116619 Sun Sep 05 11:07:26 -0700 2004 16 7 Chicago Area 0 636873 Will be in Chicago for a week with Mom and will be staying at the Millenium Knickerbocker on Walton Place. Looking for casual eateries. Mom is not really into food, but she is fairly adventurous and her favorite way to eat is to graze the entire day. Any good places around the hotel, Magnificent Mile and the Art Intitute or other places where we might be visiting? I am planning our itinerary and we are museum and architecture buffs, so we have lots of those on the list to go to. Any suggestions nearby. Someone suggested the Cafe Spiagga. Any good? I would like to do a few nice dinners, but nothing too fancy wasn't planning on Charlie Trotter's or anything like that. Not planning to pack anything too dressy or formal. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for any help. Sun Sep 05 11:07:26 -0700 2004 0 Eva L. 1 636876 Let me say this fast before I get yelled at for not posting about food. If you like architecture DO NOT MISS the boat tour on the Chicago River run by the Chicago Architecture Foundation (qv). Don't get seduced into one of the copycats---reserve through the CAF. They have a website. Click onto Tours then onto River Cruise. Sun Sep 05 19:15:59 -0700 2004 636873 0 N Tocus 1 636877 You are near the Oak Tree, so try that for breakfast or lunch (6th or 7th floor 900 N Michigan ave)- great setting, good meal. You are also right on top of the Hancock, so if you've not been to a Cheesecake factory, I would definetly try it, or the sister Grand Luxe Cafe. Yes, it is a chain, but it is one of the best, going on word of mouth- never advertising. There is a new Pizano's on Madison and Wabash (near art institute), they have recently expanded to three locations in the city, and they are one of the best under the radar pizza parlors. The pizza is like Malnati's but not bulky and overwhelming like the others. I think you'd really enjoy Food Life in Water Tower place for lunch. It has wraps, burgers, great pizza, awesome salads, deserts, soups, chinese, italian and more all served by individual stations with a dining credit card swiped at each station. There is the Rosebud or the Italian Village for Italian. I would lean towards Rosebud for a more engaging open room experience. If you find yourself near Navy Pier on Illinois, Fox and Obel have a great cafe with enormous servings and an excellent variety. These are some of the best options for the area you specified- hope you enjoy your stay! Link: http://www.mama-marias.com Sun Sep 05 21:23:52 -0700 2004 636873 0 mama-maria 2 636887 Sacrilege! Abomination! A shanda! You are recommending that someone who visits Chicago go to the Cheesecake Factory and its evil twin, Grand Luxe Cafe! Eating at ANY place that has "factory" in its name is a curse. If you're going to suggest a chain, at least do it locally such as Lettuce Entertain You places such as Brasserie Jo, Shaw's or Papagus. There are also plenty of Thai, Indian and other one of a kind in the neighborhood. Take a cab to Chinatown and go to Little Three Happiness. The Cheesecake Factory? Why not just point them to Wendy's or Mickey D's? Mon Sep 06 21:32:27 -0700 2004 636877 0 Andy's Better Brother 3 636889 Cheesecake Factory is certainly not meant to be a place to identify Chicago with, but given the options in the immediate area, and an exhaustive itinerary, I thought it was well placed. Some Lettuce Entertain You restaurants are good, too, but they are not in the target area. (Exception: Food Life and Mity Nice Grill are in the Hancock). Bottom line- you will have a good meal at the Cheesecake Factory, but you would be encouraged to venture out if here for a short time. Little Three Happiness is commonly held as one of the best Dim Sum Chinatown restaurants (if you can stomach that sort of thing), otherwise try Joy Yee's on the newer side of China Town. It is a little more Western friendly while maintaining an Asian following. If looking to venture out further, try Tango Sur on Southport, Cafe Iberico on LaSalle and Mia Frencesca on Clark for some local options you can write home about. Have fun! Mon Sep 06 23:35:00 -0700 2004 636887 0 Mama-Maria 4 636892 Food Life and Mity Nice Grill are in Water Tower, the mezzanine level. Tue Sep 07 09:26:08 -0700 2004 636889 0 Akatonbo 5 636943 oops, right across from the Hancock at Water Tower place is what I meant. Agreed with everyone to use the Cheesecake Factory as a last resort. But why is it hated so much? Not everything is great there, but a lot of it is pretty good. Where else can you find avocado egg rolls with the tamarind sauce like that? Have you tried the steak & frites Ribeye? Give me a good cut of steak and I can prepare it for Gibson's straight from my grill at home- nothing special. Not so with this Ribeye. They also have an excellent version of shredded chicken tacos that are reminiscent of the elusive enjitomatadas, and a close cousin to chiliquiles. Stay away from the lackluster pizzas and pastas and there is something for everyone in a warm and vibrant setting. Don't get me wrong, I prefer the Hidden Gems, and I spend a fortune trying to find them. However, anti-corporate ideologies are tiresome because look at what happens to most of our favorites anyway... they mulitply. Even in NY, you have venture capital backed expansions of the favorites. What is the difference when they go nationwide- does the recipe change? Granted the Cheesecake Factory didn't start in Chicago, but since they don't have one in New York, they can take the advice with a grain of salt. Just enjoy yourself wherever you find yourself! Link: http://www.mama-marias.com Tue Sep 07 21:43:22 -0700 2004 636892 0 Mama-Maria 4 636904 All due respect, but I disagree that you "will have a good meal at the Cheesecake Factory". My wife has eaten there twice and gotten sick both times. I find the food as well as the cheesecake at this worse-than-average chain to be abominable. The only thing keeping it in business is location, location, location. A quick walk or cab ride will take you off of tourist row and to Wells Street, where there are many options for grazing and sit-downs. Old Jerusalem for quick Middle Eastern fare. Brehon Pub for pub grub and a pint. Salpicon for higher-end Mexican. Crofton on Wells for delicious New American. Nani Wa for tasty Japanese/sushi. Cyrano's for a fun French bistro. Carson's for ribs if you're into that kind of thing. In the same immeidate vicinity, you have Wildfire (woodfired grill), Reza's (Persian), Nacional 27 (Cuban), Fogo de Chao (Brazilian), and Kiki's Bistro (French). If you must, there is a Hard Rock, Hooters, and Ed Debevic's within a block or two of these places as well. And keep in mind: this is just one small area of one neighborhood in our fine town. Please, avoid going to the Cheesecake Factory while you are in Chicago. Do not do it. Do not be tempted. Refuse. Enjoy this amazing town for what it is. Tue Sep 07 13:53:33 -0700 2004 636889 0 King B 3 636986 Thank god someone said it. I was reading the posting and was wondering if this was really what Chicago had to offer. Maybe you can help, I will be in the city this weekend and would love your recommendtions. Arriving Sat. night staying thru Monday. I basically have the Calvin Trillin approach to food with the occasional really nice place thrown in. Would love to get to the heart of local/regional food with someplace nice maybe on Sunday night. I went to Trotters couple of months back. Not impressed at all. I have heard good things about Blackbird. Any suggestions? Thanks. Thu Sep 09 09:59:16 -0700 2004 636887 0 steve 1 636884 Cafe Spiaggia is cheaper than Spiaggia, but I wouldn't call it casual. Great food, though. I do enjoy the Cheesecake Factory, but it can be a madhouse, and service can be either okay or bad. I'd check out Russian Tea Time (I believe it's on Adams, west of Michigan, near the Art Institute, but you'd better look it up). If you do go to the Italian Village, I'd strongly recommend NOT going to the one on the top floor ("The Village" - it's lousy) - but try the "Cantina" in the basement - a totally different restaurant. There are actually three restaurants in the Italian Village - the one on the 1st floor, Vivere, is haut-Italian with prices to match, but excellent food. I haven't been there in a while, so don't know what the food is currently like, but the Berghoff, on Adams, is a Chicago tradition. In Water Tower (the mall, not the old pumping station), try Mity Nice Grill. Also, on Hubbard, just 2 blocks north of the river, I recommend Shaw's Crab House (the casual Crab House side, though the white-tablecloth Shaw's across the lobby is also great, just more upscale. You can order from their menu in the Crab House, though. Right on the river, at LaSalle, is Bob Chinn's Chicago (an offshoot of a popular suburban seafood restaurant) - casual atmosphere, great seafood. Chicago is also home to Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill for authentic regional Mexican food (if you've seen his T.V. show, "Mexico One Plate at a Time," you know what to expect). Go very ealy or very late however, or be prepared to wait an hour or more (no reservations for small parties). Enjoy - and let us know how it went. Mon Sep 06 19:22:25 -0700 2004 636873 0 Akatonbo 2 636899 I just got back from my first trip to Chicago and had several fabulous meals. mk was outstanding but may be more formal than you are looking for. It was also expensive, but worth every penny IMO (tab for husband and me was $250 before tip). Cafe Spiaggia was very good and not "too" dressy. Frontera Grill will accept brunch reservations for 2 people and was outstanding. I thought Joe's Seafood was overrated and Santori Seafood in Greektown was very good but VERY heavy. Had a very good lunch at Gibson's also. Tue Sep 07 12:55:06 -0700 2004 636884 0 Janet 1 636893 For someone who likes to graze--you might want to try Bistro 110 on Pearson (across from the Water Tower). They have a terrace and a good bar menu of appetizers and desserts that you can easily make a meal of. If you can find a seat on their terrace (and it's a nice day) it's also a good site for people watching. Coco Pazzo Cafe (636 N. St. Clair St.) is also a good place for moderately priced Italian food. Casual and pleasant. Avoid the Italian Village unless you're going to Vivere (which is a bit pricey). If you're near the Art Institute the Berghoff is an option but with lots of caveats. Search the site and you should find them all. Uno's and Due's are not too far from you if you want a Chicago deep-dish pizza experience. Again, search the site for opinions. There are a lot of them. Tue Sep 07 10:57:43 -0700 2004 636873 0 jbw 1 636906 Just an aside to the Cheesecake Factory controversy. As an option, you can have cheesecake (or any one of numerous other desserts) and a delicious pot of coffee at the Ritz Carlton in their lobby "greenhouse" area for about the same price as the C-Factory. The Ritz has received global acclaim for their dessert team in years past though I find them just "solid" not necessarily ethereal. Tue Sep 07 14:33:29 -0700 2004 636873 0 Chicago Mike 2 636995 Or if you want cheesecake why not try Eli's at 215 E. Chicago Ave. in the same general neighborhood. Thu Sep 09 15:31:24 -0700 2004 636906 0 Sredni Vashtar 2 638529 what exactly is this cheesecake factory controversy? And what's so bad about the place anyway? Apart from it being a chain and all....\\ Wed Nov 03 18:03:11 -0800 2004 636906 0 gordo 1 637176 I am also a NYer coming in for a short visit and trolling chowhound for favorable recs. It is truly disheartening to see Cheesecake Factory, Pizzeria Uno and their like listed here. This is CHOWHOUND, people! Not Zagat's or Fodor's. If we wanted safe, neutral or the ol'reliable we would not be looking on this site. I don't mean to chastise you natives on Your site in Your town, but while you may have multiple chances to go wherever you wish, we visitors have only a few meals to really discover why Chicago is hailed. Show us what you've got! Please don't recommend places with wraps and sandwiches (unless they are orgasmic wraps and sandwiches) or chain restaurants (Pizzeria Uno is reviled here) even if you enjoy them on occasion. We want something that we can't get anywhere else (at least not better) or something that really demonstrates why Chicago is a great town. I will be visiting this site again as my trip draws near. Please, I challenge you lovely people of Chicago to come up with something better. On my last trip, I attended a Mexican flea market out on some highway and had some of the best tacos and grilled meats I've ever had (and I'm a native of Southern Cal). Now that is something Chicago chowhounds should be proud of!!! P.S. I consider Fox & Obel better than most of the great NY gourmet stores: Dean & Deluca, Citarella, Zabar's, etc. Be proud, Chicagoans. Wed Sep 15 14:50:31 -0700 2004 636873 0 Pupster 2 637190 Uno's and Due's have laid claim to being if not the originator one of the original popularizers of Chicago deep dish pizza (this is controversial, but that's not my point), and they still remain as a standard example of the type. Unfortunately, Uno's has franchised their name, but other than that the franchised operations seem to have nothing in common with the original. So, if you want to sample a typical Chicago deep dish pizza at one of its sources and stay downtown, Uno's and Due's, IMO, is still a reasonable recommendation for anyone wishing to try a good example of the species. Again, because pizza is one of those topics that elicits a lot of discussion hereabouts, a simple search will give you a lot of varying opinions and alternatives. As far as the cheesecake factory is concerned . . . well, that's another matter. Wed Sep 15 18:49:53 -0700 2004 637176 0 jbw