Must Eat near Navy Pier

[Mrs. B]

Chicagoians,

A colleague and I will be staying right near Navy Pier (Hilton Garden Inn) on Thursday night and are trying to figure out the best "must try" places in the area. We are looking for a mid-priced dinner and probably a handful of cocktails. Ideally within walking distance would be nice, Suggestions?

[Siun]

Sable is great for both food and amazing cocktails - and you can eat there within a sensible budget.

Other options - Xoco for great Mexican street food a la Rick Bayless - cheap and great

and La Madia for wonderful pizza and a few perfect entrees

[ferret]

The Hilton Garden Inn isn't really adjacent to Navy Pier, which is a good thing because the pier is primarily a tourist spot with middle-of-the-road food. It has a decent fish restaurant, Riva's, but that's by Navy Pier standards, so if you have other options I wouldn't make a special trip to the Pier.

You're essentially in the Magnificent Mile area with countless restaurant options so it's just a matter of what you're looking for.

[Mrs. B]

Even better, the hotel was picked based on proximity to our meeting. We are pretty flexible in terms of type of food, going more for a quality meal and solid cocktails.

[ferret]

These tend to be the popular spots:

http://thepurplepigchicago.com/

http://www.sablechicago.com/

Both are right in your immediate vicinity.

[jbontario]

For something slightly different, also right in that area, is Slurping Turtle, my favorite japanese place--not a sushi joint and then walk back over to Sable for great cocktails.