friday dinner without the wait
We're visiting Chicago for a couple days and want to get a cool dinner Friday but not really sure about waiting 1-2 hours which it seems like we would have to at Avec or Purple Pig, the two places we were thinking about. Most of the other good spots seem to require reservations far in advance. Are there any good casual friday dinner spots the locals might know of? We like all kinds of food. I was thinking maybe some place in Chinatown that's less fancy but still really good? Any tips for a nice dinner with less of a wait? We're staying in River North but willing to cab.
-
nsxtasy
Dec 16, 2011 08:43 PM
>> Most of the other good spots seem to require reservations far in advance.
Not true! There are many, many great places in Chicago which don't require reservations far in advance; they just aren't the handful that are constantly hyped. For example, Opentable right now is showing availability this Friday (a week from right now) with at least one opening for a party of two after 6 pm and before 9 pm at the following outstanding restaurants within two miles of River North:
Boka (contemporary American, Lincoln Park)
Cafe Spiaggia (Italian, Magnificent Mile)
Carnivale (Latin fusion, River West)
Charlie Trotter's* (fine dining, Lincoln Park)
Coco Pazzo (Italian, River North)
David Burke's Primehouse (steakhouse, River North)
Everest* (French fine dining, Loop)
The Florentine (Italian, Loop)
Graham Elliot (contemporary American, River North)
Kiki's Bistro (French, River North)
L2O* (fine dining, Lincoln Park)
Le Colonial (Vietnamese, Gold Coast)
Les Nomades* (fine dining, River North)
Mercat a la Planxa (tapas, Loop)
Mexique (provincial Mexican, West Town)
MK (contemporary American, River North)
Nacional 27 (Latin fusion, River North)
Naha (contemporary American, River North)
Perennial Virant (contemporary American small plates, Lincoln Park)
Quartino (Italian small plates, River North)
Sable (contemporary American small plates and craft cocktails, River North)
Salpicon (provincial Mexican, Old Town)
Shanghai Terrace (upscale Chinese, Magnificent Mile)
Shaw's (seafood, River North)
TRU* (fine dining, Magnificent Mile)
Vivere (Italian, Loop)* Avoid restaurants marked with asterisks if you want to stick to places that are reasonably casual, since jackets are appropriate for gentlemen at these places.
-----
Boka
1729 North Halsted, Chicago, IL 60614Kiki's Bistro
900 N. Franklin St., Chicago, IL 60610Charlie Trotter's
816 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, IL 60614Salpicon
1252 N. Wells St., Chicago, IL 60610David Burke's Primehouse
616 N Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611Tru Restaurant
676 North Saint Clair, Chicago, IL 60611Quartino
626 N. State Street, Chicago, IL 60654Nacional 27
325 W. Huron, Chicago, IL 60610Cafe Spiaggia
980 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611Everest
440 S La Salle St Ste 4000, Chicago, IL 60605Shanghai Terrace
108 E Superior, Chicago, IL 60611Mercat a la Planxa
638 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605Le Colonial
937 Rush Street, Chicago, IL 60611Perennial Virant
1800 N Lincoln, Chicago, IL 60614Mexique
1529 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622Shaw's Crab House
21 East Hubbard St., Chicago, IL 60611Coco Pazzo
300 West Hubbard, Chicago, IL 60610L2O
2300 Lincoln Park West, Chicago, IL 60614Les Nomades
222 E Ontario, Chicago, IL 60611Vivere
71 W Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60603Naha
500 North Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610Carnivale
702 West Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60661Graham Elliot
217 W. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60654Sable Kitchen & Bar
505 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60654The Florentine
151 W. Adams, Chicago, IL 60601MK
868 N. Franklin, Chicago, IL 60610
