Dinner in Chicago

Robin,
Feel free to move this but I thought I would start here for perhaps a view more views and opinions. My wife and I are going to be in Chicago Tuesday night. We are going to see U2 at Soldier and might possibly go to the Field museum beforehand since they are right next to each other. COncert starts at 7:00. ANy thoughts for a decent place to eat? Thanks!
Kris

Such a coincidence you should ask, because I happen to be standing outside of my favorite dining destination in Chicago and digesting an amazing tapas dinner! The name of it is Mercat (attached to the Blackstone on Michigan Ave. across from Millenium Park). We dined here a couple of yrs ago and knew without second thought that we'd return. The chef is Jose Garces - the newest Iron Chef, so I'm told. There are 6 of us and we just passed around about 20 tapas that were outstanding. I also had a delicious cocktail with Hendricks, ginger, botanical spirit, lemon, and cucmber. I haven't dined around Chicago nearly as much as a lot of other forumites, but two of our companions live here and can not stop thanking us for bringing them out.

I'll second that one Jackie. GREAT food! My pick would be Gage , a gastropub almost directly across Michigan Ave from the big chrome blob in the park. Small plates to full blown dinners plus they are open until 2AM. So you could catch the concert and then dine.

THanks Jeff and Jackie! I will look into both places!

MK (http://mkchicago.com/index.swf). Really, really good. We ate there and at Blackbird in the same trip last fall, and I feel it blew Blackbird out of the water.

[Robin Garr]

I've been a longtime fan of Rick Bayless's cutting-edge Mexican regional eateries, Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, basically two restaurants sharing the same location; Frontera to the right, casual and (relatively) affordable; Topolobampo to the left, upscale and more pricey.

http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/grill.html

http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/topolobampo.html

I'll be there this weekend too!

I will say, Moto was my least favorite dining experience in Chicago. The courses took too long and they were too large of portions to lend itself well to a massive meal. (15 minutes between each one), The space was uncomfortable, everything started to taste the same after the third course (we did the massive tasting menu) and the whole thing just took entirely too long. After we'd been there for five hours we just asked to wrap it up and we wanted to go. If you're really into molecular gastronomy then you might enjoy it.

We actually had people next to us that fell asleep against the wall. No joke.

I will second the Publican and Gage, but the Publican is loud, crowded and hard to get into so it might not fit your itinerary. I also STRONGLY second the recommendation of Bill Kim's Urban Belly. Off the beaten path but absolutely worth the trip - basically Chicago's version of Momofuko. If you have a car it is easy to reach, just blocks off the hwy (90/94) and probably not more than 15 minutes from downtown, but traffic could change that. And yeah, be prepare to stand in line at Hot Doug's too, but that is lunch only, and though quite good, I gave up waiting in that line years ago. Bill Kim has a second venture, a sandwich shop called Belly Shack which is conveniently located in a building where there is a blue line El stop, if you are cool with public transit. Open late too, I believe, but maybe not late enough for after concert. Also basically right on the blue line is Paul Kahan's Big Star taco joint, which is most defintely open late, most definitely going to be crowded, and for my money, not as stellar as his other ventures, but that still puts it in the very, very good range. The head bartender there used to be at th eViolet Hour (across the street, btw) if new school mixology is your thing. One place that I sorely miss after relocating here to Louisville is our neighborhood spot, Cafe Lula, in Logan Sq, once again, very conveniently located near the blue line. Very good modern American farm to table. They have a second venture called Nightwood in the Pilsen area, which, if you are comfortabel with the city, is actually only about 10 minutes from SOldier Field by car.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Will look through them all some more and see what sounds good. Checked the website for Fontera Grill but they will be closed the 3-7 so that is a no go for us! Thanks again everyone!
Kris

I've been a longtime fan of Rick Bayless's cutting-edge Mexican regional eateries, Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, basically two restaurants sharing the same location; Frontera to the right, casual and (relatively) affordable; Topolobampo to the left, upscale and more pricey.

http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/grill.html

http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/topolobampo.html

YES! Frontera Grill was one of the best meals I have ever had.

I did not second the Bayless spots in my earlier posts, I have never had anything but exemplary experiences there. He was just about to open a casual Mexican sandwich spot near Frontera & Topolobamba just before we moved away, it could be a good quick eat. A little aside, Paul Kahan came up under Bayless before setting off to open Balckbird, then Avec, the The Publican, so Big Star is in some ways a return to his roots. . .

Thanks for the great suggestions !

Ummmm.....No one has mentioned pizza. Am I less of a foodie for mentioning this? I know it's cliche but it's worth mentioning that Lou Malnati's makes a great pie.

Also, I swear that the veggie Chicago dog outside the Field Museum is the best "hot dog" I have ever eaten. (Actually, loving a veggie dog might make me less of a foodie.)