Chicago Food and Bar Recs.

If you can get in...Girl and the Goat is a must regardless of how late your reservations are. Au Cheval is a great lunch spot for a burger. I can't remember the name of the Mexican place by Girl and the Goat but it was good also.

Bars - dot and dash was nice after dinner and we had a drink or seven ontop of the tower. There was a mojito up there that i couldn't stop drinking.

Based on your general location (top of Michigan), I can give you some quick recommendations in the immediate vicinity of your hotel, but let me know if you don't mind venturing out a bit more into River North / Old Town, which are both near your hotel. Otherwise, can you give some recommendations for Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wicker Park, West Loop, etc.

- Velvet Taco is a solid spot for lunch/dinner.

- Hash House a Go Go and 3rd Coast are walking distance from your hotel, I would assume, but Pancake House will be quickest.

- There's better coffee in Chicago, but Whispers is a shack in the middle of a small park (I always forget what it's called) sandwiched between Rush and State.

- For dinner, you could check out Purple Pig. You'll, likely, see a wait, but it's about a 15-20 minute walk down Michigan. Otherwise, Morton's, Gibsons, Blue Door, and Carmine's are close to your hotel.

- Not sure how old you are, but bars on Division in the Gold Coast area are a quick walk. Mostly young professionals, but Hopsmith and Butch McGuire's are popular.

- One of my favorite cocktail bars, Sparrow, should be very close to your hotel.

quote:

---

There's better coffee in Chicago, but Whispers is a shack in the middle of a small park (I always forget what it's called) sandwiched between Rush and State.

---

Viagra Triangle FTW

Hoops once again pretty much nailed it.

If you want to get some good higher end BBQ I'd also suggest checking out Chicago Q. Not far from where you are and has a bar if you want to belly up and grab a drink and some food.

quote:

---

you don't mind venturing out a bit more into River North / Old Town,

---

Don't mind at all.

quote:

---

Viagra Triangle FTW

---

LOL. There it is.

Girl & the Goat

tony's italian beef 7007 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL 60629

Not sure how old OP is, but there's also a great stretch of bars and restaurants in old town...on Wells just south of north ave, not far from him. It trends a bit younger, but the scenery is great.

These are some of the spots we hit last trip:

Pequod's is great, my wife and I go every time we are there.

Purple Pig is awesome. We went there for lunch and didn't wait at all. The 'Nduja spread was one of the best things I've put in my mouth.

Au Cheval serves the best burger I've ever had.

Xoco is Rick Bayless' casual Mexican place. We liked it a lot.

Stan's Donuts are all over Chicago. We really like it. Always go get a few different donuts and coffee.

I'm not gonna chime in on food, but I had some amazing meals there.

I'll just say that two highlights of my trip were Local Option and Paddy Long's. Mostly because the bartenders I had were some of the most genuinely nice and interesting people I've ever met within that bartender/customer dynamic. I suppose in the grand scheme of things Paddy Long's isn't a must stop, although the bacon board was fun, but if you like beer Local Option had great taps.

And Fountainhead had a wow bourbon selection. Good brunch too.