Cant miss restaurants Miracle Mile Area

[txaggie11]

Will be in town for 3 days this weekend, looking for places I cant miss for breakfeast, lunch, and dinner. Nice to hole in the wall.

Thanks

[HoosierFoodie]

High end Tru, Les Nomades, Spiaggia. I'd also throw in Pane Caldo (modern Italian) though it is pretty expensive. Low end but tasty Portillo's.

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Les Nomades
222 E Ontario, Chicago, IL 60611

Spiaggia
980 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

Pane Caldo
72 E Walton St, Chicago, IL 60611

[Querencia]

Rents downtown are astronomical---holes in wall can't afford downtown. Let us know more or less where you're staying and also whether by "hole in wall" you mean mainly atmospheric or mainly inexpensive.

[manomin]

I almost jumped through my TV the other night when I saw a show featuring David Burke's Prime House, after the recs here and that show that is definitely on my schedule! Terzo Piano has a great list of all the local farms and purveyors that they support even including the beer and spirits, I find this most admirable.

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Terzo Piano
159 E Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603

[nsxtasy]

Are you looking for restaurants in the Miracle Mile area which is in Los Angeles, California, or the Magnificent Mile area which is in Chicago? And (assuming you're referring to the Magnificent Mile), which part of the Magnificent Mile will you be around?

What days of the week will you be here?

A brief list:

Breakfast/Brunch - Original Pancake House, Cafe des Architectes, Fox & Obel, XOCO
Lunch - The Purple Pig, Topolobampo, Sable, Cafe Spiaggia
Dinner - Sable, Quartino, Nacional 27, David Burke's Primehouse, Cafe Spiaggia, Cibo Matto

[danimalarkey]

An easy 'zing' but well deserved, nsxtasy - Chicago has enough of a 'second city' syndrome with NYC - no need to bring LA into it! :D

Having said that:
Breakfast - Cross the river and stop in at Intelligentsia (N. Randolph & E. Wabash), Chicago's premier coffee roaster. Every cup is brewed to order, espresso drink or your traditional 'drip coffee'. While this can lead to long wait times, if you're a coffee buff, you will likely find the wait well worth it. They have a variety of very good pastries to round out your morning, too.

Lunch - Consider Terzo Piano, in the Art Institute (admission to the museum not needed to access the restaurant). The AIC is one of the world's best museums and if you haven't been, it is 100% worthwhile - it doesn't hurt that Tony Mantuano (chef at Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia) is in charge of this lunch time spot. If nothing else, you're in prime position to visit the museum and/or take a stroll through Millennium Park.

Dinner - well, this is where it gets tough. Even with lunch spots, "Nice to hole in the wall" represents a colossal variety. Are you willing to sit in a cab for 20 minutes? Do you really want to try a specific cuisine? Is this trip far enough away that you can make reservations or are you relying on (relatively) low-traffic and/or 'no reservations' type places? Nxtasy has a good list but my personal recommendations include Revolution Brewing, Big Star, Publican, XOCO, Hopleaf and Coalfire - not necessarily a list of 'unique to Chicago' but certainly a list of the finest places to get some food and drinks (in my opinion!).

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Coalfire
1321 W Grand Ave Ste 2, Chicago, IL 60642

Cafe Spiaggia
980 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

Hopleaf Bar
5148 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640

Spiaggia
980 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

Terzo Piano
159 E Monroe St, Chicago, IL 60603

Revolution Brewing
2323 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

[nsxtasy]

I should also add, this discussion tells what foods and places are unique or specialties in Chicago, foods that Chicago is particularly good at - not just "can't miss" but more along the lines of "don't miss":

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