Going to Chicago on Tuesday, August 15th

Hi:

As the subject line states, I am headed to Chicago next week for the first time. I like to go where the locals eat and tend to stay away from the trendy, tourist traps.

We will be there for 5 days and I would welcome any and all suggestions. I'd love a couple of places for breakfast and several for lunch and dinner. I would be interested in hearing about all price ranges and types of food.

Thank you so very much for any help you can provide!!! We are so excited to visit Chicago!

ps: We are staying downtown, but would be willing to grab a cab and go a moderate distance for something really great!

Well, I would start by going to the Great Neighborhood Restaurants board, not only because it's full of, well, great restaurants, but because it will also help you get a sense of the major neighborhoods where the really good ethnic food is clustered.

Then I would ask you: what do you like? What did you come to Chicago wanting or hoping to try?

Hi Mike:

We are coming from Dallas, Texas, so we like all sorts of foods except Sushi or Indian cuisine. We probably wouldn't want to try any Mexican food, but we are open to most anything else.

I'll try the Neighborhood Guide. Any suggestions as far as which neighborhoods are close to downtown?

Thanks!

chicagobound wrote: We probably wouldn't want to try any Mexican food, but we are open to most anything else.

Having just come from Dallas, I would suggest that you do try some Mexican food at one of the board favorites. The food here is much more authentic than the Tex-Mex served in Texas and you may discover something new.

chicagobound wrote:Hi Mike:
I'll try the Neighborhood Guide. Any suggestions as far as which neighborhoods are close to downtown?

Note that "downtown" is a kind of disputed term around here.

Check out the Great Neighborhood Restaurant Map. (Not yet updated for the latest round of award winners, but it can help you see what's near you)

Here are a few fairly recent posts that cover similar topics to your question:

A Chicago itinerary from heck.
1 week stay in Chicago-these restaurants OK or suggestions?
Annoying Questions about Wacker & North Michigan Area

germuska wrote:Not yet updated for the latest round of award winners...

I know, I know. I'm getting to it.

Coming from Dallas, if you want to go beyond the obvious (i.e. deep dish pizza, ribs, Chicago hot dogs, Italian beef) think of Polish/Eastern European food.

Not eactly downtown, but think about :

Klas
5734 W. Cermak Rd., Cicero

Lutnia
5532 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago

Podhalanka Polksa Restauracja
1549 W. Division Ave., Chicago

Zhivago
9925 Gross Point Rd., Skokie

My brother lives in Dallas, and I've seen a bit of the dining scene there. I guarantee you that you won't find anything approaching these kind of places in Dallas.

chicagobound wrote:
We are coming from Dallas, Texas, so we like all sorts of foods except Sushi or Indian cuisine.

Does that mean that folks from Dallas don't like sushi or indian food or that they already have it?

I'd agree that it doesn't make sense to miss the mexican here - I remember seeing an article by Robb Walsh (from Houston) finding Chicago Mexican food much better than that in texas. Unfortunately I can't find the article right now, but I did find an articletalking about that article

nr706 wrote:Podhalanka

Tom,

Bold, much as I love Podhalanka I'm not sure I'd recommend it to tourists unless they were specifically looking for Polish food. Though it would be a good, maybe great, anti Calif. Pizza Kitchen lunch for tourists.

Enjoy,
Gary

I don't think there's a comprehensive post on getting to the main areas by public transportation, so here's a stab at one. Access to food neighborhoods from downtown (presumes you get hold of a CTA map as soon as you get here):

Pilsen, the northernmost south side Mexican neighborhood (that makes sense to a Chicagoan, trust me), is a fairly short cab ride away or accessible from the 18th street stop on the new Pink line (does that mean the old Blue line no longer goes there? The Pink line is a new thing, so I'm not positive how all that works). The 18th street stop, anyway, is at 18th and Ashland, most of the strip is on 18th east of that point (e.g., Bombon, Nuevo Leon, etc.)

Chinatown is also a fairly short cab ride away from downtown, or you can ride the Red line south to the Cermak-Chinatown stop. Chinatown really has two sections-- the old, somewhat touristy but still lively Chinatown is on Wentworth starting at Cermak and going south, the Chinatown mall (which has a more modern-Beijing feel, minus 10 million people and bicycles) is the structure west of the subway station with a plaza in the middle and the backs of businesses facing the outside. Wentworth and that area has places like Little Three Happiness, Moon Palace, Penang, etc.; the mall has places like Lao Sze Chuan, Spring World, Shui Wah for dim sum, etc.

There's also another "Chinatown," best known for Vietnamese restaurants like Tank Noodle and Hai Yen and anything starting with "Pho," up on the north side around Argyle Street. The Argyle stop on the northbound Red Line is the easiest way to get there.

A lot of good Mexican is in Logan Square (though it's gentrifying), Humboldt Square, etc. on the near northwest side. There's also some Polish in that area. I don't think they're very walkable areas though-- I don't mean you can't or they're notably unsafe, but there's a lot of walking between one point of interest and the next most of the time-- so you'd need to have a specific destination in mind and figure out how to get there via CTA (probably train and bus in combination).

The best Thai food is mostly clustered around, oddly enough, a rapidly yuppifying old German neighborhood. Lincoln Square is losing its old flavor quickly but is still charming to walk around, and then you can easily walk to Spoon Thai or Rosded, or walk/hop a bus about a mile south on Western to Sticky Rice. Take the Brown Line to the Western stop and you'll be right there.

Devon, the Indian strip that eventually turns Russian Jewish, is one of the most fascinating places for a visitor to visit in my book, not to mention all the best Indian and Pakistani restaurants in town (search for Khan BBQ, Indian Garden, Udupi Palace, Hyderabad House, Usmania, Sabri Nehari, etc. etc.). Unfortunately it's not the most convenient to get to by CTA. You could take the Brown Line to Western again, then catch a northbound 49B (be sure it has the B, other 49s don't go all the way to Devon), or take the Red Line to Loyola and catch a 155 which will loop around onto Devon and take you the mile or two to where the strip actually starts (a few blocks east of Western, the continuing West to around Kedzie).

Mike G wrote:The best Thai food is mostly clustered around, oddly enough, a rapidly yuppifying old German neighborhood. Lincoln Square is losing its old flavor quickly but is still charming to walk around, and then you can easily walk to Spoon Thai or Rosded, or walk/hop a bus about a mile south on Western to Sticky Rice. Take the Brown Line to the Western stop and you'll be right there.

This "best" list surely includes Aroy Thai, which is just a few blocks east of Rosded. And, departing the Brown Line at Damen, just before Western, will put you within spitting distance.

That reminds me, a couple of posters here recently dined at Aroy Thai. Perhaps they can give us a fresh report.

Aroy Thai
4656 N. Damen
773.275.8360
11 a.m.-10 p.m., daily

E.M.

Erik M. wrote:

Mike G wrote:The best Thai food is mostly clustered around, oddly enough, a rapidly yuppifying old German neighborhood. Lincoln Square is losing its old flavor quickly but is still charming to walk around, and then you can easily walk to Spoon Thai or Rosded, or walk/hop a bus about a mile south on Western to Sticky Rice. Take the Brown Line to the Western stop and you'll be right there.

This "best" list surely includes Aroy Thai, which is just a few blocks east of Rosded. And, departing the Brown Line at Damen, just before Western, will put you within spitting distance.

That reminds me, a couple of posters here recently dined at Aroy Thai. Perhaps they can give us a fresh report.

Aroy Thai
4656 N. Damen
773.275.8360
11 a.m.-10 p.m., daily

E.M.

don't forget Opart Thai...they may not reach the culinary heights of other favorites...but, they are very good and very consistent

...and within a block of Rosded

Thank you all for your suggestions. As this was a trip with 4 people, we had to take turns choosing the eating options. Being from Dallas where there is great food everywhere you turn, I never get too excited about eating in other cities. However, we didn't have a bad meal in Chicago. Everything was fabulous! (the people are quite attractive too)

Hotdogs @ Portillo's

Bistro 110 - Bloody Mary's, French onion soup and salad

Lux Bar - (we wanted to go to Gibson's, but were referred to Hugo's Frog Bar as it was booked. While waiting at Hugo's the manager had a table opening around the corner at Lux Bar) The food was great! I had the tenderloin with broccoli and my friend had the fried egg sandwich.

Custom House - MAGNIFICANT!!!! We had the NY Strip, Pork Chops, Quail and Potato Soup.

Minnie's - Great experience with great atmosphere and good food.

Southport Grocery - went for b/fast - the Pop Tart for grown-ups was 2DIE4! I had the Hash and it was good. The cupcakes were good as well.

Lou Mitchell's - THE BEST BREAKFAST!!! We had ham, cheese & onion omlettes.

Papa Milano's - good pizza - terrible service

Lou Malnati's - long wait, but AWESOME PIZZA!!!

Blackie's - only went for breakfast, but it was fabulous

There were so many other places we wanted to try, but we just didn't have time. We did try the Chicken Vesuvio from Harry Cary's at the airport. It was mediocre, but would probably be better on site.

Our friends loved it so much that they rented an apartment in downtown on Dearborn. I'm sure we'll all be back soon!

Excellent. Glad you had such a good time. We all love to hear from people who are enjoying the amazing food here in Chicago. Of course, there are a few other things to do here besides eat (just to keep you busy between meals), but it's an astonishing town for dining out.

Just keep your eye on LTH for the next dozen places to try.

I forgot to mention that we had a drink at Mike Ditka's bar in the Cigar Room. The atmosphere and live music was great even if it was a bit too smokey for my taste.

We didn't just eat, that's for sure. We went on the double decker bus tour, took a carriage ride, hit some historic spots and amazed at the architecture that your great city has to offer. The highlight might have been our trip on the L via the RED LINE to see a Cubs game. We sat in the bleachers and it was one of the most enjoyable baseball games I've ever attended. The crowd was great even though the team isn't doing so well this year.

I'll be back and I'll definitely be back here for more things to do in the city.