adamak

We'll be staying in Westin Michigan Ave, and hope to walk to Rush Street for Sat dinner. No preference, which one will you recommend? And I assume Rush St is within walking distance in March?

indo79

Rosebud would be a good choice, but it can be VERY packed on weekends

francophile

Depends what type of food you are in the mood for. There's Gibson's for steaks, expensive steaks. There's that Vietnamese restaurant right next to Barney's. There's that sushi place right across the street from Barnes & Noble.

I like that French bistro Le Zinc, also right across the street from Barnes and Noble.

That Italian place right across the street from Gibson's seems quite popular.

Whatever you do make a reservation for Saturday night.

UA835

The Vietnamese place is Le Colonial, the Sushi place is RA sushi. Both are very good .. definitely give the Sea Bass sashimi a try if you go to RA.

cawhite

A good alternative that most people forget (or don't realize) is Hugo's Frog Bar right next door to Gibsons. You can order off the Gibsons menu (same price, IIRC) but it's a bit more low-key than Gibsons

techgirl

RA sushi is excellent - definitely try some of the special rolls. I'm also a big fan of their mixed drinks.

This place tends to attract a young crowd... not uncommon to see tables of twenty-something girls or boys doing sake bombs or sharing jumbo fishbowls.

I have a conference to attend in Chicago in September, and RA will certainly be one of our evening stops.

cawhite

Ahem...you will be letting us know when you have your schedule planned and save a night for us, right????

toomanybooks

Heaven on Seven (www.heavenonseven.com) at Rush and Ohio for pretty good Cajun/Creole (at least, as good as you'll get in Chicago).

As for the weather, it snowed again today here, about 1-2 inches in the southern 'burbs and still coming down at 3:30.

Sweet Willie

We had been to Le Colonial a couple times and were not that impressed. A reservation being misplaced by another restaurant found us in the north MI Ave area with no reservations on a Friday night at 5pm. Le Colonial had seating avail at 5:30 so we took it, willing to try it again after not having been for so long. We were very glad we gave them another try.

We had:

BANH CUON
Steamed Vietnamese ravioli of chicken & ****ake mushrooms, in flat rice noodles with lime garlic sauce. This was ok, there is better stuff on the menu.

CA BAM XUC BANH TRANG
Wok-seared monkfish with chili, lemongrass, peanuts, & toasted sesame crackers. This was one of the best Asian dishes I have ever had, just incredible. ^

BANH UOT
Grilled sesame beef rolls in flat rice noodles, with cucumber, lettuce, basil, & lime garlic sauce. These were ok, there are other things I would try before this.

GOI BO
Cold, spicy beef salad with chili, lemongrass, basil, & chili lime vinaigrette. Wonderful, so satisfying and a great range of flavors.

VIT QUAY
Ginger marinated roast duck with tamarind dipping sauce. One of the best duck dishes in the city. Very moist and full of flavor.

http://www.lecolonialchicago.com/

cawhite

I'm glad you had a good return visit I've never had a disappointing meal there though some have certainly been better than others. Your report is making me think of which friend's arm I should twist into going soonish.

ILuvParis

Nice to see that he still is eating too - just not ever with us anymore.

philfna

Tavern on Rush right by gibsons was a favorite of mine when I lived on Wells Street. Great steak more local flavor than gibsons in my opinion. Not cheap though.