Ony one stop in Chicago

That quote may have been true before Bad Apple opened, but Kumas has been on a downhill slide for the past couple of years and Bad Apple never disappoints.

Publican > Haymarket is a great suggestion.

Owen and Engine for an evening would be a fantastic idea as well. The best cask selection in Chicago (dare I say state of IL?), fantastic food, and a perfect environment for an evening out with the lady.

Cheers!

 

I definitely agree with all the reco's for West Loop -> Stay at the Crowne Plaza then walk to Haymarket & The Publican (food at The Publican has never left me disappointed). But then also head a few blocks down Madison to The Beer Bistro and you've got yourself a nice circuit for an evening.

 

Hmm, while I was disappointed with some of the things Kumas took off their menu when Amalia left, I think Luke has been doing a great job filling her shoes. I'll for sure have to try Bad Apple next time I'm in town, but go have a Howl, Goat Snake or Black Sabbath (edit: at 9p on a sunday or 3p on a monday) and I can't imagine being disappointed...(going downhill for years? that is extreme). The new fries are the only thing that I don't love so I sub frizzled onions.

That said, the food at Publican is amazing too, Haymarket's food is ok but overpriced (the beer is the reason to go).

I second O&E, get the fish and chips!

 

Bad Apple/Half Acre is a great idea, and it's thinking outside the box a bit. If you like no frills, no pretension, and simply quality food and beer, this is a phenomenal option.

Another option could be Revolution/Longman & Eagle, but I'd go with the former.

 

Dislike!

 

If walking distance is your thing - definitely go with the West loop. There's a lot of other options, but not many of them come with hotels near by. The cool thing about Haymarket is that they sell draft beer in "tasters" so you can try a lot of different beers, and they usually have a pretty solid guest draft lineup so you aren't limited to only their own beers.

I'm a big fan of girl & the goat - if you go get the green beans & the cauliflower. Just do it.

 

I'm in between both of you..... while the food is very good and I recommend it, does it deserve the backlog of reservations while much better places exist with a minimal reservation (Publican, Blackbird, Avec, Ruxbin, etc etc etc). For Christ sakes, the biggest restaurants in the world don't have a 3 to 6 month backlog for a reservation. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to think of G&G as being on the level as Noma or El Bulli (RIP) or even our own Schwa & Alinea.

Alright back on topic..... what about Big Star and Piece with a short ride to Revolution brewing afterwords?

Or if you wanna stay in the west loop thing..... how about Haymarket and Nellcote?
Or if you wanna do Lincoln Park (you can go to goose afterwords) and go to Ada Street.

 

While I'm a big fan of both, he's looking for food that's a bit more upscale; same for all the people who mention Bad Apple, Kuma's, etc. Longman & Eagle definitely fits the bill, though I feel their beer offerings are a bit lacking. Revolution afterwards perfectly fills that void. However, my vote would be Publican/Haymarket. I would really go avec/Haymarket but avec doesn't take reservations and can get insanely packed.

 

As was mentioned the wait at Kuma's is always ridiculous, but that's not why I'll never go there again. The lady and I were waiiting for a seat for about 30-45 mins. Two spots opened up at the bar right next to me, which is first come, first serve. In fact, the couple that was leaving turned to me, and let me know we could have their seats in a few minutes. I claimed the seats and just as we were sitting down we were told by the bartender that those seats were "taken." A couple who just arrived walked in from outside and sat down. At that point I talked to the hostess and politely lodged our complaint. She looked into it, and we were told that there were that a few people at the bar were switching seats (which didn't even make sense). I explained that the couple who sat down had just arrived. It was obvious that nothing was going to change.

We then took our name off the waiiting list, and I politely told the hostess we wouldn't be returning. It isn't the first time we've had poor/rude service there either. I've never panned anyplace on BA before, however Kuma's has earned it. As mentioned the burgers at The Bad Apple are just as good if not better, it has a bigger and usually better tap list, and my experiences have been the exact opposite of my experiences at Kuma's.

 

oh right, upscale. Its funny how its like a bar and not really upscale but its under the same family/ownership as blackbird, avec and publican and the tacos and food are kinda fancy. But ya, its definitely a bar.

 

I'm lucky enough to live around the corner from G & G, so I usually end up going there when the wait time for seats in the bar area is reasonable . I guess I've never gauged the quality in terms of the length of time one has to wait for a reservation. As far as Pulbican, Blackbird, Avec, Ruxbin being better, I'd put G & G in exactly the same class as these places.

 

O&E is also the home of the real best burger in the city if we're talking about an actual burger and not all the stuff on the burger.

However, since you want something with a hotel within walking distance, West Loop is probably your best bet as people mentioned. Publican or Maude's Liquor Bar are good suggestions. I wouldn't bother with Girl & the Goat unless you like waiting. If you want something a little different in that area, La Sirena Clandestina just opened on Fulton -- I haven't been but the chef is a guy who has pretty much never disappointed at the other various places he ran or came into to rescue the menu. Remember when Goose Island had that boring, lousy menu that was mostly burgers, and then reconcepted to have a bunch of actually good food on the menu? That chef did the redesign. His place in Wicker Park back in the day (Mas) was quite good as well. His new place is Brazilian. However, I don't think it takes reservations, no idea what the wait might look like.

On the pricier side for hotels, you could stay at Longman & Eagle and eat there. Another option would be to check availability at Ray's Bucktown B&B. Dinner at Takashi, Le Bouchon, Coast (sushi, BYOB), or someplace else in that Bucktown area, then Map Room.

 

no love for milshire?

 

My quote had nothing to due with quality vs reservation time. I'd absolutely put it in the same class of those other places. My point was in terms of overrated (from the original complaint) because its just as good (or possibly better then a few) then most of those restaurants but the damn wait list is six fold. I'm sure its due to the TV chef, but it is odd that the restaurant has one of the longest reservation lists in the city. Whatever, Little Goat opens in like a few weeks so the wait list will go down. And I'm with you, if you walk in after 10pm, you can usually get some food.

 

Yeah, I can't wait for Little Goat. I was there on Friday for lunch--the bread/sandwich shop is already open, however the diner won't be open until next week. I agree, the wait list at G & G should go down.

 

If you want the greasiest burger you can find, then maybe. I'd agree that O&E's is very good, but best in the city it is not.

 

Can't be certain that Little Goat will lessen it all that much. Sounds like the wait at Frontera didn't really change after Xoco opened, which seems to be the most comparable situation.

 

I would say go to Piece.. it is amazing and then go to half acre for dessert... then take a 30-40 minute drive to 3 floyds and you should be all set for the chicago beer stops.

 

Piece doesn't seem to fit the bill when he's looking for upscale fare, neither does FFF.

 

alright, you want upscale AND beer.... grab some great beer at binnys and head to Schwa (good luck) or Ruxbin.