112769 Tue May 13 14:14:48 -0700 2003 8 7 Chicago Area 0 612828 FYI - My partner just tried to make a reservation at Spring for this weekend (my birthday dinner!) but he was unable to get one. Apparently, it is because a huge restaurant show is in town and the attendees have already scooped up the reservations at the "good" places. www.restaurant.org/show/index.cfm Tue May 13 14:14:48 -0700 2003 0 tm 1 612830 I think weekend reservations at Spring would be a tough get on a few days notice regardless of the convention. Happy birthday though! Tue May 13 14:40:19 -0700 2003 612828 0 Gregory 1 612831 The real trick is to get into the show. It has everything food and restaurant related. Samples galore of some excellent food and drink. You simply have to prove you are somehow involved in the restaurant industry and give them $50 to get in -- plus be over 16. Tue May 13 14:41:05 -0700 2003 612828 0 Dan 2 612834 Another way to get in is to volunteer with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Because the Food Depository is a great cause, and the vendors don't want to lug their merchandise back and forth, many companies donate their remaining stock to the Food Depository. Volunteers are assigned an area and pretty much load whatever gets donated into a central area for a truck to pick it up. This scavenging event normally happens the last afternoon of the convention, when the trades are taking down the exhibit hall. I've done it a few times and had a good time. No, you don't get to roam around the exhibit hall when it's all pretty, but you do get a feel for what was exhibited, and you get to sample some prepared foods. You get a bit of insight on what's hot in the restaurant world. Overall a rewarding experience. Shirley Tue May 13 16:41:29 -0700 2003 612831 0 Shirley 2 612835 I wonder what kind of "proof" is needed? Maybe we can make some Official Chowhound Member ID cards? :) Tue May 13 17:44:45 -0700 2003 612831 0 Aubergine 2 612836 Actually there really isn't much to get excited about, unless you really love frozen breaded seafood... frozen breaded stuffed jalapenos... frozen pizza... frozen Philly cheesesteaks...frozen chicken strips...frozen petit fours...fr.. But the $40,000 maki rolling machine is pretty spectacular. Evil Ronnie Tue May 13 17:46:41 -0700 2003 612831 0 Evil Ronnie 3 612863 I went to the NRA show three years ago and found it very interesting. Yes, many of the food samples were awful but a lot of the gizmos and gadgets were fascinating. Here’s a link to my report on the show I posted on chi.eats. Link: http://www.google.com/groups?q=mccormick+group:chi.eats+author:rene+author:g&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=8gkkvr%2482v%241%40nnrp1.deja.com&rnum=1 Wed May 14 15:21:31 -0700 2003 612836 0 Rene G 1 612838 Gee, I'll let you know how Spring was Thursday night-- my wife and I are going for our anniversary. And yes, we discovered the Restaurant Show when we had our wedding scheduled for the same weekend and it proved semi-impossible to get people hotel rooms. As it turns out, it got easier away from downtown, which might be a good bit of advice for restaurants, too (I realize Spring isn't downtown either, but SOMEWHERE there must be the restaurant like it that is just enough colder than Spring that you can still get in-- maybe Zealous?) Tue May 13 19:31:16 -0700 2003 612828 0 Mike G 2 612849 Mike -- Happy Anniversary. Spring is definitely a great place to celebrate it. tm -- Spring is typically booked up on weekends at least 1-2 weeks in advance. But there are other alternatives... I find that OpenTable.com is a great resource to see how places are booking up. Right now, a search on the site shows that a number of great restaurants still have tables this weekend -- Restaurant Show or not. For example, on Saturday there are available tables (for 2) at Blackbird at 9:30, MK at 10 p.m., NoMi at 6 and 9 p.m., and even Tru at 9:30. Of course, in addition to Spring, some other popular places don't show availability, ala Gibson's, Spiaggia, Everest and, sadly, Geja's. Whereever you go, have a great dinner and happy birthday. Wed May 14 10:02:22 -0700 2003 612838 0 HungryHoward