One night in Chicago- where should we eat?

[StrongIsland]

We will be in Chicago for one night in two weeks What is a fun restaurant with great food? All ethnicities considered. I have always wanted to hit up frontera grille but wanted the opinions of locals. I believe we will be staying at the intercontinental hotel if that matters but will use cab for transportation.

[Siun]

I've eaten at Frontera and have not found it so hard to get a table - stop by about 20 minutes before they open and sign in for a table. They'll give you a time to come back - we've done that often and normally eaten around 6ish. Another option is to head to Xoco for hot chocolate and churros as a great end to any evening.

That said, there are lots of other great places to eat. Some real favorites of mine are:

Mercat a la Planxa, one of Jose Garces' restaurants, in a great room overlooking the park and with a wonderful selection of super tasty tapas as well as great grilled items.

Naha - one of our best New American spots, I always have a wonderful meal there and enjoy the service and welcome.

Sprout - Dale Levitski's place, interesting menu and very good food.

Sable - amazing cocktails and a varied interesting menu at all price points. (I never can get the link to come up for this but they're not far from your hotel at 505 N State)

For a very Chicago experience, I'd also suggest going early to The Violet Hour for cocktails and then crossing the street to Big Star for super cocktails and a taste of how much fun our food scene is.

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The Violet Hour
1520 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622

Mercat a la Planxa
638 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605

Naha
500 North Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610

Sprout
1417 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60614

[nsxtasy]

>> Sable - amazing cocktails and a varied interesting menu at all price points. (I never can get the link to come up for this but they're not far from your hotel at 505 N State)

Great rec. I love the contemporary American food at Sable, and I don't even drink cocktails! Heather Terhune, formerly of Atwood Cafe, is in charge of the kitchen. Don't miss the sweet corn creme brulee! Their website is at www.sablechicago.com and I've never had any problems accessing it.

[StrongIsland]

Sable looks really interesting. Small plate concept always works for (love tapa). And they have some good cocktails. May be just the ticket for our dinner. Or maybe lunch. Or maybe just drinks. We only have one night so trying to make the most of it.

Ever heard of Chicago cut? Local friends want to go there.

[nsxtasy]

Chicago Cut is a recently-opened steakhouse in River North. I haven't been there. Frankly, for someone visiting from out of town, I wouldn't advise going to a steakhouse unless steaks are your favorite and anything else will not make you happy. After all, if there is one type of food you can get in any city across the country, it's a good steak.

[lbs]

I have to agree with Nsxtasy. I have NOT eaten at Chicago Cut and my opinion is purely based on conjuncture. But it looks like your everyday business dinner steakhouse. Which is great if you are craving a steak and a martini. Its location on the river will be a great asset during the warmer months but now in January, I would suggest going to any of the other resturants listed above.

[jbontario]

I have eaten at chicago cut. Nothing special but a top-notch steakhouse. Found the steaks to be very tasty (but so are everyone else's). The wine list on the iPad was an interesting gimmick, but as an oenophile, i found it trite and hard to use. The sides were good, but nothing extremely interesting. The best thing it has going for it is the decor and service which were both excellent. It's very open and airy and has nice views. Crains just reviewed them as a great power-breakfast place by the way.

That all being said, my two favorite steaks are at Joe's (then you can get crab claws to make it a surf and turf) and my second favorite is Keefer's (again after years). Keefer's adds terrific sides and a real non-steak menu for those not into beef.

[StrongIsland]

I hear you on the steakhouse. Wasn't my call. I only do steakhouses for business dinners. And that's plenty.

What about table 52?

[StrongIsland]

Sorry for the lateness of my reply. We went to sable and it was good to very good. Our Chicago friends complimented us on our find as they had not been.

We started with cocktails and this is something I would deffo return for. The know what they are doing with an extensive cocktail list with a real appreciation for old school drinks. I recall getting a blood and sand, which I enjoyed, amongst other drinks.

Dinner was good but I wasn't blown away on anything. We had a number of items and nothing was bad. Just good to very good. Enough so that I would return if I can get some of the great cocktails. Also the service was excellent. Staff was great.

[nsxtasy]

This discussion has recommendations describing places that are unique to Chicago and/or types of food that Chicago is particularly good at:

first time Chicago - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/693477

You'll find a lot of recommendations there.

Frontera Grill is very good but the waits for a table are IMHO not worth it. They accept only a handful of reservations over the phone, and if you can get one, great, but I wouldn't count on it only two weeks ahead of time. But call, you've got nothing to lose. Or, if you can get there 20-30 minutes before they open the doors for an early dinner, that works as well. Otherwise, I wouldn't wait 90-120 minutes to eat there. (Topolobampo, its sister restaurant, is also very good but typically all reservations fill up 2-3 months ahead of time.)

If you are interested in other places serving creative provincial Mexican cuisine, here are three more very good recommendations. Salpicon is very good and the closest to the Intercontinental, about a mile away. www.salpicon.com Mexique is two miles west and serves Mexican cuisine with a French flair. www.mexiquechicago.com Mundial Cocina Mestiza is a bit further, about four miles southwest in the Mexican-American neighborhood of Pilsen. www.mundialcocinamestiza.com All are very good, and all accept reservations.

As indicated above, beyond that, there are great restaurants of all types all over the city. Some within a few blocks of the Intercontinental are Heaven on Seven for cajun/creole ( www.heavenonseven.com - Rush St location), Sol y Nieve for tapas ( www.emiliostapas.com ), and David Burke's Primehouse for steaks ( www.davidburkesprimehouse.com ),

[caseyjo]

I took my mom to Frontera for lunch when she last visited the city; we found that worked better than dinner (no wait). Like nsxtasy said, I would definitely recommend checking out Pilsen as well. That said, I wouldn't consider Chicago to be a real Mecca for Mexican food (I'm originally from Southern California, so I'm picky).

[nsxtasy]

>> we found that worked better than dinner (no wait).

Only if you're lucky. Usually there are extensive waits for lunch as well as for dinner.

>> I wouldn't consider Chicago to be a real Mecca for Mexican food (I'm originally from Southern California, so I'm picky).

I've eaten at most of the Mexican restaurants in Chicago, and I've eaten at many of the Mexican restaurants in Southern California. There's no comparison - Chicago is far, FAR better for creative provincial Mexican food. The Southland isn't bad - in fact, it's the only other part of the country that has at least a little variety in terms of provincial cuisine - but Chicago just has a lot more, and it's a lot better. Much of the reason for that is Rick Bayless himself, who takes his staff to Mexico every year; many of his alumni have gone on to open Mexican restaurants around Chicagoland. I wouldn't consider Southern California to be a mecca for Mexican food - it's a very distant second.

Try dining at Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Salpicon, Mexique, Mundial Cocina Mestiza, Amelia's Grill, Mixteco Grill, Salsa 17, Yolo, Xni-Pec, Fuego, Don Diablo, Sabor Saveur, and Chilam Balam, and then see what you think. (And that's quite aside from the conventional Mexican street food like you find at taquerias, etc.)

[Lance Corvette]

Oh, man (I don't know why we're talking about Mexican but ...) what's that place on Ashland, the seafood place? The one a few blocks south of division?

I've only been there once but that place kicks assandro! It would totally be worth a cab ride.

If it was summer I often recommend to touristas, man, drawing a blank, that place in Greektown with the rooftop? Whatsitcalled? Not Santorini but right next door? Food's not that great but the view is six-flags!

Just suggesting, a day or two before you get here re-post with more details, what kind of food you're in the mood for, price, etc.

Beyond hot dogs and pizza, it's hard to give you a "Chicago dining" experience b/c there's such a variety.

Adios!

[chicgail]

The place on Ashland you're talking about El Barco. It's festive and fun and has great margaritas (hence the fun and festivity). Specializes in whole fried fish. El Barco is a long way from the best Mexican food in town, but the place just FEELS like being in Mexico.

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El Barco
1035 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

[Lance Corvette]

If you can get into Frontera do it, otherwise, it's hard to recommend one out of 2,000. I guess it kind of depends what kind of mood you'll be in, in two weeks, how your day went, how many people, is it going to be snowing, are you going to a Hawks game after, kids, want to spend $200 per?

Et cetera.

Intercontinental is right in the middle, so that's good.