Chicago - where to go?

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shecky

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I'm going to be in Chicago on Friday night, 11/20. Looking for suggestions about where to get good food and, more importantly, good beer. I'm staying out near O'Hare but am not averse to fighting that god-awful traffic to get downtown, if necessary.

It would be cool if anybody's free to meet up, too. I'll be with a couple other sportswriter types, but we're generally decent people. :D
 
I recommend you hop on the Blue Line CTA at O'Hare to Chicago (one way is around $3) - get off at Clark and Lake St. - walk or cab about 6 blocks NORTH - and you will be in the heart some of Chicago's best food. Personally, I am a huge fan of Uno's/Due's Pizza - but there is a massive amount of places to visit:

Rock Bottom BrewPub - decent.
Fado's - good bar.
House of Blues - Music
Also, if you want to see Chicago at night - goto the Hancock and goto the Signature Room (98th floor) - they have a bar, great view. FREE to go up to the bar.

CTA Train Map:
http://maill.transitchicago.com/assets/1/maps/ctatrainmap.png

Google Map of Clark and Lake (see just north)
[ame]http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=clark+and+lake+chicago+il.&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.956293,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=W+Lake+St+%26+N+Clark+St,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60601&ll=41.888685,-87.630043&spn=0.011326,0.01929&t=h&z=16[/ame]
 
Goose Island on Clybourne has great beer and the food is also very good. The Map Room and Hop Leaf are also great beer bars with excellent selections. Goose Island is close to a Red line station, so you might be able to take the train.

If you want to stay close, there is a Ram Brewery almost walking distance from several of the O'hare area hotels. Friday rush hour traffic from O'Hare is no joke, don't underestimate it. Let me know where you guys are going to be, I might be able to stop by.
 
I'm booked up on Friday night, but hope you have fun.

+1 on the suggestions regarding Goose Island. There are beers there not available in the stores. Good pub food, too.

+1 on the advice regarding taking the train - if you are comfortable with urban areas and mass transit. It makes life sooo much easier. Even if you end up taking a train downtown and then hopping a cab to your final destination - not too expensive and much nicer than driving in on the Kennedy.

Ok, now some new suggestions for you! First is the Publican. From their website "From the team that created Blackbird and avec restaurants, The Publican is a new beer-focused restaurant located at 845 W. Fulton in Chicago. Executive Chef Paul Kahan and Chef de Cuisine Brian Huston crafted an eclectic menu inspired by simple farmhouse fare in a space evocative of a European beer hall." Its in an area sometimes called the Fulton Market area. Very fun, good food, lots of Belgian and French ales. Not inexpensive, though.

Second, Brassiere Jo, downtown-ish in an area called River North (interestingly, just north of the river). Big french-style brassiere with outstanding food and a great beer menu, which you can see here http://www.brasseriejo.com/pdf/beer_menu.pdf Again, not inexpensive but a good place for a celebration or special night out.

Its Chicago, so the list is endless, but I'll let others pipe in now . . .
 
Here's my standard response to those traveling to Chicago:
http://www.rtachicago.com/
nice public transit trip planner there
Blue line from O Hare to Western ave, then bus or walk down Armatige to Hoyne and you're at the Map Room
They have free food (ribs!!!) catered in on weekend afternoons.
 
FYI: not sure if you will get this or not... but today (Fri) at "Bear and Bull" - a local sports radio station (the Score) is doing a remote... might be interesting for sportswriter types... hehehe.
 
Thanks for the help. I'm going to steer clear of Uno's only because we have plenty of them here. I'll formulate a plan from there.

Unos the chain is nothing like Unos the Pizzaria. The two restaurants downtown serve only deep dish (and deep dish in chicago isn't like deepdish in the chain).


I'm a big fan of Piece (on North). Great pizza, great in house brewed beer.
 
Unos the chain is nothing like Unos the Pizzaria. The two restaurants downtown serve only deep dish (and deep dish in chicago isn't like deepdish in the chain).

I'm a big fan of Piece (on North). Great pizza, great in house brewed beer.

+1 to this whole post.

Unos downtown is different (and better) than the chain, but its a bit touristy. You can do much better. Piece is a solid choice for great pizza and pretty good beer.
 
Thanks for the help, folks. I'm no stranger to urban areas but I'd rather drive, if I can, just to avoid the hassle of learning my way around another public transit system.
If I do go downtown (likely), I probably won't be doing so until 6 or 7 pm. Will traffic have abated a bit by then?
 
Thanks for the help, folks. I'm no stranger to urban areas but I'd rather drive, if I can, just to avoid the hassle of learning my way around another public transit system.
If I do go downtown (likely), I probably won't be doing so until 6 or 7 pm. Will traffic have abated a bit by then?

It'll still probably suck until after 7, and even then it will be slow. I wouldn't leave before 7.
 
My favorites are Kuma Corner for the best burger you have ever had. And the Map room for beer. I am sure there are other great spots, but those two are my favorites so far.

Two excellent choices. It takes forever to get a table at Kuma's but the wait is shorter if you can find a spot at the bar. Their beer selection is pretty good, but they sometimes run out of more than one beer at a time.

Parking can be a PITA at some places. Map Room and Kuma's aren't too bad. Goose Island has a lot. Piece and the River North area will be harder to find a spot on the street. River North has several garages, but they can be very $$.
 
Well, damn. The guys I am going out with want to come up near O'Hare (they're down at Midway) to do something, Geno's Pizza or some such. Not clear on the details. So I guess it's the Ram Brewery, possibly. I've been there before on trips to DePaul.

Not what I was hoping for but I don't want to venture downtown by myself. The tips are welcome and pushed into my brain for the next trip.

Now that I think about it, I may just go downtown anyway. Who knows.

It is not easy being a beer snob on a beat full of BMC guys. Can't wait for hoops travel to start so I can hang with my beer snob buddy.
 
The Geno's by O'Hare sucks, stay away from it. It is flavorless compared to the downtown Geno's. The Giordano's in the area is slightly better. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area though.
 
The Geno's by O'Hare sucks, stay away from it. It is flavorless compared to the downtown Geno's. The Giordano's in the area is slightly better. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area though.
Thanks. Now to convince these other boobs to go somewhere else. We used to have a crew of writers who did the traveling thing well. Not anymore.

I am sad. One night in Chicago and they want to stay by the airport and get pizza. Jesus, I can get pizza at home.
 
Kuma's is about equidistant between the two airports IIRC. You could easily stay there for drinks if you are alright with a crowded place. The wait is long in my experience, usually at least an hour, sometimes two.
 
I think Piece is your best solution. They want pizza and you want microbrew. It is also equidistant and convenient for them to meet you there (less than a mile from the highway exit.)
 
I think Piece is your best solution. They want pizza and you want microbrew. It is also equidistant and convenient for them to meet you there (less than a mile from the highway exit.)

I was in the city last weekend and we ate lunch at Piece. Really good pizza and the beer was good as well. I'll second this suggestion.
 
So I am curious, what ended up happening.. did ya end up finding some good brew and food?
 
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