Only 3 meals in Chicago...

[TorontoTips]

Hey Gang,
We're driving from Toronto to Chicago later this month for a music event at the Congress Theatre and we're looking for CHOW suggestions for where to stay and where to eat unique or classic Chicago fare!

We're thinking Pizza (sampling both deep dish & thin), plus Italian Beef and/or Steak Hoagies, and maybe Chicago dogs, but we're open to your suggestions.

1) We'll have a car, so we can travel, and it's been suggested that one doesn't want to stay anywhere near The Congress, so we were thinking about staying at the Westin - any better suggestions?

2) You're in Chicago for just 2 days, where do you eat? What are the "can't miss" local specialty places?

Thanks!

[nsxtasy]

I know the Chowhound Team does not approve of non-food-related travel advice, like hotels to stay at. However, you may have misunderstood the advice about the Congress Theater, which is around Logan Square and Bucktown. It's not that it's a "bad" area; it's just that it's a residential area, without many (or any) hotels in the vicinity. Most of the hotels are in the downtown Chicago neighborhoods extending from the Gold Coast to the South Loop, and those areas are fine for food as well as hotels.

There are many, many great foods available in Chicago, everything from cheap eats to fine dining. It just depends on what you're looking for. If you're asking about which foods are quintessentially Chicago, the ones you've mentioned are among them; you can read more about them in the discussion at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/372986

Chicago is well-known for our delicious deep-dish pizza, which you can get here and not elsewhere. There are two principal kinds. One is the single-crust "pizza in the pan" originated by Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due and also turned out by Lou Malnati's, Pizano's, and Gino's East. The other is the double-crust "stuffed" pizza from Giordano's, Edwardo's, and Bacino's. All of these places have multiple locations. When you figure out where you're staying or spending time, let us know and we can tell you the closest locations for pizza. For more pizza discussion, see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/327474 and http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/319254

For hot dog discussions, see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/364427

Personally, I would do those "cheap eats" type foods for lunch, and save some of your dinners for our other cuisines (not necessarily expensive places, but nicer sit-down places, at a minimum). We have some absolutely spectacular Mexican restaurants, many of which feature creative regional Mexican cuisine (rather than the conventional "enchiladas and carne asada" that you'd find anywhere in the States). For recommendations, see the discussion at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/463572 and again, let us know where you're staying and we can direct you to which places are close by. (The Real Tenochtitlan is near the Congress Theater - www.realtenochtitlan.com )

We have so very many types of food - fine dining, steakhouses, seafood, barbecue, as well as every ethnicity you can imagine (in addition to Mexican, consider French bistros, Italian, Thai, Greek, Vietnamese, Indian/Pakistani, Eastern European, tapas/Spanish, Chinese, Jewish delis, etc). You have most of those cuisines back home. So a lot of the "where to eat" question is a matter of personal preference; if you just love one type of food, you can probably find some excellent places for it here.

> 2) You're in Chicago for just 2 days, where do you eat?

Knowing what I know about what we have available, if I were visiting for the first time, I would do deep-dish pizza for one lunch (such as at the original Pizzeria Uno or Due in River North), have one dinner at a contemporary American restaurant (such as North Pond, located in the middle of Lincoln Park), go to one of our breakfast specialty places for lunch/brunch another day (such as the wonderful pancakes at Bongo Room at either location, the South Loop or Wicker Park), then have dinner at a Mexican restaurant (e.g. Mundial Cocina Mestiza in Pilsen).

[nsxtasy]

You should be aware that if you're not traveling to out-of-the-way neighborhoods (e.g. Hot Doug's), a car is more of a liability in Chicago than an asset. *Especially* if your hotel doesn't provide "free in and out privileges" so you have to pay every time you drive somewhere. Not that you *can't* drive anywhere you want, but to go anywhere within a few miles of the Loop, it's often easier to walk and/or take public transit (CTA subway and buses) and/or cabs.

Speaking as someone who's familiar with what's where and how to get around - If I were staying in the downtown Chicago area, I would let the car sit the entire time I was visiting. (Beware some hotel parking fees, as noted by sis2; look around for cheaper rates, or else park your car in a nicer residential neighborhood where you can leave it for a few days. Just watch the signs to make sure parking isn't restricted to permit holders at certain times.)

[cabo91]

Westins nice your near the mag Mile lots of shopping

Beef you have a couple choices
1, Mr Beef on Orleans
2, Als Beef on Ontario
3, Portillos on Ontario

Pizza
Lou Malnotttis Deep Dish, decent thin too
Ginos East Deep Dish
Piece on North Ave for Thin, brewpub too!

Hot Dogs
Weiners circle on 2622 n Clark Open late
Gold Coast Dogs 159 n Wabash

More Fine Dining then
Blackbird is a must. On Randolph
Sepia at 123 Jefferson

[Eaterlover]

The weiner circle is more for experience than for food. I'm personally not a fan of "insult restaurants," especially ones that perpetrate the hyper segregation of Chicago (see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1LPf...), but as for a good hotdog (since you have a car), try visiting Hot Dougs instead. It will be the single best encased sausage experience of your life.

[Pete Oldtown]

Weiners Circle is no longer doing that schtick except on Sat. nights, as far as I can tell. I took my daughter to a concert recently and it was the only place open when we got home. It was fairly quiet and professional, even though it was crowded.

Your advice about Hot Doug's is spot on, though. There is no place in the country that even compares, as far as I know.

[sis2catbat]

My apologies to anyone who reads this board with any regularity, because I'm forever suggesting this place, but for an interesting hot dog experience (and encased meats, even better), you must try:

www.hotdougs.com
(check out "today's specials" and their regular menu

)

Closed on Sunday. Parking is plentiful. Don't let the line out the door and around the building daunt you. And don't get there a second past 4p or you won't be allowed in.

As for pizza, here are my favs:

Deep dish pizza = Art of Pizza, 3033 No. Ashland; Neapolitan = Spacca Napoli, 1769 West Sunnyside; crust, hand's down is Pat’s Pizza, 2679 No. Lincoln; and eclectic/higher-end, Pizza D.O.C, 2251 West Lawrence.

And call me a dork, but I love the Italian beef sandwich at Ronny's (home of the $5.99 steak). I'm partial to the hot peppers. Do NOT get cheese on it (if you want the true Italian beef experience). For $6.23, you can't go wrong. I stop there at least once a week. Thompson Center (a/k/a State of Illinois building), corner of Clark and Lake. They stop serving sandwiches at 8:00p but are open until 10:00p. (We're not big on "hoagies," per se, in Chicago).

However, for the "best" Italian beef, I'd have to agree with Mr. Beef. Save your money on Al's; they've gone downhill, imho.

I'd do the Westin too. Way too much traffic around Congress. But parking is like $42 a day. Ugh.

[Pete Oldtown]

For hotels near good food, I suggest the Days Inn, at Diversey and Clark. It's where all the rock bands stay (so expect semi-trashed rooms) but there are roll out beds and stuff that make up for the, um, decor. It costs a fraction of the Westin. As mentioned, just leave your car parked. You do not want to find out what happens when your car gets towed. Believe me.

I'd just recommend, screw the pizza. I have been in Toronto several times and there's nothing special here, except perhaps Coalfire. Hit Hot Doug's for dogs, but I would search the boards for cuisine you don't have. There's a great place next to the Days Inn that serves king crab, but you can probably get better in Toronto. It's called the Half Shell and it's one funky, real Chicago treat. Also, the Duke of Perth is a Scottish bar, just up the street, with great fish and chips and so on.

I'd recommend trying some of our authentic Thai places, like Spoon (at the Western stop on the Brown line, right near the Days Inn...walk west three blocks, then get on the northbound Brown train) or TacQuick. Ask for the Thai menu, translated by Eric, a chowhound.

I'd also recommend our Vietnamese area, Argyle St., for great cheap food. It's on the Red Line (take the Brown north to Belmont and switch to the Red Line) and there is a place right off the stop that serves the best Peking Duck I have ever had. Enough food for four for $30. Sliced at the table, then the carcass is turned into delicious soup and duck fried rice.

The Viet places are great too. Right across from the Argyle stop is Pho 888, and everything there is great. I recommend the pho (beef noodle soup with tons of veggies to toss in) and banh mi, Viet sandwiches made with French baguettes. Buy five and they give you one free.

Seriously, this deep dish pizza, hot dog and Italian beef stuff is overblown. We might eat it for fast food, but no one actually says, hey, let's go to Uno for Pizza tonight. It's tourist food and not very good tourist food. And the places are a drag. You sit in bedlam for 2 hours waiting for a lousy pizza.

[nsxtasy]

>> the Days Inn, at Diversey and Clark. It's where all the rock bands stay (so expect semi-trashed rooms) but there are roll out beds and stuff that make up for the, um, decor. It costs a fraction of the Westin.

I know a lot of people who come here and stay at the Westin and other luxury hotels but pay prices even lower than the Days Inn, by using the "opaque", non-refundable websites, Hotwire and Priceline, to book their hotel rooms.

>> Seriously, this deep dish pizza, hot dog and Italian beef stuff is overblown. We might eat it for fast food, but no one actually says, hey, let's go to Uno for Pizza tonight. It's tourist food and not very good tourist food. And the places are a drag. You sit in bedlam for 2 hours waiting for a lousy pizza.

Absolutely NOT TRUE - on every count. Chicago has deep-dish pizza places all over the city and suburbs, where local Chicagoans get the pizza WE LOVE. Giordano's has 40 locations in the area, and Lou Malnati's has over 20. Why? Because most Chicagoans love and prefer our deep-dish pizza, as shown in survey after survey (example: www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-p... ). Most people I know love deep-dish, and then argue over which deep-dish they like better. (Sure, some people don't like it - not everyone agrees on everything.) Also, many Chicagoans get deep-dish pizza for carry-out from a place near home, but when we go out for pizza, we know enough to phone ahead with our pizza order so we don't have to wait 30-45 minutes for our pizza to bake. (NOT two hours - LOL!!!)

Same thing for hot dogs and Italian beef. Plenty of Chicagoans enjoy those local specialties. Granted, they may do so for lunch as much as dinner, just because they are cheap and quick and not that elaborate. But those local specialty places are patronized primarily by local Chicagoans.

[Eaterlover]

While I'm not the one waving the giant foam finger at our famous Italian beef and deep dish pizza restaurants, I do understand what you mean. The traditional "chicago" food is famous for a reason, but I do wish that for a first timer that "deep dish" pops into their head as quick as "little vietnam" or that italian beef is immediately followed by fantastic carne asada tacos. Just a wish list on my part for visitors to appreciate the city as a whole.

[chicgail]

I get your point, Eaterlover. It's a little bit like someone from another country saying, "Oh, Chicago. Al Capone. bang. bang [or Michael Jordan]." and thinking he knows something about our city.

If someone wants deep dish pizza or Italian Beef, I guess they should try it and we should recommend best options and then continue to offer them other, more interesting options.

[nsxtasy]

I think most of us are saying the same thing. Deep dish (which I happen to love) and Italian beef (which I don't) are unique specialties that you can find here, and which you can't find in most other cities around the country. The same is generally true of our creative regional Mexican cuisine (which I DID mention in my initial reply, above).

Other foods, such as all the different ethnic cuisines as well as non-ethnic options from "cheap eats" to haute cuisine, are things Chicago does well albeit not necessarily unique in doing so, and those foods are worth considering also, especially for a visitor who loves some particular type of food (which I ALSO mentioned above).

Most locals are aware that Chicago has a rich and varied restaurant scene, with some of the finest food in almost any category. When people ask for the "can't miss local specialty places", well, that's what those local foods are. But we know that those local specialties are only a small slice (pun intended) of our culinary offerings. Which is why I generally advise visitors to try a variety of cuisines while they're here, rather than ONLY pizza, or ONLY fine dining, or ONLY one particular type of food.

[TorontoTips]

Thanks, Gang!
I appreciate all the comments and suggestions.
I recognize that Chicago is big city with all of the wide variety of quality dining that a big city has, certainly no offence was intended.
I just like to do the unique local thing when I'm travelling on such a short trip. Quality steak or lobster or phad thai can be found in most big cities, but I usually like to do something different and unique to the town I'm in, even if it means I have to eat on the hood of my car :-)
Keep the ideas coming!
And feel free to ask, if you're ever coming to Toronto.
Cheers,
.James.

[TorontoTips]

Hey Gang,
Ok, we're leaving Sunday - last chance for great food suggestions.

As well as any great blues bars with Live Blues (and good food) on a Monday night?.

Question: 3 Meals in Chicago - what would YOU eat?

[jbw]

Can't promise you great food, altho it is decent cajun style, but the blues are usually good and authentic (depending on who's up) here:

http://buddyguys.com/

[TorontoTips]

Oh, by the way, turns out we're staying at the Sheraton Downtown Hotel and Tower, if that affects your suggestions for Pizza, breakfast, and other low-brow homey comfort food. :-)

[nsxtasy]

That's the hotel where acclaimed pastry chef Laurent Branlard just opened a restaurant earlier this month. www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS150502+09-Mar-2009+PRN20090309

That's VERY close to Fox & Obel, a block or two away. Fox & Obel ( www.fox-obel.com ) is Chicago's premier gourmet food store, with the highest quality everything - fresh meats and seafood, cheeses, prepared foods, and baked goods. Some of their best baked products include their yummy cinnamon swirl rolls, the world's best bran muffins, excellent croissants, etc, as well as refrigerated pastries and such. You can get them all for carry-out at the bakery counter. Or, in the rear of the store is a cafe where you can get anything from a cup of coffee and a muffin to a complete meal, made to order. It's just your basic coffeehouse atmosphere, but the food is excellent.

Fox & Obel and the Branlard restaurant in the Sheraton should have you covered for breakfast. You can also walk to South Water Kitchen ( www.southwaterkitchen.com ), which serves breakfast. If you love sweeter dishes (pancakes), then it's worth traveling a mile and a half to Bongo Room ( http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurantdetails?restaurantid=13028 ) for breakfast. Their pancake specialties are awesome! They rotate the menu, but my two favorites have been pretzel pancakes with white chocolate sauce, and blueberry pancakes topped with almond panna cotta sauce. The standard order size consists of three HUGE pancakes; it doesn't mention it on the menu, but you can also order a one-third or two-thirds portion at a reduced price, either for the smaller appetite or to try more than one dish.

If you want to try an unusual Sunday brunch, it's about a ten minute walk to David Burke's Primehouse ( www.jameshotel.com ), where they serve their "American dim sum" brunch. Think of it as 22 dishes served in 7-8 courses, all made to order with unlimited seconds. You can read my detailed report about my brunch there last fall in the brunch discussion at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/364403

For pizza, it's about a ten minute walk to the original Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due ( www.unos.com ) for single-crust "pizza in the pan". It's a little closer to get to the double-crust "stuffed" pizza served at Bacino's ( www.bacinos.com ) on Wacker Drive or GIordano's ( www.giordanos.com ) in the Prudential building.

For homey comfort food, Fox & Obel is a good choice, and South Water Kitchen is another option. Another place I like for American comfort food with a contemporary twist in a luxurious atmosphere is Atwood Cafe ( www.atwoodcafe.com ), in the Hotel Burnham, about a 15 minute walk from your hotel.

For Chicago-style hot dogs, Gold Coast Dogs on Wabash and Portillo's on Ontario are both about a 15 minute walk from your hotel, and Hot Doug's is 45 minutes by car, longer than that by public transportation.

>> 3 Meals in Chicago - what would YOU eat?

If I were staying at the Sheraton, I would cover all my breakfasts and lunches at the places mentioned above, including a trip to Bongo Room, since I'm a fan of sweeter breakfasts. For dinners, I would choose one contemporary American restaurant (first choice Cafe des Architectes www.cafedesarchitectes.com , second choice Aigre Doux www.aigredouxchicago.com , both of which are a 15-minute walk from your hotel), one nice Mexican restaurant (I previously mentioned the Real Tenochtitlan near the Congress Theater; the two Rick Bayless restaurants, Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, are a 10-minute walk from your hotel - www.rickbayless.com/restaurants ), and for the third place, maybe Cafe Spiaggia ( www.cafespiaggia.com - 15 minute walk from your hotel) for Italian food, or Brasserie Jo ( www.brasseriejo.com - 10 minute walk) for French bistro food, or Emilio's Sol y Nieve ( www.emiliostapas.com - 3 minute walk) for Spanish tapas. But if there's some other kind of food that you just absolutely LOVE, go for it - you can probably find an excellent place for it here!

Enjoy your visit!

[beanbreath]

OP was for "Chicago dogs":

Hot Doug's is a great idea, even given the considerations listed above. Also be aware:

If you want a Chicago hot dog you will most probably end up ordering that in addition to being seduced by at least one of Doug's more interesting options. Bring your appetite.

Doug's is >cash only<! It's very disheartening to stand in line behind people for two-plus hours and have them pull out the plastic to pay, read the sign, then realize they have virtually no real money.