Late Night Options and Mexican Suggestions

[yyzfoodfreak]

Good day team Chicago, I need your assistance.

I'm coming down to your city from Toronto in July for the Dave Matthews festival and I was wondering if you could recommend some decent places to eat downtown in the later hours. I'm staying down in the Loop and anticipate I won't be back in that area until close to midnight on Friday and Saturday night, and probably 11 pm on Sunday. I realize that's a bit late, however I have faith that there must be something decent open. I have no hang-ups when it comes to food, anything goes, even if it's just a great pizza place.

I will have a day where I have nothing really planned, and I know your city has a well deserved reputation for its Mexican cuisine. Toronto has a great Chinatown, however Mexican food here is absolutely pitiful. I believe I've read that you have an area in the city that is home to Mexican restaurants/markets, could anyone suggest a great place in that area for lunch or dinner? I'm not planning on renting a car for this trip, however I've been to Chicago a few times (love it!) and am very comfortable with the transit system, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help, I'm really looking forward to spending a few days in your great city.

yyzff.

[chicgail]

Go to Pilsen on the near west side. It's got a large Mexican population and a lot of excellent restaurants, including You'll have a lot to choose from. Some favorites include: Nuevo Leon, El Nopal Bakery, Mundial Cocina Mestiza, May St, Cafe and many others.

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Mundial Cocina Mestiza
1640 W 18th St, Chicago, IL 60608

Nuevo Leon Restaurant
3657 W 26th St, Chicago, IL 60623

[nsxtasy]

For recommendations for late night dining, see these topics:

Restaurants open late in the Loop? - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/775706
Solo Dinner Late Sunday Night - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/781402
Sunday night late dinner in Chicago - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/779733

As noted in one of those, Uno and Due are open till 1 a.m. and are great places for deep-dish pizza.

For the best AND most unusual Mexican food in Chicago, I recommend going to one of our places specializing in provincial Mexican cuisine, rather than the conventional fare (e.g. tacos, enchiladas) served at Mexican restaurants throughout the United States. I encourage you to check out the sample menus on their websites to get a better idea of what they serve. IMHO the very best provincial Mexican restaurants in Chicago are Mundial Cocina Mestiza, Topolobampo/Frontera Grill, Mixteco Grill, and Mexique. More info:

1. Mundial Cocina Mestiza is in Pilsen, and it's the only one of these four located in a Mexican-American neighborhood. It's my favorite of all of our great Mexican restaurants, and is open for dinner, weekend brunch, and weekday lunch. You can make reservations at Opentable.com as well as over the phone. To get there, take the CTA Pink Line to the 18th Street station and walk a half block east. www.mundialcocinamestiza.com

2. Topolobampo and Frontera Grill are the longtime favorites from Rick Bayless, the country's most famous Mexican chef. Topolobampo is a great choice for lunch, because it's priced the same as Frontera Grill (unlike dinner, when it is much more expensive) and because reservations don't fill up three months in advance like they do for dinner. You can make reservations at Topolobampo at Opentable.com Frontera Grill accepts only a handful of reservations (only over the phone), and without one you can expect long waits (90+ minutes) unless you arrive 15-20 minutes before they open the doors. They are side by side, located in River North (downtown). They are closed Sundays and Mondays. www.rickbayless.com/restaurants

3. Mixteco Grill is located in the Lakeview neighborhood on the north side, near the Montrose station on the CTA Brown Line. They accept reservations, only over the phone. http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/mixteco-grill

4. Mexique is in the West Town neighborhood. Their cuisine is provincial Mexican with a bit of a French influence thanks to the culinary background of the chef. If you're staying along the Mag Mile, the easiest way to get there is via the #66 CTA bus that runs along Chicago Avenue. They accept reservations on Opentable. www.mexiquechicago.com

All of the above are closed on Mondays. If you'd like to go to one on a Monday, consider Salpicon. It's very good although not quite as good as the previous group. It's in Old Town, walkable from the north end of the Mag Mile. www.salpicon.com

P.S. I love your Chowhound username!

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Mundial Cocina Mestiza
1640 W 18th St, Chicago, IL 60608

Frontera Grill
445 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60654

Topolobampo
445 N Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610

Mixteco Grill
1601 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL 60613

Mexique
1529 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

[yyzfoodfreak]

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions. It's just my luck that the one free day I have is a Monday where most places will not be open, and I had been looking forward to perhaps trying one of restaurants run by Chef Bayless. That will have to wait until the next trip!

I know I will try one of your restaurant suggestions for lunch. I've also heard great things about the Girl and the Goat, would you recommend that locale as well?

P.S...thanks for the kudos on the username, I didn't think it was all that creative!

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Girl and the Goat
809 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60661

[nsxtasy]

>> It's just my luck that the one free day I have is a Monday where most places will not be open, and I had been looking forward to perhaps trying one of restaurants run by Chef Bayless. That will have to wait until the next trip!

Yup. I sort of guessed that, from what you typed. As I noted above, Salpicon is a very good creative Mexican restaurant which is open on Mondays, so that's still an option for you.

I'll also add, some of our non-Mexican restaurants are also closed on Mondays, including many of our most expensive places, as well as other special places like North Pond.

>> I know I will try one of your restaurant suggestions for lunch. I've also heard great things about the Girl and the Goat, would you recommend that locale as well?

For one thing, they're not open for lunch. As for dinner, they fill up their reservations book 2-3 months in advance, so at this point you would be going without a reservation. You could walk in at 4:30, but you'd be waiting one to two hours if you arrived much past 5:00. I ate there recently and I thought the savory dishes were very good; the desserts were dreadful, the worst I've ever had anywhere in Chicago.

If I wanted the very best food I could get for a dinner in Chicago on a Monday - and I'll also assume you're not interested in the super-expensive fanciest places - here are the restaurants I'd be considering:

Sable (contemporary American and artisanal cocktails, River North) - www.sablechicago.com
Piccolo Sogno (contemporary Italian, River West) - www.piccolosognochicago.com
Perennial Virant (contemporary American, Lincoln Park) - www.perennialchicago.com
Boka (contemporary American, Lincoln Park) - www.bokachicago.com
Mercat a la Planxa (tapas, South Loop) - www.mercatchicago.com

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Boka
1729 North Halsted, Chicago, IL 60614

North Pond
2610 North Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614

Piccolo Sogno
464 N Halsted, Chicago, IL 60622

[yyzfoodfreak]

Thank you once again, and your assumption is correct regarding not visiting the uber-expensive places, it just isn't that kind of trip this time around. I did Alinea last year (almost as much of an education as it was a dining experience) and would love to check out Next, however winning that reservation lottery has not proved fruitful as of yet. Thank you for your additional list of restaurants, your local knowledge is mind boggling and I truly appreciate you taking the time!

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Alinea
1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614

[Bdav1818]

For late-night in the loop, your best option is Pizano's at 61 E Madison (between State and Wabash). This is my favorite place for Chicago-style deep dish pizza and it's open until 2am everyday (and actually 3am on Saturday nights). Definitely check it out!

Another great option would be to take the Blue Line subway to UIC-Halsted and have a late dinner in Greektown. I think a lot of the restaurants there are open late- my favorite is Greek Islands and I know for sure that they're open until 1am Friday-Saturday and midnight on Sunday.

[nsxtasy]

Good rec. Pizano's is indeed a great choice for deep-dish in the Loop. Unless you're staying at one of the hotels at the north end of the Loop (like the Wit), it will be closer than Uno and Due, and their pizza is equally good. (There's a family relationship between Pizano's and Uno/Due.)

[yyzfoodfreak]

Thanks again for that tidbit, I will be in the north end of the Loop. I actually stayed at the Wit on my last trip, that rooftop bar is just fantastic!!

[nsxtasy]

Cibo Matto, the Italian restaurant in the Wit, is also excellent.

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Cibo Matto
201 N State St, Chicago, IL 60601