Walking Food Tour of Chi-town

[GordonCooks]

A very good friend and hometown Chef is in Chicago from Saturday-Tues. He's staying at the Peninsula with his GF who's at a conference. He plans on spending his daytime hours roaming the city looking for goodies. Can you give me some suggestions?

I've told him a few spots I've been to but could use some expert opinions

thanks

[Bret Beall]

These are standard options, but good ones:

1. Indian/Pakistani/Orthodox Jewish along Devon: great (and affordable) restaurants, food markets and other stores. I'm heading this way on Saturday myself.

2. Little Saigon: area near Argyle and Broadway; amazing array of pho shops, other restaurants (Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Chinese [Furama for dim sum, for example]), stores (for food goods and related tableware; this is where I buy the portable gas stoves that I use in cooking demonstrations). Just one block of this this intersection is the World Market, an "interesting" experience. I usually buy malanga/yautia here for planting on my porch over the summer.

3. Pilsen: Around 18th and (I forget the relevant cross streets): tremendous selection of Mexican restaurants and shops, plus the National Mexican Fine Arts Museum (newly renamed).

4. Arlington Heights: not sure if your friend will have a vehicle, but there is a Japanese shopping center in Arlington Heights that is very fun to visit.

5. Irazu: one of the city's only Costa Rican restaurants; thanks to nr706 below for mentioning Palmito as another Costa Rican venue.

6. Chinatown: Wentworth/26th: if your friend has never been to a Chinatown, it's worth a visit, but unless a group wants to get together for dim sum at Phoenix House, I don't usually head there.

I know there are lots of other places to send your friend, but these should keep him busy for a few days.

Bret S. Beall

www.god-dess.com

Edited April 27, 2007 by Bret Beall (log)

[jesteinf]

Well, you could do pretty well for yourself walking around Chinatown or up and down Argyle St. (for Vietnamese). Both are easy trips on the el (which is undergoing some major construction, but hasn't actually been as horrible to use as predicted).

You could also check out lthforum.com and search for some "a-thons" (beef a-thon, North Clark-a-thon, etc.) for some ideas.

[nr706]

Again, if you have a vehicle, H-Mart in Niles, at the corner of Oakton and Waukegan, is a massive Korean grocery.

801 Civic Center Dr.

Niles, IL 60714

Tel) 847-581-1212

Another area worth exploring is the Middle Eastern/Palestine neighborhood around Kedzie and Lawrence - lots of Middle Eastern restaurants and groceries.

And I'm not sure that the owners of the Costa Rican restaurant Palmito (3605 N. Ashland, Chicago) would be happy with the description upthread of Irazu as the city's only Costa Rican. Both are worth seeking out.

And, Sunday mornings at the Maxwell Street Market (centered around 500 W. Roosevelt) is a trip to a Mexico, with all the food stalls cum flea market.

Edited April 27, 2007 by nr706 (log)

[nsxtasy]

It's not clear what kind of "goodies" you have in mind. The suggestions so far tend towards cheap eats and groceries - nothing wrong with those, but that's not the only thing that qualifies as "goodies".

You'll find mention of some of the Chicago area's farmers markets in this topic.

And some of our pastry shops in this one.

As a Chicagoan proud of our city's culinary offerings, I would encourage any visitor to do two things: (1) have a dinner from one of our top chefs, e.g. at Alinea, Avenues (which is in the Peninsula), Everest, Charlie Trotter's, Tru; and (2) have some deep-dish Chicago pizza for lunch at Lou Malnati's, Gino's East, or Giordano's.

If there's some other "goodies" category we've missed, let us know!

[GordonCooks]

The Feedback - my good friend is pretty picky but here's where he ended up

Lunch at Spiaggia was outstanding as far as service and food.

2 trips to Quartino - very good

2 trips to Dela Costa - very good

Very good dinner at Saltaus

A mediocre one at Gibson's

A sicilian pasty place, some noodles, etc

It's his new favorite place.

[nsxtasy]

Lunch at Spiaggia was outstanding as far as service and food.

←

I assume you are referring to Cafe Spiaggia, rather than Spiaggia.

Spiaggia is one of Chicago's very top restaurants, with creative Italian food and top-notch service. Tony Mantuano, the chef/partner, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef - Midwest in 2005. Dressy and very expensive. It is not open for lunch.

Cafe Spiaggia, right next door, is Spiaggia's "sister restaurant" and serves moderately-priced (not inexpensive, but not super-expensive either) excellent Italian food. Casual. It is open for both lunch and dinner.

Edited May 15, 2007 by nsxtasy (log)