Fairly specific mag mile request

[02903]

As a new england chowhounder, I have been scouring the board all day without much luck for help with my request so here goes:

I am attending a course at the intercontinental for 8 days and unfortunately will not have much free time to enjoy the city (at least until I start skipping sessions or until the weekend after the course).

I am looking for help with the follow:

a) breakfast ideas that are open early (course starts at 730 daily) and within walking distance of the intercontinental.

b) lunch places that can be done in less than 60-90 min (incl walking time). Take out is fine.

c) dinner places: more leeway here, but most nights the course goes til 830pm (this schedule is as nuts as it sounds) and I think I will be too drained/starving to explore very far.

I am pretty much game for all types of food

Thanks for all your help in advance.

[02903]

Thanks to everyone for the replies...much appreciated

[jbontario]

For lunch, the Nordstrom Cafe is very good and usually quick and directly across the street. I also like Mezza in the food court level of the Nordstrom mall, it's kebobs, pita wraps, etc. There's also a potbelly in there if you just want to get out of the hotel (I know how those trainings go).

For Sushi, Oysy (I think it's on grand) is good. But if it's not too cold, walk about 7 blocks west on Ohio Street and go to Naniwa on N Wells @ Ohio.

Behind your hotel (and down the stairs) is Volare, great italian food with excellent service.

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Oysy River North
50 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

Mezza
225 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60601

Sushi Naniwa
605 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60654

[twodales]

I like the Nordstroms cafe too.

What about Cafe Coco Pazzo?

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Coco Pazzo Cafe
636 N St Clair, Chicago, IL 60611

[nsxtasy]

>> What about Cafe Coco Pazzo?

What about it? :) It's good - that's why I mentioned it...

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Coco Pazzo Cafe
636 N St Clair, Chicago, IL 60611

[twodales]

Sorry. Guess I missed that. :) It's been a long week. Just trying to help.

[jbw]

Just up the block is Bandera for lunch and dinner. I haven't been there myself in years, but people still seem to like it, and it couldn't be more convenient:

http://chicago.menupages.com/restaura...

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Bandera Restaurant
535 N Michigan Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60611

[twodales]

I second Bandera. Have never had a bad meal there. I would suggest them as more of a relaxing dinner place. Reasonable for that part of town but not cheap. A filet is 34 but I see now that the burger is 15 so prices have gone up. That said, the service has always been excellent, the atmosphere soothing and I've had wonderful, steaks, fish etc there over many years. Anyone we have ever taken there has loved it too.
I would guess that the luncheon menu would be less expensive and possibly more limited?

http://www.hillstone.com/pdf_menus/ba...

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Bandera Restaurant
535 N Michigan Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60611

[masha]

I was also thinking Bandera. I've not eaten there but I recently got together with a friend from out of town who had eaten there the night before, and she had very positive things to say about it. Also agree that, compared to a lot of neighboring restaurants, their pricing is pretty moderate.

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Bandera Restaurant
535 N Michigan Ave Ste 208, Chicago, IL 60611

[Querencia]

You start so early in the morning that you may want to grab breakfast at the hotel. And, for the rest, with the workshop running 11 hours a day, your focus will inevitably be on the task and not the gourmet experience. An option for lunch or dinner (casual but very tasty) might be Big Bowl on Ohio just west of Rush (from Intercontinental turn right, walk north a quick two blocks to Ohio, cross Michigan, keep on going west past Eddie Bauer, cross Rush, pass Harley-Davidson and there you are. Big Bowl is owned by Lettuce Entertain You, a corporation that does some of Chicago's finest restaurants, but BB is casual and inexpensive---good food, cheery atmosphere. Its Pan-Asian offerings are always delicious. Go to Lettuce Entertain You website to find the BB menu. Another: same route, but just past Eddie Bauer enter at Ohio & Rush and take the escalator up to Heaven on Seven, hearty Cajun food. See menu by going to "chicago restaurant menus". Your walking time to either is ten minutes and service is quick at both. BTW both serve until 10PM Mon-Thurs and until 11 on Fri. Eight days of this? God bless.

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Big Bowl
60 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60611

Heaven on Seven
600 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

Lettuce Entertain You
2171 Northbrook Ct, Northbrook, IL 60062

[nsxtasy]

All of these places I'll mention are less than a five-minute walk from the Intercontinental (less than a quarter mile away). I'll try to mention things in order starting with what's closest to the hotel.

>> a) breakfast ideas that are open early (course starts at 730 daily) and within walking distance of the intercontinental.

Zest, the restaurant in the Intercontinental, opens at 6:00. Other hotel restaurants are nearby, such as the restaurant in the Conrad, at 6:30.

For something breakfast-y without the high prices of a hotel restaurant, Eggsperience is on Ontario west of State and is open 24 hours. www.eggsperiencecafe.com

>> b) lunch places that can be done in less than 60-90 min (incl walking time). Take out is fine.

There are lots of chain type places where you can get sandwiches to eat in or carry out: Potbelly, Corner Bakery, Cosi, etc.

Here are sit-down places (in addition to Zest in the Intercontinental, and the restaurant at Conrad); if you tell them when you walk in that you need to get through in 45 or 60 minutes, they'll do it:

The Purple Pig (pork, cheese, charcuterie) - www.thepurplepigchicago.com (no reservations, waits for seating can be lengthy, more so at dinner than at lunch)
Sayat Nova (Armenian) - www.sayatnovachicago.com
Heaven on Seven (cajun/creole) - www.heavenonseven.com (Rush location)
Joe's (steaks, seafood) - www.joes.net
Sol y Nieve (tapas) - www.emiliostapas.com
Big Bowl (Asian) - www.bigbowl.com
David Burke's Primehouse (best steaks in town) - www.davidburkesprimehouse.com
Coco Pazzo Cafe (Italian) - www.cocopazzocafe.com
Uno and Due (deep-dish pizza) - www.unos.com (Phone ahead with your pizza order and they'll have it ready when you arrive, rather than ordering there and waiting 30-45 minutes for your pizza to bake.)
Indian Garden - www.indiangardenchicago.com - at lunch they have a buffet, which is always quick
Shaw's (seafood) - www.shawscrabhouse.com
Sable (contemporary American) - www.sablechicago.com

>> c) dinner places: more leeway here, but most nights the course goes til 830pm (this schedule is as nuts as it sounds) and I think I will be too drained/starving to explore very far.

ALL of the sit-down places mentioned above for lunch are also options for dinner. In addition, Les Nomades and TRU are high-end restaurants open for dinner only. www.lesnomades.net www.trurestaurant.com

As I mentioned above, I have listed the above places in order of proximity to the Intercontinental. But if I had to list them in order of the very best food and "don't miss" factor, I'd put Sable at the very top of the list and highly recommend it for dinner. The food from Chef Heather Terhune is terrific - don't miss the sweet corn creme brulee! - and they also offer artisanal cocktails. I'd also put Uno and Due in as a "don't miss" choice, either for lunch or for dinner, because their delicious deep-dish pizza is a local specialty here and you can't get it elsewhere. After that, it all depends on what you like - if you like steaks, Burke's is great; if you like seafood, Shaw's is great; etc.

With only a few exceptions, all of the above places accept reservations on Opentable.com The Purple Pig and Eggsperience do not accept reservations at all. Zest, Sayat Nova, and Heaven on Seven accept reservations but are not on Opentable. With Uno and Due, if you phone ahead with your pizza order, they'll make sure you're seated when it comes out of the oven at the time you specified.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions, and enjoy your visit!

[02903]

Thank you so much for the detailed post. After corner bakery yesterday and some local brewpub, I knew I could count on chowhound. I tried the armenian place today and it definitely fit the bill.

Any decent asian places (thai, sushi, chinese, japanese, you name it) nearby (my yelp and chowhound searches are very mixed).

Again I appreciate the help

[nsxtasy]

>> Any decent asian places (thai, sushi, chinese, japanese, you name it) nearby (my yelp and chowhound searches are very mixed).

For pan-Asian, I mentioned Big Bowl above and so did Querencia below.

Sunda is a pan-Asian place with sushi and it's nearby. It's a very energetic place, also a big singles hangout. But the food is very good. Red Light is another good pan-Asian place, but it's in the West Loop so it's a little over a mile away, nowhere near as convenient.

I don't recommend any of the Thai or Chinese places in River North near the hotel, with the exception of Shanghai Terrace, the excellent but expensive Chinese restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel. There are places I recommend but they require more time in transit, either by cab or by el via the CTA Red Line which you can catch at Grand and State. If you'd like to try them, they're TAC Quick for Thai food (at the Sheridan stop on the north side) and either Double Li or Lao Sze Chuan for Chinese food (near the Cermak/Chinatown stop on the south side). Similarly, there are a lot of Vietnamese places on the north side near the Argyle stop. And Le Colonial, the Vietnamese place mentioned below by mmapes, is very good and much closer (but still about half a mile north of your hotel - it's walkable if you have the time); it's upscale in atmosphere, in a converted former private mansion.

I'm not big on Japanese food but I know some people like Japonais, which is about a mile west of the hotel. (I haven't been there.)

[mmapes]

I haven't dined in, but have gotten sushi "to go" at Sushi Taiyo (58 E. Ontario) and really liked it. http://www.taiyochicago.com/index.aspx

For Thai or Chinese, check out Big Bowl, part of the Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises family, at 60 E. Ohio. http://www.bigbowl.com

Le Colonial is a little out of your way - short cab ride to 937 N. Rush Street - but is worth a mention and worth considering, as it is one of my favorites for food and atmosphere. It is French-Vietnamese http://www.lecolonialchicago.com/ (4 stars, 333 reviews on yelp

)

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Big Bowl
60 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60611

Sushi Taiyo Restaurant
58 E Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611