El Idea Chicago 12/16

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mille162

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Going to El Idea in Chicago tom nite (Dec 16), anyone here also going?

In town till Fri, looking for suggestions for must try spots for any meal/type of food (sadly Alinea is fully booked)

-Ron
 
It will be hard to get a reservation with one day notice, but bavette's bar & boeuf allows walk ins.

grill and the goat is also wonderful and worth trying to get into.
 
Thanks for the suggestions! I'm making notes now...I'm going to judge my dates reaction at El Idea to see how adventurous she is for the next nite, so please also recommend places for breakfast and lunch as I'm prob going to go off on my own for breakfast and lunches while she's shooting :)

Babette's looks awesome btw, going to have to try and walk in there regardless...

-Ron
 
For breakfast I have enjoyed going to yolk or little goat. Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe Is also great.
 
Boeufhaus is really great for lunch or dinner. Charlatan is doing seriously good food (my best U.S. meal this year) without pretension or much press. Have fun at El, Phillip and his team are super talented and their dinners can be real fun. If you want to add a serious dinner, Grace is awesome. They don't use as many overwhelming tricks as what you'd see at Alinea, but their food is consistently more delicious and the service is unbelievable. Let me know if you need help with a reso there. Acadia is also excellent and chef just put out a serious new menu. If you end up blitzed and want something delicious real late, a polish and fries at Redhot Ranch is your ticket. I still keep restaurant hours so I don't have any breakfast recommendations for you.
 
Hard to go wrong with Lula Cafe for breakfast (or any meal, really) and I'll add a second recommendation for Charlatan, Matt and his crew are killing it right now. Oh! Publican Quality Meats for lunch...
 
Publican is a very good recommendation for lunch... A forum member works there (lanel)
 
Ditto on what everyone above me said, Charlatan's pasta is on point!
 
So, here is how the 3 day trip turned out..

Nite 1:
Dinner El Ideas. Wow. Worth going to Chicago for the weekend just to eat there. It's a single seating, small dining room (maybe 25-30 total covers) with an open kitchen, 14 courses, all dishes come out with one of the chefs explaining what it is and why. First course you're instructed to eat with no utensils and no hands, just lick your plate. There was a dish that's on the menu everynite, a potato leek soup with little cubes of fried potato and nitrogen-frozen cream ontop to replicate dipping your french fries into your frosty. I'm a forward eater while my date was much more conservative but there wasn't a single dish we didn't both love. Can't say enough good things, it was my top meal of 2015.

Day 2:
Pizza at Giordano's. ***, this is the famous Chicago deep dish pizza? We split a small deep dish for lunch, we both barely ate 1 slice before abandoning it and going somewhere else. I was told by several local friends it was their favorite, I told them that if this was their favorite, I've got another brand they'll love, and they can find it in the frozen food section of most supermarkets.

Drinks at Three Dots and a Dash. Touristy tiki bar that may initially seem like a speakeasy, but really is just a hard to find entrance cause it's in an alleyway. WAY overpriced ($140 for 5 drinks and an app), WAY too crowded, and drinks were "meh". Tried 5 different signature cocktails, all were underwhelming, but they do have great presentation

Dinner at Bottlefork. great menu with larger than normal tapas sized dishes. Will be eating here again next time I go to Chicago

Day 3:
Breakfast donuts and coffee at Firecakes.
Lunch at Bottlefork (was craving those kettle chips!)
Snack maple glazed bacon crawler and chai tea at Glazed and Infused
Early dinner and drinks at Purple Pig before flight. Huge wine selection by the glass, great tapas dishes, but on the small side and a little crowded happy hour time. Would come back.

Made a note of everyones selections and planning a longer trip back once the city thaws out...after moving to miami I don't have much tolerance for the cold!
 
#1 Any Chicago locals that say Giordano's is their favorite pizza are suspect to begin with.

#2 Three Dots and a Dash is not the same now that the head mixologist has left, not bad but I agree overpriced.

#3 Here's a few places that will not dissapoint: Next followed by The Office, Publican, Yusho, The Bristol, Sumi Robata Bar, and Vera.
 
Alright, I am back from the dead and have been living in Chicago for 2 years so I figure I'll add a few that I think got missed on the lists. GT fish and oyster, Sunda (good food but kind of a scene), Fat Rice is a good option, Since you mentioned Donuts... Do-Rite donuts and Stan's are some great options, Deep Dish is ok but Coal fire pizza and Stella Barra are great pizza places that don't make deep dish. There are some restaurants that I enjoy that haven't been mentioned yet.

-Chuck
 
mille162 said:
So, here is how the 3 day trip turned out..

Nite 1:
Dinner El Ideas. Wow. Worth going to Chicago for the weekend just to eat there. It's a single seating, small dining room (maybe 25-30 total covers) with an open kitchen, 14 courses, all dishes come out with one of the chefs explaining what it is and why. First course you're instructed to eat with no utensils and no hands, just lick your plate. There was a dish that's on the menu everynite, a potato leek soup with little cubes of fried potato and nitrogen-frozen cream ontop to replicate dipping your french fries into your frosty. I'm a forward eater while my date was much more conservative but there wasn't a single dish we didn't both love. Can't say enough good things, it was my top meal of 2015.

Day 2:
Pizza at Giordano's. ***, this is the famous Chicago deep dish pizza? We split a small deep dish for lunch, we both barely ate 1 slice before abandoning it and going somewhere else. I was told by several local friends it was their favorite, I told them that if this was their favorite, I've got another brand they'll love, and they can find it in the frozen food section of most supermarkets.

Drinks at Three Dots and a Dash. Touristy tiki bar that may initially seem like a speakeasy, but really is just a hard to find entrance cause it's in an alleyway. WAY overpriced ($140 for 5 drinks and an app), WAY too crowded, and drinks were "meh". Tried 5 different signature cocktails, all were underwhelming, but they do have great presentation

Dinner at Bottlefork. great menu with larger than normal tapas sized dishes. Will be eating here again next time I go to Chicago

Day 3:
Breakfast donuts and coffee at Firecakes.
Lunch at Bottlefork (was craving those kettle chips!)
Snack maple glazed bacon crawler and chai tea at Glazed and Infused
Early dinner and drinks at Purple Pig before flight. Huge wine selection by the glass, great tapas dishes, but on the small side and a little crowded happy hour time. Would come back.

Made a note of everyones selections and planning a longer trip back once the city thaws out...after moving to miami I don't have much tolerance for the cold!
Click to expand...


for pizza go to pequods...you wont be disapointed. I love purple pig (CRISPY PIGS EAR), deffinetly have to go at off time for best experience.
 
Agree that pequods is the best example of deep dish pizza. There are only 2 locations (one of which is Chicago) so it might not be local, but it is the best. Giordano's is a major chain and might just be the "best" they had available locally.
 
Looks like we finally have a solid crew of Chicago area residents, we might need to have a get together in the spring/early summer.
 
chuck239 said:
Alright, I am back from the dead and have been living in Chicago for 2 years so I figure I'll add a few that I think got missed on the lists. GT fish and oyster, Sunda (good food but kind of a scene), Fat Rice is a good option, Since you mentioned Donuts... Do-Rite donuts and Stan's are some great options, Deep Dish is ok but Coal fire pizza and Stella Barra are great pizza places that don't make deep dish. There are some restaurants that I enjoy that haven't been mentioned yet.

-Chuck
Click to expand...

Welcome back
 
cheflivengood said:
what's real chicago deep dish
Click to expand...

What's put out by Gino's, Uno's, Due's, Lou Malnati's, Gioradano's, Edwardo's, Chicago's, Art Of Pizza, etc. Buttery crust pushed against the pan as if making a timpano or quiche, tons of cheese/tomatoes/topings of choice layered in the center, baked for about an hour. What most visitors insist on trying and typically come away disappointed.
 
I am not a tourist and I happily crush Lou Malnati's deep dish. That said, Pequod's, Coalfire, and Spacca Napoli are also awesome pizzas.

If you guys are interested in having a Chicago get-together, let me know. I may be able to host.
 
buttermilk said:
I am not a tourist and I happily crush Lou Malnati's deep dish. That said, Pequod's, Coalfire, and Spacca Napoli are also awesome pizzas.

If you guys are interested in having a Chicago get-together, let me know. I may be able to host.
Click to expand...

I more happily crush free pizza at pizano's wednesday nights after 10:30 industry night, If ya'll didn't know you're welcome....I do prefer their thin crust though...so does Oprah

If you can't host I can
 
Lou's is the only pizza chain that I love, and damn is that crust buttery and delicious!

I'd be down for a get together spring time, we should talk more about it closer to when the weather breaks. Hopefully with the help of "The Nino" that will be sooner than later :razz:
 
I find I only end up ordering it when hosting those from out of town; simply prefer 8-10 (off the top of my head) places ahead of Lou's or (insert you preference here). I may or may not be able to swing some time for a meetup, availability is far too dependent on how the week went to speak in certainties, at the moment. I'd certainly like to be able to attend.
 
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