Help flesh out my itinerary?
Hi all:
My wife and I are visiting Chicago for a few days next month, Wednesday night through Saturday mid-morning, staying at the Intercontinental at 505 N Michigan Ave. We are both avid home cooks and restaurant diners, and Chicago's food is the reason for our visit. if any of you are familiar with Philadelphia our favorite places include Kanella, Zahav, Koo Zee Doo, Bibou, Fond, and Osteria. We like walking around, so places should ideally be kinda sorta close to the area we'll be in, but we routinely walk a mile or more one-way to go out to dinner, so our radius is big. I'd rather not take any $20 cab rides, though. We've ruled out Hot Dougs for this reason. Also, we have great Italian food here and great gastropubs, so I think we'd rather skip similar places (though we're going to Publican one night). We also don't care too much about deep-dish pizza.
We've made some plans already, mainly dinner plans, but I'm looking for advice on filling in the cracks in our schedule. Breakfast, for example, or small bites or specialties that we can try without ruining our appetites for dinner, like a dish of great ice cream or a taco or stellar french fries.
Our plans so far are as follows (I've searched many threads!):
Wednesday: We're landing mid-morning so we'll be needing lunch and dinner. We are planning on doing the dessert menu at Tru this night, so dinner should be light. We were thinking of going to one of Rick Bayless' places for lunch (Topolobampo or Frontera), then maybe hot dogs for dinner at Franks and Dogs. I'd rather not spend a lot on this dinner since we're going to Alinea the next night, say around $100-$120 for two w/tax+tip.
Thursday: We're doing the tour at Alinea around 7 pm, otherwise we're free. I was thinking of Blackbird for lunch, although we are going to the Publican the following night and I'm not sure it's worthwhile to go to two Paul Kahan restaurants? Open to suggestions for lunch here (and breakfast/brunch!)
Friday: We have dinner reservations at Publican (is it true they'll seat you at the communal table even with a reservation? If so, I'll call them back and ask for a table). No breakfast/lunch plans.
Saturday: Our flight leaves Midway around 1PM, so I was thinking brunch would be the best thing. No idea where to go, but it should be in the general area of our hotel.
Thanks for any advice.
By Buckethead
on Apr 8, 2010 01:17 PM
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For lunch, I'd recommend Topolobampo as you can make reservations there over Frontera. But, to be honest, I'd probably save the $$ and go to XOCO for lunch. You might have a 20-30 minute wait, but it'll be worth it and you'll have a lovely lunch for $40 or so.
Publican will indeed seat you communally even with a reservation unless you've requested a private table. Give them a call and make your request. Keep in mind that Publican is pretty loud, but that's never deterred me. It's one of my faves in the city. Skip desert though as I've never been impressed with that. Don't however, skip the mussels, they are spectacular!
Close to your hotel is The Gage. I've not been yet, but I've sent several people there and heard only great things back. Perhaps this is an option for lunch on Thursday or Saturday or even dinner on Wednesday. It's right across from Millennium Park.
It's a shame to miss Hot Doug's, but I understand that the transportation situation can be a bit of a drag. It's not a centrally located spot and not easy to get to even with public transit.
If you want to stray from downtown, head to Wicker Park for drinks at Violet Hour (www.theviolethour.com). It's a great experience, but I recommend that you get there early (before 7) to avoid the crazy crowds and wait. It's a bit of a speakeasy -- no sign on the door. The cocktails are fabulous and so is the atmosphere. For a snack afterwards, bit Big Star...it's Paul Kahan's taco shop right across the street. Seriously, some of the best street tacos I've ever had!
Enjoy your trip!
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Hot Doug's
3324 N California Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
The Violet Hour
1520 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622
Topolobampo
445 N Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610
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>> Publican will indeed seat you communally even with a reservation unless you've requested a private table.
Not necessarily. I went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Without any special request, they gave our group of six a private table. This was fine with us; I would have requested that if I had known I could do so! But your main point is right on, as I verified with them; you can request a private table or the communal seating when making a reservation, and they will try to honor your request.
>> Close to your hotel is The Gage.
The Gage is a gastropub, so it may not fit with the OP's statement that "we have great Italian food here and great gastropubs, so I think we'd rather skip similar places".
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>> I'm looking for advice on filling in the cracks in our schedule. Breakfast, for example, or small bites or specialties that we can try without ruining our appetites for dinner, like a dish of great ice cream or a taco or stellar french fries.
Go to Garrett's Popcorn for a delicious local specialty. The Michigan Avenue location is a couple blocks north of your hotel, and there are several locations in the Loop. They have caramel popcorn (with or without cashews or pecans), cheese popcorn, or a mix of caramel/cheese. Yum! www.garrettpopcorn.com
Fox & Obel is our premier gourmet food store, with the finest meats, cheeses, and other basics, as well as the finest baked goods and other prepared foods. Don't miss the yummy cinnamon swirl rolls at the bakery counter! There's a cafe in the rear if you want to eat anything on the premises, from a cup of coffee to an entire meal prepared to order. It's about an 8-minute walk east of your hotel. www.fox-obel.com
Our new French Market is worth a visit. Keep in mind that it just opened a couple of months ago, and it's not fancy. However, it has several dozen food booths and these include some of the very best that Chicago has to offer. Highlights include the croissants, entremets, and French macaroons at Vanille Patisserie; the artisan chocolates at Canady Le Chocolatier (whose main shop is in the South Loop, also not far away); the cheeses at Pastoral; and the rainbow cookies at Delightful Pastries. It's just west of the Loop in one of the train stations, about a mile west of your hotel. www.frenchmarketchicago.com
>> We were thinking of going to one of Rick Bayless' places for lunch (Topolobampo or Frontera),
Great idea! I recommend Topolobampo over Frontera for lunch, since you can make reservations, and the prices are quite similar (unlike dinner, when Topo is considerably more expensive). I recommend either one over XOCO. XOCO's cuisine is more along the lines of conventional Mexican food that you can find back home, whereas Frontera Grill and Topolobampo feature unusual regional specialties and ingredients. XOCO is good for breakfast though!
>> maybe hot dogs for dinner at Franks and Dogs.
While Franks 'n' Dawgs is a possibility, it's not exactly near your hotel and doesn't really fit with your stated geographic targetting. It's along the Clybourn corridor, about three miles northwest of your hotel and not particularly convenient to public transportation. It's not as far as Hot Doug's, but it's not within walking distance either.
If you'd like to consider alternatives that are nearby, in the "cheap eats" category there are Portillo's and Al's Beef for Chicago hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches, and Billy Goat Tavern for burgers. For a little more money but still within that $100-120 range, you could go to Brasserie Jo for French bistro food, Emilio's Sol y Nieve for tapas, or Sayat Nova for Armenian. All are within a 5-minute walk of your hotel.
>> Thursday: We're doing the tour at Alinea around 7 pm, otherwise we're free. I was thinking of Blackbird for lunch, although we are going to the Publican the following night and I'm not sure it's worthwhile to go to two Paul Kahan restaurants? Open to suggestions for lunch here (and breakfast/brunch!)
I think those two Kahan restaurants are rather similar to each other (more so than either is to Avec, for example) and I would consider going elsewhere. That area contains many restaurants and most are open for lunch during the week. Some possibilities include the previous suggestions (e.g. Brasserie Jo), as well as Shaw's Crab House (seafood), Naha (contemporary American), Nacional 27 (Latin fusion), and Sunda (pan-Asian). For something a little different, Vermilion (Latin-Indian). Again, all are within a five-minute walk of your hotel.
For breakfast possibilities near the hotel, see this discussion:
River North Breakfast Ideas - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/693985
>> We have dinner reservations at Publican (is it true they'll seat you at the communal table even with a reservation? If so, I'll call them back and ask for a table).
I ate there a week or two ago. About half of the seating consists of a couple of loooong communal tables, and the other half is four-top "stalls" along one wall and standalone two-tops on the north side of the room (which can be moved together for parties of six). I asked the hostess about the seating, and she told me that when making your reservation, either by telephone or on Opentable.com , you can request the communal seating or your own table, and they will try to accommodate your request. They just can't guarantee that they will be able to do so, but they will try.
>> No breakfast/lunch plans.
See above.
>> Saturday: Our flight leaves Midway around 1PM, so I was thinking brunch would be the best thing. No idea where to go, but it should be in the general area of our hotel.
Since your flight leaves Midway 1:00, the latest you would want to be leaving the hotel is 11:15 a.m. This rules out the very few restaurants that serve brunch on Saturdays as well as those which start the day with lunch, so you're really looking at restaurants that are open for breakfast. Again, see that River North breakfast topic for suggestions.
Most of the places mentioned here accept reservations on Opentable.com
Feel free to ask more questions, and enjoy your visit!
P.S. For a recommendation that would be rather ironic, you could go to Mercat a la Planxa, the new tapas restaurant that has been widely praised (it's very good!). It would be ironic because it's the first Chicago outpost for Chef/Owner Jose Garces, who made his name with his six restaurants in Philly (Amada, Tinto, Distrito, Chifa, Village Whiskey, and Garces Trading Company), even though he's a native Chicagoan!
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Thanks! Popcorn is on the list, I had no idea Paul Kahan had a taco shop but it happens to be a few blocks from Mindy's Hot Chocolate, which is another place I was thinking about checking out, so maybe a cocktail-taco-dessert outing.
I did call Publican back, they said they can't guarantee a table, which seems pretty ridiculous to me since the reservation is 5 weeks away. They did note that I'd prefer a table, for what that's worth (probably nothing). I noted that I may prefer to eat somewhere else. Maybe I'll make a backup res at Blackbird.
I'll report back. Thanks!
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Hot Chocolate
1747 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
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>> I did call Publican back, they said they can't guarantee a table, which seems pretty ridiculous to me since the reservation is 5 weeks away. They did note that I'd prefer a table, for what that's worth (probably nothing). I noted that I may prefer to eat somewhere else. Maybe I'll make a backup res at Blackbird.
I got the impression that what Publican says about seating (communal vs private) is their standard response - that they do indeed try to honor requests, but don't want to find themselves in a situation where they can't honor every request that's made with a reservation. My dinner last month was on a weeknight at 5:30, and they were very empty at the time; by the time we left around 7:30, they were filling up. On an early res, I think it's likely that your request will be honored; on a later one, I can only guess but they will still try to honor your request. If it's at a prime time on a Saturday night, though, it may be more iffy for them to do so. Again, all of this is my best guess. If you don't have an early seating and you would be seriously upset if they sat you in the communal seating, you might be better off going elsewhere. Note that Blackbird tends to book up in advance, so you may want to check Opentable while you're deciding.
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I'm not a big fan of the communal table unless it's something that's booked by a single group. By the photos on Publican's website, it looks like I'd be closer to the unknown person next to me than I would be to my wife, across the table. We have a place here in Philly that has a similar setup and it's incredible annoying to have to mind my elbows so I don't bump the stranger next to me, while simultaneously struggling to hear the person I actually went to dinner with. I'm also guessing that the server will come to one side of the table to talk to us and won't walk around to the other side, meaning that dishes and orders will be passing over one of our heads, also annoying.
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I don't like it either. Fortunately, there are plenty of other places you can go instead. If you're interested in contemporary American cuisine in casual but upscale surroundings, in addition to Blackbird, some of the very best include North Pond, Cafe des Architectes, MK, and Perennial. If you're ever in the suburbs, we have some stellar examples there as well, including Tallgrass, Michael, Vie, Inovasi, and Chef's Station. All of these accept reservations, and none have communal seating.
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OK, one more question: For dessert only, should we go to Tru for the dessert tasting or to Mindy's Hot Chocolate? I know Gale Gand used to be pastry chef at Tru, and I'm sure it's still great, but we've only got one dessert opportunity remaining.
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Hot Chocolate
1747 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
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Go to TRU. I love great desserts, and I found Hot Chocolate disappointing.
Another great dessert experience is the Chocolate Bar at the Pen. The Lobby is the name of the restaurant right off the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel, and is on the fifth floor IIRC. They serve excellent contemporary American food in a rather casual setting. On Friday and Saturday evenings, they have the "Chocolate Bar", an all-you-can-eat buffet of 30-40 different chocolate-based desserts in smallish sizes so you can try a lot of them. They're all reasonably good, not necessarily all fantastic but you'll probably find a few that you absolutely love. Whereas you'll get five desserts at TRU and you may love most or all of them, but they won't have the variety of the Chocolate Bar (obviously). Both are great places for desserts!
Also see my comments above about Garrett's Popcorn and the bakery counter at Fox & Obel.
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Popcorn and Fox & Obel are definitely in! We'll be going to Tru. I just called and apparently the $40pp dessert tasting is three identical courses for each diner, not five, so I asked instead if we could make a reservation just to have dessert and split each of the five desserts a la carte between the two of us, they said that was fine. My wife is not as big a dessert fan as I am, so getting two of each of the three desserts would be kind of pointless. Thanks!
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For breakfast and a great experience try out Lou Mitchell's Restaurant & Bakery. I know that they also serve the world's best coffee since they have a huge neon sign out front that says that.
Make sure you get passed some Milk Duds and Donut Holes!
Also, don't forget Manny's Cafeteria and Deli. Great breakfast and sandwiches. (mannysdeli.com)
For a great dessert try Scooter's Frozen Custard. The real deal. (scootersfrozencustard.com)
For another breakfast idea you can try the Original Pancake House, it is a chain, but I don't believe that they have Philly locations. The Apple Pancake is mind bonggling and enough to share. They have a location on Bellevue which is pretty near you.
Enjoy / sandwichtalk.com
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Lou Mitchell's Restaurant
565 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60661
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Lou Mitchell's and Manny's are both a considerable distance from the Intercontinental (over a mile), and there are much better options within a few blocks walk. For breakfast places, see the link above for the "River North Breakfast Ideas" topic; all the places in that topic are within a few blocks of the Intercontinental (and there's really nothing special about Lou Mitchell's food, just its longtime presence and its convenience to the commuter train stations). And if you are looking for a great Jewish deli - something you didn't mention, but that's what Manny's is - Steve's Deli on Hubbard is even better and you can walk there from your hotel.
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I always hate it when people ask for detailed recommendations and then don't report back, so here's my full report:
Wednesday:
Fox & Obel: Nice groceries, we couldn't take advantage of them obviously, but I'd love to have one in Philly. Tried the cinnamon swirl from the bakery counter, the pastry itself was good but cinnamon flavor was sorely lacking. Just sweet pastry.
Lunch at Topolobampo: We got some not very welcoming attitude from the hostess, but server was very nice. Had chicken 'enchiladas', actually chicken croquettes with deep-fried jicama "tortillas", which were too floppy. Just OK. Ceviches were better but tuna one was the only one worth eating. The other two were shellfish (shrimp+squid) and Hawaiian sunfish. Entrees were "carnitas" consisting of pork belly, carnitas, tomatillo, avocado, lime air (ugh); also a vegetarian entree with morels, pistachio cream, smoky kale (or maybe collard greens), fried goat cheese. The morel dish was the standout, and the one ceviche was excellent, but the rest was forgettable. Actually I take that back, the guacamole and chips served at the beginning were great.
Happy hour at Benny's: 25 cent oysters, what could go wrong? As it turns out, not much: my only complaints were that though the beer list was very nice, none of them were available on draft, and our dozen oysters were stacked up on an oyster platter meant for six, so most of them were askew and the oyster liquor had already been spilled into the plate. But they were well-shucked otherwise, and they cost $3 for the dozen. I also liked the option of 3 ounce wine pours.
Avec: There's been a disturbing trend in some restaurants the past few years, the too-cool attitude that says to the customer: "you're lucky we're letting you eat here". Avec is the worst offender I've ever seen. The seating is atrocious, you either have to sit on a box at the bar, or at communal seating consisting of long benches against one wall. If you're sitting there you'll be asked to get up mid-bite, as I was, to let other people in or out. The hilarious thing was the server asking "would you mind getting up to let these people in?" Gee, I dunno, I have a forkful of pork in my hand, but no, I absolutely love standing up mid-bite to let people slide in to your incredibly poorly-designed restaurant seats. Except I don't think it is poorly designed, I think it's probably perfectly designed for what it was meant for: convincing diners that they are not worthy to be in this restaurant. My wine was served in a dirty carafe/flask. When I mentioned it, the server tried to convince me that it was no big deal because it's just sediment from a previous red wine that was in there (which is what I figured, we had a good 8-10 minutes in which to analyze it). My icy stare must have told her that wasn't good enough, though it seemed for a second that she thought "oh, it's just sediment from someone else's wine that was in this glass before yours" was somehow acceptable and we didn't need a new flask. Anyway, she took it away and said "I'll get you a new one and make sure this gets washed out". Imagine my surprise, then, when a little later my wife ordered her second glass of wine and was served it in the EXACT SAME, STILL DIRTY flask that I had been given!! I have to wonder if it wasn't an intentional "screw you" to us on the part of the server after she specifically said it would get washed out.
And the food was nothing special. We had the braised country ham dish, the english pea crostini (good, but couldn't hold a candle to a similar dish I had a while back here in Philly). Medjool dates stuffed with chorizo and surrounded by bacon were about as good as I would expect based on the ingredients used. The best thing was a fingerling potato and sardine escabeche, but overall I didn't have anything that would warrant a return trip if I lived in Chicago.
Dessert at Tru: Excellent, some of the desserts were better than others but they were all very good, and the "invigorating peppermint" was stupendous. We were way too full for the mignardises afterwards, they were nice enough to pack us up a to-go box.
Thursday:
Purple Pig: We didn't want to eat a lot before Alinea later that day, so we popped in here because it was close to our hotel, does small plates, and it was mentioned by our server at Topolobampo as comparable to Avec. In reality, it was much better. Every dish we had was something I'd happily eat again, we had a chilled fava bean and egg salad topped with crispy prosciutto, a pork neck rillette (probably the weakest dish), pork-fried almonds with rosemary and garlic, and sweet pea arancini with ricotta and a mint pesto (excellent). All good, and nobody asked me to get out of my seat mid-bite so that another party could sit down.
Alinea: Coming in from the street into Alinea, I continued down a progressively smaller hallway, towards a gently moving sculpture. I walked right past the actual doors, which were unmarked and looked more like an elevator than the restaurant's entrance. It was the first of many misdirections on the part of the restaurant. I don't know if it was intentional, but it did set the stage for what followed. Some of my favorite moments from the meal had little to do with the food and a lot to do with the way the whole experience was orchestrated, playing on our expectations. There were the elements that were dropped off at our table with no explanation well in advance of when we'd actually be eating them, giving us a while to guess at what might be coming up. Speculating on what all these things would end up being was a lot of fun. So were the plates within plates: the 3-tiered crab dish, the 'salad' of individual veggies dusted with ranch flavor, which concealed a shallow bowl of ranch 'soup' beneath it.
I won't say too much about the food because describing it is kind of impossible, but before we went there my wife and I were wondering if the whole experience would be worth it, and it was.
One annoying thing did happen, about halfway through the tour: a table of four ladies who had liberally doused themselves in perfume sat down next to us. When this happens at one of our regular places in Philly it is really annoying, but people being so clueless as to do it at Alinea really blew my mind. Of course, there was also a young lady at another table who was texting on her phone almost constantly, pausing only to actually eat the dishes, so I guess it takes all kinds, even at Alinea. I discreetly asked our server if we could move to another table and a course or two later we moved into another room, that was nice service. I don't mean to call out Alinea for it because I've never been to or heard of a restaurant that would turn someone away for wearing perfume, but at the 7th best restaurant in the world, where scent plays a big role not only because scent is a huge part of your sense of taste, but also because several dishes depend directly on scent, maybe they should? I mean, if a restaurant can specify that diners need to adhere to a dress code, why can't they specify that you don't wear perfume? It certainly has a much greater effect on my meal if the person next to me is drenched in perfume than if their pants aren't the right material. There was one dish in particular, a dessert served on a pillow filled with earl grey tea scent, the pillow deflating slowly over the few minutes it takes to finish the course, that would have been a lot less enjoyable had we still been breathing perfume-laden air at the time (we weren't, we had moved by then). Anyway, they did accommodate us and moved us to an entirely different room, so no complaints about how they handled it. Getting up and moving to another room also gave us a bit of a second wind to finish the second half of the meal.
Friday:
Hot Doug's: We ended up going here after all because we were able to get a ride from a friend. The wait was long (over an hour at 11:15 AM), I think probably because they were going on vacation the next day? The dogs were very good. My wife got the Chicago style with all the trimmings, I got the special dog of the week, a buffalo sausage with whiskey cheddar and beer mustard. Both delicious, but not mind-blowing. The duck-fat fries were decent, but not as good as I would have hoped. Overall, I'd rather have the burger and duck fat fries at Village Whiskey in Philly, but I'm glad I went to Hot Doug's.
Lovely Bakery: We stopped in here basically just to get out of the sun for a few minutes on our long walk to the Publican, we had a nice iced tea and a very good coconut macaroon.
Publican: Overall, Publican was pretty much on par with our less-good Philly gastropubs. Even though we had a reservation here, we instead went as soon as they opened because of our prior bad experience with Avec's communal seating. We figured going early would allow us to sit wherever, which it did. We were eating off of the limited early menu, but everything we had wanted to try was on that menu anyway: the pork rinds, oysters, and cured hams. We added the liverwurst, pretzel, and frites. The oysters were easily the best thing, but frankly for $3 each they had better be great. The pork rinds were tasty but a one-note thing, one or two of them was plenty. The pretzel and liverwurst were forgettable, the frites were just plain bad, pale and limp. The 'taste of 3 hams' was OK but it didn't look or taste like the ham had been sliced to order, which it really should be at a place that claims to revere the pig like Publican does. We weren't impressed.
Bonsoiree: The same friend who drove us to Hot Doug's recommended this place for dinner, and since we'd already checked Publican off our list, we went. It was very good, I don't know how common BYOs are in Chicago but we have a lot of great ones here and Bonsoiree would fit right in. We did the four-course menu plus an extra course, a scallop dish. That one was excellent, so was the dessert, a ginger ice cream sandwich served between wafers of (I think) a molasses and clove-based cake. There was also a pea soup that was stellar.
Saturday:
Xoco: The churros were fantastic, but that was the only thing that was. For some reason I thought the breakfast menu was bigger than it actually is, and since we were flying out later we wanted to have something that would sustain us, so rather than get all the good-looking pastries, we split the churros and we each got a torta: one open-faced and one not. The open-faced one had a lot of good flavors going on but was mostly ruined by a terribly undercooked egg. The other was chorizo and egg with avocado, that was much better but nothing that blew us away. The churros though, those were some of the best we've had.
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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
Hot Doug's
3324 N California Ave, Chicago, IL 60618
Avec Restaurant
615 W Randolph St Ste A, Chicago, IL 60661
Bonsoiree
2728 W Armitage, Chicago, IL 60647
Topolobampo
445 N Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610
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Thanks for reporting back. Additional perspectives are always helpful!
>> There's been a disturbing trend in some restaurants the past few years, the too-cool attitude that says to the customer: "you're lucky we're letting you eat here". Avec is the worst offender I've ever seen.
...
>> And the food was nothing special.
I couldn't agree more. It's one thing when a restaurant has uncomfortable and poorly-laid-out seating, is incredibly noisy, and has a no-reservations policy that results in interminable waits, but all of that might be worth it IF the food is amazing. But when the food is nothing special either - and I agree with you on that - then... I really don't understand why people flock there. It's a dinner I left with absolutely no desire to return.
>> Hot Doug's: We ended up going here after all because we were able to get a ride from a friend. The wait was long (over an hour at 11:15 AM), I think probably because they were going on vacation the next day?
No, the wait was long because it's Hot Doug's. It's always that long at that time of day (and not all that much shorter at other times, either).
Oh, and the cinnamon swirl rolls at Fox & Obel are amazing because the dough is very rich and flavorful and yes, fairly sweet. If you're just looking for a roll with a strong cinnamon flavor, theirs might not impress you as much as some others elsewhere.
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Chicago did have a restaurant that banned fragrances: Jimmy's Place. The late Jimmy Rohrer was very allergic to some fragrances. Yoshi Katsumura, now chef-proprietor of Yoshi's Cafe, was the chef and produced food that that drew people to a rather out of the way location on Elston Avenue in the Northwest Side.
BYOB is pretty common in Chicago once you are out of the tourist belt. Recently I noted ten within half a mile of my Lincoln Square house. Bonsoiree qualifies as out of the tourist belt.
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Thanks for the great report back! I love when visitors post because alot of these places I can only get to once in a blue moon (kind of like the cobblers kid who has unsoled shoes). That is shame about the woman texting at Aliena. If I ever had the extra means to go there, I would not waste half the sensory experience on my phone. I feel sad for and annoyed with her.
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Well, this is disappointing: I was just reviewing our menu from the Tour, and searching Flickr for photos of the dishes we ate at Alinea. We totally were not served one of the dishes: the lemon soda (one bite). The day after the meal, I thought the description sounded like something we didn't get, but I just assumed I was mis-interpreting the menu description. But the photos show something that we never got. I guess it doesn't retroactively ruin our meal at anything, but at a place that just won the Beard award for service, I expect to get all the dishes we paid for..
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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
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Piggybacking on this post to offer my experiences from a trip that recently concluded this week as well. I had wanted to take in many more of the recommendations on this board and thread, but was limited by time and dining companions.
The Gage: This gastropub came highly recommended. The wide selection of beers spoke to the Chicagoan in us all, while the New Yorker in me took delight in the menu options. We had scotch eggs, fried livers, fish and chips and the pork loin on the recommendation of the waitress. The scotch eggs were underseasoned to the point of blandness and lacked the crunchy exterior that makes these typically such a delight to eat. The fried livers, while perfectly cooked, were also similarly underseasoned and overpowered by their accompanying dip of Chinese mustard. My pork loin was a fine cut of delicious Midwestern pork, but the exterior was oversalted and paired with a blue cheese salad in a maple dressing that only further threw off the plate. At the very least a little acid might have brought the elements together, but instead I had a very salty main with a very sweet and salty salad. The fish and chips and our dessert order (pistachio rhubarb cake), however, were very tasty and a perfect iteration of gastropub fare. We walked away feeling like the restaurant was trying far too hard escape its pub roots, but was doing a rather poor job at highlighting its gastro potential.
Intelligentsia Coffee: I can see why true coffee connoisseurs would be attracted to this cafe, however it was a bit daunting for a more casual drinker such as myself. The tasting notes on the labels of the coffees read like a highly affected oenophile's monologue at a cocktail party. I settled for the coffee of the day, El Machete, Panama, which was a lot less interesting than its wordy description.
Halsted's: Some friends in Lakeview wanted something casual. The food was nothing earth-shattering, but well-done and generously proportioned bar food. At $5.95 for my fried chicken wrap, I got more than I paid for.
Renaissance Hotel: Family wanted to stop in for the lunch buffet. I was skeptical, but the spread was surprisingly good. The salmon salad on brioche sliders were a little heavy on the dill, but rather tasty. The hummus was great with a kick from cumin and main dishes were replenished often enough that we avoided dryness or overcooking. The cold dishes especially rotated often enough that there was something new, and usually good, to try each time we went back. Desserts, as in most buffets, were entirely skippable.
Pequod's: The pizza is a little drier than I typically like and the sauce is on the milder side, but that chewy caramelized crust is unique enough to always win me over. Moreover the pizza seems a lot lighter than the buttery crusts at Lou Malnati's and I usually come away from the meal feeling more satisfied than weighed down than I might with a heavier pizza.
2 Amigos: I had wanted to go to Xoco, but they were closed when I was free so this had to suffice for tortas. The taqueria was great: a little more ambiance but with plenty of the flavor and portion one would expect from a more rustic hole-in-the-wall. The salsa verde had a sweet note that set it apart and the chorizo was terrifically spiced. This will definitely replace Moran's for me when I'm looking for something quick in Logan Square.
Julius Meinl: Perhaps it's the Germanic Gemütlichkeit, but I found Julius Meinl a lot more inviting than Intelligentsia. Pastries were tasty as always and the staff warm and welcoming.
Gold Coast Dogs: People have been searching for pizza puffs on the Manhattan boards for years so when I finally saw a sign for these, I knew I had to rush in and try them. Once it came out of the deep fryer, I had an "Oh yeah!" moment, realizing I had eaten these many times before without knowing what to call them.
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Intelligentsia Coffee
53 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604
2 Amigos
2320 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Gold Coast Cafe
1112 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610
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