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Chicago Dining
A Chicago mainstay for more than 75 years, The Italian Village continues to be one of the city's favorite Italian restaurants. Its second-floor location within the Loop features a long, narrow, dimly lit dining room with small nooks offering semi-private seating areas. With its large murals depicting the Italian countryside and strings of twinkle lights hanging overhead, the dining room has the feel of a small village street.
Known for its variety of fresh pastas, the restaurant's other signature dishes include fine choices of veal, steak, fish and chicken. Try the excellent chicken Vesuvio with roasted potatoes, which is prepared in the traditional way. The experienced wait staff provides good overall service, but the tables are cramped in places, so beware if you're claustrophobic.
Also within the Loop, Everest is aptly named for its almost divine perch high atop a lavish bank building. Guests reach the exclusive dining room after traveling up a series of elevators, one of which is private, before finally reaching the 40th-floor restaurant. Exhilarating Alsatian-influenced French cuisine is served in a highly refined space featuring colorful, fresh floral displays, luxurious crystal chandeliers and a unique safari theme. The food is as heavenly as the location with chef Joho's signature dishes taking center stage. For an appetizer, order the Dover sole braised in an Alsace Riesling with mushrooms and tomatoes, and follow it up with the exceptional sautéed beef tenderloin with braised oxtail, potato gratin and spring vegetables. The courteous and friendly wait staff exhibits a supreme level of guest awareness, tact and knowledge. To put it simply, Everest is the quintessential special occasion restaurant.
Despite being part of a national chain hailing from New York City, Smith & Wollensky has made a huge dent in Chicago's highly competitive steakhouse scene. Its 24-ounce Porterhouse along with some of its other fine steaks consistently rate among the city's best. The multilevel restaurant has a fabulous location overlooking the Chicago River just north of the Loop with outdoor patio dining in season. The dining room has a "clubby" ambience with lots of wood trim and carvings and abundant natural light courtesy of windows and French doors. The dry-aged steaks are robust and expertly prepared, and there are plenty of fine fish and seafood choices.
For traditional deep dish, Chicago-style pizza Lou Malnati's Pizzeria stands out among the huge number of the city's fine pizza parlors. The Italian restaurant's signature, crispy "buttercrust" blends beautifully with the supremely fresh mozzarella and tomatoes on each pie. The sausage pizza, an obvious star on the menu, features many small chunks of spicy Italian sausage mixed with the sauce and cheese of each slice. It literally melts in your mouth. The casual sports-themed restaurant in Chicago's Near North neighborhood is great for groups or families and offers plenty of TVs to watch as you dine. The wait staff is very laid-back and dresses casually but is efficient.
Also in the Near North area, Frontera Grill and its more sophisticated sister next door, Topolobampo, are at the top of the heap of Chicago's exceptional and authentic Mexican restaurants. Call ahead if you expect to get a seat at this supremely popular venue. Frontera Grill, the ultra-casual part of this hot spot, has an exciting, colorful décor and serves such traditional Mexican food as burritos, six kinds of tacos and mouth-watering enchiladas. The guacamole and rich mole sauces burst with flavor. The restaurant features a lively bar along with an inviting outdoor patio dining area. The wait staff rush about and generally provide good service while displaying an exceptional knowledge of menu items.
Acclaimed by some as one of the top ten steakhouses in America, Chicago Chop House features USDA prime steaks, chops and prime rib. The steaks are huge so bring a hearty appetite, although you can also choose among chicken, lamb and various seafood dishes. The multifloor restaurant in the River North neighborhood has a lounge on the first floor with main dining areas upstairs. The walls are dotted with nicely framed, black-and-white Chicago photographs taken from 1830 to 1930. The oak-paneled walls give the dining room a classic steakhouse ambience. The restaurant's popularity rests squarely in the fine steaks and not the service, which can be uneven and inattentive at times.
Although known for its vertical malls and high-end boutiques, the Magnificent Mile abounds with eateries serving a spectrum of cuisine as well. For unmatched views of Chicago's skyline, visit The Signature Room at the 95th, perched atop John Hancock Center. The views are breathtaking no matter where you sit in the moderately upscale dining room. The restaurant offers a hugely popular and inexpensive lunch buffet option and a seasonally changing menu. Plenty of fine salads and sandwiches also are available. Each dish brought out of the kitchen is dramatically displayed on bone-white plates. The menu also features an excellent variety of beautifully presented desserts. Be sure to pick a clear day and then call ahead to reserve your spot because this place stays quite busy during nice weather.
A few blocks south of John Hancock Center is Kamehachi, one of Chicago's finest sushi restaurants. Within walking distance of Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier, this Kamehachi, unlike its older sister in the Old Town neighborhood, occupies a spacious, sleek and handsome space one half floor below street level. Inside you'll find polished, light wood floors, frosted glass dividers and bamboo trees. The upscale restaurant features an extensive menu with fresh seafood, sashimi, teriyaki, tempura, sukiyaki and noodles. Come ready to sample a variety of raw seafood items and their accompanying exquisite dipping sauces from the huge sushi menu. A surprisingly impressive wine list is available, and the waiters are helpful.
Just up the street from Kamehachi, Bice Ristorante features authentically prepared Tuscan cuisine in a casual setting. The first Bice restaurant was founded in Milan in 1926, and since then it has grown into a small chain of classic Italian eateries scattered throughout the world. The 14 pastas prepared in-house are terrific, and the enormous menu includes risotto, fresh fish, lamb, pork loin, New York steak, filet mignon and veal chop. The sleek dining room is lively and sparkles with contemporary elegance. It also is one step down from street level, a distinctive feature giving it an exclusive feel. An outdoor dining area is popular when the weather's nice, and the wait staff is experienced and enthusiastic for the most part. The restaurant is near the Magnificent Mile and within walking distance of Navy Pier.
For years Spiaggia has impressed its patrons, elevating itself to the level of the place in Chicago for special occasion dining. Located on the Magnificent Mile, the restaurant presents luscious Italian food in a lovely, sophisticated, tiered dining room with views of Lake Michigan. Majestic columns, linen-covered tables and unusual chandeliers punctuate the room's refined ambience. Spiaggia has stood the test of time and continues to be a culinary treasure in Chicago as well as the standard for upscale Italian cuisine. The silky smooth and creamy risotto is exceptional along with the signature dish of wood-roasted sea scallops with porcini mushrooms. The food is as stunning to the taste buds as it is to the eyes. The sharply dressed staff is well informed and, from the hostess to the bus boy, offers a welcoming disposition.
It should come as no surprise that to find the busiest and most popular Greek Restaurant in Chicago, you'll need to leave the Magnificent Mile and head west from the Loop to Greektown. Expansive Greek Islands has four dining rooms, each with a sea-blue Mediterranean theme complete with large, colorful wall murals, weather-worn wood and hanging plants. This hot spot literally sizzles with the sounds of saganaki being flamed tableside. Another treat: the enthusiastic wait staff shouts "opaa" along with the guests when the cheese is ignited. The menu is as large as the restaurant with many pre-entrée, main course and after-dinner choices available. Swordfish, red snapper, orange roughy, Dover sole, beef tenderloin, New York sirloin steak and white fish are just a few of the popular menu items. Lamb prepared in every possible way is, of course, the signature at Greek Islands. The wait staff has fun and provides good attention to each table.
If you're craving dim sum, your obvious destination is Chicago's Chinatown south of the Loop. Here The Phoenix Restaurant is a standout. The spacious second-floor dining room is outfitted with large, white-cloth-covered tables and attractive Asian artwork. Phoenix features both a traditional menu and daily dim sum offerings wheeled around the dining area in the customary carts. Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine includes a variety of game meats and live seafood prepared to each guest's liking. The service staff is smartly dressed, but it can be tough to communicate with them at times unless you happen to speak Cantonese.
A neighborhood hot spot in North Chicago bustling with activity especially during late-night hours, The Wiener's Circle is consistently rated among the very best for its hot dogs and cheese fries. Ordering at this quick-serve joint is not for the faint of heart, however, as the playful staff expects you to shout out your order. The plump, all-beef, charbroiled hot dogs are slathered in raw onions, relish, several fresh tomato slices and include some juicy dill pickles tucked inside the bun. The cheese fries are deep-fried and crispy, salted and covered in tasty melted cheddar cheese. You might want to bring your own napkins to clean up afterwards because they aren't provided.
Also in North Chicago, Le Bouchon is as authentic a French bistro as you'll find in the city. The exquisite neighborhood restaurant has a distinct Parisian ambience featuring a lovely wall mural, etched glass wall sconces and lace café curtains. The dining room is intimate with some tight table spacing, but it is always busy so phone ahead for a spot. The menu consists of exceptionally well-prepared French country cuisine. The rabbit loin is moist and tender and comes with a side of bowtie pasta and mushrooms. The classic steak pommes frites served with a tasty butter sauce is incredible. Steamed mussels, snails burgundy and sautéed frog legs are often on the menu. The courteous, apron-clad wait staff is well-informed about the menu and provides attentive service.
For those who are truly adventurous and interested in innovative, imaginative cuisine there is no better place than Charlie Trotter's, a long-established mecca in North Chicago for cutting-edge fine dining. The world-class chef uses only the freshest and finest ingredients available. Although the menu changes weekly, the flavors, textures and appearance of each dish are consistently memorable. Rabbit, lamb, bison, beef and a wide variety of seafood regularly show up on the menu. Occupying a two-story townhouse, the restaurant features pristine salons on both floors with lovely fresh floral displays, light-colored trim and pressed-linen table tops. The wait staff is exceptionally polished in both appearance and manner. Reservations may need to be made months in advance.
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