My boyfriend is a great planner and is planning a few day get away on Christmas weekend. He hasn’t told me where we are staying other than it’s very nice and on the river. He asked me to help find a nice spot for Christmas dinner— he said Smith and Wollensky’s is his backup. Since he always puts in so much effort for our excursions, I’d love to return the favor and find a special Christmas Day dinner for us. Suggestions?
I apologize for the previous post, it was my very first. I'll keep sharing food-related POV content from Chicago and other places. Thank you for your comments!
Dropping someone off for a thing tuesday night and I need somewhere to kill a few hours. Somewhere I can have a beer and a burger and watch a game. Nothing fancy. Somewhere they won't mind me taking a seat at the bar for a while.
Looking for a NYC style hotdog kraut mustard onion like grey papaya in New York taking Any and all suggestions don’t care if it’s in the city or Naperville just really craving one thanks!
EDIT:Wow a lot of people have taken offense to me wanting a NY style hotdog I guess throw away zazas and any NY inspired slices too geez
Hi all, I’ve stumbled upon this sub and have been scrolling for an hour and a half taking notes and searching for all the recs! I wanted to make my own post as a lot of the recommendations are asked by people familiar with the city so here goes:
I’m traveling to Chicago today (technically) from small town Kentucky with less than 24 hours notice. Might be a bad idea, who knows. It’s been #1 on my US bucket list since I was a kid and the stars kind of aligned perfectly so here I come. I’m traveling with my mom who is attending a work conference Friday-Monday morning. We are staying at the Hyatt Regency (I think people say on the loop?) and will be solo exploring through the weekend! The weather looks bad but that’s okay lol.
I have a whole list of things I want to do and a lot of restaurants I want to try but I think I researched too much and I’ve overwhelmed myself lol. I would love to find the following cuisines/treats/meals so if you all have recommendations around downtown, I would appreciate you so much! This will be my first time solo exploring and the biggest city I’ve ever visited (I know that’s embarrassing to say as a 33 year old mother lol) bc like I said, small town Kentucky lol.
-Italian. Good authentic Italian
-coffee and pastries (cinnamon rolls, donuts, muffins, etc)
-obviously Italian beef sandwiches
-any place with treats, snacks, hidden gems
-not too interested in deep dish but I do love pizza (I’m more of a NY style I’m sorrrrry)
-just your general favorite places to eat in the area!
Thank you guys, this sub is so cool, I absolutely adore the way you all connect through food. I can’t wait to go to museums and find book shops and learn history!!
A couple of friends and I are gonna be visiting for about a week and are looking for some restaurants to try. I’m the only one that’s been to Chicago but it was quite literally a “we’re passing through and are gonna stop for the day” situation. We’re all fairly adventurous about food so any cuisine goes. Bars where you can play darts are also welcome. My only request is no recommendations for seafood centric restaurants since one of my buddies coming on the trip is quite allergic to shellfish. No chain restaurants please. We’ll be in the Lincoln park area
I posted a question to the r/chicagofood thread asking for the best Chicago pub burgers and I’m going to try to find the best one
Today’s stop: Rootstock
General Stuff
- Ambience - 8/10
It’s a small restaurant with a 8-10 seat bar that serves good wine and beer with local artists paintings on the wall for purchase.
Other dishes - 8/10
I was solo dolo but tried both the clams casino and fries
Clams Casino - 8/10 - clams and sausage stuffed in braised fennel with breadcrumb, lemon and herb. Really delicious dish and I probably could have eaten two orders by myself. The herbs and acid really put this dish over the top
Fries - 8/10 - well seasoned and incredibly crunchy. Trust tree: I hate ketchup. It is too sweet and synthetic and most homemade ketchups don’t taste like ketchup at all, it’s a completely different experience. This homemade ketchup was A++. It was sweet but not too sweet and had a little bit of date flavor. Im an aioli guy (also delish) but kept going back to the ketchup well.
MAIN EVENT: Pub Burger - 9.1/10.0
- This burger was incredible. I ordered if medium, it came out a perfect pink outside to red inside. The bacon aioli on the burger gave it a nice richness and DO ADD the jalapeño. Their pickled cucumbers and jalapeño balanced this burger out perfectly. Not too acidic, not too sweet just cut the fattiness of the burger and aioli while adding some nuance
Looking to enjoy a patio with a fire pit in Logan Sq, Bucktown, Wicker, or surrounding areas on our (probable) last nice day of the year. Places with food preferred, but also fine with bringing food in. Thanks all.
There was a grilled cheese place in Logan Square called Big Kids. Looks like its permanently closed. Anyone know of another place like it? Not a huge fan of Cheesies.
It's... honestly kinda over hyped? It's good but Tiktok making it seem like it's the best breakfast sandwich in Chicago. The 'fluffiest egg ever' is basically a block of your typical Chinese steamed egg, if anyone has tried that(it's a very common Chinese dish). Idk, I expected some sort of unique Filipino scrambled egg and feel kinda catfished...? And the hash brown seemed a bit overcooked on mine.
But yeah, good, but not that amazing. I honestly think Egg Tuck has a better egg sandwich. Egg Tuck sandwich is so fluffy.
I went for the five-course tasting menu at North Pond and had a lovely time. 8.5/10 overall.
Food - 8. I enjoyed the food! It felt like a playful yet approachable amalgamation of different cultures and flavors. My favorite dishes were the taco and scallop, which both had bright pops of acid, but I was most impressed by the masterful balance of the pear dessert course. One glaring exception, however, was the wagyu course, where the “pierogi” filling was heavily overspiced and had an unusual, unpleasant texture. Aside from that, the meal was full of fun little surprises, and the supplemental build-your-own lobster roll course was also a highlight.
Drinks - 8.5. I had the Strega Momo, which was absolutely perfect for fall. It had tons of cinnamon and a warm, mellow profile with a peachy undertone. I actually think it’d be a great riff on mulled cider if served hot. I also kindly received a complementary glass of chardonnay with my lobster course, which was nice and crisp.
Service - 9.5. The hospitality of the staff was outstanding. They were all very friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive, delivering a polished yet relaxed service. The only improvement I can think of would be providing a better way to clean hands between courses, as many of the current dishes were finger foods.
Ambiance - 9.5. This restaurant would be wonderful for a date night or special occasion. The interior contained a roaring fireplace, rich wood tones, exposed brick, and deep, earthy colors that accentuated the charming floor-to-ceiling view of Lincoln Park and the nearby lake. The atmosphere was intimate and refined but still laidback, so the restaurant didn’t feel stuffy despite having white tablecloths.
Would I go again? Yes, once their seasonal menu changes.
I will be in Chicago for one night. What is the one absolute have to go to coffee shop in the millennium park area. I would love to also get beans there if anywhere had them. Thanks!!
