Reggie's is a nice bar/music venue like 2300ish south State, just east of Chinatown. They have a pretty decent selection of craft beer and some decent bands play there, but overall the place is very spacious/comfortable. I haven't had any of the food but they seem to have a decent food selection.

Cal's is a decent little dive bar somewhere in the South Loop (I think it's a few blocks west of State and Van Buren, but I'm not positive). It's right by the board of trade and they have an interesting mix of customers.

If you're even a small fan of beer, I'd recommend places like Piece Brewery (on North just east of Milwaukee I believe) they are also well known for their New Haven style pizza, Goose Island Brewery (On Clybourn, just south of downtown I think) and of course some of the ones already mentioned, Map Room, Hopleaf, etc. I've heard mixed reviews of the Chicago Alehouse, but have never been.

Personally, my favorite thin and stuffed crust pizza is Aurelios. The original one is the best (they are franchises and a lot of the others seems to taste different) in Homewood in the south suburbs. If you ever visit there ask for your pizza to be cooked in the old oven.

Other than that I like Giordanos deep dish. I had that Chicago's pizza mentioned above when I lived in Lakeview, the late night delivery is very nice and the pizza is very good.

Nancy's also makes very good pizza.

I used to eat at this place called Rizas or Rezas when I lived in Andersonville, I forgot the name but they had some pretty good food.

Devon/Western as others mentioned is good. Greektown is worth eating a meal at.

I've never had much bad to say about Navy Pierre. Charlie's Alehouse is there, which has a decent selection of good beer, the restaurant Riva is there and is pretty good and the boat rides are pretty decent. The midnight+ "booze cruise" that they also have are pretty decent, you pay a flat fee and get some appetizers and an open bar.

If you're coming to Chicago, pick up a copy of "Chicago" magazine and read through the restaurants and night life and pick out stuff you might like and just post it in this thread, you should get some good opinions.

Just from a housing standpoint, as another poster touched on but I want to live in the city when I move there even though I will be commuting to Aurora for work.

What's the best area I should be looking at for apartments. I'll be renting prob for the first 6 months to 1 year but I'm gonna buy after that.

A couple other good spots that I didn't see mentioned near a lot of hotels...

Roys - Great seafood. Potentially better than Japonais imo. Upscale dining with a really reasonably priced wine list. The best part is how this place looks like a scuzzy bar with a gawdy purple awning outside and you walk in and it is butter.

Quartino - Italian tapas with a great outdoor seating area. The wine is great and is cheap as hell, especially if you want to take some home ($5/bottle). Plus I saw Nick Cage's bald ass here last summer.

Star of Siam - Great thai food. Super cheap (but I guess that is implied)

Lou Malnatis owns all pizza. Giordanos is second.

Portillos is a must hit spot.

For downtown bars.... Fado is great if you are looking for a relaxing atmosphere where you can talk. Kerryman is better if you are looking for a more upbeat atmosphere. I wouldn't suggest it for anybody over 30 on the weekend though.

Commuting to Aurora from the city is going to be a long way, fyi. If you are definitely set on the city I would go as far west as you can stand. Oak Park might not be a bad spot - it's not quite in the city but it's really nice and it's not far away.

Oak Park is real nice. But if I were younger I'd rather live in the City. And either way the commute to Aurora will be bad.

But there is a decent young, single community here. There's a couple of colleges in nearby River Forest. And there's nightlife in Oak Park and neighboring Forest Park. The bars in Cicero stay open longer than Chicago, so you do have some options if you move here.

Fwiw I'm moving from LA so a 45min-1hr commute to/from work is pretty standard for someone out here.
I was thinking of just moving to Aurora and buying a house but I'd rather live in the city for a year or so, then move out closer to work.

Oak Park sounds good for what you're looking for, you're not going to find anything else near that area that is worth living in. The whole west side of Chicago is not ideal imo so the closest area is going to be like right near downtown anyway, and that commute will suck.

Aurora has a decent downtown area, it's obviously no Chicago but it's not like Aurora/Naperville is a little town with two square blocks of downtown.

I'd go Oak Park if I were you though, it's a good compromise, you can go East to the city without much trouble and West to your job without a 2 hour commute.

I'm a recent college grad moving out to Chicago for work in August. Pretty similar situation to the one surfillini described, except I will be working in Elmhurst. What neighborhoods should I be looking in for a good mix of young people/bars/Metra+EL access?

Any testimonials on Wicker Park or Lincoln Park? Any recommendations of other places that could be a good fit?

This thread makes me miss Chicago so much.

Especially the pizza.

Anyone have a company hiring web marketing / seo / paid search people?

Elmhurst has a pretty nice downtown with decent nightlife. It's a college town so there's more to do than your average Suburb. The Metra station is right downtown also.

Again Oak Park is just a few train stops away from Elmhurst and is closer to the City. Oak Park also has the Green line (CTA), the Blue line(CTA) and a Metra Station.

Lincoln Park is expensive and crowded but it has a lot to offer including easy access to the Lake and of course Lincoln Park (the park itself).

Wicker Park used to have an edgier feel to it, but it's not much different from Lincoln Park any more. It's not as close to the lake, but it is a little closer to the Expressway.

weird, i grew up in elmhurst, but i never really thought of it as a college town, even though it does have the college.

course i haven't been back in years, so who knows what it's like now.

Well it's not like Madison, WI or anything. But it does have concerts, athletice events, culture and a decent amount of bars. There's things for young single people to do there. As oposed to the average bedroorm community, which tend to be very family oriented.

Elmhurst is also nice because it's walkable. So you don't have to worry about driving home drunk after a night on the town.

WOW, 87 posts and only one mention of Portillos????

Things missing from this thread:
1. Portillos
2. The Blues
3. St. Patrick's Day
4. Frank Lloyd Wright

someone will inevitably make fun of portillos cause it's a "chain"

Lol @ St. Patrick's day. OP is looking for things to do around the city and you give him an event that happens one day a year

Blues and Jazz are worth a mention though -

Has anyone been to Green Mill or Hot House? I'm interested in checking those out on my next trip home.