Spiaggia and Tru are both close to the Drake.

The art institute is a quick bus ride or cab ride away, just straight down Michigan Ave. It can also be a nice walk.

KbZ, I missed that you are looking for a tasting menu. Unfortunetly I can't help too much at that since I normally do big wine dinners at most of the places I go to and we're able to get corkage cut down or waived

something I would recomend is checking out HDHwine.com. That's Hart Davis Hart's web site and they have been doing a BYO series recently. They have had dinners at Custom House and Blackbird and its usually between 100-150 all inclusive. Just be sure to bring an great bottle of wine as some serious bottles get opened up by those that have gone

yeah, I will be there alone (for work) so a tasting menu is a good way to try a bunch of different things

at the same time, I'm fine with any good place, so if there are some really good places left out above that don't do tastings, that's great. but I'm only there for 2 nights and there look to be about 7 good suggestions above so I think I'm set

yes, spiaggia, tru, art institute, and chophouse (as well as all the other decent steakhouses, really) are very close to the drake. sounds like you're going to have a good work trip.

Moving for a summer internship in like ten days. This thread was very helpful.

im a recent college grad moving to chicago in august for work. I'm thinking of living in Wrigleyville or Lincoln Park, and I plan on living by myself. I want to live in a nice place with lots of stuff to do, and a young crowd of people (roughly my age). Which best serves my purposes, or I can't really go wrong with either?

seems like the main complaint about lincoln park is that its expensive. If I don't really care about that, is lincoln park the place to live?

also i will be looking for appartments very soon. I have a few realtors lined up, chicagoappartmentfinders.com, and appartmentsavy, anyone have any experience with these places? I've read some reviews and they seem pretty shady.

Lincoln Park or Lakeview is probably where you'll want to be. Lakeview is directly north of Lincoln Park, so the two neighborhoods kind of overlap alot. Lincoln Park is a bit more expensive and the crowd tends to be just slightly older (mid 20's vs. early 20's) however both neighborhoods are very similar imo. I live in LP and tend to avoid alot of wrigleyville (which is a part of the Lakeview neighborhood) as, at 26, I feel like alot of the bars up there are straight out of college fratty. Not sure what your scene is, but I definitely thing LP tends to be a bit more laid back, but of course the neighborhoods are basically on top of each other, so when it comes down to it you can get from one to the other super easily.

I have friends who claim to have good experiences with these companies, but I've had no luck with them and basically refuse to use them anymore. I've heard alot more negatives than positives. The negative feedback usually revolves around them taking clients to promote their own agendas as opposed to really showing the person what's the best fit for them. They're basically salesmen, so you just have to remember that when dealing with them as they are trying to sell you something rather than necessarily help you out. YMMV though.

Are you trying to secure an apt remotely, or do you have some time in Chicago to look around? If you're spending some time here, my recommendation is to peruse craigslist and chicagoreader.com (just ignore the realtor sponsored listings) and find some places that interest you and set up appts. to see them when you're around. the rental market is super soft now so there should be alot available. The best time to start looking is approx. 2 months before your move in date, so if you're coming in August you'd need to get on it.

It sounds like you aren't from Chicago. Some things I think you really need to consider when looking for a place are:

- Parking, are you bringing a car? If so, be weary of living too close to the lake (approx east of halsted or clark depending how far north/south you are) without included parking as parking there is nuts.

- High rise vs. smaller building, there's tons of 3 and 4 flats around the neighborhoods that are fantastic imo. However, alot of people prefer to live in some of the giant highrise apt buildings by the lake. Totally dependent on personal preference, but something to be mindful of as you start your search.

Meh, there's lots more that I could say but it's going to be much more dependent on your personality and wants. Good luck with your search, and feel free to PM me with any questions.

ive used both apartment finder companies. its a nice experience, u can call them in the morning and look at a bunch of apartments and have a lease signed that night. scouring craigslist and calling a bunch of ppl and juggling appointments and taking public transportation around the city (if u dont have a car) is a pain in the ass. u will have to decide whether its worth the hustle to find a marginally better deal.

i did have a bad experience where they had me sign a lease on an apt that ended up being taken already, but it didnt cost me anything. their agents are all dumb kids right out of college

so what happened in that instance? I can't really afford to have that happen, given that I'm from out of town and have to fly to Chicago.

thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it. Seems like people from Chicago are pretty helpful and proud of their city, which is pretty refreshing.

i got a different place the next day

meh thats kinda scary. I guess i'm gonna give those realtors a shot, but i'm def not looking forward to dealing with them.

eh, they are just a few minutes walk from each other, it's all one big area to me at this point

*grunch*

Not sure how appropriate with an old thread but I say make an effort to find unique areas. Chicago has so much, get a general idea what you're looking for (whether it be bars, foodie, etc.) and do some digging. I am one of those who just tries to figure out what's good through research and if it sucks I get to the next place asap.

I have a penchant for expensive meals (L2O style) but my friends don't.

I am in town over the 4th. If anyone wants to volleyball, PM

They can be a pain in the ass but it's a good way to see lots of apartments. You just have to keep in mind most of the places you see are you going to be crappers and cost 1700 for a 2 bedroom. A lot of the people that work through are A#$holes because they work on commission so they're going to push apt's hard and try any tactic to make you feel guilty if you don't rent right away with them. The other thing I would do is do a search for apts on chicago reader and then make appointments to see as many as you can in a day. I found my apt. just by walking around the neighborhood and writing down numbers on for rent signs. Sometimes you find better rentals than through apt. finders since so many people see those apartments and if they are any good they're going to be taken.

I live in lincoln park and prefer it over lakeview(wrigleyville) mostly because it's not as crowded. Parking is impossible in lakeview and like another poster said the scene is basically young 20 drunk college kids. LP is more expensive but on avg prob $100-200 more for rent for a similar place vs lakeview.

I used to work for an apartment rental agency, so I'll give my 2 cents.

It really depends on what agent you get and how many listings the particular apartment locator has that meets your criteria. If you get a new or pushy agent, the experience can be bad. A lot of new agents are recent college grads, not necessarily from Chicago and don't know their way around at all. New agents used to get lost ALL the time when going on apartment tours. I'm sure they still do.

Secondly, all apartment agents work on commision. If they don't rent you an apartment, they don't make money. Period. If the company only has 3 listings that suck, many agents will show you those apartments and tell you to pick one "because that's whats available on the market right now". There are agents that are honest and compassionate, but there are easily 3 times as many who just want your signature and first month's rent.

We used The Apartment People to find our place, and it worked really well. They're on ~3100 Broadway.
The other posters are right when they say Lincoln Park and Lakeview are the nicest areas. You might look around Uptown too though, which is about a mile north of Lakeview (from about 4000-5200 N). It's not as fancy as the other places (the Wilson El stop is pretty unpleasant), but it's decent, you're like a mile from the other neighborhoods, and parking is much easier. You'll also be able to get a much nicer place for the same amount of money.
Plus, amazing Vietnamese food and Asian bakeries on Argyle, and Edgewater is a nice area too.

+1 for uptown. Close to the lake and golf course. As said above, lots of interesting small restaurants. Also close to the Green Mill (Poetry Slam) and Aragon Ballroom, Riviera Night Club. Just a lot more apartment for the money than you'd get in lakeview or lincoln park. There's also the option of express busses downtown instead of the El.

Do the hookers still hang out on Broadway?

From my two experiences moving I first went with Apt People who sucked for us, but the next day had great success with CAF. That was when I first moved to the city ~3 years ago and was looking with my roommate for a 2 bedroom. But about 2 years ago when I went to look for a one bedroom, CAF showed me nothing but crap. Other friends have had similar experiences - I'm not sure if it's just that the 2 bedroom+ places are nicer in general, but people I know seem to have more success going with an apt hunting service for 2+ bedroom places. This is definitely a YMMV situation though.

I ended up finding a place on Craigslist instead. I'm planning on using craigslist again when I move later this summer, I just don't like the pressure I get from the apartment finding services. Plus there's so much out there with the market being as crappy as it is, you should be able to find a pretty nice place without too much difficulty.

i was at semiramis this past saturday, and its well worth checking out. the price ended up being about $35 a head

i used apartment savvy to find my place. very pleasant experience - they drove me around to like 10 different places after i walked in one day. signed a lease the next day. def recommend.

hey i have 1BR available in a 3BR wrigleyville apt, details in thread below

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10.../#post11168659