If you’re interested in a night of entertainment as WELL as dinner, I would recomend Medieval Times. It’s a fun jousting experience and the food is fun and oldentime-ish. I’d look into it. :-D

Flattop Grill. Create your own stirfry. It’s a chain in the Chicago area but still amazing.

Also, you have to have a Chicago hot dog at some point while you’re there.

The one restaurant that I always go to when I visit Chicago is:

Club Lago
331 W. Superior St. (Orleans St.)
Chicago, IL 60610
312-951-2849

This is one of those restaurants that mostly locals know about, it’s definitely off the beaten path. They are consistently fantastic and reasonably priced. Too, they are the sweetest people, always telling you to “take off your coat, make yourself at home!” It’s simply wonderful and I look forward to going there again! Oh, it’s Italian food.

No food chains! Blech.

Go to Jacks on Halsted for dinner and, if you get a chance, see Blue Man Group at the Briar Street Theater. It’s 2 or 3 blocks away from Jacks.

Try Carnivale – but make reservations because the wait can be over 2 hours. (It is a little pricey but very worth the cost) Also…for a great after hours corner bar try Burton Place. The best $3 Margarita (served in a beer class) you will ever drink! If you like steak – Smith & Wolensky (Next the House of Blues) is very good. Don’t forget to try their Creme Bruele – It is to die for! Have fun…Chicago is a great city!

Tapas!
I love tapas for sharing food and drinks with friends. A little sangria, a dozen little plates to share while chatting, some live music, a little more sangria… perfect for catching up. Right off Michigan & Ohio there’s Emilio’s Sol y Nieve (and other Emilio’s all around Chicago) and Cafe Ba Ba Reeba closer to DePaul University. Try a little of everything, tapas makes it easy to sample new treats and favorite old comfort food with little risk.
Have fun!

Chicago Veggie Diner—fantastic food (even if you’re not veg*n), nice staff, fun crowd. Can get totally insanely packed, though, so get there early or prepare to wait.

Joey’s Brickhouse in Lakeview has a great Saturday brunch special—$15 for all you can eat & up to 4 Long Island Iced Teas (they’re $3/each after that).

Schubas is (IMO) the best venue in Chicago, and the restaurant that’s attached - Harmony Grill - is awesome as well. Very nice waitstaff, bartenders, easy to park, great neighbourhood… my favourite place to be anytime I’m in Chicago.

Butterfly Sushi is utterly amazing, though I’m vegan, so I’m not sure if the raw fish is as good as the veg dishes.

Chicago Diner & Butterfly Sushi are on the red line El (Belmont & Grand, respectively); Joey’s Brickhouse & Schubas are on the brown line (Southport for both).

Giordano’s. Simply the best pizza on the face of this planet. There are 3 or 4 locations, but I like the one in Prudential Plaza.

Makes me want to take a road trip just thinking about it.

Arun’s is a fabulous Thai restaurant that is a great way to eat through an evening. They offer a 12-course meal (when I was there it was $85 plus drinks and tip per person). It was astounding.

Enjoy!

If you want hot dogs, SuperDawg on the northside is fabulous. Bit tricky to get there on public transport, though.

With the tapas, if you’re closer to Evanston than the Loop, head to Tapas Barcelona. Fabulous. Get their fig things. Amazing.

And if you’re into Indian food, any place on Devon is GREAT. You want to head a bit west of Clark and you’ll hit all of these amazing Indian places. Viceroy is my favorite because the price is right, the options are endless, and the portions are HUGE. But you know… there are plenty of other choices that I haven’t tried.

Oh, one thing—Medieval Times is about an hour outside of the city. It’s actually in Schaumburg/Hoffman Estates, so it could be a bit of a trek…

If you like pizza, you can have the best pizza in the world at Pizzeria Uno (get the Numbero Uno) downtown. If it’s a romantic dinner and you want atmosphere and excellent food, there is no place better than Narcisse…. It’s out of this world. :)

I like Emilio’s, too.

Pizza is good, but not a must IMO- I would go to Pizzeria Due instead of Uno. And I would go to Gino’s before either of those.

Mirai for sushi on West Division. And cool drinks.

Nacional 27 for more raw fish (ceviche) and really, really cool drinks.

I love Star of Siam, on Illinois.

Money no object? Charlie Trotters!

Salut, on Milwaukee I think, for tequila.

I’d advise against the bars on Division, but would recommend 5 Faces there for late night food on the way back to your hotel. Tacos, gyros, burgers, sausages- you name it.

Also for late night- Clark St. Dog. This place has a parking lot, if you need one.

Toast for brunch. Only one of them serves alcohol, I think, if that matters.

Have fun!

Try the Brazilian Steakhouse experience at

www.fogodechao.com

This place is a carnivores dream. At your table you receive a poker chip. Green means go, red means stop. Gorge yourself on the salad bar and see with your own eyes some mutant asparagus that is a foot long and an inch and half thick.

The real fun starts when you flip that chip to green. 14 cuts of meat, all hand carved at your table of a steel roasting spit. Filet mignon, garlic roast beef, sirloin, sausage, lamb, chicken.

Get a reservation and go. This is one of my favourite restaurants in the US.

If you’re looking for inexpensive but extremely tasty places, I’m your girl.

L’Appetito under the Hancock building for sandwiches

Moonstruck Café on Michigan Ave. for hot chocolate

Smokin’ Woody’s in North Center for barbecue (excellent burgers too)

Kitsch’n in Roscoe Village for American comfort food

Cornerstone Café over by Targhetto for breakfast

Green Tea in Lincoln Park for sushi

Crepe Palace in Lincoln Park for crepes

Margie’s Candies in Bucktown for ice cream

Orange in Lakeview for brunch

Apart Pizza in Lincoln Square for New York style pizza

just about any other pizza place for Chicago style

Garcia’s in Lincoln Square for Mexican

Tac-Quick in Wrigleyville for Thai

and Rockwell Grill in Ravenswood Manor for cheese fries

Cafe Iberico, 737 N La Salle Dr..

Its a great place, VERY busy, somewhat pricy, but very enjoyable. It has a bar and a bunch of other extras.

For more info,
http://www.cafeiberico.com/