onesixty blue is one of my favorite fine dining spots. You won't be disappointed, and the room is lovely.

I also love Le Colonial, a charming Vietnamese/French spot with lovely atmosphere and fantastic food. This is my favorite place for a romantic dinner.

Both these places are more casual than Charlie Trotter's (Alinea and Tru are real CT equivalents), but they serve some of the best meals in the city.

I'll second Le Colonial for its candlelit ambiance and fine cuisine but my fav for a special occasion is RL (Ralph Lauren) next to the Ralph Lauren store at Michigan and Chicago AVes.Operated by Gibson's its clubby feel and retro menu make it a favorite of the Chi A list and visiting jock and movie stars.Reservations absolutely mandatory.

yes, almost every restaurant suggested in this thread has posts about them or even their own thread in FT already. quick search will give you additional info about them.

Enjoy.

New 2010 update, please
 

I am going to Chicago in a few months. Would like to go to fine dining. I have been to Charlie Trotter's already, and my definite stop along the way is Tru. What is the new up to date 2010 "gotta go to" places in Chicago for fine dining these days?

Thank you!

Good call, but raw
 

Thanks, I remember watching Anthony Bourdain review this. Unfortunately, I do not eat raw fish for fear of parasites. Any other fine dining suggestions?

MK Chicago
 

We are regulars at MK Chicago, find that our friends from out of town find it to be a unique and special place in Chicago. Excellent wine, service and food. You can not go wrong with MK.

Good call
 

My friend told me about this a few years ago. I did not listen to him and chose Charlie Trotter's instead. I think MK was probably the way to go. Will definitely try to hit this this time around. Tru and MK are probably the moves for this trip to Chicago. Thanks!

L2O has much besides raw fish.

Oh, also check out one sixtyblue, or however they spell it.

I'll throw in another ^ for MK. I don't know exactly what it is but we always leave there with a spring in our step. Never had a bad bite of food, service is sometimes spot on and sometime a little bit off (one night we were repeatedly offered refills of someone else's wine), but just a pleasant place for a meal. A big plus is that they are locally owned and run by a team that is actually present in the restaurant. Great wine list, with some real treasures if you dig a little.

I second those who recommend L2O. Laurent Gras(executive chef at L2O) is unmatched for his seafood preparation and much of it is cooked so there are no worries about parasites. The gorgeous dining room (ex Ambria) definitely has that special occasion feel to it as well. I would also recommend Alinea where Grant Achatz has perfected the art of molecular cuisine (a la El Bulli). A close second would be Moto, where Homaro Cantu dazzles with his creative preparations in a lofty space in Fulton Market. I also agree with those who love one sixty blue; though it lacks the special occasion feel (the dining room feels kind of corporate to me)the cooking is close to flawless.


Jim


I engage many cities in this wide,wonderful world but my heart belongs to Chicago

Sounds great.
 

This is great advice. I had seen Moto on food tv and travel channel, but I have never heard of Alinea. I looked at the website, and it looks fantastic.

I have 3 nights in Chicago, and I would like to go to 3 nice dinners with my wife. We have already done Charlie Trotter's (not terribly impresssed, sorry to say). What would you recommend for these 3 nights?

Tru
MK
Alinea
Moto
L20

Are there others that I am missing in this category of fine dining that would be a "must go to" place?

Schwa and Everest might be other options. I'm guessing money is no object here?

I would suggest Tru, Alinea, and L2O. I haven't been to Moto, but it always struck me as overly gimmicky (freezing food with liquid nitrogen before serving it, or giving you an edible menu which you eat after ordering, for example). I haven't been to Alinea, but a friend whose opinions mirror mine said it was the best dining experience he's ever had. The same friend and his ex-wife took me to Tru for my birthday a few years ago, and it was superb. My boyfriend and I went to L2O last summer, and it was on par with Tru.

MK is very good but not quite in the same league as the others, IMO.

I am not suggesting other places because it seems you're looking to go to one of the big-name fancy restaurants. There are lots of places that I think have food on-par with the above places for a fraction of the cost and attitude, but these don't seem to be what you're looking for. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

BTW, I've never been to Trotter's either - my grandpa went years ago and had the same response you did, so I've never bothered.

Thank you. Sure, money is an object, but we spend our money on food & travel mainly. So when it comes to going to a new city and going out, we do splurge.

Thank you. This is extremely helpful. I am getting the sense that Alinea (which, by the way, is one of the top 50 restaurants in the world I just saw) and Tru are the move. Although L20 serves non-raw stuff, it seems like one is missing part of the experience without the raw fish.

We love food, but it does not necessarily have to be fancy & expensive. For instance, for our lunches, we're getting Al's Italian Beef and Lucky's over-stuffed sandwiches. Of course, the "dive" places can be delicious, but they're off-topic on this thread. Thus, I am trying to stick to the fancy schmancy places!