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Chicago Restaurant Recommendations

The following Chicago restaurant recommendations are taken from a flier produced for the CSCW 2004 Conference. I thought it was quite handy, so I OCR'd and edited it for the web.

Most of the restaurants are within walking distance of the Hilton Chicago Hotel, which overlooks Grant Park and Lake Michigan. This list borrows heavily from Hilton staff recommendations and is supplemented by the CSCW Local Arrangements Chair. Information may be out of date, so verify it with a real Chicagoan before using it.

In the Hilton

Buckingham's - steak & seafood: Hilton Lobby (Central); Extension 6600
Pavillion - Casual Dinning: Hilton Lobby (Central); Extension 4315
Kitty O'Shea's - Irish pub: Hilton Lobby (South)
Lakeside Green Lounge: Hilton Lobby (North)

Coffee Houses

Rain Dog Books & Cafe: 408 S. Michigan - 312.922.1200; Opens 8am (10am Sat; closed Sun) Small independent; nice book collection
Caribou Coffee: 800 South Wabash - 312.786.9163 - Good chain coffee/environment. Right behind hotel.
The Gourmond: 728 S Dearborn - 312.427.2610 - Good independent coffee house

Good Cheap Eats

Food in the under $15 a meal range.

Amigos / Cafe Gioia: 436 S. Wabash; 312.566.0208 Amigos; 312.566.0209 Cafe Gioia; Nice variety. Clean. Upscale fast food. Bistro and Mexican diner attached.
Potbelly Sandwich Works: 55 E.Jackson - 312.427.9347; Great local chain sub shop. Open lunchtime
Charming Cusine: 601 S. Wabash Ave. - 312.939.0966; Chinese and mixed oriental. They have sushi.
Edwardo's Natural Pizza: 521 South Dearborn St. - 312.939.3366; Very good Chicago style pizza plus pasta
Harold's Chicken Shack: 636 South Wabash - 312.362.0442; As Mr. T might say, "I pity the fool..." But it is close by.
Subway / Taco Bell: 41 West Congress; Not the cleanest place I've ever been to, but the food is chain standard.
South Loop Club: 701 South State St. - 312.427.2787; Very close by. Open late night.
Hackney's: 733 S. Dearborn St. - 312.461.1116; Chicago fixture. Has upscale burgers and pub food.
Artist's Restaurant: 412 S. Michigan Ave. - 312.939.7855; Open 7am. Is a very good breakfast joint and diner.
Ada's: 14 South Wabash Ave. - 312.214.4282; Decent deli. About 2/3 mile north.
Yang's: 28 E. Roosevelt Rd. - 312.986.1688; Chinese food.

Fine Dining

Prairie: 500 S Dearborn St - 312.663.1143
Printer's Row: 550 S. Dearborn St. - 312.461.0780
Rhapsody: 65 E. Adams St. - 312.786.9911
Berghoff Restaurant: 17 W.Adams St. - 312.427.3170
Russian Tea Time: 77 E. Adams St. - 312.360.0000
Gioco: 1312 S. Wabash Ave. - 312.939.3870
Vivere: 71 W. Monroe St. - 312.332.4040
Nick's Fish Market: 51 S. dark St. (One First National Plaza) - 312.621.0200
Thai Spoon: 632 South Wabash Ave. - 312.427.9470
Opera: 1301 S. Wabash Ave. - 312.461.0161; Upscale Chinese food
Oysy: 888 South Michigan Ave. - 312.922.1127; Upscale sushi and Japanese food. I sampled here as part of my research; Very nice.
Chicago Firehouse: 1401 S. Michigan Ave. - 312.786.1401 - Steakhouse

Chicago Classics

A friend of yours hears you were in Chicago for CSCW and asks if you ate at X. You are embarrassed you never heard of X. Well, these be X.

Manny's: 1141. S.Jefferson - 312.939.2855; 5am-4pm, but do lunch rather than breakfast as they excel at lunch. Best corned beef west of Manhattan. Best NY style deli anywhere outside of NYC (and that includes Miami!)
Lou Mitchells: 565 W Jackson Blvd - 312.939.3111 The place to go and be seen at breakfast if you are in the Chicago machine. Great coffee, but too claustrophobic for my taste. Want great breakfast, see Artist's (above).
Gino's East: 633 N. Wells - 312.943.1124; Chicago pizza is a religion; this is my denomination. Their crust is far superior to any other I've had. My second choice is probably Edwardo's (see cheap eats above)
Mortons Steakhouse: 1050 N. State - 312.266.4820; There are several great Chicago steak houses. This one probably has the most stars from the most rating boards. This is the place where on the old commercial they used to say, "We secretly replaced their regular coffee with Folgers crystals..."
Berghoffs: 17 W.Adams St. - 312.427.3170; German food. Been here for over 100 years. Personally, I hate it; but it has a huge following.

Chicago Tourist Eateries

Got the family with you, or just want to play tourist? Consider these dining locations.

Food life: 835 N Michigan Ave - 312.335.3663; This also belongs under cheap eats. It is a high end food court with healthy made-to-orderfood. A great experience - and a great place to go if everyone has different likes. It is inside of the Water Tower Place Mall next to the Hancock Building.
Cheesecake Factory: 875 N Michigan Ave - 312.337.1101; In the Hancock Building. Great faux-gaudi architecture. Excellent cheap eats food. The salads are creative and huge. Good value, but touristy.
Grand Luxe Cafe: 600 N Michigan Ave - 312.276.2500; Cheesecake Factory owners basically asked, "If he had it to do over again, what would we do to make it better?" And this is what they came up with. Very nice place. Not too expensive.

Other Thoughts

If you are thinking of going up about 100 stories and don't have kids in tow, do this: Go to the John Hancock Center and go to the bar on the 95 floor. You will be one floor above the observation deck, you will avoid the $8.75 observation deck fee (although you will spend similar money on a drink), and you will avoid the long elevator line to the deck.

Powell's Books is at 828 S Wabash Ave. (312)-341- 0748. Powell's is one of the great independent/used bookstores in the country. Take advantage of the fact the Hilton is just a block away. http://www.powells.com/