AHH too many places to go to, trip with wife and I

[bohnhoff]

My wife and I are staying at The Silversmith Hotel this weekend through Monday. I am looking for a couple of places to grab some food.

After reading through a ton of these posts I am just more confused by where to go. :( I just keeping looking through nsxtasy's posts but nothing keeps popping up over and over :)

My wife wants to go to Ed Debevic's(no clue) and I was thining of driving out to Smoque(unless theres a better BBQ place downtown) for lunches and maybe hitting up Bongo room for Monday breakfest before we leave town.

But I guess I am looking for some good dinner recommendations close to downtown. Probably at least one pizza place that isn't Unos. And something else really good and somewhat close to where we are staying downtown(1-3 miles). Nothing too exotic, or crazy pricey (>125 for the two of us).

[masha]

The closest pizza place near the Silversmith is Pizanno's, on Madison. It's owned by the Malnatti family. There is also a branch of Lou Malnatti's in the South Loop, on State St., near 8th St., which is an easy walk from the Silversmith.

I cannot imagine why you would want to go to Ed Debevic's if you only have a limited amount of meals in Chicago. It's known for its schtick, not its food, and generally as a kid-friendly place, but it does not sound like you are traveling with children. There are many moderately priced restaurants that are closer to your hotel and with better food. For under $125 for the 2 of you, there are many better choices -- e.g., one of the restaurants in Greektown.

(I cannot comment on the barbecue choices.)

[nsxtasy]

>> After reading through a ton of these posts I am just more confused by where to go. :( I just keeping looking through nsxtasy's posts but nothing keeps popping up over and over :)

Thanks - but the problem you are experiencing is common to residents as well: How the heck do you choose one place to go when there are so very many good ones to choose from? Welcome to our world! It's an "embarrassment of riches" - but hopefully it means that you'll find good food wherever you go. :)

>> My wife wants to go to Ed Debevic's (no clue)

I don't recommend Ed Debevic's. Not for the food, anyway - not that it's bad, but it's really nothing out of the ordinary. The biggest attraction of Ed Debevic's is the wisecracking waitstaff, reminiscent of an old-time East Coast diner. Unless that is enough of an attraction for you, I'd advise going elsewhere.

>> I was thining of driving out to Smoque(unless theres a better BBQ place downtown) for lunches

You could do that. I also happen to like Carson's, whose location on Wells Street is about a mile from your hotel. (One big difference, in addition to the distance, is their style of barbecue; Smoque features a dry rub style, whereas Carson's is slathered with barbecue sauce as it slow-cooks.)

However, I think there are other types of food which are more unusual, things you can find here that you can't find everywhere else. For example, you could have Saturday brunch at Frontera Grill, with their creative provincial Mexican cuisine. If that doesn't entice you, another choice for lunch on Saturday is Heaven on Seven's Wabash location for cajun/creole food.

>> and maybe hitting up Bongo room for Monday breakfest before we leave town.

I love Bongo Room! One suggestion: you might want to call them to make sure they're open, since Monday is a holiday.

>> But I guess I am looking for some good dinner recommendations close to downtown. Probably at least one pizza place that isn't Unos. And something else really good and somewhat close to where we are staying downtown(1-3 miles). Nothing too exotic, or crazy pricey (>125 for the two of us).

I agree with masha's recommendation of Pizano's for deep-dish pizza. It's excellent and it's just a few steps from your hotel. (I wouldn't go to Lou Malnati's, but only because it's so far - almost a mile - and Pizano's is so close.) Phone ahead with your pizza order to avoid waiting 30-45 minutes while seated for your pizza to bake.

For a nice dinner recommendation close by, I recommend any of the following: Vivere or Cibo Matto for Italian food, Atwood Cafe for contemporary American food, Park Grill for more conventional American food, the Gage or Miller's Pub for pub fare, Petterino's for steaks, or Catch 35 or Shaw's for seafood. All of these are within a 5-8 minute walk of your hotel and should meet your stated budget as long as you don't go crazy with wine/alcohol. All of these are very good indeed (although if I had to pick only one, it would be one of the first three). And most of them are open for lunch too. I haven't been to Shaw's for their Sunday buffet brunch, but I've heard it's very impressive (although at $40 it's not inexpensive). I've been to Atwood Cafe for Sunday brunch and enjoyed it.

Some of these places are closed Sundays, and some are closed Mondays (or may be closed for the holiday), so you may want to give them a call before going, unless you've already made a reservation on Opentable, in which case you can be sure they will be open.

Website links:
www.eddebevics.com
www.smoquebbq.com
www.ribs.com (Carson's)
www.rickbayless.com/restaurants (Frontera Grill)
www.heavenonseven.com
http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/bongo-room-2
www.pizanoschicago.com
www.vivere-chicago.com
http://cibomatto.therestaurantsatthewit.com
www.atwoodcafe.com
www.parkgrillchicago.com
www.thegagechicago.com
www.millerspub.com
www.petterinos.com
www.catch35.com
www.shawscrabhouse.com

[bohnhoff]

I'll have to check out Opentable. I guess the wife wants to see the waitresses at Eds, I'm way more into food than she is...

And Frontera Grill's menu seems very appealing, we might have to go to that for sure.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[chicgail]

Like everyone else, I recommend you skip Debevic's. It's a schtick designed for tourists and kids from the 'burbs.

Why do you want a pizza place that isn't Uno's? If it's because you've been to one of the UNO's Grill joints that is part of the national franchise or had the frozen UNO's pizza, please know that the pizza that is served at Uno's (and Due's) in Chicago is NOTHING like those. Uno's is where Chicago-style deep dish was first invented more than 60 years ago and it still serves the original recipe and it is excellent.

Regarding barbeque, there are some decent places in the city (Smoque is one of them) but BBQ is not what makes Chicago a food destination. Unless you're dying to try it, it's probably not worth the trip.

Nxstasy makes some really good recommendations, especially the regional Mexican that flourishes here.

Enjoy and let us know what you tried and what you like.

[nsxtasy]

Here's a little more background on our deep-dish pizza places, to help you decide.

Pizzeria Uno was the first place to make our deep-dish pizza, way back in 1943. The main characters in its early years were Ike Sewell, whose wife actually owned the place, and Rudy Malnati, Sr. They opened Pizzeria Due in 1955, right near Uno, and both are still in their original locations. For decades, Rudy Malnati Sr. continued to run the day-to-day operations, and his sons worked there as well. When Ike Sewell's widow sold the operation to the corporation that has been franchising it as Uno's Chicago Grill, the CEO promised not to change the recipe at the two original locations in River North. Rudy's son Lou opened Lou Malnati's in the 1970s and his son Rudy Jr. opened Pizano's in the 1990s, which explains why the pizza at all three places is similar.

If I were staying in the Silversmith, I would go to Pizano's because it's so close, rather than traveling to Uno/Due or Lou's; if I happened to be closer to one of the others, I would go there instead.

If you have already tried the original Uno or Due here in downtown Chicago and you don't like it, or you want to try something different for any other reason, then you might want to give a try to one of our places serving stuffed pizza. Stuffed pizza is a different style, with two crusts; the cheese and "toppings" are between the crusts, and the tomato sauce is on top. The closest place to the Silversmith for stuffed pizza is the Giordano's in the Prudential building on East Lake Street. www.giordanos.com

[delk]

State Street is the next block West and you can grab the Red Line and be in Chinatown in 15 minutes.

I really like the brisket at Smoque, but it is a trek and there has always been a line to get in every time I have been.