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Chicago restaurants - Page 5

post #61 of 75
12/19/07 at 8:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
I
All on a 10 point scale:

Restaurants
NY - 9
Chi - 7.5

The only MAYBE better cities I can think of in the US are New Orleans and San Francisco, but I think Chicago edges out SF if you don't count Yountville.


San Francisco sucks in many ways, but the food is better than anywhere other than NY in the US. You could make an argument that it is better even than NY. It certainly was in the late 90s, but I think NY has regained the crown.

Everybody who does not live here is way too focused on the French Laundry. It is certainly good, but there are restaurants just as good in SF, IMO. Up in the wine country, the FL is easily the second best, but in no way the first. One should not confuse a facility for PR with the best food.
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post #62 of 75
12/19/07 at 9:26pm
I'll admit I have not been to SF in the last 5 years. I look forward to visiting again. As a non-local, and a frequenter of NY and Chi restaurants, I had a feeling SF was short on Volume of high-end eateries, but I may be wrong. I also don't know the Zagat handicap there...for example, Chi has a 2 point handicap under NY (i.e. a 28 in Chicago is probably a 26 in NY and a 21 or 22 in Paris). Regarding FL, Keller is much more than a PR machine. You may have a more favorite restaurant than his, but he backs his reputation up with his food and with the accomplishments of his staff as the branch out and open their own restaurants. Also, I forgot that DC actually has some of the best ethnic food in the country (of course so do LA, SF, NY)...but with all the foreign dignitaries, they really need to step it up a notch.
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post #63 of 75
12/19/07 at 9:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
Regarding FL, Keller is much more than a PR machine. You may have a more favorite restaurant than his, but he backs his reputation up with his food and with the accomplishments of his staff as the branch out and open their own restaurants.
It isn't really about favorites. The FL is very good, but it is not as superior as many people think. I have worked in the kitchen of a 29-rated Zagat restaurant, so while not a restaurant critic, I have a pretty good understanding of fine dining. FL is very consistent, but at its best, I do not feel it is as good as Cyrus (run by a former FL sous chef), and it is not far superior to several other restaurants in the area. When Sylvan Portay was still at the Ritz Carlton it was a good step above FL, but he went back to Ducasse, and now the place is horrible. I have eaten at all of them many times, so while reasonable people may disagree, this is not the case of "oh, this is my special place, so it has to be better". To compare FL to many of the better restaurants in France, as so many people do, is a complete joke. It is a top restaurant in the US, but it is not alone by any means.
Quote:
Also, I forgot that DC actually has some of the best ethnic food in the country (of course so do LA, SF, NY)...but with all the foreign dignitaries, they really need to step it up a notch.
Ethnic food is tough to pin down. San Francisco clearly has the best Chinese food in the country, and very good Mexican food, but I would never tell somebody to eat Italian, Cuban etc here. LA is not as good as it should be in this regard. I do not know ethnic restaurants in NY all that well, only well enough to know that they are good, but lag in the Chinese category.
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post #64 of 75
12/19/07 at 10:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post

Greenspace/Scenery:
NY 6
CHI 9

I live on a street with hundreds of trees, right near downtown. I have access to three parks within a mile, plus a beach and a beautiful outdoor concert venu on the lake.

Architecture:
NY 6
Chicago 10

We've been voted the #1 skyline in america and #2 in the world. We have the best planned city in america, with alleys for garbage to avoid the stench you can't avoid on garbage day in NYC. We also have the tallest building in America. NY has no continuity...it's just a big concrete jungle. Chicago after the fire was a hotbed of architectural activity in the world....van der rohe, wright, etc. were all here to rebuild.


I really enjoyed reading your post Ron. You're absolutely right about how "green" the city is and the architecture. Miles and miles of waterfront parks, beaches and trails..not to mention a public golf course and the harbor system. All the near-downtown neighborhoods have or are gentrifying. Even Printers' Row and the south side are incredibly nice now. And to think Navy Pier was just a pile of rubble growing up as a kid...I can't wait to see what they do with Miegs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Violinist View Post

What's the best Chicago steakhouse? Best deep dish, and any other things I must try?

As for the OP, I hate to say it but IMHO Smith & Wollensky's is the best steakhouse in Chicago . As far as deep dish, most definitely Gino's East. As far as other things to try I would definitely try an Italian beef from Al's or Buona and the steak or chicken sandwich from Ricobene's. And because the food is so good and the prices so reasonable, my favorite restaurant in Chicago is Kiki's.
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post #65 of 75
12/20/07 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Faded501s View Post
I really enjoyed reading your post Ron. You're absolutely right about how "green" the city is and the architecture. Miles and miles of waterfront parks, beaches and trails..not to mention a public golf course and the harbor system. All the near-downtown neighborhoods have or are gentrifying. Even Printers' Row and the south side are incredibly nice now. And to think Navy Pier was just a pile of rubble growing up as a kid...I can't wait to see what they do with Miegs.



As for the OP, I hate to say it but IMHO Smith & Wollensky's is the best steakhouse in Chicago . As far as deep dish, most definitely Gino's East. As far as other things to try I would definitely try an Italian beef from Al's or Buona and the steak or chicken sandwich from Ricobene's. And because the food is so good and the prices so reasonable, my favorite restaurant in Chicago is Kiki's.
Meigs is now the Northerly Island concert venu. I was against its destruction, but I love the result.
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post #66 of 75
12/20/07 at 1:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iammatt View Post
To compare FL to many of the better restaurants in France, as so many people do, is a complete joke. It is a top restaurant in the US, but it is not alone by any means.
I agree wholeheartedly with that...... I'm not sure if you saw my prior post about "Zagat Bias", but a 25-27 for food in Chicago barely cracks the 20's in Paris. But now I will ask the broader question..... Is El Bulli really the best in the world? Also, Thank G-d nobody brought up Las Vegas in that "best dining cities"....I love it there, but everything there is a barely passable facsimile of the real thing. I do question how people are so dismissive about New Orleans... there's a lot of great traditional french and mediterranean food there, not just cajun/creole.
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post #67 of 75
12/20/07 at 2:25pm
Incredibly lowbrow, but I love Ribs N' Bibs. Anyone who has lived in Hyde Park can back me on this.
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post #68 of 75
12/21/07 at 4:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
What's bbb?

I screwed up the formatting by typing my contribution inside your comments that I was quoting and was too lazy to fix it.

In order to post, I had to type three characters outside the quoted areas.

Go back up to the quoted area. My comments on your comments are inside the >>> and <<< marks.

Sorry about that.
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post #69 of 75
12/21/07 at 5:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violinist View Post
if Chicago had a good music school I'd really consider it.

How far is Evanston from Chicago?

I live in evanston - very nice little city, the suburb that touches chicago from the north, easy train access, easy car access. good bars, beach, parks. not the best resteraunts, but a bunch of ok ones. great library.
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post #70 of 75
12/21/07 at 5:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chorse123 View Post
Having grown up in Chicago, I would say that it doesn't have anywhere close to 80% of what New York has, but it also has significantly less crazy. Also, I don't know about the half as much. You get more for your money, I guess.


I'll tell you what I like about chicago - the various museums are almost as good as the ny ones, but have easy parking and are cheaper, and the science museum is better than anything that ny has. the ethnic resteraunts aren't quite as good as new yorks, but they are easier to get to and cheaper to park at.
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post #71 of 75
12/21/07 at 5:40pm
NY... to park?... I'm confused by the juxtaposition of these two concepts
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post #72 of 75
12/21/07 at 5:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gdl203 View Post
NY... to park?... I'm confused by the juxtaposition of these two concepts

wait til you try and get 3 kids under 5 into a cab........
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post #73 of 75
12/24/07 at 11:12pm
If your interested in interesting food preparation also check out Moto (http://www.motorestaurant.com/flash/index.html). I have had the GMT there with the wine pairings and it was an experience to say the least.
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post #74 of 75
12/24/07 at 11:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambulance Chaser View Post
Incredibly lowbrow, but I love Ribs N' Bibs. Anyone who has lived in Hyde Park can back me on this.

Ribs N' Bibs
Harold's Chicken
Leon's

All good cholestrol clogging meals from my student days in Hyde Park. Are these places still around?
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post #75 of 75
12/25/07 at 12:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by globetrotter View Post
I'll tell you what I like about chicago - the various museums are almost as good as the ny ones, but have easy parking and are cheaper, and the science museum is better than anything that ny has. the ethnic resteraunts aren't quite as good as new yorks, but they are easier to get to and cheaper to park at.

I disagree. The museum of science and industry is utter crap for adults and really there for kids. It's similar to the junk in the hall of science in ny or that place in jersey.

No museum in chicago compares to ny.

What Chicago has is fantastic architecture. I loved it. The museums may not be great but they are in some beautiful buildings. Even soldier field which was incredibly overpriced and screwed the citizens of chicago over is stunning.

Chicago had great architecture, great greenery, and this place I really liked called the tshirt deli. Awesome joint right near flash taco, another awesome joint.
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