Aquarius

We'll be travelling to Chicago in June for a long weekend. We are in our late 30's/early 40's and are staying at the Hotel Amalfi. Our husbands plan to catch a Cubs game (the purpose of our visit. But I am looking for your favorites:

1) Bar

(Not into loud clubs - The Signature Room is on the top of our list. We don't really care about prices. We'll go anywhere for a good drink in a nice bar)

2) Steakhouse

3) Chicago Pizza

4) Greek Restaurant

I've been scouring the web, but it's so overwhelming.

I'd appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.

jlm_mi

Chicago steakhouses have been discussed here many, many times. If you search up top for chicago steak you'll get lots of opinions.

Same for pizza. My favorite so far is Giordano's. Not a big fan of Gino's. Lou Malnotti's was good. Haven't had Uno's or Due's in Chicago in about 10 years, but have enjoyed Uno's elsewhere, though not nearly as much as the others I mentioned.

Though it's a restaurant, and I'm not sure if they have a bar, margaritas and the tequila selection are tops at Adobo Grill in Old Town.

annahead

Steakhouse - Las Tablas is my favorite, but Chicago Chop House and Gibson's are good also.

Chicago Pizza - Lou Malnati's deep dish buttercrust with sausage and mushrooms. None others even come close.

Greek Restaurant - Greek Islands.

exiledprincess

1. Favorite Bar: Pops for Champagne/Star Bar

2. Steakhouse: Tango Sur (go west from Wrigley Field 5-6 blocks to N. Southport, turn right (north) go 3 blocks, just past The Music Box theatre).

3. You didn't ask for this, but I'll throw it in for your consideration - If you don't want to go to Tango Sur for dinner, there's a nice sidewalk cafe area just to the east of Halsted on Cornelia - Cornelia's (Italian). Will warn you, you are right in the "Boystown" district there but the clientele is mixed. It's a nice place to sit in the sun after the game on a warm evening.

4. Lastly, don't know which weekend you are coming, but the Gay Pride Parade is the last Sunday of June. It's a hoot to watch, but traffic gets really snarled up from it.

Have fun.

exiledprincess

P.S. In post above, "warn" is a poor choice of words on my part, I should have said "wanted to mention to you". Sorry.

TravelDiva

Have you checked out Metromix? Great reviews of restaurants...you can do a search by type of cuisine. http://www.metromix.com

Narcisse on Clark by Huron is one of my all-time faves. No sign on the door...just look for the champagne-colored awning. Given your taste in bars...you might want to check out bars like Tavern on Rush in the Gold Coast.

Steakhouse...there's Morton's (very good) in the Gold Coast, Gene & Georgetti's in River North, Carmine's by me in the West Loop, I'd avoid Gibson's (way overrated). Also, I really like Wildfire a lot.

Chicago pizza...I'm a Chicago native born and raised, and number one deep dish is Giordano's, followed by Gino's East. (Gino's by Michigan Ave. is a fun place for tourists to go with it's graffitti-laden dive atmosphere.) Stay away from Uno's and Due's...no self-respecting Chicagoan ever eats at either of those. (If you walk by there, you'll note that most everyone coming and going from there is an out-of-towner.)

Greek restaurant...Greek Isles is good. Also, in June it will hopefully be nice out (keeping my fingers crossed for a decent summer), so Athena has an awesome outdoor seating area with a great view of the Chicago skyline.

I don't know if you're into Italian, but we have plenty of great ones here. Hope that helps.

Kristi

Steakhouse-for a casual reasonably priced steak, Wildfire is my favorite, they have a horseradish crusted filet that is awesome. If prime rib is your thing, Lawry's does it well. The Chophouse is good. I've actually never been to Gibson's or Morton's, just can't bring myself to pay that much for a meal. Just a note on Tango Sur, it's several miles from downtown, it's BYOB and doesn't take reservations. We were there a couple of weeks ago, our friends are still raving about it, we thought it was good.

Chicago Pizza-there are two kinds, deep dish, where all the ingredients are on top of the pizza and stuffed, where the ingredients are baked under the crust. For deep dish, I really like Lou Malnati's on Wells in River North. I love Pizzeria Uno's Chicago Classic pizza (sausage and fresh tomatoes) but I usually get it from the suburban locations as the one downtown always has a wait. You might try Due's instead, very close by and the same owners. For stuffed pizza, you can't go wrong with either Giordano's or Edwardo's. I haven't been to Gino's in years, do NOT go to the one on Rush Street, the Gino's East that is famous is now on Wells and Ontario.

Greek-head over to Greektown, my personal favorite is Greek Islands, Santorini is good if you are looking for fish, their specialty.

Tiffy321

1) Bar - I'm a big fan of Fulton Lounge...which you may want to try after you head to Greek Town (955 W. Fulton Market)

2) Steakhouse - I'm a big fan of Capital Grille (going there tonight for my B-Day actually ;-) ) I know it gets mixed reviews, but I've never had a bad meal there, ever. Also, Nine is nice, a good place to go - good appetizers...not a big fan of their duck there, I wasn't aware that people really do eat rare duck, lol...sooo get the steak!

3) Chicago Pizza - Pequods... I don't care what anyone else recommends, Pequods is a MUST...it's truly amazing and they have a pretty good salad there as well! I suggest pepperoni only and don't overload on toppings, there's just something about their pepperoni, it's nice deep dish, carmelized cheese onthe crust, oh man...maybe I want Pequods ofr my B-Day dinner instead ;-)

4) Greek Restaurant - I'm gonna suggest a lunch type place first (even though they do serve dinner, unfortunatly the service there at night is complete crap, lol), Artopolis, it's great, have good sandwiches, decent priced..have yummy artopita and individual pizzas too actually - but with interesting toppings, not your typical pizzas. Then dinner wise, I like Greek Islands and Rodity's...I will say that sometimes service isn't so great at either of those, but other times it's fantastic...but really, you're going for the food and it's good at both of those places!

If you enjoy Sushi...I could suggest Sushi Wabi which isn't too far from the Fulton Lounge I suggested...I'd be glad to help you with any other food ideas, etc!

buzzer

I'll second the Capital Grille.

I'm not a big steakhouse person, but in the past year, for business, I took groups to Morton's, Gibson's and the CG. They are all excellent, if you like pounds of meat for dinner, but I give CG the edge for having a better decor/atmosphere. It's clubby but open, whereas Morton's, for example, is a cave. CG is newer, too.

Where ever you go, be prepared to part with some serious bucks.

buzzer

I forgot to mention cocktails.

One of my favorite places for a little upscale hour or two is the lounge/bar off MoMi in the Park Hyatt. It's gorgeously decorated (modernist) and when you order a glass of wine they bring out the bottle and pour it for you at your seat. Very "classy," ya know? (BTW, I wouldn't bother with NoMi; apart from the view of the Water Tower, should you be lucky enough to be seated near the gigantic picture window, the food and service are lackluster.)

For a cozier bar, I like Stefani's at Hubbard and Rush. The big mural behind the bar is a kick and repays attention, and the tall tables are linen-draped. Friendly staff. (If you're tempted to eat there, I've never had a better Alaskan king crab dinner. It's not as popular as Shaw's or Joe's Steak & Crab down the street, but I think the food is better than both.)

Cerlaurie

I am surprised no one mentioned Keefer's right in your hotel. They have great steaks among other good food. For Greek, I really like Athena in the summer. They have a pretty outdoor patio. For pizza, my favorite is Lou Malnati's if you want a Chicago deep dish pizza. If you can get tickets to a Cubs game, there are many good restaurants in the area. I really like Francesca's and Tuscany for Italian or Platiyo and El Jardin for Mexican. Platiyo is more upscale Mexican and not traditional but it is very good and also has a beautiful patio outside. If you like Cajun, Heaven on Seven is close to Wrigley and is also pretty good. If you go to the Signature Room, try to go early there is usually a long line to go up there later in the evening.

Cerlaurie

I meant to mention whereever you go make reservations early. Many of the steakhouse like Gibson's and Wildfire you need to make the reservations a few weeks ahead of time. However, I also think Gibson's is way overrated.

parisandelle

Hi!

1. I am from Chicago and going home next week. My husband, who is British always wants to go the Signature Bar for drinks. Anytime I had friends visit, it was always one of the highlights of their tip. You will enjoy the view. I also like Ghost Bar on Randolph.


2. My favorite Steakhouse (both are chains) are Smith and Wollensky and Ruth's Chris. You can't go wrong at either. Like others have said Gibson's is so overrated.

3. As for pizza, I have never liked Gino's. I love Edwardo's spinach pan pizza and Lou Malnalti's as mentioned before. Giordano's is very good. Connie's Pizza on Archer is very, very good, but the location is not easy to reach unless driving.

4. I used to live near Greektown and my hand's down favorite is Pegasus. The food is so good.

Enjoy your trip!

syd

Frontera Grille makes the absolute best margaritas ever! Be warned, they pack a punch and sneek up on you. The food's great too but you didn't mention eating Mexican.

Lamchop

Greektown- We love Roditys and Pegasus!

flamingomonkey

Gino's is an overrated tourist trap with lousy pizza. Your first choice should be Giordano's, though Uno's or Connies would be fine choices as well. The Archer location is actually pretty easy to reach, just take the No. 62 Archer bus, which runs frequently 24hrs. a day from downtown. It's not far from Chinatown if you want to go for a stroll after. Also nearby is the Mexican Fine Arts Museum in Pilsen, which is awesome. If you're looking for something different to do, you might go there before dinner. Take the Ashland Ave. bus, which interesects with Archer.

TravelDiva

Gino's is still waaaaay better than Uno's, which has the worst crust ever. And I don't think any locals actually go to Uno's. Edwardo's is good, as is Lou Malnati's, but we're not big fans of the latter's sausage "sheet" (what is with that?). My #1 fave is definitely Giordano's. Best sauce, crust, as well as cheese to crust to sauce to ingredients ratio.

annahead

As someone else pointed out there are two types of pizza: deep dish and stuffed. I'm not a huge fan of stuffed, too much cheese. I've literally choked on the pizza at Giordano's. The best stuffed I've had is at a local dive called Manzo's, but deep dish is still my favorite. I really would not recommend Edwardo's. I don't know any actual Chicagoans who eat there, mostly suburbanites who don't have many other choices. Gino's was good a LONG time ago, but no more. Uno's and Due's are for tourists. You can get Uno's in Boston, no need to waste your time in Chicago there.

Tiffy321

really...seriously...you want Pequods! ;-)

I can't think of a single pizza that compares...for goos thin crust, I like Tony & Lil's way up in Portage Park...but we'll drive there if we're craving a yummy thin crust!

nrauch75

Hi! I live in Chicago and can suggest a couple places in the general area. The Signature Room is nice, but can sometimes be very empty. The view is great though. Any one of the bigger hotels on Michigan Avenue will have a nice bar, usually with some jazz music. My favorite for this type of experience would have to be the Peninsula Hotel bar. It just 'feels' nice there. If you're willing to travel further away from your hotel, there are a million other places that would fit the bill.
As far as pizza, I'm a big fan of a place called My Pie on Clark St in Lincoln Park. I've just never really liked any of our pizza 'institutions' all that much (i.e. Gino's, Uno/Due, Giordano's, Malnati's).
Greek food--I would have to say Pegasus. They also have a fabulous rooftop deck/bar with a view for appetizers and cocktails. Service is also top notch. Athena is also great for dining al fresco--they have a huge beautiful patio. I do like the food at Pegasus better though.

Let me know if you'd like other recommendations!