Louisville Restaurants Forum

My wife and I are going to Chicago for a few days next month and are looking for some recommendations for places to eat and things to see/do. We've been to Chicago a number of times, but we always like to try new places. For what it's worth, we'll be staying in the Near Eastside area of the Loop. And my wife is vegetarian, so restaurants must be vegetarian-friendly.

We had great meals at all three of these places last summer.

http://www.girlandthegoat.com

http://www.mercatchicago.com

http://www.thepurplepigchicago.com

Edit: Forgot about this one until I read Robin's post

http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/xoco.html (Excellent and cheap breakfast)
Get the Aztec hot chocolate


We also tried The Publican and left highly disappointed, the service was horrible.

Pretty cool microbrewery if you are in to beer.
http://www.revbrew.com/

Rick Bayless's Mexican eateries, Frontera Grill and the adjacent, more pricey Topolobampo, used to be must-go places for me. Frontera in particular wasn't crazy expensive, and they should have meatless options. One caveat: We used to go to Chicago a lot, but haven't been for quite a few years. Having lived in NYC for four years kind of took the spell off of the Second City.

My favorites (ones in bold are near public transit):

http://www.lulacafe.com/ (does a vegetarian tasting menu that is awesome)

http://rootstockbar.com/

http://www.irazuchicago.com/

http://urbanbellychicago.com/

http://www.ruxbinchicago.com/site/

Best wine list I've seen in a long time:

http://telegraphchicago.com/

Not veggie friendly, but if you are into beer:

http://bangersandlacechicago.com/

High end vegetarian spot, I have not eaten there, but have eaten at the chef's other restaurants, and would recommend it on that alone:

http://www.greenzebrachicago.com/

awesome veggie only South Indian in the heart of Chicago's South Asian neighborhood:

http://www.mysoretogo.com/

If you sit at the bar at Frontera Grill you can order from both menus- it is so totally worth it.

If you go for Bayless ( also my suggestion), go early or get a reservation ( only some take them) . We tried to go to Xoxoc when we were there in the Spring and despite being "low-key" and the lesser known of his places, we couldn't get near the place at 5:00 on a Saturday.

Purple Pig was highly recommended by two people before we went- also requires advanced planning.( we couldn't get in)

Deb

One of my favorite restaurants anywhere:

http://www.lesnomades.net/

Small and eclectic - excellent place.