Best Place to dine in Chicago

[gymangel812]

my boyfriend and I are making a trip to chicago this weekend. we will only be there for 1 day. we've been there before several times and love the grand luxe cafe but want to try something new. what restaurants would you reccommend? nothing too fancy, we're both pretty picky so lots of variety is good. nothing like tru, charlie trotters, etc. i've been doing a bit of reasearch and have come up with:
The Italian Village Italian Village Restaurants :: The Village ::
Chicago firehouse mainstay.com
Cafe Iberico Cafe Iberico Menu- Spanish Tapas Bar and Restaurant, Chicago (I've always wanted to try tapas)
Weber Grill http://www.webergrillrestaurant.com/index.html\
Pompeii http://www.pompeipizza.com/Menu.html
Rosebud Steakhouse Rosebud Restaurants
Has anyone been to any of these? What do you think?

Thanks

 

[sjc0105]

Hello,
I would stay away from Weber Grill, Pompeii and Rosebud steakhouse. Those are all like any other restaurants~ I've been to those three, and honestly, it's really like any other contemporary restaurant (grand lux etc.).

I'm not going to lie though, Rosebud is pretty yummmmmmy!!~

Hmm, I have never been to Portobello's hotdog, but I heard that place is really good!!??

Hope you enjoy your day here!

 

[boxermom]

Weber Grill isn't different enough and it's noisy!!! Bice is good Italian, but it's been awhile since I ate there. It's not cheap, but the food and service is great at NoMi at the Park Hyatt. It's really not fancy-very contemporary decor; people dress nicely, but not "dressed-up" when I was there.

 

[sonya]

Go to Blackbird, though it's very "hip" and not romantic.

Blackbird : Menu

 

[happy1]

Francesca's on Taylor for Italian
The Chicago Chop House for steak

 

[itsgood2beme]

From your selection:

The Italian Village Italian Village Restaurants :: The Village :: YES - if you love Italin

Weber Grill http://www.webergrillrestaurant.com/index.html\ - VERY CASUAL, not for a nice romantic dinner

All of the Rosebud restaurants are good!
Rosebud Steakhouse Rosebud Restaurants

What type of food do you like Asain? Seafood? Steak? Anything in particular...below are some of my favorites:

The Grill On The Alley - this is one of my all time favorites, right on Michigan Ave in the heart of everything....YUMMY!!

Signature Room at the 95th

The Palm/Swissotel Chicago

Mity Nice Grill

Salvatore's Ristorante - in Lincoln Park, nice romantic restaurant

..there are so many, all depends on what you are hungry for and what you are looking to spend...sounds like you don't want anything too expensive since C. Trotters is out - HA! HA!

Enjoy...I'll be shopping on Michigan Ave. myself this weekend!!!

 

[sjc0105]

Blackbird and Avec are two very hip places to go, but it's really really small/crowded and trust me, during dinner time, it gets sooooooooooooooooooo loud~~~ However, I really love Avec's Foccacia~~~

 

[gymangel812]

From your selection:

The Italian Village Italian Village Restaurants :: The Village :: YES - if you love Italin

Weber Grill http://www.webergrillrestaurant.com/index.html\ - VERY CASUAL, not for a nice romantic dinner

All of the Rosebud restaurants are good!
Rosebud Steakhouse Rosebud Restaurants

What type of food do you like Asain? Seafood? Steak? Anything in particular...below are some of my favorites:

The Grill On The Alley - this is one of my all time favorites, right on Michigan Ave in the heart of everything....YUMMY!!

Signature Room at the 95th

The Palm/Swissotel Chicago

Mity Nice Grill

Salvatore's Ristorante - in Lincoln Park, nice romantic restaurant

..there are so many, all depends on what you are hungry for and what you are looking to spend...sounds like you don't want anything too expensive since C. Trotters is out - HA! HA!

Enjoy...I'll be shopping on Michigan Ave. myself this weekend!!!

expensive is not the problem, it's that i looked at the menu at both c trotters and tru and neither of us wanted anything but the dessert. neither of us like asian. we like italian and american stuff. i like mexican alot but he hates it. i don't eat much meat, and no seafood, pretty much only chicken but he loves steak and most kinds of meat and seafood.

edit: i just realized, i think we've been to the grill on the alley, and i remember having great strawberry shortcake.

 

[itsgood2beme]

expensive is not the problem, it's that i looked at the menu at both c trotters and tru and neither of us wanted anything but the dessert. neither of us like asian. we like italian and american stuff. i like mexican alot but he hates it. i don't eat much meat, and no seafood, pretty much only chicken but he loves steak and most kinds of meat and seafood.

edit: i just realized, i think we've been to the grill on the alley, and i remember having great strawberry shortcake.

Yea, the Grill on the Alley is AWESOME - a little something for everyone, but if you have eaten there you probably want to try something else.

Sounds like something Italin is what you are looking for, are you looking for something near Michigan Ave. or are you willing to venture into Lincoln Park? The Loop?

 

[gymangel812]

Yea, the Grill on the Alley is AWESOME - a little something for everyone, but if you have eaten there you probably want to try something else.

Sounds like something Itailn is what you are looking for, are you looking for something near Michigan Ave. or are you willing to venture into Lincoln Park? The Loop?

driving is ok, as long as there's parking. michigan ave (or walking distance from works too since we'll be shopping). i think we'll be going to a few nordies racks so some restaurants around those are ok too.

 

[itsgood2beme]

you mentioned MEXICAN ...one of my ALL-TIME favorite MEXICAN restaurants is in Lincoln Park....Twisted Lizzard on Armitage/Sheffield (1964 N Sheffield) - very popular among the locals and it's more of a casual dining place but the food and drinks are GREAT!!! Also, there are tons of botiques on Armitage to shop at too!!!!

 

[itsgood2beme]

Otherwise, restaurants near Nordstrom Rack -you mentioned you would be going there (there is one in Oak Brook, down from Oak Brook Center - faboulous shopping experience)....at Oak Brook Center there is an awesome restaurant called Braxtons - YUMMY, they have a fantasic dinner menu.
Also, it's a chain but J. Alexanders is also at Oak Brook Center. Plus many more fine dining restaurants near Oak Brook.

Otherwise there is one near Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, but it will be an ABSOLUTE zoo - so I wouldn't recommend going to Schuamburg to go to Nordstrom Rack..Oak Brook would be your best bet.

 

[vanojr9]

I love Tapas Barcelona, but I may not have the most sophisticated palette. I pretty much love any restaurant with sangria :tispy: !

 

[jlinds]

I second the Grill on the Alley, Italian Village and The Palm. Another great place to eat downtown is Bistro 110. If you like italian and are going toward Oakbrook, Tuscany is a great italian restaurant that is across from the Oakbrook Centre. The Capital Grille just opened near Oakbrook too. Have a great time in Chicago!!

 

[boxermom]

^^^Bistro 110 is French (you can tell from the name), so since you seemed to lean toward American or Italian, I didn't mention them, but they are right near the Water Tower. I wouldn't recommend tapas for just 2 people. To me, that's where you go with a group so people can try lots of stuff. And I repeat, Weber Grill is noisy!!!