I'm coming to Chicago for a long weekend with my wife. It is a part of our 10-year anniversary celebration.

We are staying at the Westin Chicago River North and won't have a car.

Our only firm plans are U2 at Soldier Field for Sat night!!!

I would like to go out for dinner on Friday night. She is interested in Frontera Grill or Topolobampo. She has watched Bayless on PBS for years and his recent Top Chef showing has added more interest. Given I'd like the meal to be somewhat special, would you recommend either of these restaurants?

Any recommendations for Sunday brunch?

Are tickets easy to scalp for a Sat or Sun afternoon Cubs game or would you recommend a ticket broker?

Lastly, I want to savor a Chicago-style hot dog and an Italian beef sandwich. Any recommendations in the River North area (or walking distance) would be appreciated.

Regards,
Michael

 

I'll also be at that concert and I'm also a fan of Bayless:



Frontera Grill and Topolobampo are right next to each other, they are pretty much the same restaurant. Make sure you make reservations as they will be packed. Luckily they are within walking distance of River North.

A close place for hot dog and beef is Portillo's 100 W Ontario St. or optionally you can go to any nearby Gold Coast Dogs 17 S Wabash Ave

For Sunday Brunch you options are more limited. You can try Flatwater grill on Clark and Lake. http://www.flatwater.us , check out this thread on Yelp! http://www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-breakfas...-in-river-north

Else you may need to hop a cab and leave the downtown area to go a little further north or the south Loop.

 

I highly recommend the Gold Coast hot dog over Portillo's; get it charred....make sure you don't put any ketchup on it.

As for brunch, yes, Flatwater is a great place for brunch. I'm recommending it because it's good food, and the place is owned by a friend of mine.

 

Spectacular views during any meal (brunch isn't to hard on the wallet either):

http://www.signatureroom.com/Home/

 

I took a lady friend there over the summer and we were BOTH incredibly impressed. You can also just go up to the upper lounge area and have some drinks for a decent price.

 

Thanks for input. I've asked the concierge to book a reservation for Frontera Grill on Friday night. Hopefully she can get it.

Perhaps Signature Room for cocktails after dinner on Friday.

Flatwaters for brunch on Sunday.

Weekend is shaping up nicely.

I just have to work on Cubs tickets for Saturday or Sunday.

 

For the Cubs tickets try http://chicago.craigslist.org/

 

Hopefully you got this all sorted out by now, but I'm pretty sure Frontera Grill does not accept reservations and they get PACKED nightly so it can be difficult to get a table there. In any case, Frontera Grill is highly recommended (Ceviche is a must), and the adjoining sister restaurant Topolobampo is equally as good or better, although it is more formal and pricier than the former.

Signature Room is a bit of a hike from Frontera Grill, and if your wife is wearing heels, you'll have to take a taxi over there. If you want a nice skyline view within walking distance, try Vertigo at the Dana Hotel. Another good place next door to Vertigo is ZED451 (nice rooftop), or Pops for Champagne (Jazz bar/restaurant), which is located down the street. I personally like the lounge at Japonais, but it's located outside of the touristy area, so that may not work out for you if you plan to do the touristy thing.

Oh and I prefer Wiener's Circle over Portillo's or Gold Coast Dog's

Good Luck and congrats.

 

Most of the places like Signature room are more for show and too touristy for me!

For cheap places definitely try Portillo's, best stuff around!

Otherwise from Cub Wrigely Fields check out the Gold Coast area on Clark St.

I love Chen's over there and quite a few nice sushi places too

 

Thanks for the earlier input. Although we had grand plans, we decided to relax and take it easy. Neither my wife or I wanted to carry 'dress-up' clothes, so a lot of places were too formal. However, I thought I would post some notes for future 'lookers' . . .

If you want to go to any of Rick Bayless's restaurants, reserve early or be prepared to wait. Concierge wasn't able to get any reservations. We tried on 3 separate occasions to walk-into Frontera Grill and Topolobampo (luckily it was just around the corner from our hotel). We couldn't even get a seat at the bar. Xoco's line was also out the door and 40 deep. The food must be amazing because people in Frontera were actually waiting 2 hrs to be seated.

Al's #1 Italian (W. Taylor St.) was awesome. It was our first stop on Friday after arrival. I had two with hot peppers, dipped. Perfect sandwiches.

Portillo's (W. Ontario) could be missed. Tried the hot dog, charred polish and italian beef. All were adequate but I'm sure better versions exist out there.

Kitsch