Thanksgiving in Chicago

[mudbug65]

Wife and I are coming to Chicago for Thanksgiving weekend. Need restaurant ideas for Thanksgiving dinner. I am a traditionalist when it comes Thanksgiving dinner, but I am willing to step aside for good food. Buffet or not, that doesn't matter. I have never vacationed in Chicago, so am looking forward to the trip. Thank you !!!

[Shaggy]

I've heard that Ditka's does a very good thanksgiving dinner. I can tell you from experience that Lawry's steakhouse is NOT good, and it is a lot of money for pretty bad food.

[hoppy2468]

As of right now there are 38 restaurants on Open Table listing their turkey day offerings. There will be more.

Ditka's is excellent as is Wildfire.

[nsxtasy]

There were 15 listed just three days ago, when I said the number of listings will increase. :)

[hoppy2468]

Also, last year most restaurants were fairly specific about what they were serving: regular menu, regular menu plus some Thanksgiving Day items to a full blown, no holds barred TD buffet. Prices too. I hope that happens again.

With just two of us, we've found that letting someone else do the cooking is the way to go!

[Gonzo70]

If Bin 36 is still doing Thanksgiving I would consider it strongly; it is an upscale wine bar near downtown I cekebrated Thanksgiving with then a few years ago and it was excellent food and service and it is a very nice space.

[nsxtasy]

It's good to start making plans early, rather than waiting till the last minute; however, many of the restaurants haven't yet announced their plans, but should be doing so in the next few weeks.

Many of the restaurants who accept reservations through Opentable and have plans for Thanksgiving, include them in the listing on the Opentable site at www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=3&ref=551&pid=1 Right now they only have a few listings, because it's so early, but I'm sure the number of listings will increase dramatically as the holiday gets closer.

There have also been discussions here in the past about Thanksgiving dinners, such as this one from 2010: www.chow.com/topics/731776 And if you want to go back further than that: www.chow.com/search?query=Thanksgivin...

We've been to a few restaurants in the past, and I'm sure my posts are buried on Chowhound somewhere. I remember Chef's Station in Evanston one year being excellent, and Lawry's in River North another year being just okay.