carmichael's or the Chicago Chop House. If you're after the best steak in town, definitely visit Primehouse (which, by the way, is the only location of that restaurant, not a branch). Give Gibsons a miss unless you're more interested in gawking at Gold Coasters than in what you eat. Bland, bland steaks and high-pressure service.

Akatonbo wrote:Meiji is, IMHO, the best Japanese restaurant in the city, and the $95 chef's degustation (a kaiseki meal composed of items not on the regular menu) is simply wonderful.

Meiji left me underwhelmed, though I didn't have the kaiseki. I liked its cooked food better than the loosely formed sushi, however. Specialties such as the "Ichigo" roll -- a mess of spiced freshwater eel, smelt roe, tempura jalapenos, avocado and spicy tuna, peppered with togarashi seasoning and topped off with slices of strawberries! -- really left me cold. Besides falling to pieces as you try to pick it up, this concoction is just a jumble of jarring flavors, and the strawberries have a rather slimy effect.

For a fan of Hatsuhana, I'd probably recommend Kamehachi or Renga-Tei, perhaps Katsu or Bob San if you're looking for something newer.

Carmichael's Chicago Steak House
312/433-0025
www.carmichaelsteakhouse.com
1052 W. Monroe St., Chicago

Chicago Chop House
312/787-7100
www.chicagochophouse.com
60 W. Ontario St., Chicago

David Burke's Primehouse
312/660-6000
www.brguestrestaurants.com/restaurants/primehouse
James Hotel, 616 N. Rush St., Chicago

Kamehachi of Tokyo
www.kamehachi.com
1400 N. Wells St., Chicago, 312/664-3663
240 E. Ontario St., Chicago, 312/587-0600

Renga-Tei
847/675-5177
3956 W. Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood

Katsu
773/784-3383
2651 W. Peterson Ave., Chicago

Bob San
773/235-8888
www.bob-san.com
1805 W. Division St., Chicago

You know, there's a lot of griping about the bad service at G&G, always has been. Seems to me this common wisdom must have some truth, but not in my experience. Gruff and direct is not the same as bad. Look hard and see how many complaints are about messed up orders, slow service, etc. Very few in my experience. People don't like being served by a 65 year old guy who can remember 10 orders without writing anything down but has no interest in small talk probably need not dine at G&G. I can skip the robotic, Stepford-smiling show-n-tell that has become the norm for steakhouse service. That might be a real treat for a conventioneer or whatever, but it's not for everybody.

PS, LAZ, this was not really to your point, which was about "nice" service. I can't argue that one.

i agree, chophouse is much better than G n G now. AND, if you are taking the EL train, red line, from the loop to the park, go to the sheridan stop, which is the next one north after the ballpark at addison. When you get off the train there is a great dog, and even better polish sausage, place called Byron's right there. after eating, or while eating, saunter down seminary street the few balcks back to the ballpark. it's very quiet and, all of a sudden, you exit at the fire station at the left-field corner of the park. very sweet, as a frined likes to say.
also, seminary is the answer to a great bar quiz.. "what five streets border Wrigley Field?--Clark, Shefflied, Waveland, Addison and Seminary!"
Wrigley Field is built where there was once a seminary. So, in a way, it is hallowed ground
-ep

JeffB wrote:You know, there's a lot of griping about the bad service at G&G, always has been. Seems to me this common wisdom must have some truth, but not in my experience.

Regulars at G&G never do get it. But the disdainful "we don't know you so we'd just as soon you ate somewhere else" welcome extended to everybody else can be offputting.

I don't go often enough to be a regular. A handful of times a year. I am more likely to go early or at lunch (osso buco on Fridays), when the crowds and stress are low. But I am constantly sending people there and seem to be batting .1000 lately based on responses. Granted, there's just so much noise about rudeness (I would say indifference or aloofness, based even on your assessment above) that there is certainly something there. Oh well. If it keeps out the folks with jeans shorts and fanny packs, or matching logo golf shirts, I'm all for it. Frankly, some of my favorite places in the world have featured suspicious, aloof, angry, even overtly rude service with magnificent food and surroundings. To wit: pizzarie in Italy, Cuban sandwich and coffee places in Miami and Ybor, cheesesteak places in Philly, seafood places in France (Cafe de Turin, in particular; intensely rude service, dingy smoky and hot, but my single favorite meal ever); beef places in Elmwood Park; Chinese places in any number of cities.

Regards,

Jeff (I'm not here to find a friend) B.

I'll be at Peter Luger in a few weeks and will pay close attention to the relative gruffness.

Cafe de Turin plateau

Tampa Cuban

JeffB wrote:I'll be at Peter Luger in a few weeks and will pay close attention to the relative gruffness.

Gruffness???? Here's a transcript of a conversation I had with my waiter at Peter Luger's when enquiring about whaich cuts of steak they serve (it does not specify on the menu)

Steve Z: What kind of steak do you serve.

Peter Luger Waiter: We've got steak for 2, steak for 4, steak for 6 or steak for 8. How much do you want?

I never!