24 hours in Chicago
 

Hello all. My husband and I are going on a quick adult-only getaway to Chicago this summer. We will land Friday morning and leave Saturday around lunchtime.

I'm looking for someplace to stay for one night, preferably in the river north/gold coast area - I don't care about a particular chain or earning points (heresy!). I'd like to stay at a higher-end property - while I know the relative locations of all the hotels, I don't know what is worth the prices being charged. If you had one night in Chicago where would you want to stay, assuming you are in the lowest-level room in a hotel? The only thing we have on our agenda is to eat a meal at Frontera Grill, so someplace near-ish to there would be nice. Near-ish equals roughly 12 blocks or so. Also, we will be taking public transit everywhere, so someplace convenient to the L would be nice.

Are there any other restaurants we should look at while we are there? We like food, dont tend to order a ton of wine or other drinks (but could be convinced to), have no upper limit on our budget. Other than Frontera (where we went for dinner before we got engaged), I don't really remember the names of restaurants around town except the ones I frequented when I lived there, and I would prefer not to go back to Taco Burrito Palace #2.

Our plan for the day is to wander around, maybe do the architecture boat tour, maybe go to a museum, maybe sit at a bar for an afternoon. Any other tips for a summer Friday?

Thanks so much.

Without knowing your actual budget and what kind of hotels you prefer (chains vs. boutiques, big vs. small, etc.), it's kind of hard to offer anything more than personal preferences. My preferences for that general area: 1) Dana Hotel and Spa; and 2) Sofitel.

Same goes for recommending restuarants in that it would help to know what kinds of food you'd be up for trying.

As for Friday afternoons in the Summer, I'd suggest having lunch in Millenium Park...it's also a good place for having a few drinks too. A walk along the Lakefront is always great. You can also rent a bike at the north end of Millenium Park and ride the Lakefront too.

And don't forget to extend your trip to Sunday. :)

As for hotels, most of our experience has been with larger chain hotels (Sheratons, Hiltons) - but we aren't married to that style hotel. We would like someplace where we aren't necessarily another number - years ago I had stayed at some hotel right on the river (maybe a Hyatt?) that was massive, and that is too large by far. As for budget, we'd like to keep it under $500 - the overnight we have planned seems to coincide with many hotels being unavailable or very expensive. $500 is what the Westin River North is charging.

For food, we have no restrictions on cuisine or budget. We were engaged after a meal at Frontera, and we will definitely go back there. We'd love to go someplace even "nicer" or "more special" - when I lived there, Charlie Trotter was someplace many of my friends went for special occasions, so something in that vein 15 years later would be appropriate.

I would love to extend my trip to Sunday - but alas, my high maintenance children require our presence back in MSP. So think of this as a blow-out romantic-ish getaway where we condense the awesomeness of Chicago into a tragically small period of time.

Alas Charlie Trotters has closed it's doors. I'd recommend Sixteen at the Trump Hotel which is also a great place to stay. The W hotel is right by the L on State St. They have a fabby rooftop bar call Roof. I love it up there. There's a new place called RPMItalian which was absolutely fantastic. Everything single thing I had from starter to dessert was scrumptious. Of course I was coming off a diet so maybe my tastes were colored! And I've never had a bad meal at Joe's Stone Crab. Enjoy my hometown!

SOunds like your trip is overlapping with one of the big conventions? In any case, the two hotels I suggested are the one's that I'd probably go with if on a budget. If you want the high-end, try the Waldorf-Astoria (f/k/a the Elysian), Four Seasons, Ritz, Trump or Peninsula.


As for food, sounds like you should stick with Frontera given your history with the place. Otherwise, if you want to go all out then try and get a res @ Alinea - it's on N. Halsted, a few blocks north of the Steppenwolf in Lincoln Park.



The hotel you're thinking of is actually the "Wit Hotel" - a doubletree property. +1 on their rooftop bar.

Trump's 16 also has an outside terrace bar that's supposed to have great views.

IMO,

Best food in the city is at Alinea. Probably best food in the country (ranked the highest at least). Good luck getting a table.

2nd best food is at Girl and the Goat. It was just awesome. I was able to buy a house faster than I was able to get a table at G&G but I heard its possible to walk in if you are willing to wait some. Price was about 20% of Alinea.

Definitely go to the terrace at Trump. Its an awesome place to get drinks and is the perfect anniversary spot. Views are fantastic.

What weekend are you staying. Your prices sound outrageous. For $500 you should be able to get Park Hyatt, Peninsula, or Trump. I hear Elysian is the new place to beat.

I must take exception to this. I've been to G&tG three times, and every time I was inundated by salt. The food is fatty and salty and just generally too full of itself.

I'd much rather go to Avec.

Consider Topolobampo, Bayless' higher end place. It's attached to Frontera (same entrance), but is nicer, white tablecloth, etc and the food is a step up as well. *and* they take reservations, which Frontera doesn't (except for large parties).

I don't think Charlie Trotter is closed until August but it would be pretty impossible to get a reservation at this point.

I know my parents have been trying to get a reservation but no luck as of now.