115874 Fri May 14 19:32:31 -0700 2004 2 7 Chicago Area 0 632608 am a DC chowhound and this is the note I got from my big sister. Who wants to help? I know MKs is good -- or so I hear -- but don't know anything specific. Herewith, the message. Quick action appreciated so they can make reservations. IF anyone has suggestions for anything else they ought to do or eat while there I'm sure they'll appreciate it. He's allergic to cruustaceans but she loves 'em, just so you know. Other than that there are no real food issues. a little background: they got married on home base at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY. Baseball nuts, especially the Yankees...sorry Cubbies. "Rob and I are beginning our new anniversay tradition this June- a baseball game in a different ballpark every year. This year it is the famous Wrigley Field in Chicago. We are staying at the Fairmont Hotel... I think it is on the Loop- but it is downtown near the lake anyway. "Hey- talk to your chowhound friends for me. Looking for EITHER a quintessential Chicago restaurant with a unique Chicago experience, or a great, romantic French spot." Fri May 14 19:32:31 -0700 2004 0 pam h from DC 1 632609 I'll chip in with the perhaps obvious suggestion for baseball fans going for all things Cubs -- Harry Caray's Restaurant. Yes, it comes across as something of a tourist trap, but I think that's more a producy of where it's located (River North, the most touristy part of town) than a reflection on the restaurant itself. Harry Caray's is actually a pretty good steakhouse, with very professional waitstaff and decent, if not stellar, Italian steakhouse foods (which is a classic Chicago genre, by the way, more or less matching another of your sister's criteria for "quintessential Chicago"). Tell them to stick to the steaks (which are all prime grade and flavorfully prepared) or the Chicken Vesuvio (Harry's has a classic presentation of this dish), and they won't go wrong. A side of mostaciolli in meat sauce is requisite, and they have a respectable wine list, too. And the restaurant is a literal museum of baseball history and memorabilia, so they should be in hog heaven! Link: http://www.harrycarays.com/ Fri May 14 20:57:34 -0700 2004 632608 0 JimInLoganSquare 1 632685 My wife and I are partial to Les Nomades, a very quiet, a very good romantic French place in Streeterville. We went there for our first anniversary and it reminds us of the best resaurants in Paris. The pate will blow you away. Near Wrigley, heaven on 7, 3478 N Clark, has great creole food, b ut the service I received before a Cubs game on Mother's Day was the worst I've ever experienced. We literally had to be served by the host, and never met our waiter. I guess they were under staffed, but when you are heading to the game, you need to get moving. Also, Goose Island Brewery on Clark, 2 doors South of Wrigley, is the best known Chicago brewery with a fine selection of beers made on premesis and ok bar food. If looking for a Chicago Steak House, try Gibsons on Rush for prime steak and good martinis. It is a chest thumping, crowded, wood paneled place for great meat. . . truely Chicago. If you are looking for some great steak with less chest thumping, try the Chicago Chop House on Ohio. Good luck and happy anniversary. Sun May 16 11:18:49 -0700 2004 632608 0 SouthLoopMel