Chicago - Reccommendations
Paul Porcelli
Could someone reccommend some good restaurants.
I particularly like:
Thai
Cajun/Creole
Seafood
Mexican
Feel free to suggest other kinds.
Thanks a lot.
--
Paul Porcelli
Technical Programmer
Dept of Aerospace Engineering
University of Glasgow
E-Mail: gna...@tigermoth.aero.gla.ac.uk
Tel: 041-339-8855 (x4345)
Larry Fishbach
Here is my Chicago file from the net
>
>I will be in Chicago on Friday, December 18, and have been told to try
>"The Original Gino's" pizza. I was wondering if anyone could give me
>directions from Midway airport and/or suggest any other lunch-type
>establishments. Thanks for the help.
>
I'm not a native but I learned to drive in town. From Midway, take the Stevenson
(I-55) north and exit onto Lake Shore Drive north. Get off of LSD somewhere near
Congress or Monroe by turning left, heading west 2 blocks, and turning right to
travel north on Michigan Avenue. Travel on Michigan about six-eight blocks,
notice
you're crossing the river, and then count (I believe) six more blocks to
Ontario.
If you pass the Water Tower, you're two blocks too far north.
Gino's is 1/2 block east of Michigan on Ontario. You can't park right out front,
so
you'll need to find a garage to park (or an open meter - a rare commodity during
lunch on Friday). Be sure to watch the many 'One Way' signs in the area - the
CPD does.
Other favorites are: Ed Debevic's at Ontario and Wells, 8 blocks west of
Michigan
Ave. Realisitc 50s/60s atmos. complete with sarcastic service and great food.
Hard Rock Cafe, 1 block east of Ed's on Ontario. ~Avant garde place, decent
food,
more of a place to say you've gone than to go to eat.
A-1 Beanery, North Pier Mall, Illinois and Grand. Excellent Mexican-Texican
cuisine,
decent prices and the world's *best* red wine sangrias.
Well, hope this helps. Enjoy the Windy City.
p.s. If you could email me any other responses you get, I'd appreciate them. I'm
always looking for new places to go and new ways to get there. thanks
--
Leon Shugrue
shu...@spatial.eid.anl.gov
Go to Bruna's Ristorante. You take I-55 (is that the Stevenson? I think so)
to Damen avenue and go north to Blue Island and then turn left and go a
few streets down and turn right. It is on a corner about two streets
down on the left.
It's good, though, and the Spaghetti Carbonera is NOT alfredo sauce + bacon +
spaghetti. It is good good good.
I would recommend the Mussels Marinara as an appetizer and the Fettucini
Paglio et Fieno (I think that's right. It means hay and straw).
The Zuppa de Pesce is good but rather expensive. Don't get it if you got the
mussels since they are kind of similar. Same chef, you know.
The Linguini con Calamari is kickin', too.
----
Hi: Have you tried The Babaluci, it's at Webster and Damen? I think
it's great Italian food (some of the best to compare with what I've
had in Italy). To me it is also reasonably priced. Check it out.
Let me know how you like it. I have recommended it to about 4 other
people and they all liked it very much. Don't try it on a weekend,
but week nights you can usually get a table with no waiting. The
service can be a bit surly at times, but I think the food makes up
for it. I never tried the Carbonara, so I can't comment on that.
It's all Northern, so maybe they don't even offer carbonara, which is
traditionally a Southern dish.
I've been there about 5 times, and have not been through the entire
menu yet, I usually order the special.
Another place I frequent is Trattoria di Roma on Taylor Street. The
wait staff (and kitchen) is Italian, and the food has always been
perfect. The Quattro Stagione is exactly as I remember it in
Italy. Order it for an appetizer (if you like raw eggs on your pizza!).
----
In early October, I ate at Pane Caldo, which is just off Michigan Avenue
near Bloomingdales. I enjoyed my pasta, prices were moderate. One nice
aspect about Pane Caldo is that they open very early (7:30 a.m.?) as a
bakery/coffee place, and stay open until late at night as a restaurant. I
also ate at a Lettuce Entertain You place (maybe called Tutte Milano) which
I did not enjoy as much, and it was noisy and crowded. Cafe Spiaggia (not
Spiaggia, but the Cafe) was also good. The cafe is much cheaper than the
main restaurant, and it is the same food. Convito Italiano is supposed to
be especially good for risotto, but I have not tried it.
Get a Chicago magazine; it is helpful in finding places. Rosebud is
supposed to be good Italian, but I have not tried it, either. All is good
time.
----
Try some of the places on Taylor street, near UIC. Start at the intersection
of Taylor and Morgan, and go west. There's Tuscany, Trattoria Roma Terza,
Rosebud...Tuscany is pricy but the food is tremendous. Reservations are
definitely needed if you want to avoid a long wait. It's much easier to
get into some of the smaller places at dinnertime; that strip does a lot
of lunch business from UIC and even offices in the Loop.
A memorable dish last winter at Tuscany was tortellini stuffed with wild
mushrooms...<ecstatic sigh>
----
My favorite Itailian place in Chicago would have to be Anna Maria's
Pasteria. It's at 3953 N Broadway. It's a very small place but
I think they take reservations. Entrees' are around $10, they don't
sell alcohol so bring your own. They are extremely flexible, so if
you don't see what you want on the menu they will probably be able to
make it anyway.
----
There's a small italian rest. across from UIC that serves fresh
hand made everything. The name is Tufanos (sp) but there's no sign
on or in front of the building. The building is in the middle of
the block directly across a UIC parking lot. It's between Morgan
and Racine on Vernon Park Place. You'll know when you've found it
by all the cars double parked in front of it.
----
My two favorite spots would be La Gandolla on Ashland just north of Fullerton
and Stefani's on Fullerton just west of Sheffield.
----
Try the Como Inn. Downtown, off of Milwaukee, I think.
----
No one has mentioned the four or five restaurants on Oakley Street just North
of Blue Island. It's about 2400 S. Oakley. Tuscano's and Bachanalia are
there along with a few others. We used to go there a lot. All the
restaurants are moderately priced. My boyfriend grew up in Italy and at one
time they were our favorite restaurants to go to. Of course, we're both
students and were stretching our finances just to go there. Once we
discovered Trattoria Gianni (1711 N. Halstead) we stopped going to Italian
restaurants (except in Italy). Trattoria Gianni was great, but it always
wound up costing about $30./each which is too much for us most of the time.
Two Italian restaurants I recommend everyone avoid are Tutto Posta and
Trattoria Dinotta. The waiter at Tutto Posta recommended the scallops, which
were excellent - all two of them! I cannot forgive a $9 main course which
can be entirely consumed in four moderate bits. The scallops were
accompanied by a single peeled tomato. The meal was definitely too expensive,
but as comedy we got our money's worth! To be fair some other members of our
party fared substantially better.
The food was barely ok at Trattoria Dinotta and the atmosphere was worse.
The owners apparently invested in only one Frank Sinatra tape which they played
over and over while we were there. They must have played only one side as we
did not linger.
I recommend Trattoria Gianni for those who can afford it, although I have
not been in a while. Try the crustini.
----
yeah, definitely Tuscany. I don't eat out very often, so when I went there
I had a true 'dining experience'. I went during the summer, early in the
afternoon, they open all the front doors, and the light comes very majesticly,
and the food was great. I felt like I was in Italy (not like I've been there
before).
----
I dunno which one you mean. I live here in Little Italy, and for my money,
Rosebud is the best of the bunch. Tuscany is too pricey and the food is not as
good. The chefs are not exactly subtle there and the wine list
is...well...overpriced. The guy who owns Rosebud is a real "comer" in the
Chicago cuisine biz and for good reason.
Anybody notice the UPS ad on TV that shows how they deliver to all over the
world, and they flash a shot of the Italian Ice place here on Taylor? I thought
that was great.
----
Try Bella Vista (on Belmont, one block west of the el stop in a renovated
bank building). The pasta entrees hover around $10 (some are less); and
other entrees go higher. But if you and a friend share an appetizer and a
main dish, it's possible to escape well-fed and not completely broke.
My other favorite is Tucchi Benuch (sp?). It's located in Bloomingdale's
building--the new swanky-dank mall located at the northern end of Michigan
Ave. It's also a bit more expensive than you might wish--but well worth
it.
----
I'm not sure about the "around $10" part, but give Luciano's (downtown) a try.
I recommend linguini and clam sauce with a glass of chianti....mmm mm
mmm....the atmosphere does much for the experience also. Reservations are not
required but are probably a good idea.
Just a warning, this place will ruin the Olive Garden for you!
--
Dan Katz d...@nwu.edu
Dept. of Electrical Engineering 1(708)491-8887
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208 E pur si muove
> I was recently in Chicago on business, and did not have a chance to do any
> "fun" things. I'd like to come back, but wonder what "fun" things there are
> to do there.
>
> I like dance clubs (modern) and I also like jazz. Museums, restaurants, and
> historical sites also interest me. If there are any "must sees" in Chicago,
> let me know!! Please post.
>
> Thanks,
> Lynn
>
> *******************************************************************
> no one lynn walker
> expects the wal...@ingres.com
> spanish inquisition!!! toronto, canada
> ********************************************************************
Science ??......Museum of Science and Industry (From downtown take Number 6
Jeffrey exp. Southbound get off on 59th. By car take lake
Shore drive southbound exit on 59th. You will see the museum
on your left.
Aquarium??......John G. Shedd Aquarium. All kinds and types of sea habitants.
1-4 miles from Downtown Chicago depending where you are.
Next to it you will find Field Museum of Natural History.
Architect??.....Check out Chicago Skyline from John G. Shedd Aquarium. Nice
view. Walk through downtown Chicago and all the landmarks,
building and Architectural designs are there to discover.
One notable person is Frank Lloyd Wright. He has one that I
know Southside Chicago near Museum of Science and Industry
or in the compound of University of Chicago.
Historical??....On Michigan & Chicago avenues you will find Water Tower, the
only one left during the notorious fire in Chicago 18??.
If must go during June-July. In June the have an event called
Test of Chicago where some few hundred restaurants
participate. Great variety food. Chicago local Pizza,
ela's Cheese cake.
Music??.........There is Cotton Club on Michigan and twenty?? street. Or you
can go to Hardrock Cafe on Ohio and Dearborn??. Modern
rock and Reggea go to Belmont & Clark street northside
Chicago.
more_info??.....Contact the Mayor's special events office. Lots of action!
Gook Luck.
Desperately_seeking_chicago,
yonas
Restaurants:
Thai: Rosded's in the area of Lincoln and Western
Indian: Anywhere on Devon
Persian: Reza's on North Clark Street
Italian: Taylor Street area
Yummy Italian ice (Summer only): Taylor Street (I don't remember the name --
just ask someone)
Korean: Gin Go Gae on North Clark (I think)
Chicago Style Hot Dogs: Byron's on North Avenue
Vegetarian, good summer patio: Heartland Cafe in Roger's park
Burritos: El Famous in Roger's Park
Greek Food: Greek Town area
Chicago Style Pizza: Carmen's Pizza
Downtown Cafe: Gold Coast
Upscale, downtown Indian (Northern Indian cuisine): Bukhara
Great beer selection, interesting people: The Artful Dodger
Tapas: Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba
Continental: Jerome's
Seafood: Davis Street Fish Market in Evanston
Call to check on hours of operation and whether they have a liquor license.
Most of the above restaurants are pretty inexpensive -- they were my
favorite haunts when I was victim of graduate-student poverty, and they
remain among my favs.
>Your question is tempting but virtually impossible to answer. Chicago
>is, perhaps, the most diverse and interesting "restaurant city" in the
>continental U.S. Others would certainly argue, but I would prefer the
>dining out choices in Chicago over New York or L.A.
Hmm, I'd'a said San Francisco or New Orleans myself.
Anyway, try PS Bangkok on Halsted for Thai, and Mama Desta's Red
Sea (on Clark?) for Ethiopian. I prefer Edwardo's to the other pizza
chains, but try them all and post a report. :-)
--
Kiran Wagle <ki...@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu>
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Article: 4510 of rec.food.restaurants
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From: opferman@cybl111 (William Opferman)
Subject: Re: REQUEST: Recommendations for Places to Eat in CHicago
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In article <1mulc7...@nic.umass.edu> YT...@UCSVAX.UCS.UMASS.EDU (YONG T
KIM) writes:
> I will be visiting Chicago during spring break. I need recommendations
> for restaurants that range from cheap to moderately expensive (my
> brother will pay for the latter category, hopefully). Since Chicago is
> famous for its pizza, recommendations for good pizza places are also
> appreciated (my friend told me that Gino's East had terrible pizza-
> too much weird tasting sauce and a cardboard-like crust...is that
> true?). Thanks.
Some of my favorites are:
The Berghoff--moderately priced. Great German food; they make their own
beer.
Gino's East--the pizza is good, but most people go for the atmosphere.
Giordanno's has the best stuffed pizza in the city.
Nick's Fishmarket--very expensive, but excellent food and atmosphere.
Ed Debevic's--overpriced, but a good time.
Hooter's--famous chiken wings.(great waitresses, too!)
White Castle--I'm not sure if you guys have these at UMass or not.
El Gallo or El Famos Burritos--on the South Side; most excellent
after-the-bar eats.
Lou Mitchell's--the breakfast place.
Dianah's--in Greek Town. Opaaaa!
Bennedict's Italian Deli--outstanding homemade cannoli. On Archer Ave.
Also try a Chicago-style hot-dog from a street vendor.
Please, please, please keep in mind that these are my opinions only. I'm
quite far from being a professional critic. I know I left off a bunch of
great places, so feel free to keep adding on. This list is where I
usually take out-of-town friends.
From eagle!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!news.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!dpc47852 Fri Mar 5 09:29:57 1993
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From: dpc4...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Daniel Paul Checkman)
Subject: good pizza in Chicago area.
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 93 22:29:20 EDT
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I can't say that I've ever been to Gino's (because I haven't), so my best
reccomendations for pizza in the Chicago area are Eduardo's (sp?), Uno's, and
Due's. I know some people that think Due is the best place in town, and I
know others that think the other two are good. I've also been to a few good
Italian restaurants in the area, but I don't recall any of the names. Let's
see... okay, if you want a good hot dog, you can either try the place under
the 'El' right across the street from Wrigley Field (probably the best kosher
hot dogs in town) and (if you could care less whether or not it's kosher)
Poochie's, which north a little ways in Skokie or Evanston (either way, it'll
be in the phone book). There are also some excellent delis up on Touhy Avenue.
If you want something classy (and pretty darn expensive), you could go to The
Four Seasons in the hotel. I've never been there (as if I could even afford it), but I do understand that it is known throughout the world for its fine
dining. Someone next to me reccomended the Clay Oven, which is Indian
Cuisine. Another guy here said the Pump Room is good, but kinda pricy. He
also said that the 95th floor of the John Hancock Tower has a restaurant.
Basicly, almost anywhere in Chicago, good restaurants exist. I think I'd just
do a little exploring, considering that there is so much to eat. Whatever
you do, have fun.
-Dan
--
*******************************************************************************
ma...@hercules.lerc.nasa.gov Larry Fishbach @ NASA Lewis Cleveland Ohio
"Everything here is my own opinion" Quoth the Maven "Evermore"
*******************************************************************************
Gary L Dare
>
>Im going to Chicago in July and have never been there before.
>
If you are up in the NorthWest Suburbs at any time, Harry G's
beyond Motorola's headquarters (away from downtown) is a very
good place to try out.
> Mexican
While I haven't had a chance to sample the Mexican around here
(but if you stop off in New York City, Mary Ann's comes highly
recommended from me and my girlfriend ... located in Chelsea,
the East Village and the Upper East Side at 3rd Ave./80th St.),
all the recommendations from my recent enquiry boil down to:
La Margarita (in the NW suburbs, by Motorola's HQ);
Nuevo Leon (just south of downtown Chicago, 18th/20th
and Ashland/Western [somewhere in that square region);
Frontera Grill/Topolobampo ... this seems to be a
gourmet hit from the files that I was sent. Topo is
the pricier upscale section of what are essentially
the same restaurant (same owners, same block).
Lupita's in Evanston.
I got a surprising number of recommendations when I asked,
certainly more than expected (but I'm just getting around to
realizing the size of this region ... Chicago is not just a
city!). But these are the ones that caught my eye and are
near the routes that I have been travelling.
Others that I had enquired about from a discount coupon book
elicited no responses (except for La Margarita; that tells me
something! (-;). However, a couple of places from the higher
priced coupon book listing La Margarita include Mi Pueblo (it
has multiple locations, and if it looks anything like Chi-Chi
then I'm turning the car around!), and around the North-West
El Torero and Tapalpa-A.
Even if you don't like pizza, do give the Chicago stuff a try!
They basically break down into two types:
a) Pan: Gino's East (3 locations: downtown, NW and near NWU)
and Pizzeria Uno/Due' downtown only (this is not the chain
found in the rest of North America).
b) Stuffed: Giordano's, Edwardo's, Carmen's and Bacino. All
have multiple locations.
I will be back later with news about category B! (-;
gld
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Je me souviens ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary L. Dare Montreal Canadiens,
> g...@columbia.EDU 1993 Champions!
> g...@cunixc.BITNET La Coupe Stanley Cup
Dave Jerzycki
: I'm not a native but I learned to drive in town. From Midway, take the Stevenson
: (I-55) north and exit onto Lake Shore Drive north. Get off of LSD somewhere near
Midway to get on to the Stevenson expr. 8-)
John Altinbay
food!!!!
--
John Altinbay - alti...@netcom.com
===============================================================
There's a spirit that guides me, a light that shines for me
My life is worth the living, I don't need to see the end.
Lawrence H. Miller
>Im going to Chicago in July and have never been there before.
>Could someone reccommend some good restaurants.
>I particularly like:
>
Others here have mentioned it: Frontera Grill, in the River
North section. Very good. Impossible wait, but somehow
you will manage to get seated.
--
Larry Miller The Aerospace Corporation
lmi...@aero.org PO Box 92957
310-336-5597 LA, CA 90009-2957
Barry Aldridge
gna...@aero.gla.ac.uk (Paul Porcelli) says:
>
>Im going to Chicago in July and have never been there before.
>Could someone reccommend some good restaurants.
>
For great Thai food, go to Arun's. Not only is it the best Thai food
in Chicago, it's one of the best restaurants in the city. You'll need
reservations, but that's not usually a problem. It's located on the North
Side, just above Irving Park Road (I'm not sure of the street it's on).
If you want to try Vietnamese food, Pasteur is a very good restaurant
on the far north side near Lake Shore Drive. Vietnamese food is great -
they have a Catfish dish in a carmel sauce baked in a clay pot that is
quite tasty.
> Cajun/Creole
> Seafood
If you want to spend money, the Cape Cod Room at the Drake Hotel on
North Michigan is very good and very classy. However, there's a place
called Boca del Rio on Clark just north of Belmont (north side) that
serves great Mexican seafood dishes. Their ceviche appetizer is out of
this world.
> Mexican
There are many pretty good Mexican restaurants in the city. My favorites
are Nueva Leon in Pilsen on the near SE side (I think it's on 18th Street
just east of Halsted) and Lindo Mexico on Lincoln just above Wrightwood on
the north side.
A great, fun place to hang out is Ranalli's on Lincoln, a block or two
south of Armitage. Their thin-crust pizza is good and they have about 100
kinds of beer to choose from. The attraction to Ranalli's, for me, is
sitting outside on their huge patio under the trees. It's kind of yuppie,
but very pleasant. After dinner, you can walk through Old Town, across
Lincoln, a very nice residential neighborhood.
Also!! You must go to Feeding Frenzy on Halsted just north of Belmont.
The place is a real scream, lots of fun, and the food, an eclectic
menu, is very good. I won't spoil it by telling you too much, just go
before 7 so you won't have to wait forever in line. It's not to be
missed. (about $20-30/person)
Have fun.
Ken R. Dye
>Could someone reccommend some good restaurants.
>I particularly like:
>
> Thai
> Cajun/Creole
> Seafood
> Mexican
>
>Feel free to suggest other kinds.
There is a great area for Vietmanese/Thai food on Broadway and
Argyle, just a bit north of Broadway and Lawerence. I also like Jada
(thai), 1909 N. Lincoln Av.
--Ken
--
Ken R. Dye an optimist is a guy |
Lachman Technology, Inc., Chicago that has never had |
(708) 505-9555 x341 much experience |
d...@lachman.com archy |
Ken R. Dye
>gna...@aero.gla.ac.uk (Paul Porcelli) writes:
>>
>>Im going to Chicago in July and have never been there before.
>>
>
> Nuevo Leon (just south of downtown Chicago, 18th/20th
> and Ashland/Western [somewhere in that square region);
I second the recommendation. It is located on 18th street, several
blocks east of Ashland. No booze served, but you can bring your own
in from several liquor stores in the area. They even have a small
parking lot. Go east on 18th street from Ashland, go past
Nuevo Leon (south side of street) and right at the next Stopsign;
the lot is on the immediate left.
Dianne M. Angeloff
In a previous article, alti...@netcom.com (John Altinbay) says:
>Konak - a Turkish restaurant at 5150 N. Clark. What incredible
>food!!!!
>
>--
>John Altinbay - alti...@netcom.com
>===============================================================
Amen to that, and Rezas--Persian, about two blocks north of Konak. You
get so much food, you'll die trying to eat it, and it's fantastic.
--
The queen of Porkopolis.
Barry Aldridge
Angeloff) says:
>
>In a previous article, alti...@netcom.com (John Altinbay) says:
>
>>Konak - a Turkish restaurant at 5150 N. Clark. What incredible
>>food!!!!
>
>get so much food, you'll die trying to eat it, and it's fantastic.
AND, north of Rezas is Tehran. They have a wonderful barbequed chicken on
a mound of dill rice. AND, great dessert pastries.