Recs for Chicago: Hyatt on Wacker

[wkl]

The second week of June I'll be in town for the AMA meeting with a group of about 8. We are about 1/2 seriously food obssessed diners and the other half just enjoys going out no matter where. I've been put in charge of making dinner reservations for 4 nights and could use some help.

The most important reservation is our group dinner that is being expensed. We are all staying at the Hyatt on Wacker and this meal needs to be close by and top out around $70ish a person. Wine list is important and the food we are looking for should be well executed, varied (fish/meats/pasta) and interesting enough for those who care, but nothing to experimental for the timid. (tru/moto/alinea wouldn't work here. over the budget anyway) Also, would like a realitively quiet atmosphere so conversation can be easy.

I did some searching and have come up with Spring,Blackbird,Custom House, Onesixtyblue as possibilites. One question, are there other places with close to the quality of food but maybe not quite as expensive as these?

What about Graham Bowles new place? will it be open by June. I checked the website and there's no info on it about menu,price or opening date that i could find.

I also thought of L2o, but also don't see any price info. anyone been or know where i can find sample menus with pricing?

Thanks in advance!

[ulterior epicure]

Thankfully, I know where the Hyatt on Wacker is. Otherwise, I'd be completely clueless as to which part of the Heartland you are planning to visit.

A few things:

1. blackbird is not quiet.

2. spring is a good option, as is one sixtyblue.

3. Consider North Pond. Great food, idyllic and quiet setting.

4. graham elliot's will be opening sometime in May, I believe, but I'm not sure about the noise level. It sounds like it will be within your price rage, for sure.

5. L.20, I am going to bet, is beyond your expense allotment.

u.e.

[wkl]

thanks for the edit.

is north pond close to our hotel? meaning 10 minute cab ride?

i thought blackbird may be too loud. i had a fantastic meal there about a year and a half ago and definetly want to return. perhaps on another night.

do you know where i can get menus or pricing for L.2O?

[Bret Beall]

thanks for the edit.

is north pond close to our hotel? meaning 10 minute cab ride?

i thought blackbird may be too loud. i had a fantastic meal there about a year and a half ago and definetly want to return. perhaps on another night.

do you know where i can get menus or pricing for L.2O?

←

North Pond is about 2500 North; Hyatt on Wacker is about 400 North; that could be done in a cab within 10 minutes depending on the date and time of day.

Another downtown option that may be just slightly over your budget is Shikago, Kevin Shikami's most recent restaurant. I think the address is 190 North LaSalle, which is actually a healthy walk from the Hyatt. The website is http://www.shikagorestaurant.com/.

Atwood Cafe, also downtown, has a new chef, and it also may be too loud, though I've had meetings there with friends and have been pleased with the sound level, even being seated in the center of the room.

Mercat a La Planxa is another nearby option. I've been twice, dropping $60/person one time, and $72/person the second. It can get loud, but they do have private space that you could investigate.

Enjoy!

Bret

[Alex]

North Pond would be good. Naha might be another option for you. It's only about a mile from your hotel, so it's certainly within a ten-minute cab ride (or a pleasant 15-minute walk). I can't comment on the noise level at dinner, but when I was there for lunch things were pretty calm, so I imagine it would be the same at dinner.

BTW, I've often stayed at the Hyatt Regency -- big, but very nice. If they're still offering the relatively reasonable "room with a view" upgrade, I'd opt for that.

[nsxtasy]

Personally, of this group, the one place that always impresses me is one sixtyblue. It's the one place where I can go, and I know that if I order two starters, two mains, and two desserts, all six dishes will just blow me away. And the dining room is nice and spacious, a lovely classic/contemporary setting where you can hear your dining companions (and not the folks at the table next to you), the service is perfect, etc. Just a great place in every way, and consistently so. This is my favorite casual fine dining restaurant in the entire city, with the very best food anywhere near its price range and a great place and space to go to, too. A local treasure.

By comparison, I don't get that same result at many other places. For example, I ate at Custom House a few days ago. I absolutely loved my sweetbreads appetizer and short rib main, just sinful and spectacular. However, the dishes of my three dining companions, while good, didn't "wow" me in the same way. And I thought the desserts were just okay, which is a letdown at a place of that caliber. The service and atmosphere were fine (somewhat loud, but not disturbingly so).

I would rule out Spring because of its emphasis on seafood. I think it's a great choice when you have a group where everyone, or almost everyone, loves seafood - but you don't. I know they have meat and vegetarian items too (just like Chef McClain's meat-focused and vegetarian-focused places have seafood items), but the emphasis on seafood just doesn't work for your situation.

Blackbird is another story too. I've found that the food there is exceptional, almost as good as one sixtyblue, which is high praise indeed. However, it is indeed very noisy, and what's worse is that the tables are extremely close together. As a result, not only are you shouting to be heard, but so are those at the tables nearby.

As for North Pond, I love the place, but for more than the food. Foodwise, it's quite good. Bruce Sherman likes to plate many of his dishes with several components side by side. So you might order a main and it has as many as four things alongside the item that you ordered. Some of them might be okay to good, while others might blow you away. For example, last fall I ordered a fish main, and the fish itself was good enough, but what I remember most clearly was that one of the items alongside it was a peekytoe crab mousse that was heavenly. So the food maybe doesn't quite reach the level of one sixtyblue consistently, but some of the items are very impressive. The tables aren't as close together as Blackbird, aren't as far apart as one sixtyblue; it's not exactly quiet, but it's not objectionably noisy either. What I really love about North Pond is the setting and history. It's located in the middle of Lincoln Park (the park itself,not just the neighborhood of the same name), alongside its namesake pond; the renovated building was formerly the warming shelter for ice skaters on the pond. The city skyline looms over the opposite shore. If you sit in the front room with the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the pond, you have a spectacular view. But even if you sit in the rear room, with the open kitchen along one side, you'll enjoy the view and the special atmosphere. It's just a very special place, and not just because of the food.

I don't think you will be able to find menus with prices for L2O until they open, currently scheduled for May 14. And I agree that it will probably exceed your budget; it appears to be aiming at the tru/trotter's price range.

Frankly, in your situation, I would be hesitant to go to a place (like Graham Elliot's) that's newly-opened and may be experiencing growing pains - just because it's your rare opportunity to try Chicago cuisine, and there are other well-established places that are doing a terrific job, places you've never been so they're "new" - to you, anyway. Let the locals repeatedly try the new places and provide feedback of any kinks that need addressing, and stick to the tried-(or never tried )-and-true. I should also add that, based on my impressive experience at Avenues, I have every expectation that Chef Bowles's new restaurant will be absolutely wonderful, and I look forward to trying it myself.

I should add that the level of noise is more of a concern with a group of eight than with a group of two, because in a noisy place, you won't be able to converse with all of the others at the table.

To summarize, I recommend going to one sixtyblue if you want to go to a nice place where you can converse normally and the food is so spectacular that it will blow everyone away, or to North Pond if you want to go to a nice place with excellent food where the setting is so spectacular that it will blow everyone away.

One other note. You may have a problem with your $70/person limit at any of the places you're asking about. In my experience, with moderate wine (say 1/3 bottle per person of a not-that-expensive wine), I consistently pay $90-110 per person (including alcohol, tax, tip) at all of them, with most of us typically getting three courses plus coffee. For reference, most of them show prices in the sample menus on their websites.

HTH

Edited April 23, 2008 by nsxtasy (log)

[wkl]

thanks all! we've booked onesixtyblue for our main dinner.