No, we ordered the pre meal drink special, then a glass of wine with the first few courses (I'm a sparkling water nit when I expect the food to be great), then there was a small fly on my date's mushroom course and so they brought us two additional glasses each with the later courses. I assumed they had just comped us the wine we didn't order, but given that we only payed $250 each I guess they took it all but like 2 glasses off the bill and just charged us for food.

I've done it both ways and I honestly prefer having little to no wine with really, really great multi-hour meals. I like being able to taste everything, and being a little drunk while sitting in the same place for 3 hours can wear on me. I get that I'm in the minority here.

Point is: you can get in and out of Alinea for $230 a person if you don't need to have the wine.

Oh and I don't know how it slipped my mind earlier, but Topolobampo is both a great meal and pretty unlike anything you can expect to get anywhere else. (note: yes, I know it's not impossible to ge similar in other cities, and that topolo isn't even most people's favorite Mexican food in the city, but still.) definitely worth considering if you're looking for a tasting menu type experience in chicago.

Nailed a 10pm NEXT for tomorrow night

Do you suggest going to Aviary before or after? I'd prefer after but if before = better chance of getting in then that's more important

Edit: Probably better to go first since they have those small bites to hold us over since I'm sure we'll be hungry way before 10

So with dinner at 10, what's the best time to show up at Aviary -- accounting for wait time + spending an hour or 2? in there

You get bumped to the front of the line if you had dinner at Next that night.

Just went to Schwa last night. I can honestly say it was like nothing I have ever experienced. The rap music blaring in the background, the chefs laughing and swearing loudly in the back, Chef Michael hanging out like the unibomber, and the free courses and shots we got (brought them a gift obv) really made for a unique atmosphere.

The food itself was highly experimental, but can honestly say it was fantastic. One of the best meals I have had by far...it's worth calling them over and over again to try and get a reservation...

Any tips on when to call?

frequently and often in the hopes they pick up and have the date book open. The food is amazing, but I'm not sure that you'd like it all too much as there is a major hipster vibe to the place

I didn't make the reservation, but my friend basically called everyday for five or ten minutes for a month or so, and finally got through just one day. I don't think there's an ideal time to call or anything.

What was your gift?

Had great time at next last night and got seated next to Nick Kokonas at aviary. Got to talk to him for about 30 mins and even had a brief Achatz appearance.

So I had my first experience at Kuma's Corner last night. About 4 buddies visited last night and we go there at like 10pm lol the wait is 2.5 hours they say. We say screw and go drink at the bar across the street because the place is packed. The heavy metal ambiance was different and pretty cool and definitely pumped me up. We got sat at 11:45 and we all order different burgers. Me and a buddy decide to split 2 different kinds. So I had half an original (bacon, cheddar, fried egg) and half a Yob (roasted red pepper, bacon, smoked gouda, garlic mayo)
The original was pretty damn good and was worth the wait. Never had fried egg on a burger before which was tasty as I love yolk.
The Yob wasy favorite, unbelievable taste. The pretzel buns are fantastic, don't think I can eat a burger without a pretzel bun again. They may have the greatest bacon I've ever had in my life. It's cooked to perfection. The burger were just absolutely wonderful and worth the wait.
Only disappointing thing was they no longer serve waffle fries. I had heard it was the way to go by some people and our waitress said they only serve these steak cut fries now. The new fries though aren't particularly bad, actually really good, just wish I had gotten a chance to try them. All in all it was the greatest burger I've ever had, can't wait to go again and try something else.
Going to try to go to Hot Doug's today for lunch, any recommendations? We were thinking about just ordering a bunch and splitting them

Anyone get Bulls-Heat tickets? Cannot believe how expensive tickets are...it's ~250 dollars for upper deck seats. Can't decide if it'd be worth it. The most I've ever spent on a sporting event was 200 dollars to see the Umich v ND game back when both teams were really good.

I got Game 5 tickets.

I can get you 2 300 level seats for 200 each for any home game. Let me know if you're interested

We brought them a couple bottles of the beer that is brewed by El Bulli (think it's called inedit?). One of the people I went with works in the restaurant biz and heard that Michael Carlson and a few of the other chefs really dig it.

You can bring anything really, I've heard people bring 6-packs of PBR, etc. One of my buddies that went recently took a huge joint. If you bring something to them, you will almost certainly get a few free courses...

+1. worked for me too when I went there

Would someone recommend a good bar near Morgan and Lake to watch the game at tomorrow? Somewhere that 'isn't a typical sports bar' (my friend who is going with his gf wasn't more specific, sorry).

Thanks!!!

Is there any good/new bars or restaurants near Harrison and Wells that wouldn't be on Google Maps and things? Basically right by the CBOT, anything there? Also, is the QDoba still in that area?

Nothing jumps to mind that isn't already listed on Google Maps. If you haven't already, check out Villain's on Clark south of Harrison. Great beer selection and they make some pretty interesting burgers (think Kuma's Jr.)

Jimmy Green's on State just south of 8th is a pretty good spot to watch a game.

Make sure you try Hackney's at Dearborn and Polk. Great menu with several amazing burgers and a really good Beer selection as well. I think they have a few locations in the Burbs but they are local to Chicago. Qdoba is still there.

Nice thread,

Excuse what is probably a stupid question since it can only be answered with an "it depends what you want" type answer but basically I will be transferring to the US through work from the UK (pretty much the only way to get a visa it seems!) and basically will have the option between NY and Chicago (or poss LA).

The general vibe in this thread has definitely made me lean towards Chicago, not least because on less than <60k$ a year poker has probably guaranteed that I would never be thrifty enough to survive in NY. Also I work in advertising, so with any luck it sounds like there are some pretty client lunches/dinners to be had around. I kind of feel like I won't be in a position to really take full advantage of NY and would probably come to hate certain aspects of it pretty quickly due to this. I'm 21, so looks like the Lincoln park area would work out pretty nicely for me.

Anyone know much about the amateur soccer scene in chicago? I play pretty regularly and is one of those things that I would really miss + should be a good way to meet some people since I won't know anyone (other than some coworkers) when I move out.

Any thoughts?

Cheers!

There are a lot of sports leagues options in Chicago, including many soccer leagues both indoor and outdoor. This should give you a good start: http://www.chicagosportandsocialclub.com/leagues/

Definitely recommend living close to the lake on the north side somewhere. Here's a neighborhood map: http://www.chicago.com/neighborhoods/

Areas great for young professionals tend to be Old Town, Lincoln Park (depaul) & lakeview/wrigleyville.

+1 to all of what cosines said. I played in a Chicago Social Soccer League (lowest skill) and it was pretty fun. I didn't meet as many new people as I'd hoped, but I think it has a bunch to do with not hanging out after games (tired/sweaty, etc.). A few times we were short a player or two and asked people from previous games if they wanted to play. Good way to meet new people.

There's a huge park where we played our games at the Lincoln Park/Old City area that had a turf soccer field. Field always seemed full on non-winter weekends. Games seemed to be pretty competitive as well.

I have a two friends (one male, one female) a couple years older that work in advertising. They both work long hours, pay is sorta crappy, but good amount of perks (lunch/dinners, etc. Male friend has been invited to a bunch of bulls games, including last nights). Female worker actually just began working in London for 3 months.

I recommend Lincoln Park, but Lakeview is solid as well and cheaper.

Good luck on your move.

Just got my tennis rackets restrung and am hoping to play a lot this summer. I was a good player in high school, but now I don't really give a hell and just like to play recreationally. I think I lose athletic ability by the day. If you'd like to play send me a PM.

Any golfers in Chicago? If so, PM me if you'd like to play sometime.

Yea me and my friends saw that as well...$250 for the worst 300 level ticket.
We actually decided if it makes it to game 7 we'll buy em...otherwise waiting until finals to spend ~tree fiddy.

Thanks for this, looks good. Definitely sold on Chicago now. Was just looking at rent, and it seems much cheaper than the London equivalent, which I guess I wasn't expecting. Guess I will probably rent a place with others anyway since will be good to meet some people, but nice to know that I could get my own place down the line if I wanted to.

Yep long hours, low pay, pretty much sums it up. I could have got a gig in finance relatively easy (econ grad) but I think at junior level you will be doing pretty basic admin stuff/repetitive process unless you luckbox. Might be well paid admin, but still admin. Not going to say I don't still do some **** stuff myself, but at least every day is different. Plus, in finance I would not be remotely special and would never be able to get a transfer to Chicago! Excited.