nsxtasy

Another option for a late night coffee shop/pastry place is Fox and Obel. Fox and Obel is a wonderful gourmet grocery store, with the finest meats, prepared foods, pastries, etc. In the rear of the store, they have a nice-sized cafe, where they prepare various dishes to order as well as serving the same pastries they sell in their bakery department. The atmosphere is basic coffeehouse, but the food is excellent. It's a good place for anything from breakfast or lunch to a late-night snack. Among their pastries, I particularly enjoy their cinnamon swirls, the best cinnamon rolls in the world IMHO. Fox and Obel is located just a few blocks east of the Marriott, walkable in under ten minutes, and it's open till midnight.

North Pond is the only one of the three that posts their entire wine list on their website - not that that means that they're better, but kudos to them for that. I've heard some people disparage the ratings of Wine Spectator magazine, but FWIW, they give their "Award of Excellence" to both North Pond and one sixtyblue (ref). When it comes to wine lists, Everest beats all three of them... but I think you'll find that any wine lover will be quite happy with the wine list at all of these restaurants. If your family particularly enjoys an unusual setting and atmosphere, North Pond would be the obvious choice. If they prefer a feeling of spaciousness and privacy, one sixtyblue is the best at that. It's tough to draw distinctions on food among three of our finest, but on that score I give one sixtyblue a slight nod over Blackbird, with North Pond a small step down but still excellent. Bottom line - I think you can't go wrong with any of these three, so pick whatever one you think you and they would like best, and don't agonize too much over it - you can have a wonderful meal and experience at any of them.

One of my favorites is their spicy slaw. Not only is it a "not to miss", but it's also a "can't miss"; they bring it to the table automatically, as a complimentary starter.

Thanks for the clarification! I'm a user of a Chicago Card, and I didn't realize that there was a difference...

What kind of pizza is Bismark? (I assume it's not filled with sweet jelly... )

That's correct. Oh, and the CTA fare, if you're only riding on the el or on one bus line, is $1.75; the $2 fare is only if you transfer to or from a bus (i.e. the second and third ride included). There are free transfers between el lines at most stops serving multiple lines. (If you paid cash, though, don't go out through the turnstile; find the place where you don't need to do that.) And you can put as much money on the transit card as you like; it's reusable, so you can just buy one once, and (assuming you put enough money on it) you can then use it for all your CTA bus and subway rides. Pace buses also accept the CTA transit card; however, I believe you have to pay a separate Pace fare, they aren't included in those three rides for $2 for the CTA fare. Most Pace buses are $1.50 (and they do accept cash as well as the CTA transit card) and for another $.25 you can transfer to another bus, but not with cash - just like Alex describes for the CTA. And you can use the CTA transit card for more than one person (it will deduct one fare per person, though). So, for the sake of convenience, if you think you're going to be spending $X on the CTA and Pace during your stay, you may want to put that amount on the card. There are no refunds, though, so don't overestimate.

Of course, this depends on where you are. I think Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is the one "do not miss" local specialty, although there are others (e.g. Italian beef sandwiches). As previously noted, it takes 30-45 minutes for a deep-dish pizza to bake, so consider calling ahead with your pizza order to avoid waiting for it to bake while you're seated. I think Giordano's is a great choice. Not exactly adjacent, but walkable; the nearest location is on Belmont, half a mile south of the ballpark. 1040 W Belmont Ave, (773) 327-1200.

Good advice from jesteinf. And my intent, of course, was not to overwhelm anyone, but to provide as much information as possible. Sorry if it accomplished the latter. Public transportation tends to be a bit involved because you have to figure out routes and where to take it. If you're good with directions and the internet, it can be relatively easy. But if you're not traveling between two points that are on the same el or bus line, there's that much more to figure out. Public transportation in Chicago is actually very safe; incidents of crime are very rare. Of course, take the same precautions you would in any big city. But there is no reason to be afraid to take it. Keep in mind that the areas referred to as "downtown Chicago" cover a pretty large area, much larger than "The Loop", the area contained within, and a couple of blocks outside, the loop that the elevated trains make. For example, the Hyatt Regency is just northeast of the Loop; Union Station and Lou Mitchell's are just west of the Loop. The distance between the two is at least a mile - a pleasant walk on a nice day, but as Alex aptly notes, if you've got baggage or it's raining, hop a cab. Regarding the breakfast recommendations being discussed, you'll want to keep distance in mind. Bongo Room, at Roosevelt and Wabash, is my favorite breakfast place downtown, too, but it's a good mile and a half from the Hyatt, maybe more. They have creative pancakes and sauces, and you can mix and match the sauces, get partial portions to try different things, etc. (I think they open at 9 on weekdays, and as previously mentioned at 8 on weekends; for places that don't have websites, hours posted on Metromix are generally accurate.) I've eaten at Yolk and it's a big bustling place with utterly conventional breakfast foods (Lou Mitchell's is similar), nothing out of the ordinary but if you want a big breakfast, you can get it. Orange on Harrison, also in the South Loop but not as far south as Bongo Room, also has pancakes and create-your-own juice blends. If you are staying at the Hyatt, the recommendation above for Fox and Obel is excellent; it's our upscale gourmet food store, with a cafe in the rear serving all day long, nothing fancy but the food is very good. It's a five minute walk across the river from the Hyatt. One other place for breakfast not too far from the Hyatt is the Wabash location of Heaven on Seven, which serves Cajun food in an old Loop mixed-use high-rise. Those staying in or around Evanston have other options for breakfast. Walker Brothers has a location in Wilmette, just over the town line from the north end of Evanston. Their apple pancake is exquisite, and so is the stained glass in the restaurant. Just south of Evanston is the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, and at the far end of that neighborhood, just into the Andersonville neighborhood, is M. Henry, another place with excellent breakfasts. Beware, ALL of the above breakfast places get very busy on weekends.

Very true, and good advice. You should also be aware that this advice applies to public transit as well as to travel by car and cab. Our event consists of activities on weekdays, and activities on weekend days, and typical travel times are quite different during the week from the weekends. During the week, traffic can create huge delays on the roadways for those traveling by car or cab, especially during the prime commuting hours (roughly 6:00-9:00 a.m. and 3:00-6:30 p.m.), and only somewhat less so in between - the Friday evening rush is especially nightmarish - whereas travel times by public transportation are fairly predictable. During commuting hours, it's not unusual for trips via public transportation to be as quick as, or quicker than, trips by car/cab; not only is traffic worse, but public transportation has more frequent service during those hours. On the weekend, it's typically quite the opposite. Travel times by car are often relatively quick, although the roads currently under construction (including the Edens Expressway from the Kennedy Expressway to Clavey Road, and the Tri-State Tollway from O'Hare to the Wisconsin state line) can be slow. Public transit can take quite a long time, not only due to greater intervals between buses and trains, but also because the public transportation system, too, is under construction. The above advice describes typical traffic patterns. While these are typical traffic patterns, the simple fact is that you can get stuck in a massive traffic delay at any time and place in the Chicago area, day or night, weekday or weekend. And delays can occur with public transportation as well as on the roads. (Although they are generally less common on the Metra commuter trains and the Pace suburban buses.) Again, Ronnie's advice is good - ALLOW EXTRA TIME, no matter when and where you're going, and no matter how you're getting there. Oh, and this reminds me to mention, for our friends staying in downtown Chicago... If you intend to take the el, there's one other important thing to keep in mind. Several of the el lines are under construction this year, including the Red Line. For this reason, the CTA is frequently re-routing the Red Line on weekends between Fullerton and Chinatown, so that instead of running underground under State Street in the Loop, it is running on the elevated tracks around the Loop. There is an elevated stop at State and Lake, directly upstairs from the subway stop, and if the Red Line is running on the elevated tracks, this would be the closest stop to the Hyatt. They typically announce re-routing only a few days ahead of time; I see they just announced today that they will be re-routing the Red Line again this coming Sunday and Monday. You can check the CTA website (click here) for the latest information on re-routing.

The Metropolitan Club is the one in the Sears Tower. I haven't been there. I've been to several of the other private clubs downtown and your description fits them to a T. However, since you are visiting, and presumably you want to stay on good terms with your family, I would go there, just because it's your step-dad's choice. Let him choose the place for one meal, and you choose the place for the other one. I ate dinner at Custom House for my birthday a few months ago. I really loved my appetizer and main course, but was disappointed in the desserts. Others I dined with were less impressed with their starters and mains. Not that it was bad, but no one was raving, the way my dining companions have consistently done at one sixtyblue and North Pond. It's a very nice restaurant, though, and it's convenient to the Loop. Blackbird has some pluses but also some minuses. The food is certainly delicious and comparable in quality with one sixtyblue and North Pond, which is high praise indeed. They also may have a bit more in the way of "organ meats" but you may also find those at one sixtyblue and North Pond, all of which rotate their menus. There are a couple of downsides about Blackbird which you should be aware of. One is that it's very noisy, and the other is that the tables are spaced very close together, so there is very little privacy. Many of the tables are in one long row along the east wall of the restaurant, and I've felt as though I were sharing conversations with those close by. I'm sure there are places in New York City where you've felt this way. one sixtyblue is quite the opposite, a lot like Craft, where you never even notice that there are other people dining around you, thanks to the layout as well as more generous spacing between tables, and it's not as noisy either. You can enjoy your conversation with one sixtyblue, whereas it can be a hardship at Blackbird. Some people like a place that seems louder and more crammed together, so if you think that's what your family would enjoy, then this might not be a big deal for you. By comparison, North Pond is not quite as spacious, but there is still a greater sense of privacy than at Blackbird, and it's not as loud, either. North Pond has two rooms. The smaller room has floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on the pond, with a great view. Last time I ate there, I dined in the slightly larger inside room, with an open kitchen along one wall (which, like the open kitchen at one sixtyblue, was not particularly noisy) and I enjoyed the atmosphere and didn't feel slighted that we didn't have the skyline view. You should check out the menus on the websites of all these restaurants to see what's typical; you'll find a lot of creativity, and they are led by some of our best local chefs (Martial Noguier of one sixtyblue, Bruce Sherman of North Pond, Paul Kahan of Blackbird, and Shawn McClain of Custom House). By the way, to orient you, the Loop is Chicago's traditional downtown commercial center, and it and its surrounding neighborhoods are full of great restaurants. It is also the center of the city's street numbering system and of its public transportation system. North Pond is three miles north of the center of the Loop, and cabs are readily accessible and the most practical means of transportation for a group of four. one sixtyblue is about 1.5 miles west of the Loop, and Blackbird is 3/4 mile west of the Loop. Custom House is half a mile south of the Loop's center.

No, it won't. You can do it consistently in 25 minutes. The only construction on the route is on Ridge Avenue, which is under construction but still has one lane running northbound (it's one lane in Chicago anyway). Heading back to the Hyatt Regency, Ridge is closed southbound, so you will need to take an alternate route (e.g. Sheridan Road), but it will still take you 25 minutes. If you hit every light red (unlikely) it might take you 30, but no more. If you're going to Niles, it will take you a little longer, maybe 35 minutes, if you're going fairly early in the morning (before 10 a.m.). Later in the day on Saturday, it might take you 45 minutes. I drive both routes all the time on weekends (although I generally avoid it during the day during the week). There's no way it will take you an hour unless you get lost. Not on a Saturday morning. No way. Try it this Saturday morning and you'll see for yourself!

Maybe. Maybe you're just more educated than I am. (That's a private joke; Josh and I have the same degree from the same school.) I still think that someone from New York would be well advised to look for something other than an Italian restaurant while visiting Chicago. (But if you insist, see my recommendations above.) For one meal, based on the question as originally posed, I still think either one sixtyblue or North Pond is perfect, with a slight edge to one sixtyblue for its food and to North Pond for its setting.

People in New York City tend to think that "everyone who matters" knows (and cares about) what is going on there, from restaurants to sports teams etc. It's just not true. I can only guess that Babbo is about as well-known in Chicago as, say, Avec is in New York. In other words - NOT. Maybe some people here on eGullet are familiar with it, but they are probably people who spend/spent a lot of time in New York and/or are in the food industry. I visit New York occasionally, and let my dining companions decide where to go. It's sheer coincidence that Craft is the site of my only New York meal in 2008.

Okay, sounds like mid-priced Italian food with a contemporary accent. Is that closer? As a recommendation to someone coming from New York, I would suggest NOT looking for Italian food in Chicago. It's not that we don't have it, we do - including mid-priced places like Cafe Spiaggia, Coco Pazzo, A Mano, Pane Caldo, etc., as well as Spiaggia itself, which is one of the very best restaurants in Chicago (and priced accordingly). But when you're coming from a city where there are Italian places of all sorts, you really ought to try restaurants that are different from, and in some ways better than, you can find at home, rather than trying to replicate the foods you're accustomed to. The post above mentioned pricing, which is usually a consideration. If price is no object, then I agree with the recommendation of Alinea, which is one of the best restaurants in the country. Think of Per Se as New York's counterpart to Alinea. But not everyone wants to pay $250-400 per person for dinner, which is what Alinea (or Trotter's) will run you. Incidentally, one sixtyblue and North Pond generally run around $100 per person inclusive for three courses with tax/tip and moderate wine/alcohol. The above-mentioned L2O is significantly more expensive and closer to Alinea/Trotter's in pricing, with a 4-course prix fixe for $110 and a 12-course tasting menu for $165, without wine/alcohol or tax/tip. Also, the natural assumption is that you're staying somewhere in the downtown areas, but if not, let us know, as there are plenty of worthwhile places in the suburbs and in outlying city neighborhoods that may be more convenient for your stay.

You're probably looking at somewhere around $25 for a cab from the Hyatt Regency Chicago to Evanston, and if it's not prime commuting time, it will take about 25 minutes. That compares with $1.75-2.00 per person for the el. With the el, you're looking at a walk of between 1/4 and 1/2 mile at both ends, from the Hyatt to the el (the stops at Grand/State and State/Lake are about equidistant from the hotel) and from the el to the Evanston Farmer's Market and from the el to the location of the Heartland Gathering. The el doesn't go to Niles. There are also commuter trains to the northern suburbs, but they leave from the train stations on the opposite side of the Loop from the Hyatt. Another option is to rent a car for the day from a location near your hotel. You can see a complete map of public transportation in the Chicago area, combining the CTA (el/subway and buses in the city and a few suburbs), Metra (commuter trains) and Pace (suburban buses) on the RTA website here. I've found that their "Trip Planner" function (same one as on the individual websites of those three agencies) is often inaccurate, because it fails to recognize geographical locations when they are typed in.

Coincidentally, I ate at Craft a few months ago and thought it was superb in every way - spectacular contemporary American food, exquisite contemporary decor, reasonably spacious, not overly loud, delightful service. I think the closest equivalent in Chicago is one sixtyblue, which is my favorite restaurant in the entire city. HIGHLY recommended. I have never heard of Babbo, other than the name as a place that people in New York seem to be familiar with. What is it, cheap Italian food? A few other suggestions... If you want a true local specialty, get authentic Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, such as the double-crust "stuffed" pizza at Giordano's, or the single-crust "pan" pizza at Lou Malnati's or Gino's East. You can call ahead with your order to avoid waiting 30-45 minutes while seated for your pizza to bake. And the portion sizes on the menu are accurate; a large pizza will indeed leave four people absolutely stuffed. Go there for lunch if you like. Two places offer unique atmosphere with excellent food: North Pond is in the middle of Lincoln Park (the park itself, not just the surrounding neighborhood). It faces its namesake pond with the city skyline towering over the opposite shore. The renovated building was formerly the warming shelter for skaters on the pond. The cuisine is contemporary American from James Beard-nominated Chef Bruce Sherman. Everest is one of the finest restaurants in Chicago. They serve excellent French/Alsatian food, have a huge wine list (best collection of Alsatian wines in the country, I'm told), etc. They are located at the top of the Midwest Stock Exchange building and the dining room has a terrific view of the entire city. If price is an issue, consider going for their pre-theater special, three courses for $50, 5:00/5:30 every night they're open except Fridays.

I signed up for two people for everything, charging all the fees to my credit card, and it let me do everything the same day, one transaction after another, without any problems. (I didn't try charging it to my Paypal account at all, though I'm not sure why that would make any difference.)

You are NOT required to open or use a Paypal account to make your payment on EventBrite.com for the Heartland Gathering activities (although you're welcome to do so if you want). When you order your tickets, you click on "Order Now" and then you fill in your personal information. You then click on the Paypal logo or the credit card logos at the bottom of the page. Either way, they take you to the Paypal website. The right part of the screen says "Log in to Paypal" and the left part of the screen says: Don't have a PayPal account? Use your credit card or bank account (where available). Continue If you click on Continue, it allows you to enter your credit card number and additional information. By doing so, you can charge it to your credit card or bank account, without having to open or use a Paypal account. (Note - this also asks for your e-mail address, and if you already have a Paypal account under that address, it will ask you again whether you would rather charge it to your Paypal account - but you can still say no and charge it to your credit card.) I have nothing against Paypal, and you're welcome to use it if you like. I find it very useful for certain things, such as paying for purchases on eBay; however, I prefer some points/miles/cash programs with credit cards. In any case, you have the ability to pay for the Heartland Gathering either way.

Ron, That map has an error in locating Piron Belgian Chocolatier (which is a terrific one, BTW, great recommendation). The address shown (509 Main Street) is correct, but for some reason the pointer on the map shows it at Asbury Avenue. In fact, the shop is located on Main Street just east of Chicago Avenue, about half a mile east of where the pointer on the map shows it.

nsxtasy+1 Friday

If you'd like to get a visual picture of where everything is, if you think of downtown Chicago ("the Loop") as the center of town, Evanston is 14 miles north of the Loop on Lake Michigan, Chinatown is 3 miles south of the Loop, O'Hare is 17 miles northwest of the Loop, and Midway is 10 miles southwest of the Loop. O'Hare airport is served by the CTA Blue Line and Midway by the Orange Line. Alex's advice here is accurate, good stuff. Note that the "shuttle" you can take to the "Kiss n Fly station" is actually O'Hare's "people mover" (also known as the ATS, or Airport Transit System) which you catch inside the terminal, so don't go outside the terminal looking for a bus or van. In the terminal, go to the ticketing area on the departure level and you'll see escalators up to the people mover station. You can see a schedule and map for the bus between O'Hare and Evanston here. Also note that to get to Chinatown from Evanston via the CTA, you'll catch the Purple Line in Evanston, and transfer to the Red Line which serves Chinatown. During commuting hours, the Purple Line goes all the way to downtown Chicago, and it's easy to transfer to the Red Line at Belmont or Fullerton Beware of highway construction and CTA construction. There are several major projects going on. One is the widening of the Tri-State Tollway (I-294 and I-94) between O'Hare and the Wisconsin state line. This affects driving between O'Hare and Evanston. Normally the easiest and quickest (30 minutes) way between O'Hare and Evanston is via I-294 and Dempster Street. Currently the entrance from Dempster Street onto I-294 southbound (which you would use to go back to the airport) is closed, although the detour is reasonably well marked; I don't know whether the ramp will be re-opened by August. You can try finding updates on the Illinois Tollway website. Another is the Edens Expressway. The Edens consists of I-94 and US-41, beginning as I-94 at the "junction" on the northwest side of the city where I-94 splits off from I-90, continuing north into the suburbs. In Northbrook, the "Edens Spur" of I-94 splits off to the west to meet up with the Tri-State, while the Edens Expressway continues as US-41 north to the Wisconsin border. There is major construction (currently only two lanes open, one of them the shoulder) from the I-90/I-94 junction north to the US-41 stretch up to the Clavey Road interchange in Highland Park. There is no construction on the spur itself, although the eastbound spur often backs up where it feeds onto the Edens. Evanston itself has a major construction project going on along Ridge Avenue, a major north-south artery through town. Southbound traffic is closed and detoured, which will continue through August and beyond. There is a brochure on the project, noting the construction zones and traffic flows, here. Road traffic can be bad at any time, particularly in the construction zones, and is worst during prime commuting hours. Late afternoon and early evening travel on Fridays can be especially horrendous. The CTA has construction projects on both the Red Line (lately they have been running it on the elevated tracks through downtown Chicago on weekends, instead of the below-ground tracks where it normally runs) and the Blue Line. For additional travel information, see: CTA (buses and el/subway trains in the city and a few close-in suburbs) Metra (commuter train service between the city and suburbs) Pace (suburban buses) Regional Transportation Authority, or RTA (umbrella organization for the above three groups - they have a "travel planner" function on all these websites which often has trouble identifying locations, but they have a nice .pdf map of the entire area showing transit routes) Real-time traffic Midway and O'Hare Airports

The one downside of Frontera Grill is that they don't accept reservations, so it's tough to predict in advance how long you might have to wait to be seated. Furthermore, that's a holiday weekend, which may make the wait times more or less than typically experienced. That's true at both lunch and dinner; however, if you go there for dinner, you won't have to worry about being late for the theater. If you go for lunch, you could always have a backup plan in case the wait is too long when you arrive. Fox and Obel is a good 15-20 minute walk (almost a mile) from the theater. Josh is correct about Bin 36; it's not all that much further than Catch 35. However, I still think the food is better at the other choices. Also please note that Catch 35 and Trattoria No. 10 are not open for lunch on Saturdays.

I haven't been there for brunch, but you can look at the menu here.

North Pond is an excellent recommendation. (Thanks, Alex!) As you can see from their website, the brunch menu is varied, not just eggs etc. The food, from James Beard Award nominated Chef Bruce Sherman, specializes in local and seasonal ingredients. And the setting, in the middle of Lincoln Park (the park itself, not just the surrounding neighborhood of the same name), is exquisite. It faces its namesake pond, with the city skyline looming over the opposite shore. The renovated building used to serve as the warming shelters for ice skaters on the pond. Another of our "top tables" type places open for Sunday brunch is NoMI, Christophe David's restaurant in the Park Hyatt. Our contemporary American restaurants serving Sunday brunch include Sweets and Savories in Lincoln Park and Sola in North Center. Most of our steak and seafood restaurants are open for lunch on Sundays, serving their normal lunch menus. David Burke's Primehouse serves an interesting "American dim sum brunch". All of these are much more than just "eggs and pancakes" type brunches. Check their websites for menus.

Bin 36 is across the river, much further than the recommendations I posted above, which are all within a few blocks. I also think the food is not all that great; however, if you're more interested in wine than in food, you might like it. Wine is really their specialty, not the food. As for Intelligentsia Coffee... yes the coffee is quite good, but again, the food is nothing to write home about. Due to all the office workers in the Loop, there are many "coffee shop" type restaurants in the Loop (not all of which specialize in coffee) where you can get okay salads, sandwiches, etc at lunchtime, some with seating, others strictly carry-out. The big attractions of these places are convenience and quick service, not the food. (Even at Trotter's To Go - despite the name.) If you're interested in enjoying some of the better foods that Chicago has to offer, these are NOT the places to go.