Thanksgiving and Tday weekend

[usagi]

I would greatly appreciate help. Work has suddenly placed me in Chicago for Tday and the weekend. Price is no object, but I would really enjoy great food and wine for the four days I'm in town. Due to short notice I have been waitlisted at Alinea. Please help me find some great course meals to eat with wine pairings. Thank you very much.

[nsxtasy]

Start with these high-end restaurants (I won't repeat Alinea - it's a great place though):

Charlie Trotter's - www.charlietrotter.com/restaurant
Everest - www.everestrestaurant.com
Avenues - www.peninsula.com/chicago/en/default.aspx#/chicago/en/Dining/Avenues
Tru - www.trurestaurant.com
NoMI - www.nomirestaurant.com
Spiaggia - www.spiaggiarestaurant.com

If you want a more casual fine dining experience...

North Pond - www.northpondrestaurant.com
Café des Architectes - www.cafedesarchitectes.com
Blackbird - www.blackbirdrestaurant.com

There are lots more places of course, including David Burke's Primehouse for steaks, Thanksgiving dinner, and Sunday brunch; Cafe Spiaggia, Coco Pazzo, and Vivere for Italian; Brasserie Jo and La Sardine for a French bistro; etc. And squeeze in a visit to Uno or Due or Giordano's for deep-dish pizza!

Most of the above accept reservations on Opentable.com so with a few clicks you can see what's available each day of your visit.

Have a great holiday!

[chowmaster1]

nsxtasy know's his/ her stuff. I would add.

Schwa- You can BYO but I assure you this is Foodie Food (Tasting Only).
Les Nomades
Carlos" (Best French in Chicago but a little north)

More casual
Instead of Blackbird I would recomend AVEC (hasn't lost a beat since Obama took the chef to the whitehouse)
Custom House
Graham Elliott

[usagi]

Thanks so much for the additional recommendations. Please see below for my brief thoughts. Thanks again!

[usagi]

Thanks so much for the thorough list of places. I look forward to being able to try more in the future. I ended up trying Topolo for lunch, which was most impressive. I was a little disappointed by Charlie Trotter's, except for the deserts, which I thought were exceptional. A few people had recommend Avec strongly, so I ventured there and was very pleased. They sent me next door to Blackbird for desert, which was very impressive thanks to their newly acquired pastry chef from French Laundry. Thank you again!