520617 Mon May 19 10:34:45 -0700 2008 3 7 Chicago Area 0 3701375 I am visiting Chicago on a couples trip for Memorial Day weekend. What are the hottest restaurants right now, however not to sacrifce quality for trendiness? Any type of cuisine, any venue, any location, and any price range. We have heard that Charlie Trotters is one of the best places to go. Any places that rival it? I know that Chicago is known for some top chefs in the country/world...where are they located? Mon May 19 10:34:48 -0700 2008 190943 eatdrinkhappy 1 3701554 Alinea at 1723 N. Halstead is considered by many to be one of the best restaurants in the world (ranked #21 in Restaurant Magazine's "S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants". Trotters is #38). http://www.alinea-restaurant.com Mon May 19 11:09:01 -0700 2008 3701375 73013 LabRat 2 3701645 Yup. Alinea is the top table in town. Here are the top eight IMHO: 1. Alinea - Grant Achatz - www.alinearestaurant.com 2. Everest - Jean Joho - www.everestrestaurant.com 3. Charlie Trotter's - Charlie Trotter - www.charlietrotter.com/restaurant 4. Tru - Rick Tramonto - www.trurestaurant.com 5. NoMi - Christophe David - www.nomirestaurant.com 6. Schwa - Michael Carlson - www.schwarestaurant.com 7. moto - Homaro Cantu - www.motorestaurant.com 8. Spiaggia - Tony Mantuano - www.levyrestaurants.com Executive Chef Curtis Duffy recently took over at Avenues, and time will tell if he maintains the status it achieved in this elite group under the previous Chef, Graham Elliot Bowles. I'm guessing it will. http://chicago.peninsula.com Laurent Gras just opened his new seafood-focused restaurant, L2O, in the old Ambria space, and it too holds promise of being one of the best of the best in Chicago. www.L2Orestaurant.com Mon May 19 11:26:09 -0700 2008 3701554 55363 nsxtasy 1 3701603 Check out nxtasy post in this thread - http://www.chowhound.com/topics/518401 gives a lot of good recommendations - Mon May 19 11:19:38 -0700 2008 3701375 11622 weinstein5