Fare Minded
Chicago’s reputation for good food ranks right up there with acclaim for its great architecture. Restaurants recommended here are within a five- to 10-minute cab ride of downtown hotels. At all but the most casual, a call ahead for reservations is advised.
Rave Reviews A handful of restaurants remain on the Best of the Best list year after year, often because they’re headed by chefs who are equal parts visionary and taskmaster. Expect entrees in the $30 range and degustation menus (set, multi-course offerings) at about $75.
Make your reservations far in advance for dinner at internationally acclaimed Charlie Trotter’s (816 W. Armitage Ave., 773.248.6228). The service is impeccable, the atmosphere rarefied, the food artfully presented. Menus change daily, with three degustation menus featuring such dishes as veal loin with cumin-infused roasted eggplant and sage.
At Everest (440 S. LaSalle St., 312.663.8920), tuxedo-clad waiters glide effortlessly past mirrored walls that reflect the city as seen from 40 floors above the Chicago Stock Exchange. Award-winning chef Jean Joho’s traditional French cuisine includes duck confit, medallions of venison, and desserts like caramel cranberry tart.
Rick Bayless’ devotion to fresh and authentic Mexican cuisine has spawned cookbooks, a television series, and side-by-side restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobampo (445 N. Clark St., 312.661.1434). Decor and menus differ — Topolobampo is sedate, Frontera playful (entrees here are about $20) — but the two share a kitchen, so you can expect the same high-quality offerings. Think plantains with goat cheese, shrimp and skate-wing tacos, and duck in red chile/apricot mole.
There’s a tabletop “caviar staircase” awaiting you at Tru (676 N. St. Clair St., 312.202.0001), along with foie gras, pheasant breast, white truffles, and a long list of other gourmet fantasy foods dreamt up by Rick Tramonto, named James Beard “Best Chef of the Midwest” in 2002. The black and white decor is sophisticated rather than stuffy, and the staff, relaxed and knowledgeable.
Steak Houses The stockyards may be history, but Chicago’s stature as a great beef town is secure. Longtime favorite Gibson’s Bar and Steakhouse (1028 N. Rush St., 312.266.8999) draws a red-meat crowd with classic decor, he-man portions, and super-sized martinis. Newcomer Keefer’s (20 W. Kinzie St., 312.467.9525) is part steak house, part bistro, with welcoming wood-burning fireplaces to take the chill off nippy Lake Michigan breezes. Outside Harry Caray’s (33 W. Kinzie St., 312.828.0966), an oversize banner proclaims “Holy Cow!”— the trademark phrase of the beloved and now-departed Cubs and White Sox play-by-play announcer. Baseball photos and memorabilia backdrop a bright and bustling space where the chicken Parmesan is as popular as the porterhouse. Entrees at all three range upward to $30.
Chic And Trendy You can blow out your credit card or opt for small-plate tastes at the city’s most talked about newer restaurants. Among them are: Opera (1301 S. Wabash Ave., 312.461.0161), named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in 2003 and described by citysearch.com reviewers as a “sexy, upscale Chinese hot spot”; Vermilion (10 W. Hubbard St., 312.527.4060), where you can sample tapas that reflect the confluence of Latin and Indian culinary traditions; Pluton (873 N. Orleans St., 312.266.1440), with a $60 to $70 price tag on meals that comprise four to five plates of inventive fare such as a lobster salad with apples and seaweed; and bi-level Japonais (600 W. Chicago Ave., 312.822.9600), where the seven-spiced smoked duck, sushi, and sake come with views of the Chicago River.
Much-praised Avec (615 W. Randolph St., 312.377.2002) serves carafes of wine and shareable plates of rustic Mediterranean food at communal tables. It’s the more affordable progeny of chef Paul Kahan’s highly-regarded Blackbird (619 W. Randolph St., 312.715.0708), and shares the same taste for barely there decor, with an emphasis on fresh ingredients and simple dishes impeccably prepared. This stretch of Randolph Street west of downtown emerged as Restaurant Row a decade ago, and it’s still going strong. Lively Marché (833 W. Randolph St., 312.226.8399), known for its Provencal cuisine and splashy decor, pioneered the onetime warehouse district’s turnaround. Cross the street to exotic Red Light (820 W. Randolph St., 312.733.8880) to savor inventive Pan-Asian dishes in a party atmosphere.
Ethnic Eats Along Taylor Street in Little Italy and Halsted Street in Greektown, the immigrant populations have dispersed, but the Old World atmosphere lives on. Traditional lamb dishes, grilled octopus, and vegetarian offerings stand out at affordable Greek Islands (200 S. Halsted St., 312.782.9855). At moderately priced New Rosebud Café (1500 W. Taylor St., 312.942.1117) the pasta is made by hand and there’s red sauce like Nonna made in Italy. You’ll taste the difference in the baked lasagna, cavatelli, and linguine with clams.
In Chinatown, you’ll have plenty of company at inexpensive Phoenix Restaurant (2131 S. Archer Ave. Suite 2, 312.328.0848). Huge second-floor dining rooms fill up for the daily dim sum brunch, served from 8 a.m. (!) until 3 p.m.
A century ago at The Berghoff (17 W. Adams St., 312.427.3170) the German-style lunch came free with a nickel beer. Specialty beers still flow at this moderately priced downtown institution, where no-nonsense waiters of a certain age serve schnitzel, bratwurst, and sauerbraten in dining rooms rich with stained glass and wood paneling. You’ll have to pay for your lunch, though.
Real Food For Real People Three messy, juice-dripping-down-your-arm foods vie for the title of Chicago’s signature dish. With luck, you’ll have a chance to try them all.
Ask for a Chicago-style hot dog and you’ll get an all-beef wiener nestled in a steamed poppyseed bun, topped with yellow mustard, bright green relish, onions, tomato wedges, a pickle spear, miniature hot peppers, and a dash of celery salt. Hot dog stands dot the city (1,800 by one count). Two that are handy to the downtown area are grab-’em-and-go Gold Coast Dogs (159 N. Wabash Ave., 312.917.1677) and comfortable Portillo’s Hot Dogs (100 W. Ontario St., 312.587.8910) where you can settle in at oilcloth-topped tables.
Portillo’s also does a great job with another Chicago favorite: the Italian beef sandwich. Slices of seasoned roast beef are piled on chewy French bread, then “au jus” is ladled on and sweet peppers laid on top. You’ll get an equally fine version at Mr. Beef (666 N. Orleans St., 312.337.8500), an eatery that’s been featured on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.
To experience deep-dish pizza at its best, go to the source: Pizzeria Uno (29 E. Ohio St., 312.321.1000), where the hefty dish of mozzarella, tomatoes, and sausage in a bread-like crust was created in 1943. Uno’s larger sister restaurant, Pizzeria Due (619 N. Wabash Ave., 312.943.2400), is just a block away. –REMODELING Staff