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Dinner in Chicago - L2O or Moto?

post #1 of 33
5/11/10 at 1:07am
Thread Starter 
my wife and i are going to chicago in about a month. we will be there for two nights. night one is riccardo trattoria, and night two is between L20 and moto. anyone been to either or both? what do you reccomend?

and just fyi, we have alinea planned for our 3 year anniversary next year, so no suggestions for that instead.
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post #2 of 33
5/11/10 at 1:12am
L2O over Moto 1000 days in a row. Moto is not even worth the time you wasted typing it out. Shit, now I did it too.

It is entirely possible that Riccardo Trattoria will be better than L2O. L2O can be absolutely mind blowing or absolutely humdrum. Hopefully the night you're there they are firing on all cylinders.

And of course, the meal at Alinea will blow any of the other options out of the water.
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post #3 of 33
5/11/10 at 1:29am
Moto is garbage, L20 is meh...I think people overhype Alinea way too much, but different stroke for different folks. I'm a Blackbird fan myself and that's because I love everything Paul Kahan does. Enjoy your trip and dinner with the wife.
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post #4 of 33
5/11/10 at 1:32am
Sorry dude... I just can't ride the RT train that hard - it's good, but it's certainly not L20. If you can't go to Alinea this trip, and you can get into L20, do it! Plust the sommelier is super-cute.
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post #5 of 33
5/11/10 at 1:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
Sorry dude... I just can't ride the RT train that hard - it's good, but it's certainly not L20.

If you can't go to Alinea this trip, and you can get into L20, do it! Plust the sommelier is super-cute.

You were lucky. You went to L2O on a great night.
Trust me, on the night of my second meal there, there is no doubt that RT would have been a better option. And shelling out $500 for a meal where you could have eaten much better for $100 just a few minutes away ain't my kinda thang.


Speaking of RT's in Chicago, Tru is another good option OP. As it Charlie Trotter, if you're looking for something along the lines/quality/price of L2O.
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post #6 of 33
5/11/10 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwilkinson View Post
You were lucky. You went to L2O on a great night.
Trust me, on the night of my second meal there, there is no doubt that RT would have been a better option. And shelling out $500 for a meal where you could have eaten much better for $100 just a few minutes away ain't my kinda thang.


Speaking of RT's in Chicago, Tru is another good option OP. As it Charlie Trotter, if you're looking for something along the lines/quality/price of L2O.

Ron and I had a great time at L2O - I haven't been to Moto but I've heard it's gimmicky and not worth the money.

Riccardo's is good but it get more love from the Interwebz than it deserves - It has iconic status over at LTHForum.com. We enjoyed our meal there but the wait staff appeared to be oblivious of our request to pace the meal quickly because we had Steppenwolf tickets (they ended up hurrying everything at the end so we did make our curtain). Frankly, the food at Merlo on Maple, Bice, Coco Pazzo, and other places is as good or better at about the same price point.
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post #7 of 33
5/11/10 at 10:45am
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Originally Posted by ld111134 View Post
Ron and I had a great time at L2O - I haven't been to Moto but I've heard it's gimmicky and not worth the money.

Riccardo's is good but it get more love from the Interwebz than it deserves - It has iconic status over at LTHForum.com. We enjoyed our meal there but the wait staff appeared to be oblivious of our request to pace the meal quickly because we had Steppenwolf tickets (they ended up hurrying everything at the end so we did make our curtain). Frankly, the food at Merlo on Maple, Bice, Coco Pazzo, and other places is as good or better at about the same price point.

I would also put A Tavola in the same category...
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post #8 of 33
5/11/10 at 11:06am
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Originally Posted by Tooch4321 View Post
I would also put A Tavola in the same category...

Yes, I forgot that place and I was just there last month. Wonderful food - but you do need a reservation because it's quite small and very popular. Plus, it's near our 'hood.

At the other end of the Italian dining experience, RoSal's, Sabatino's and Bruna's (all in out-of-the-way neighborhoods) are great, old school, red-sauce joints.
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post #9 of 33
5/11/10 at 11:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ld111134 View Post
Yes, I forgot that place and I was just there last month. Plus, it's near our 'hood.

Best gnocchi I've ever had and that includes the boot! Wait...Where do you live at specifically? I'm right on the corner of Ashland and Chestnut...
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post #10 of 33
5/11/10 at 11:15am
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Originally Posted by Tooch4321 View Post
Best gnocchi I've ever had and that includes the boot! Wait...Where do you live at specifically? I'm right on the corner of Ashland and Chestnut...

North Greenview between Blackhawk and Division (the late Hilary's Urban Eatery and its now-deceased successor August - A Grocery Store were on the corner, two blocks east of Ashland).
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post #11 of 33
5/11/10 at 11:19am
L20.
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post #12 of 33
5/11/10 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ld111134 View Post
North Greenview between Blackhawk and Division (the late Hilary's Urban Eatery and its now-deceased successor August - A Grocery Store were on the corner, two blocks east of Ashland).

Well, I'll be damned we are less than 5 blocks from each other, my bank is right there (I use Fifth/Third.) Have you been to The Bristol? They have one of the best brunches in the city, much better than The Publican IMO and wallet friendly as well...
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post #13 of 33
5/11/10 at 11:38am
Thread Starter 
thanks for the info. moto sounded like a pretty cool place, and i have read a lot of good reviews of it, but i did wonder if it was more about gimmicky presentaions and such instead of actual good tasting food.
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post #14 of 33
5/11/10 at 11:48am
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Originally Posted by Pat View Post
thanks for the info. moto sounded like a pretty cool place, and i have read a lot of good reviews of it, but i did wonder if it was more about gimmicky presentaions and such instead of actual good tasting food.

It is gimmicky and now that they have their own TV show it's just gonna get even worse. Why pay a premium price for faux scallops and other experimental foods that are supposed to taste like something else? L20 is gonna be well worth the money over Moto...
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post #15 of 33
5/11/10 at 12:18pm
I've eaten at Moto but not L20. I thought that Moto was really fun but definitely on the gimmicky side (as you would expect). However, the person with whom I ate at Moto has since been to L20, and he has been raving about it.

I would go with L20.
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