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Lunch in Chicago -- suggestions

Mussina

By Mussina
in The Heartland: Dining

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Mussina

Mussina

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We will be in Chicago for a couple of days and have reservations at Charlie Trotter's and Tru for dinner. I am looking for good lunch spots. Interesting food (looking to be inspired here) but recognize that we will be eating at Charlie Trotter's one night and Tru the other night so I do not want to completely over do it. Any and all recommendations are appreciated.

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Pugman

Pugman

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Ditto on Ron's picks, plus Custom House (newest from acclaimed Green Zebra/Spring chef/owner, Shawn McClain). It's my new favorite lunch spot! I went yesterday and am going back today.

Also, Naha in River North--$$$$ fine dining in the evening, but serves an amazing burger at lunch (perfect fries, too). An absolute steal for $10.

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Mussina

Mussina

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Ditto on Ron's picks, plus Custom House (newest from acclaimed Green Zebra/Spring chef/owner, Shawn McClain). It's my new favorite lunch spot! I went yesterday and am going back today.

Blackbird looks great -- not being familiar with Chicago any idea where it is located in relation to the W Hotel Lakeside? Also - what are the thoughts on the Green Zebra & Spring? (Custom House doesn't have a menu posted but both of those looked very interesting!)

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ronnie_suburban

ronnie_suburban

Posted
Posted
Ditto on Ron's picks, plus Custom House (newest from acclaimed Green Zebra/Spring chef/owner, Shawn McClain). It's my new favorite lunch spot! I went yesterday and am going back today.

Blackbird looks great -- not being familiar with Chicago any idea where it is located in relation to the W Hotel Lakeside? Also - what are the thoughts on the Green Zebra & Spring? (Custom House doesn't have a menu posted but both of those looked very interesting!)

It's a short cab ride to Blackbird (about 2 miles total distance between it and your hotel).

Green Zebra and Spring are both highly recommended but neither is open for lunch :sad:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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Alex

Alex

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If you're at your hotel around lunchtime, just a few blocks away is the Café at Fox & Obel, a high-end food store.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

A king can stand people's fighting, but he can't last long if people start thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist

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ronnie_suburban

ronnie_suburban

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If you're at your hotel around lunchtime, just a few blocks away is the Café at Fox & Obel, a high-end food store.

Yes! I had great food there back in October . . . a delicious club sandwich and some of the best roasted cauliflower soup I've ever eaten. And the shopping is great too! It's a great spot.

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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nr706

nr706

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Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, with some remarkable mom-and-pop-type places if you care to venture out of downtown. Here are just a few great ones (there are countless more):

Ed's Potsticker House - Northern Chinese (ask for the Chinese menu w. English translations)

3139 S. Halsted St.

(312) 326-6898

Al's #1 Italian Beef

1079 W. Taylor St. (little Italy)

(312) 226-4017

Taqueria la Oaxaquena - Mexican, specifically from Oaxaca

3382 N. Milwaukee Ave.

(773) 545-8585

Laschet's Inn - classic German

2119 W. Irving Park Rd.

(773) 478-7915

TAC Quick - highly authentic Thai food (ask for the Thai menu)

3930 N. Sheridan Rd.

(773) 327-5253

Honey 1 Barbeque

2241 N. Western St.

(773) 227-5130

edited to add:

Podhalanka Polksa Restauracja - Chicago is the greatest source of Polish food in the Western Hemisphere

1549 W. Division Ave.

(773) 486-6655

Edited by nr706 (log)
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ulterior epicure

ulterior epicure

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I don't know if you this is too late - but from my experience Topolobampo is certainly a great suggestion if you want minimal portion sizes (interpret that how you will). Of the three, I would highly recommend Blackbird.

It also depends on what neighborhood is convenient for you.

U.E.

“Watermelon - it’s a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face.”

Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

ulteriorepicure.com

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Mussina

Mussina

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Thanks for all the recommendations! Our previous trip to Chicago got cancelled because of snow (what else?) but we have rebooked for one night. Dinner will be at Tru (picked Tru over Trotters -- I have wanted to try it for ages) and I am still seeking out that perfect lunch spot before flying home the next night. Now that Trotters is out I am up for an over the top lunch experience as well. $$ no option but fab food/setting a must. Thanks!

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liamdc

liamdc

Posted
Posted
If you're at your hotel around lunchtime, just a few blocks away is the Café at Fox & Obel, a high-end food store.

Yes! I had great food there back in October . . . a delicious club sandwich and some of the best roasted cauliflower soup I've ever eaten. And the shopping is great too! It's a great spot.

=R=

Kudos to the Fox & Obel recommendation. I'm in Chicago for the next couple of days and got lunch here today at the Cafe. I enjoyed the delicious Roast Beef & Blue Brie sandwich - House-roasted Black Angus beef, caramelized onion, beefsteak tomato, blue brie, red leaf lettuce & Dijon mayonnaise on baguette. It was rich, delicious, and completely filling, served along with two pickles and some spicy homemade(?) potato chips. And it was ready within five minutes of ordering it. A great spot for lunch on the go!

Liam

Eat it, eat it

If it's gettin' cold, reheat it

Have a big dinner, have a light snack

If you don't like it, you can't send it back

Just eat it -- Weird Al Yankovic

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JWest

JWest

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Anyone know of any good Chicago style pizza or chicago dogs places nearby the Peninsula Hotel or the Navy Pier? ...if not, I'll go for a longer drive if needed.

"cuisine is the greatest form of art to touch a human's instinct" - chairman kaga

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chefmcone76

chefmcone76

Posted
Posted (edited)
Anyone know of any good Chicago style pizza or chicago dogs places nearby the Peninsula Hotel or the Navy Pier? ...if not, I'll go for a longer drive if needed.

Try Downtown Dogs on the NE corner of Chicago and Rush right next to the currency exchange for a good Chicago dog. If you want good deeep dish pizza simply walk across the street to Giordano's on the NE corner of Rush and Superior.

Edited by chefmcone76 (log)

"I'm drawn to places that fear their customers" -Kenji

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tammylc

tammylc

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I'm coming to Chicago for several days next month. I have most of my dinners planned, but still have a couple floating lunches.

I arrive via Amtrak at lunchtime on Tuesday. I think I'm going to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art that afternoon (it was going to be the Museum of Science and Industry, but I didn't realize that was so far out, so that's not going to work). So I'm looking for lunch recommendations around or between Union Station and the Museum.

Friday afternoon I want to spend at the Field Museum, so I need lunch before that too. I'll be staying at the Hilton Chicago, which I believe is very near the Field, but I'd be happy to venture a little farther afield if there's nothing nearby.

I have a couple of expensive dinners planned, so I'm mostly interested in cheap but interesting lunches. Ideas? Any kind of food is good. I have a visit to Hot Doug's already on the itinerary.

Thanks!

Tammy's Tastings

Creating unique food and drink experiences

eGullet Foodblogs #1 and #2
Dinner for 40

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Alex

Alex

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I'm coming to Chicago for several days next month.  I have most of my dinners planned, but still have a couple floating lunches.

I arrive via Amtrak at lunchtime on Tuesday.  I think I'm going to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art that afternoon (it was going to be the Museum of Science and Industry, but I didn't realize that was so far out, so that's not going to work).  So I'm looking for lunch recommendations around or between Union Station and the Museum.

Friday afternoon I want to spend at the Field Museum, so I need lunch before that too.  I'll be staying at the Hilton Chicago, which I believe is very near the Field, but I'd be happy to venture a little farther afield if there's nothing nearby.

I have a couple of expensive dinners planned, so I'm mostly interested in cheap but interesting lunches.  Ideas?  Any kind of food is good.  I have a visit to Hot Doug's already on the itinerary.

Thanks!

How were you planning to get from Union Station to the museum? It's a loooong walk, but it can be done. If that's what you were planning, and if weather allows, I'd get lunch at Hannah's Bretzel, by Washington and Wells. There are only a few counter seats there, so if one isn't available I'd carry my sandwich up to the Gold Coast and Sarah's Pastries and Candies, get a coffee and a pastry or two, and enjoy it all at an outside table.

Or, just head to Naha and get their burger, one of Chicago's best.

For your Field day, you might consider Soundings, at the Shedd Aquarium. The food is just average (Phil Vettel liked the open-faced crab sandwich), but the view of the big lake is your compensation. A reservation (312-692-3277) is a must; otherwise you'll be charged the aquarium admission fee.

Alternatively, on your way to the Field, more or less, is Gioco, on Wabash just south of Roosevelt.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

A king can stand people's fighting, but he can't last long if people start thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist

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tammylc

tammylc

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How were you planning to get from Union Station to the museum? It's a loooong walk, but it can be done. If that's what you were planning, and if weather allows, I'd get lunch at Hannah's Bretzel, by Washington and Wells. There are only a few counter seats there, so if one isn't available I'd carry my sandwich up to the Gold Coast and Sarah's Pastries and Candies, get a coffee and a pastry or two, and enjoy it all at an outside table.

Or, just head to Naha and get their burger, one of Chicago's best.

Hadn't really thought about how to get from place to place yet. I need to get a Chicago map and figure out where everything is.

The problem with a burger at Naha will be sticking with just the burger! The rest of the menu looks soooo good.

For your Field day, you might consider Soundings, at the Shedd Aquarium. The food is just average (Phil Vettel liked the open-faced crab sandwich), but the view of the big lake is your compensation. A reservation (312-692-3277) is a must; otherwise you'll be charged the aquarium admission fee.

Alternatively, on your way to the Field, more or less, is Gioco, on Wabash just south of Roosevelt.

I've been to Soundings, back when Eric and I were visiting the field. Good food is more important to me than a good view.

Where/what are Chicago's interesting ethnic areas? I could see myself wandering around Chinatown or whatever before lunch, getting lunch there, then heading over to the Field after lunch.

Tammy's Tastings

Creating unique food and drink experiences

eGullet Foodblogs #1 and #2
Dinner for 40

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Alex

Alex

Posted
Posted
How were you planning to get from Union Station to the museum? It's a loooong walk, but it can be done. If that's what you were planning, and if weather allows, I'd get lunch at Hannah's Bretzel, by Washington and Wells. There are only a few counter seats there, so if one isn't available I'd carry my sandwich up to the Gold Coast and Sarah's Pastries and Candies, get a coffee and a pastry or two, and enjoy it all at an outside table.

Or, just head to Naha and get their burger, one of Chicago's best.

Hadn't really thought about how to get from place to place yet. I need to get a Chicago map and figure out where everything is.

The problem with a burger at Naha will be sticking with just the burger! The rest of the menu looks soooo good.

For your Field day, you might consider Soundings, at the Shedd Aquarium. The food is just average (Phil Vettel liked the open-faced crab sandwich), but the view of the big lake is your compensation. A reservation (312-692-3277) is a must; otherwise you'll be charged the aquarium admission fee.

Alternatively, on your way to the Field, more or less, is Gioco, on Wabash just south of Roosevelt.

I've been to Soundings, back when Eric and I were visiting the field. Good food is more important to me than a good view.

Where/what are Chicago's interesting ethnic areas? I could see myself wandering around Chinatown or whatever before lunch, getting lunch there, then heading over to the Field after lunch.

Yes, maps are good. I assume you'll have a suitcase with you, so I recommend taking a cab from Union Station to the Hilton; checking in or, if your room isn't available yet, checking your suitcase; then going to lunch. Naha and Frontera Grill are sort of on the way to MoCA. Nomi would be another great, if expensive, option, and it's very close to the museum.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

A king can stand people's fighting, but he can't last long if people start thinking. -Will Rogers, humorist

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LAZ

LAZ

Posted
Posted (edited)
Where/what are Chicago's interesting ethnic areas?  I could see myself wandering around Chinatown or whatever before lunch, getting lunch there, then heading over to the Field after lunch.

The ethnic areas reasonable to the Hilton and the Field are Chinatown, Greektown, Pilsen (Mexican) and Bronzeville. (Searches at LTHForum will probably yield more possibilities in these neighborhoods than you want to deal with.) Chinatown is probably the most interesting from a tourist standpoint, if you want to do more than eat.

After much experimentation, my personal favorite in Chinatown is Lao Sze Chuan; Three Happiness (the smaller one) is also very good, and at lunchtime you might want to consider one of the dim sum specialists like Phoenix or Happy Chef.

In Greektown, I love Greek Islands -- be sure to try the loukaniko -- although Venus, the Cypriot place, is also quite good and Artopolis is fun.

I've spent less time elsewhere on the South Side, but many people like Nuevo Leon, which is near the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, and Pearl's Place.

The South Loop has a number of interesting scattered places as well. For example, if you want to visit Chicago's finest deli, you could go to Manny's.

Lao Sze Chuan

312/326-5040

http://www.laoszechuan.com

Chinatown Square Mall

2172 S. Archer Ave., Chicago

Three Happiness

312/842-1964

209 W. Cermak Road, Chicago

Phoenix

312/328-0848

2131 S. Archer Ave., 2nd Floor, Chicago

Happy Chef Dim Sum House

312/808-3689

Chinatown Square Mall

2164A S. Archer Ave., Chicago

Greek Islands

312/782-9855

http://www.greekislands.net

200 S. Halsted St. (entrance on Adams), Chicago

Venus Mezedopolion

312/714-1001

http://www.venuschicago.com

820 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago

Artopolis Bakery Cafe & Agora

312/559-9000

http://www.artopolischicago.com

306 S. Halsted St., Chicago

Nuevo Leon

312/421-1517

1515 W. 18th St., Chicago

Pearl's Place

773/285-1000

Amber Inn, 3901 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli

312/939-2855

http://www.mannysdeli.com

1141 S. Jefferson St., Chicago

(And why I'm spending time writing this, instead of a list for the meal I'm actually going to eat with you, I have no idea. :wink: But, of course, we could go to any one of these places or those on that ethnic dinner list instead.)

Edited by LAZ (log)

LAZ

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tammylc

tammylc

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Posted
(And why I'm spending time writing this, instead of a list for the meal I'm actually going to eat with you, I have no idea. :wink: But, of course, we could go to any one of these places or those on that ethnic dinner list instead.)

I must be slow today, because I think it took me a full minute or more to process that sentence and figure out what the heck you were talking about! Doh.

Hi! Looking forward to dinner! Wherever we end up...

And thanks for the lunch recommendations, too - that's a great list. I'm leaning towards tacquerias and the Mexican Fine Arts museum, but I change my mind nearly daily...

Tammy's Tastings

Creating unique food and drink experiences

eGullet Foodblogs #1 and #2
Dinner for 40

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Sweet Willie

Sweet Willie

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Posted
Taqueria la Oaxaquena - Mexican, specifically from Oaxaca

3382 N. Milwaukee Ave.

(773) 545-8585

Went for lunch the other day.

Associate and I split a couple dishes.

Starter consisted of shrimp, squid, and octopus all sauteed with onions, garlic and spices. Quite good.

The entree were chicken enchiladas with mole. The mole is very dark with a very heavy flavor, good but different than "lighter" moles I've had. I don't know enough about Mexican cuisine to know if the mole was representative of a Oaxacan mole.

I'd like to go back and try some other dishes.

--

"I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be"
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