New to the Chicago Board? Read This First
Are you new to Chowhound? Or just to the Chicago board? Perhaps visiting from out of town? We've got some tips to help you get started.
If you're brand new to the site, you should read our Site Etiquette (http://www.chowhound.com/topics/367605) before you start posting.
This board is focused on discussing chow in Chicago and its suburbs.
For tips on the rest of Illinois and the Midwest, please see http://www.chowhound.com/boards/8
For a complete list of boards available, see the 'Chowhound' menu in the navigation bar.
We've divided up this thread into separate posts, just to make things neater. Please read to the end. The sections are:
HAVE A HOT TIP?
HAVE A QUESTION?
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON THIS BOARD
STILL HAVE A QUESTION?
AFTER YOUR MEAL
CHICAGO SPECIFICS
FEEDBACK
The Chowhound Team
Oct 08, 2008 10:42AM
HAVE A HOT TIP?
If you've got a great tip or a recommendation for someone, dive right in and post it. It's great if you can include some details of why you like a place, but even those short tips on where to find a great taco or donut are appreciated.
If you need help starting a new thread, check out the FAQ: http://www.chowhound.com/faq#topic
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HAVE A QUESTION?
The Chicago board is a pretty active place, and a lot of questions have been covered recently--the Chowhound archives are a great resource.
Start your quest for an answer with a search of all the great info that's already out there. There's a 'SEARCH THIS BOARD' link at the top of each board and thread. 'Search this board' is a quick way to search the last year's worth of posts on your current board to find recent mentions of your subject. Just add your keywords and go. On the search results page, you can change your search criteria to add more keywords, or change your sort order or the dates you're interested in.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON THE CHICAGO BOARD
(and how to find the answers)
These topics are all commonly discussed on the Chicago board, so we'd encourage you to read through some of the recent discussions before posting about them.
Where's the best Chicago Style Pizza / Hot Dog / Italian Beef?
Search terms to try: title:pizza or title:"deep dish" / title:"hot dog" / title:"italian beef". These are much debated and discussed issues on the board, so your searches will turn up lots of results. Try adding a neighborhood name for more localized results.
What's the best Steakhouse in Chicago?
Search terms to try: title:steakhouse OR title:steak
Where should we eat in the Loop?
Search terms to try: title:Loop, "Grant Park", "Millennium Park", "Palmer House"
Where should we eat near Michigan Avenue?
Search terms to try: "Michigan Ave", "Magnificent Mile", Streeterville, "River North"
Where should we eat near McCormick Place?
Search terms to try: "McCormick Place", "Convention Center", "South Loop", Chinatown
Where should we eat near Wrigley Field?
Search terms to try: Wrigley Field, Lakeview, Wrigleyville
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STILL HAVE A QUESTION?
Chicago hounds are a great resource, but help them help you by including some important details. Tell them:
- What part of what city you'll be in.
- How far or how long you're willing to travel and whether you will have a car.
- What your budget is. Descriptions such as 'expensive', 'moderate' and 'cheap' mean different things to different people, so use dollar values.
- What types of cuisines you're interested in.
- Any other special circumstances (traveling with kids? vegetarians? non-chowhounds?) that will help.
If you've done some of your own research, mention what you found so hounds can help fill in the gaps, rather than rehashing what you already know.
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AFTER YOUR MEAL
Most importantly, after your trip or your meal, thank the local hounds for their help by reporting back. Tell people which suggestions you used and how the meals turned out, plus add tips about any great places you discovered on your own. This helps maks the board more useful for everyone who visits after you.
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CHICAGO SPECIFICS
For information on how to get to various restaurants on public transit, check out the Trip Planner at www.rtachicago.com which covers all the major transit systems.
If you're not sure what the neighborhood you're in is called, check out this map for a good geographic breakdown that will help you describe your location when asking for tips: http://www.wildonions.org/ChicagoMetr...
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FEEDBACK
If there's something you think is vitally important for new members of the board to know that we've missed, please comment on this Site Talk thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/458607
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