Chicago - This Weekend

[irideformom]

Hello,

My husband and I are arriving at Miday Friday at 6:45 p.m. and will be taking the El to the Palmer House. We will be eager to eat,, but the restaurant options near the Palmer look dismal. We like fresh, upscale or fresh, healthy ethnic. Any suggetions? If we need to venture to another neighborhood what would be an easy El trip from the Palmer? Thanks much.

[nsxtasy]

There are actually quite a few restaurant options near the Palmer House Hilton, so let's start there!

For breakfast recommendations near the Palmer House Hilton, see:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/490160

For lunch recommendations near the Palmer House Hilton, see:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/399947

For dinner recommendations near the Palmer House Hilton, see:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/370730
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/453778
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/458509

For cheap eats recommendations near the Palmer House Hilton, see:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/496202

For late night recommendations near the Palmer House Hilton, see:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/489652

Fresh? Our better restaurants use fresh ingredients. If you are looking for restaurants which specialize in local and seasonal ingredients, here are three suggestions of places that do so. (1) North Pond ( www.northpondrestaurant.com ) offers contemporary American cuisine from James Beard Award nominated Chef Bruce Sherman. It also has a unique, exquisite setting in Lincoln Park - the park itself, not just the adjacent neighborhood of the same name - and faces its namesake pond, with the city skyline rising over the opposite shore. It's three miles north of the Loop; the easiest way to get there is by cab or you can catch the #151 CTA bus northbound on Michigan Avenue. (2) Lula ( www.lulacafe.com ) offers American cuisine in the Logan Square area. Walk west one block to Dearborn to catch the CTA Blue Line, and take it to the Logan Square stop. There is a square (small park) with a statue in the middle; the el stop is at the north edge of that park, and Lula is a few doors south of the south edge. (3) Custom House ( www.customhouse.cc ) offers contemporary American cuisine with an emphasis on meats, from Chef Shawn McClain. Its a few blocks walk south of the Palmer House Hilton.

You mention both upscale and ethnic. We have some restaurants which combine both; see the discussion at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/437740 I'm not sure if it is mentioned there, but there is a great new upscale tapas restaurant that is a five minute walk from the Palmer House, called Mercat a la Planxa. www.mercatchicago.com

There are lots of different food-oriented neighborhoods in Chicago, most easily accessible by el. There's a discussion of those neighborhoods at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/437740 (1) You can walk a mile west to Greek Town for you-know-what. For recommendations see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/119233 (2) You can take the CTA Pink Line south to the 18th Street stop for the Mexican neighborhood called Pilsen. My favorite Mexican restaurant in the entire city is there, Mundial Cocina Mestiza ( www.mundialcocinamestiza.com ), or for additional Mexican recommendations see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/463572 (3) Take the CTA Red Line south to the Cermak/Chinatown stop for Chinatown; for recommendations see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/594324 (4) Take the CTA Red Line north to the Sheridan stop for the Thai restaurant called TAC Quick ( http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/tac-quick/ ). (5) Take the CTA Red Line north to the Argyle stop for the Vietnamese restaurants along Argyle Street near the el stop (6) Take the CTA Red Line north to the Loyola stop and transfer to the #155 bus southbound, which turns west onto Devon Avenue, where you'll find a huge concentration of Indian and Pakistani restaurants between roughly Western (2400W) and Sacramento (3000W).

CTA tips - If you need to transfer, you're better off buying a CTA card, which will let you transfer between bus and subway routes at a lower price than paying cash fares each time. For more transit information see the CTA website at www.transitchicago.com

Since this weekend is coming up, you may want to make reservations, especially at any of our nicer, more upscale places. A lot of our restaurants accept reservations on Opentable.com which is free and easy to use.

Here are links to discussions about some other kinds of food in addition to those mentioned above:

Fine dining:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/602985

Steakhouses:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/359377

Seafood:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/370202

Sushi:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/362763

Italian:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/360990

Pizza:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/327474
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/319254

French bistros:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/602957

Eastern European:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/440779
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/408432

Turkish:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/613867

Tapas:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/370492
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/366524

Thai
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/491970

Jewish Deli
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/307862

Barbecue:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/360674

Burgers:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/382781

Hot dogs:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/364427

Quintessential Chicago:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/372986

Brunch and Breakfast:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/364403

Feel free to ask more questions, and enjoy your visit!

[irideformom]

Wow! Thanks for all this information. You are the best!

[nsxtasy]

Thanks!

I forgot to mention one of our best restaurants specializing in local and seasonal ingredients: Vie ( www.vierestaurant.com ), serving contemporary American cuisine under Chef-Owner Paul Virant. It's in the suburb of Western Springs, 15-20 miles west-southwest of the Loop. Even if you don't have a car, you can get there in under an hour from the Palmer House. Walk 10-15 minutes west to Union Station, and catch the BNSF line commuter train on Metra for the 24-33 minute ride to the Western Springs station. The restaurant is a block from the station. For Metra information see www.metrarail.com