Your City Survey

[IntlSet]

With so many of us traveling all over the place, I thought it'd be fun to put together a little resource thread -- in case any of you show up in my city! Please add your own!

My city: Chicago

Best Department Store: Saks Fifth Ave... I prefer their layout to the Neiman Marcus here.
Best Boutique: Hejfina in Wicker Park. Lots of up and coming designers, interesting house wares, etc.
Best Street for Shopping: Michigan Avenue has all the upscale favorites: Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, etc. Belmont for some zany, offbeat hipster shops.
Best Upscale Restaurant: TRU for a truly unforgettable meal.
Best Overall Restaurant: Sweets and Savories for great French food that won't kill your budget
Best Hidden Restaurant: Billy Goat's. It's a true Chicago stop, featured in Blues Brothers. It's underneath Michigan Avenue so you've got to seek it out, but it's worth a trip! Best burgers in the world.
Best Daytime Activity: Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art or the Art Institute.
Best Nighttime Activity: Seeing the Joffery Ballet, going to The Underground (hidden club you have to seek out), having drinks on top of the Hancock Center.
Best Hotel: The James, which is just off of Michigan Avenue. It's an upscale boutique hotel that's affordable and much more interesting than the big guys.

 

[Cristina]

Cool thread idea, IntlSet

My city: West Palm Beach

Best Department Store: Nordstrom in The Gardens Mall, Palm Beach Gardens. The department stores in Palm Beach are too snooty
Best Boutique: Rapunzel's Closet, Palm Beach
Best Street for Shopping: If you're looking to spend a lot of money, Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. Looking for quirky antique finds? The section of Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach that is known as "Antique Row".
Best Upscale Restaurant: I really don't do a lot of "upscale" dining. Upscale to me is wearing a sundress and flip flops
Best Overall Restaurant: The Reef Grill in Juno Beach. Used to be a hole-in-the-wall fresh seafood place. The fever has caught on, and it's super popular now, especially during season.
Best Hidden Restaurant: The Food Shack in Jupiter. A tiny "Floribbean" food restaurant in the corner of a strip mall, next to a surf shop. Daily fresh seafood specials change, all have a caribbean/Florida flavor to them.
Best Daytime Activity: Going to the beach! Jupiter and Palm Beach get my vote as best beaches in the county.
Best Nighttime Activity: Going out for drinks and sitting by the water at The Square Grouper in Jupiter at Castaways Marina or Rum Bar in Palm Beach Gardens.
Best Hotel: The Breakers in Palm Beach. Very upscale and fancy-schmancy. I've only stayed there once, over a weekend. It was heavenly

 

[lv-lover]

My city:Edmonton

Best Department Store: Holt Renfrew
Best Boutique: Bamboo Ballroom
Best Street for Shopping: White Ave has many nice stores
Best Upscale Restaurant: There are no upscale restuarants here
Best Overall Restaurant: Hardware Grill/Lux Steakhouse
Best Hidden Restaurant: Not sure....maybe Louisianna Purchase?
Best Daytime Activity: Shopping at West Edmonton Mall
Best Nighttime Activity: White Ave/Jasper Ave-lots of pubs/bars there
Best Hotel: Fairmont Hotel MacDonald

 

[Couture_Girl]

My City: Washington DC (some of these places are around NOVA)

Best Department Store: hmmm..........I pick Tyson's Galleria's Neiman Marcus

Best Boutique:...........I dont really go to boutiques

Best Street for Shopping: Wisconison Avenue- "The Galleria" (I haven't actually been there, but my Mom says there is FAB shopping)

Best Upscale Resturant: Kincades (sp?) (Seafood Resturant).......

Best Hidden Resturrant: Pilins (not really upscale, but delicious Thai food)

Best Overall Resturant: not too sure

Best Daytime Activity: hit the Muesams, and explore Downtown

Best Nighttime Activity: go explore Georgetown

Best Hotel: I like the Ritz Carolton at Tysons Galleria

 

[bvbirdygirl]

My city: Los Angeles (pretty much the greater los angeles area)

Best Department Store: Saks Fifth Avenue in beverly hills
Best Boutique: Louis vuitton on rodeo!
Best Street for Shopping: Rodeo
Best Upscale Restaurant: l'opera in long beach.
Best Overall Restaurant: too many good ones
Best Hidden Restaurant: sambi of japan, expensive, but it has the best japanese food in the WORLD. better than japan (says grandpa)
order a deluxe suchi platter or nabeyaki udon
Best Daytime Activity: BEACH!
Best Nighttime Activity: iono...going to the grammys! lol
Best Hotel: The crowne Plaze in redondo beach. gives you the true california feeling.]

 

[blew415]

My city: New Orleans
Best Department Store: Saks Houston Galleria
Best Boutique: Chanel Highland Park Dallas
Best Street for Shopping:
Best Upscale Restaurant: Tchoup Chop Orlando
Best Overall Restaurant: Anyone in New Orleans
Best Hidden Restaurant: Mr Eds
Best Daytime Activity: Disney
Best Nighttime Activity: Downtown Disney
Best Hotel: InterContinental

 

[elizabethk]

I love this thread!!!

My city: Seattle

Best Department Store: Flagship Nordstrom store. In two months, Barney's opens.

Best Boutique: Mario's on 6th Ave. Something for women and something for men.
Best Street for Shopping: 6th Avenue.
Best Upscale Restaurant: Campagne
Best Overall Restaurant: Palace Kitchen
Best Hidden Restaurant: Portage (Queen Anne Ave N & Boston Street)
Best Daytime Activity: Sculpture Park
Best Nighttime Activity: Catching a show at the Showbox.
Best Hotel: W

 

[PinkSuadeSoho]

My city: Adopted Vancouver

Best Department Store: Leone
Best Boutique: still looking
Best Street for Shopping: Robson
Best Upscale Restaurant: Season's in the Park
Best Overall Restaurant: Joe Fortes
Best Hidden Restaurant: Cin Cin's
Best Daytime Activity: Running thru Stanley Park, golfing, & skiing
Best Nighttime Activity: Downtown nightlife
Best Hotel: Four Season
__________________

 

[annanas]

My city: london

Best Department Store: liberty, although for the best selection you want selfridges. harvey nichols is good too.
Best Boutique: that's a tough one.. matches maybe? or browns? i know netaporter! same day delivery!
Best Street for Shopping: totally depends on your budget. the oxford circus/carnaby st. area has a good selection of shops though. if you're looking to burn money then sloane street i guess.
Best Upscale Restaurant: oh there are far too many. i like sheekey's though.
Best Overall Restaurant: wagamama for easy reasonably priced food
Best Hidden Restaurant: hmm.. sakura on hanover street is pretty great.
Best Daytime Activity: tate modern
Best Nighttime Activity: home house drawing rooms to recover from some other loud place.
Best Hotel: it's a tough one to answer for a city you live in home house has gorgeous hotel rooms though.

My city: helsinki

Best Department Store: they're all pretty awful so stockmann i guess. the selection of clothes isn't great but i love the food department and book shop.
Best Boutique: easy, helsinki 10!
Best Street for Shopping: umm.. fredrikinkatu maybe?
Best Upscale Restaurant: postres
Best Overall Restaurant: not really a restaurant, but i spend far too much time in café strindberg.
Best Hidden Restaurant: kuurna
Best Daytime Activity: in the winter the art museums. on a nice summer's day, anything outside.
Best Nighttime Activity: house parties
Best Hotel: kämp

My city: copenhagen

Best Department Store: the classic answer would be magasin du nord but i prefer illum
Best Boutique: holly golightly or storm
Best Street for Shopping: it's cheating, but i'll say strøget
Best Upscale Restaurant: i haven't been to that many but kong hans kelder is great.
Best Overall Restaurant: for lunch i like café norden. it's not just because the waiters are hot, promise
Best Hidden Restaurant: not sure how hidden it is, but it's small i quite like masu masu for sushi.
Best Daytime Activity: biking around on a nice day. or going to tivoli! ooh or the design museum, i love the design museum.
Best Nighttime Activity pick just about any bar
Best Hotel: not sure if it's the best but it's certainly the coolest looking, hotel fox!

 

[sweetlove]

Ok, I live in the middle of nowhere where nothing ever happens, so I'll cover St. Petersburg, Russia as I feel more at home there than anywhere else anyways.

My city: St. Petersburg

Best Department Store: The Passage
Best Boutique: Joop! (in The Passage)
Best Street for Shopping: the one and only Nevsky prospekt!
Best Upscale Restaurant: Barbazan
Best Overall Restaurant: Taverne Olivia, Tandoori Nights, Japonscha
Best Hidden Restaurant: Kvareli
Best Daytime Activity: walk! All around town, go to the museums, check out the parks etc etc etc. On a nice day the zoopark is a must, but warning: it does not hold the same standards as in Europe/US/etc.
Best Nighttime Activity: Start out at Seventh Sky Bar, then go down to Dacha around 02'ish, then take the metro home at 06 in the morning unless there is an afterparty somewhere.
Best Hotel: Grand Hotel Europe

 

[twiggers]

I live in South bend, IN...home of Notre Dame.

My city:South bend, IN

Best Department Store: Macys (That is sad!)
Best Boutique: Black Square, White Market
Best Street for Shopping: Grape Road
Best Upscale Restaurant: Sorins at the Morris Inn on campus
Best Overall Restaurant: La Esparanza (Mexican restaurant)
Best Hidden Restaurant: La Esparanza
Best Daytime Activity: Visiting Notre Dame. Must see Touchdown Jesus and the Basilica!
Best Nighttime Activity: Tends to be hanging out at the Linebacker (located across the street from campus)
Best Hotel: Morris Inn at Notre Dame

My city is pathetic!

 

[amanda]

i'm sure someone else will do Atlanta, so i'm going to do Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia!

My city: Athens, Georgia
Best Department Store: Macy's, i guess. the mall here is horrible. boutique shopping is much better.
Best Boutique: Heery's Clothes Closet on the corner of College Avenue and Clayton Street - a great selection of Milly and Tocca, both of whom i never expected to find anywhere in such a small town.
Best Street for Shopping: Clayton Street, lots of cute and funky boutiques with unique clothes and home stuff
Best Upscale Restaurant: Five and Ten, widely considered the best vegetarian restaurant in the Southeast
Best Overall Restaurant: i'd pick Utage any day - amaaaaazing sushi
Best Hidden Restaurant: Weaver D's - real southern soul food cooked by a retired couple. they're not open every day, and keep odd hours on the days that they are open. way off the beaten path, but entirely worth it.
Best Daytime Activity: a football game if you happen to be fortunate enough to get a ticket (not everyone that orders season tickets gets them, you have to be an alumnus and make a large donation to the school), and if not, a picnic on North Campus under the centuries-old Oak and Magnolia trees
Best Nighttime Activity: Barhopping in Downtown Athens - 20 square blocks, 72 bars.
Best Hotel: The Foundry Park Inn - just north of downtown, has a wonderful restaurant and spa. very popular for weddings.

 

[anotheremptysky]

My city: West Palm Beach

Best Hidden Restaurant: The Food Shack in Jupiter. A tiny "Floribbean" food restaurant in the corner of a strip mall, next to a surf shop. Daily fresh seafood specials change, all have a caribbean/Florida flavor to them.

Ditto on the best hidden restaurant!! I work right around the corner from there and LOVE it.

My adds for West Palm Beach

Best Upscale Restaurant: The Riverhouse in Palm Beach Gardens or Raindancer in West Palm Beach ... both owned by the same people and fabulous food!! It's as upscale as I get ... but I've worn jeans there during the week, so who knows.
Best Daytime Activity: Beach again! My faves are Juno Beach and Singer Island. Or find someone that has a boat and cruise around the Intercoastal in Jupiter.
Best Nighttime Activity: Drinks & 1/2 price appetizers (good ones too!) at The Waterway in Palm Beach Gardens, coffee and people watching at City Place in West Palm .... there's other stuff to do like clubs, restaurants, movies, etc. but I'm boring and just like to people watch

 

[julietcapulet]

My city: Naples, Florida

Best Department Store: Saks Fifth Avenue
Best Boutique: LV, Gucci, Chanel at Saks Fifth Avenue, Marissa Collection and especially

Best Street for Shopping: Watersides Shops is the best, also 3rd Street and 5th Avenue in Old Naples
Best Upscale Restaurant: Roy's at the Promenade (Bonita Springs, FL)
Best Overall Restaurant: Campiello Ristorante
Best Hidden Restaurant: USS Nemo
Best Daytime Activity: Shopping at the Waterside Shops, The Village on Venetian Bay, relaxing on the beach
Best Nighttime Activity: The Philharmonic Center for the Arts
Best Hotel: Ritz-Carlton

 

[krmkjk]

My city: New Orleans
Best Department Store: Saks Houston Galleria
Best Boutique: Chanel Highland Park Dallas
Best Street for Shopping:
Best Upscale Restaurant: Tchoup Chop Orlando
Best Overall Restaurant: Anyone in New Orleans
Best Hidden Restaurant: Mr Eds
Best Daytime Activity: Disney
Best Nighttime Activity: Downtown Disney
Best Hotel: InterContinental

I got one! The best street for shopping is Magazine St. of course!

My fav hotel is the W French Quarter.


My city: Baton Rouge
Best Department Store: Macy's (there are no others) haha
Best Boutique: Eros
Best Street for Shopping: Corprate Blvd.
Best Upscale Rest. : ??? I forgot the name
Best Overall Rest. : Mike Andersons
Best Hidden Rest: (not really a rest, but a little place called "Burger Delight"!!
Best Daytime activity: Shopping, there's really nothing to do here
Best Nighttime Activity: nothing to do but go to a movie or something!
Best Hotel: There a NO nice hotels here... maybe the Sheraton and that's it!!! haha