Finally made it to the gage the other week. Was good and would recommend

I went to Acadia in s loop. Was really really good. Would recommend. Pretty pricy but about what you'd expect for a Michelin star

Sunda very good. Roka Akor is amazing as well. I'm trying to not go to a place twice but had to make a second trip here. Vvvvv good. Solid atmosphere as well.

Going to blackbird next month.

Bavette's was amazing, first time here and the suggestion was perfect. Really cool speak-easy type vibe, fiancee and myself had a cocktail at the bar upstairs and were moved downstairs into a much smaller and more intimate room for dinner.

60-day dry-aged ribeye in house was the ultimate winner of the night. Tab for 2 was ~300 before tip.

I've never done a "real" night out at Acadia, but I have made it a pretty regular part of the plan when I go to movies at the Roosevelt Collection. I usually go with a cocktail and a burger before heading over to the movie, and while it's expensive for a burger ($18) it's really good. I figure if I'm already doing $20 movie tickets, why start skimping? I've never had a problem getting in for bar seating, or getting served quickly, and the cocktails have been very good as well. One day I'll actually go for a more serious meal.

nwolfe,

Glad you liked Bavette's!

Yeah that's not too bad when you factor in quality. Have to imagine it's well worth it.

Going back to Girl & The Goat tonight. Haven't been in around 3 years.

That's on my seemingly endless list. Have heard great things. Hope to get there next month

I haven't been to G&tG since my first and only time a few years ago. Remember it being fantastic, but some of the reviews I've both seen and heard in the past year or so are less than stellar. Did something happen? Curious to know if it still holds as much sway.

I don't know, it was good but personally nothing we got blew me away.

We got the Hamachi Crudo to start which was prob a mistake, just not a terribly interesting take on Hamachi sashimi and could do better at a sushi place.

For Veggies, we got the Kohlrabi salad which was refreshing, solid pre-main course salad dish.

We also got the wood-grilled broccoli which I think was my favorite dish of the meal. Distinct smoky flavor to the broccoli pieces and they also had some melted blue cheese and toasted nuts with it. The smoky vegetables combined with the blue cheese was fantastic.

For meats we got the Duck Breast with Noodles, shrimp, rapini, and a "shrimp-duck jus". I just thought this dish was way too busy. The noodles didn't really add anything to it, and there were too many flavors going on for a duck dish. I think it might be better with a different meat, but duck already has such a full and excellent (IMO) flavor that you really want that to shine through, and I just felt like the fatty duck flavor was an afterthought when that should be the star of any duck dish.

Our other dish was the pig face which is solid but I've never been overly impressed with.

Overall in my 2 trips to G&G I've never really left there being blown away by any dish in particular. I think it's a solid restaurant and is worth the trip as it's not overpriced for what you get, but I don't think it's necessarily a "must go" if you had one weekend to spend in Chicago. I feel like it's gotten overhyped and I'm not exactly sure why. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the Top Chef publicity, but I think there are other restaurants in the same price point that do similar if not better food.

Shoutout to Gemini Bistro as the first one off the top of my head, but there are certainly others.

Funny enough I also thought that the wood-fired broccoli was the best thing we had there. Probably not a good thing.

Has anyone been to Goosefoot? Any thoughts?

I'm hoping to try 2-3 new Chi restaurants in April. Considering:

-Ruxbin
-Momotaro
-Duck Inn

Generally thinking mid-range prices and ability to get a substantial main course of fish/chicken/duck/steak.

Goosefoot is awesome. I've been 4 or 5 times over the past few years. They are BYO too which is great. Just be prepared for a 5 hour meal, but Chris and Nina are fantastic people which makes things even better.


Of the three you listed, I've only been to Ruxbin, but I've loved it every time. You should out Dusek's on your list as well.

went back to my old hood for lunch today, god damn Crisp is so solid

Ugh! Actually managed to score a res at Goosefoot for a Wednesday night, but then read the fine print on the menu and they can't accommodate seafood dietary restrictions on this menu, which cut out 2/9 courses. And I kind of hate cheese (unless it's in a Lou Malnati's pizza slice of course) which cut out 1 of the dessert courses, so probably gonna cancel that now.

Cool suggestion on Dusek's -- I hadn't heard of it before, but the menu looks solid

so last night went for a walk in neighborhood and came to a place having its grand opening. Mondo Meatball.
nice enough of a place, not real signage saying it was their opening. The owner said the gf and I were like customer #30. So I expected some jitters from the staff and some hiccups along the way.

Concept of this place is you get meatballs your way. get them just in a bowl, sub, salad or slider form. Theres about 5 or 6 different types (classic beef, pork, veggie, etc) and you pick from 8 sauces (red, light red, cheese, korean bbq, etc)
they have some sides like mashed potatoes, pasta, polenta, veggie of the day.

GF got a classic beef sub with red sauce, I got the sub with spicy pork with korean bbq.
Sandwiches come with 3 meatballs cut in half on them. Unfortunately the bread is so much that it overpowers the sandwich. Nowhere near enough sauce. The bites with the sauce and meatball were extremely good however. We ordered a side of vegetable of day which was brussell sprouts, pretty damn tasty actually.
We each had a specialty cocktail. Each $9. The one I ordered called a Primps Cup, it was alright i guess, nothing special, made with a fruit soda. gf got a peach cocktail, complete ripoff. It was served in what looked like a shot glass, also $9.

Total bill was $49, the sandwiches were $9 or $10 each, the vegetable was $4, the drinks $9.

All in all, I wanted it to be better because I liked the concept. Staff was friendly, the owner came over and greeted us and you can tell he was so happy to get this off the ground. Hopefully it was just first day kinks that needed to get worked out. Ask for extra sauce, don't get the house cocktails. Food was good though on the whole. Its on Milwaukee Ave in the Wicker Park area

Friday night tried Bavettes. Classy joint, didn't sit downstairs. But after looking at the downstairs, I think the upstairs is better for a meal. Got the ribeye, just wonderfully cooked. Mashed potatoes were crazy good, as was creamy spinach. Not usually a creamy spinach guy but they hit it out of the park with that one. Too full for dessert, didn't try any appetizers either. Would definitely go back, I heard the short rib stroganoff is a must try.

Went to blackbird in w loop. Very small space and the tables are super close to each other but it was very good. Reasonably priced as well considering the quality. Would go again and recommend.

Had brunch there a couple weeks ago. Food was really good, service was like a 5/10.

+1, i liked the schnitzel i got, service was solid, and the vibe/decor of the restaurant is hard to describe but I liked it



it fits in real well with the specific goal of "i want to take a date to eat german food but idk if i'm feeling laschett's inn"

The answer to this is the Radler on Milwaukee

Parachute continues to be super solid.

Have heard nothing but good things about Bohemia House, will have to check it out. I ate at Fig and Olive in Gold Coast last weekend and was very impressed. If you like Mediterranean cuisine, I definitely recommend it. Wide variety of things on the menu too so good spot to take a picky eater.

Apologies if this has been discussed in depth, but trying to get tickets to Alinea for a table while a friend is in town. It says they are posted 2-3 months in advance on their website. Is there a 'hack' for this to know exactly when to check? Also, do you recommend Alinea or NEXT?

Secondly, I'm moving to Chicago in a month or so and living in Streeterville and was wondering if anyone has interest in playing tennis/raquetball or other active sports during the week where its a good workout but not just blandly running. Also, any recs for a gym near that would have tennis/basketball?

Thanks in advance.

Alinea over Next, definitely.

In terms of ticket difficulty, the vast majority of the tickets are sold through the website. Just go on, make an account, and see what's available. They usually open up tickets a month at a time or so, and keep the window roughly two months out. You'll see what I mean when you log in.

Tickets are easier to get than they make it seem with their PR, for both restaurants.

As far as a gym near Streeterville with those things, it pretty much starts and ends with East Bank Club (EBC). It's expensive (as are most things in the area), but it's worth it imo.

As far as the other thing, probably depends on your skill level for tennis/raquetball. I'd be willing to play, but I'm not any good.

Yea heard EBC is fantastic. That's quite a ways west as I'm at Fairbanks/Columbus and Illinois.. was hoping there was some place closer but that might be my best option. Been told I'm a 3.5 in tennis so not that great either.

Craigslist/TennisRound will get you a game. I know a couple of 3.5/4.0s in Chicago that might give you a game. One of them is an ******* the other is really nice and likes to play in recreation park which is pretty convenient for you to get to. Taylor and Tommyboy like to play racquetball, hit them up.