Chicago eating and drinking.

[Pissy]

Wife an I are going to be in Chicagoland in April for our anniversary.

Our tastes are rather traditional, budget middle of the road - $90 for dinner for two territory (is this unrealistic?)

We'll be staying downtown as my hotel points are going to buy the lodging, no car so cabs and public trans.

I'm already aware of Lou Malnatti's, Girodanos, and Portillos, and to be honest the Chicago basics (Itallian Beef, hot dogs and deep dish) are high on my list, but I'd like to venture to a few neighborhoods for some of the "deeper cuts".

Not so into Asian or Indian but itallian, Greek and French is more our speed. Seafood in Chicago?  Perhaps, but that's not where my head is. At least not unless its walleye cheeks from the Northwoods. I'm into that.

Also, some watering holes and record stores would be nice. Gonna look into shows. Where's that CMUG show thread when a brother needs it?



Preeshiatit.

[deleted account]

this place comes highly recommended by MadJohnShaft

[I,Galactus]

Kuma's Corner - Heavy Metal Burgers

http://www.kumascorner.com/

[Lumpy]

If you don't get some good responses, try posting this in Gen Disc. Or bmail MF, he will have some good ideas.

There's a Greektown on the south side, not terribly far from downtown. Not sure which are the good places, so look on Yelp. I love all that stuff... saganaki (flaming cheese), taramousalata (spread with fish roe). Which is the spread with mashed potatoes and garlic? That rules. Avagolemono, yum (chicken/lemon soup). I think a couple places make their own gyros, as opposed to selling the stuff that is mass marketed, which you can get at any fast food place. If they don't brag about gyros being home made, it's from the distributor (I still enjoy that stuff, I'm just saying). Home made gyros is less homogenized, it's more like ham than bologna, if you know what I mean. I don't know how authentic these Greektown places are, and a lot of the food is not cooked to order (big pans of moussaka? No way) but they are usually enjoyable.

There's a Little Italy, I never went there (except for Italian Ice and Italian Beef) so I can't tell you if any of the restaurants are good. Probably nothing worth driving across town for. Red sauce joints, but "classy"... $$

There's some good Mexican food in Chicago.

For shows (and restaurant reviews), you could look at the Reader online
http://www.chicagoreader.com/

Reckless records:
http://www.reckless.com/

Dusty Groove:
http://www.dustygroove.com/

[Lumpy]

$90 for dinner for two territory (is this unrealistic?)

You should be able to crush, with that budget. I don't think I've ever spent that much money on dinner (maybe if you get a bottle of wine, then you're right on target). Very realistic.

The Hideout is a bar you might wanna check out. Kinda hard to find (tucked behind a Home Depot)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-hideout-chicago#query:country%20bars

There's tons of bars with character, almost too many to list. Good dive bars too. I haven't lived there in a long time, so I'll let somebody else recommend places.

Maybe consider renting a car, it will really free you up. Take a drive on Lake Shore Drive, all the way across town. It's a great view of the lake (and the city).

[MadJohnShaft]

You couldn't feed the hogs for $90 in this town, son.   I would expect every place to be pretty packed - last time we stayed on a Saturday for fun we gave up and just got room service.

El Barco is kind of fun
http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-barco-chicago


Are you just staying downtown?

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=fun+places+to+eat&find_loc=Chicago%2C+IL#l=p:IL:Chicago::The_Loop

River North has lots of restaurants

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=fun+places+to+eat&find_loc=Chicago%2C+IL#l=p:IL:Chicago::River_North

[Pissy]

No we're into going wherever. Want to hit the musuem there, walk the park and such. Hop a train or a cab out wherever we want to go. But I've run into the issue of not being able to get a cab back home before on Halloween. Cabs all were where the partying was. Hoofed it for 10 blocks and finally flagged one down.

[MadJohnShaft]

Should be extra fun then.  I would get an Italian beef from Al's or one of those places.


I might suggest taking the train to one of the 'Ethnic Neighborhoods'.  We visit lots of world cities and have had good luck going to the local markets, neighborhoods, and street fests, do a few and just stay an hour or so.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Chicago

[MadJohnShaft]

You could visit the City of Evanston

http://wikitravel.org/en/Evanston


Evanston is a city in Illinois, north of Chicago, along the shores of Lake Michigan. Evanston has many identities: college town, dining destination, cultural center and gateway to the wealthy North Shore, although the city itself is anything but homogeneous in regards to economic status, culture and race.


That last part means watch out for blacks.

[Lumpy]

Have you been to Chicago before? If you get outside of downtown, Chicago gets a lot more ummm... funky?

Have you had Italian Beef before? I like to order it dry. "Wet" means the whole sandwich is dipped in the au jus, which gets the bread soggy and -- IMO -- gross. It's still plenty juicy, dry (you could ask for juice on the side? I never tried that). And "hot" means hot giardinara (as opposed to sweet peppers). The locals would say 'Beef, dry and hot'. I never ordered it sweet. Hmmm. Maybe I missed out.

You should try Al's Beef and then head over to Mr. Beef to compare.

Take him on the Grand Tour, MJS.

[Pissy]

I have been before working trade shows.  Stayed downtown, rode out to a few places, saww The Sword and YLD with Woodgrain, then went and saw Eagles of Death Metal at the same venue.  Can't remember the name, it was newish then, Near Oprah's studio somewhere.

Took a cab about 7 miles out to see LogicalFrank's avante noise set, but didn't work out and that's when I had trouble getting that cab back to the hotel.  On the way back we stopped off at some hipster corner with a few bars to hang and drink some more, which was memorable on halloween.

Never had Italian beef, nor a genuine hot dog- that came from Chicago.  There is a Chicago dog place here that I imagine does pretty damn good though.  Has all the elements - neon relish, sport peppers.

Good to know about the beef.  I'll likely try it both dry and wet.

[Lumpy]

I think the venue you went to is Reggies'? It wasn't open when I lived there.

Srsly, try the Hideout, they have alt. country stuff there, and punk rock. When Touch & Go did the anniversary show, it was in the street outside the Hideout. Good place to check out, even if there is no show.

The Reader is a good resource for your research. If you can manage having a car at your hotel, it really does free you up for cramming in tons of activities. Get one with GPS and no more getting lost, unless you want to.

Looks like Quimby's is still open... a store full of graphic novels, comic books, fanzines, etc
http://www.quimbys.com/

The Empty Bottle is a good place for music.
http://www.emptybottle.com/

[Pissy]

It was The Bottom Lounge.

http://bottomlounge.com/

Empty Bottle has Killing joke for 2 nights that weekend

[neighbor664]

Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse
http://www.harrycarays.com

[neighbor664]

Drank and ate at Kroll's a few times. It was a crew favorite.
http://www.krolls-chicago.com/about
Reggie's up stairs is cool.
http://www.reggieslive.com/

[MadJohnShaft]

Where's MF?  This tour of yours will not be very Punk Rock if you don't get a list of used CD stores and some other snooty places to patronize.

[Lumpy]

Browse around here, if you need to get psyched up:

http://www.greasefreak.com/

[MadJohnShaft]

You chicken shit yuppies - you should go to Punk Rock Burgers, then go to some dirty punk rock used CD store, then look at some disturbing punk art rock, and then stand around on a street corner in the ghetto freaking out the squares.

[MF]

I didn't even know this place had a Food forum until today.

Get out of downtown Chicago if possible. The heart of Chicago is in its neighborhoods, not downtown. If you must eat downtown - I dunno, the Omni hotel does have a pretty nice restaurant.

For semi-fancy Italian in a nice romantic setting, check out A Tavola:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/a-tavola-chicago
It's a straight shot down Chicago Avenue from Downtown. Take the 66 Chicago bus or get a cab for maybe $12.00? This will come closer to your $90.00 limit but it will be a memorable experience. The gnocchi is probably the best I've ever had.

Lula Café in Logan Square is reliably good. Whatever their special is will probably be excellent. It's very close to the Logan Square Blue Line El stop. Can get pretty busy though so maybe go earlyish? Can be kind of loud sometimes. You could eat extremely well there for less than $90.00.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lula-caf%C3%A9-chicago-2

I really like Hachi's Kitchen
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hachis-kitchen-chicago
Great sushi, always tastes very fresh, and even if you aren't into sushi, they have great salmon terriyaki, the people who work there are lovely, and the ambiance is really nice. This is a short walk from the California Blue Line stop.

If you are looking for the usual kind of meaty food that stonerrock.com heart operation victims like to consume, I'd recommend:
Owen & Engine
http://www.yelp.com/biz/owen-and-engine-chicago
Very good quality British pub style food. The Bubble and Squeek is really delicious and a must order. I don't eat red meat but my wife really likes their steaks. Get a reservation. Very close to the Western stop on the Blue Line.

I could care less about places like Kuma's (even though I live less than a mile from there I still haven't been) and Hot Dougs because I don't eat burgers and hot dogs and refuse to wait an hour to sit down or plan for perfect timing in order to find the exact moment when a place won't be a pain in the ass to eat at.

Have fun! Chicago is great. Evanston is really good for getting a parking ticket while you take a nice walk along the lake and that's about it.

[MF]

If you want to see the old-timers, take note that one night of Killing Joke is sold out so you should buy tickets for the other night (if you must). I'm not sure which night is the sold out night.

Also, and this is so obvious I forgot to mention it... EAT MEXICAN FOOD! Chicago has tons of great Mexican food. Look around on Yelp and pick something.

Chicago Record Stores aren't nearly as good as they should be for a city of our size. Go to Reckless in Wicker Park I guess (or stop in the little one downtown on Madison if it's close to your hotel) or hit Dusty Groove.

The record store at Reggie's in the south loop is awful. Don't even be tempted just because it's sort of close to downtown.

[MF]

Also, if you want to go to a museum, go to the Art Institute of Chicago. It really is one of the best museums in the country.

Also check out the Cultural Center downtown - walk up the stairs to the second floor and make out with your wife in the room with the beautiful stained glass dome ceiling. It's still free to visit the Cultural Center. Surprisingly our stupid fucking asshole piece of shit mayor Rahm hasn't managed to sell it off or charge a fee to walk inside the building yet.

[neighbor664]

Out in Wood Dale http://www.u-gazdy.com/

[MF]

You shouldn't have to travel this far to find good Polish food. Here's a place in my new neighborhood that I haven't been to yet but the reviews look really good:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/staropolska-restaurant-chicago-3

This is fairly close to the Belmont stop on the Blue Line.

[Lumpy]

If you're remotely interested in baseball, Wrigley Field is (I believe) one of the smallest and oldest stadiums still operating. I'm not a baseball fan but I might be persuaded to go there anyway, just for the spectacle. It's also smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood, and is easily accessible.

[Pissy]

Yeah, I love baseball, but I already looked into it and they're out of town that weekend.