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Chicago Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

Allen

By Allen
in The Heartland: Dining

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Schneier

Schneier

Posted
Posted
Heaven on Seven, at 600 N. Michigan Ave.  I think it's a quick cab ride away, but it is definitely worth the small bit of trouble.

You'll have a great Cajun meal at a reasonable price.

Yeah, good place. It's a quick walk, though -- enter at the corner of Ohio and Rush.

Thanks. It's been a few years since I've lived there, and my mental geography has been getting distorted.

Bruce

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babyluck

babyluck

Posted
Posted

I'm back.

Didn't get to read Schneier's post before I left, or check in while I was gone. Wouldn't have gone for Cajun anyway since my job has sent me to New Orleans 5 times in 5 years but never before to Chicago.

The trip was a culinary disaster. I don't really want to talk about it. I settled for less due to hunger, peer pressure, bad directions, disorientation, idiotic doormen, insufficient research, and general exhaustion. I felt like there was a conspiracy trying to trick me into ending up on the Magnificent Mile. I am deeply remorseful but more eager than ever to take a vacation there, although I found the pace of the city to be unnervingly slow and polite. There were people crossing the street in the middle of the light and cars just waited patiently without honking.

The worst meal? On the "Murder Mystery Cruise" -- our first clue was when someone asked the server what he was serving and he didn't know. To the best of my knowledge it was: catfish, dry chicken breast, some kind of potatoes, soggy penne with red sauce, and soggier bowties with floury mushroom sauce. All on the same plate. I looked around and realized I was the only one graced with all 5 dishes -- everyone else had a different combination of 4 out of 5. So there was a lot of confusion. It was hot and cramped on the boat so I didn't have much of an appetite, but I tried a bite of everything and found only the catfish edible, so I ate it all and got a bone in my throat with the last bite.

Queen of Grilled Cheese

NJ, USA

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Lady T

Lady T

Posted
Posted

:shock:

Oh, dear. This won't do.

A tip for you, then, for whenever you come back: come (with a jacket) to Chicago in October, when the weather and the pace alike are brisker. We do sometimes dawdle a bit in high summer, and visitors who are used to charging around at New York speeds might be a touch unnerved. Come when the locust trees on Boul Mich have turned gold, and admire the view along the Drive and such -- then get away from the window, make sure you have computer access, and talk to us here at eGullet Midwest. You sound like an excellent excuse to throw a party, and if all you got to eat this time out was gunch, then we will make it our business to see that your next visit rocks!

:wink:

Me, I vote for the joyride every time.

-- 2/19/2004

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babyluck

babyluck

Posted
Posted

Lady T, that is so sweet of you! I will definitely take you up on that offer if we can swing it. My husband likes the idea, especially because he will get to introduce me to Hala Kahiki, his favorite tiki bar. He doesn't have any vacation days left, though, so it would probably be a 3-day weekend. I'll keep you posted!

Queen of Grilled Cheese

NJ, USA

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Alex

Alex

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Posted
A tip for you, then, for whenever you come back: come (with a jacket) to Chicago in October...

...except Oct 17-19, when many of the Chicago eG'ers will be at a Heartland gathering in Grand Rapids, MI. You're welcome to join us, of course. Ann and I can give you a tour of our books.... :blink:

Sorry to hear about your culinary disappointments. I'm glad you want to re-visit under better circumstances. And take it from a NYC native who's lived in the Midwest a long time now -- you learn to deeply appreciate the politeness and slower pace. (I'm still regularly accused of driving like a New Yorker, though.)

"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."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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  • 2 weeks later...
babyluck

babyluck

Posted
Posted
A tip for you, then, for whenever you come back: come (with a jacket) to Chicago in October...

...except Oct 17-19, when many of the Chicago eG'ers will be at a Heartland gathering in Grand Rapids, MI. You're welcome to join us, of course. Ann and I can give you a tour of our books.... :blink:

Sorry to hear about your culinary disappointments. I'm glad you want to re-visit under better circumstances. And take it from a NYC native who's lived in the Midwest a long time now -- you learn to deeply appreciate the politeness and slower pace. (I'm still regularly accused of driving like a New Yorker, though.)

Thanks for the invites, guys. Looks like it ain't gonna happen this time, though. Too much going on at work. But sooner or later, we'll make it there.

P.S. For extra credit, who can name the all of the cookbooks/food reference books by the side of my bed? There's some tricky ones there...

Queen of Grilled Cheese

NJ, USA

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babyluck

babyluck

Posted
Posted (edited)
On the "Murder Mystery Cruise" -- our first clue was when someone asked the server what he was serving and he didn't know.

One doesn't go on Murder Mystery Cruises for the food. Was the mystery at least interesting?

Bruce

I quite agree. I wasn't expecting such an utterly strange meal, though.

I wouldn't say that the mystery was all that interesting, but the experience was. I've done a lot of the packaged mysteries -- we do one every year on our Adirondack vacation -- and even wrote one myself one year because I couldn't stand the bad writing and logic of the boxed ones. This one was somewhere in between. It was too hot to stay inside and there were too many of us to fit on one outer deck at once, so communication was a problem, and with that and the average intelligence of our sales force, I knew there was no point in actually trying to play the game for real. I was fried and plus, they didn't give me a starring role, dammit, so I was happy just to kick back with a gin & tonic, and so were the bartender, the waiter, the hostesses, and the captain.

Again, it made me very glad that I'm not an event planner any more. The boat had seen better days, the head was filthy and the door didn't close. Doesn't bother this tough gal, but my old bosses would have had my head if I booked it for $140 (a head). But like I told our new event planner when I got home, for a bonding experience the more that goes wrong and the more ludicrous and rustic things get, the better it is -- as long as you don't run out of alchohol. Actually, my darling sales force drank the boat dry of Chardonnay. They were panicking until the server offered them Pinot Grigio. "EVEN BETTER!" they yelled. We started talking about wine and one of them was dissing White Zin. I told them my mom drinks it -- with ice cubes. They all thought it was really funny. Then the server shows up with the bottle -- and a glass full of ice. "Sorry, it's not chilled..." Without missing a beat, they all filled their glasses with ice. One of them -- a woman -- even took the bottle from the server and opened it with her own corkscrew.

What really got me is that some of them ordered Chardonnay at the bowling alley the following night.

As you can see, the murder mystery was secondary. We never would have found out who did it at all because it got too dark outside to read and the deck light went out if I hadn't thought to borrow a flashlight from the captain. He gave me his entire supply. "You don't, like, need one just in case? Like, in case of emergency?" He laughed and took a drink.

Ended the night with a double Scotch talking survivalist philosophy with hostess #2 and the other staff members hunkered down around the bar, totally ignoring the rest of the guests. She recommended the movie 25th Hour, which I rented last weekend. It was good.

Interesting, yes.

Edited by babyluck (log)

Queen of Grilled Cheese

NJ, USA

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mark922

mark922

Posted
Posted
Does anyone have any thoughts about the restaurants in Greek Town? My impressions of Greek Town generally conclude at mediocre and touristy. A meal that I had at The Greek Isles last Friday didn't do much to change my thinking. In fairness, I will say that my lamb shishkebob was beautifully prepared--served medium, tender, and juicy. I should have stopped on that good note. I could use their baklava as bait.

I like Greek Isles, myself. It isn't the best place in Greektown as far as quality goes, but I find them to be the most accomodating if I want to order something that's not on the menu; put together my own combo, or have a small plate of beets, peppers, and olives as an appetizer or something.

For the best cooking on Halsted, I would go with Costa's. They do an excellent job with everything, but they specialize in seafood. The thing I love about the place is that they avoid a common tragic Greek flaw. They don't overccok the fish.

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Alex

Alex

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Posted
The thing I love about the place is that they avoid a common tragic Greek flaw.

:laugh:

"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."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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iguana

iguana

Posted
Posted
I don't like the "salad bar" style hot dog either, and in these parts, saying so is sacrilege.

That's merely regrettable-- true sacrilege is putting ketchup on a kosher dog.

Here are two very different excellent hot dog places:

Superdawg (excellent dog, check the fiberglass statues on the roof!)

Hot Doug's (gourmet hot dog joint-- not to be missed. Ask for the duck fat fries on Friday or Saturday)

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Fresser

Fresser

Posted
Posted
I don't like the "salad bar" style hot dog either, and in these parts, saying so is sacrilege.

That's merely regrettable-- true sacrilege is putting ketchup on a kosher dog.

Spread the word, Iguana.

Once I saw my rabbi's daughter put ketchup on a hot dog. Aaauugh! But then, they're Sephardic... :laugh:

There are two sides to every story and one side to a Möbius band.

borschtbelt.blogspot.com

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Comfort Me

Comfort Me

Posted
Posted

I'm a fan of The Parthanon, about 2 blocks south of Greek Islands. The quail are always perfect, and I love those peas more than I should!

That said, Greek Islands is very enjoyable -- especially the lima beans. Don't laugh. They are sublime. My son, now 7, has been a big fan of the taramaslada (dried cod roe dip) since he was 2.

Aidan

"Ess! Ess! It's a mitzvah!"

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  • 5 months later...
tommy

tommy

Posted
Posted (edited)

i'll be in chicago on sunday. if anyone wants to buy me a beer or smack me upside the head, or both, feel free to PM me. and this time it's just about definite.

(and any recs for a casual, fun, low-key dinner on a sunday would be welcome as well...staying on E. Delware i think)

Edited by tommy (log)
tommy:eats.com
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ronnie_suburban

ronnie_suburban

Posted
Posted

We're probably going to grill some hotdogs, so you'd better hurry over :laugh:

Seriously, I'd love to meet up with you and I'll happily buy the beers.

Anyone else?

=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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beans

beans

Posted
Posted

Yikes this sounds serious. :biggrin: Despite I know I can't I am really wishing I could. As I'll be heading west myself to my old working/stomping grounds rock in the lake of Put in Bay, South Bass Island for part of that week.

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