One-day trip - restaurant advice

My husband are taking a one-day trip to Chicago for our sixth anniversary next month. It%26#39;s a short trip because we have little ones at home, and no one seems to want to keep them for a long weekend, for some reason!

Anyway, we%26#39;re going up Saturday and coming back Sunday. We%26#39;re foodies, so we%26#39;ve already booked a Chicago Food Planet tour. We%26#39;re staying at the Fairmont after getting a good deal on Priceline, for that weekend anyway ($105).

Now our big conundrum is where to go for dinner. Since it%26#39;s our one chance to do something nice in town, we don%26#39;t want to blow it. We want something good, nothing too fancy (we don%26#39;t need to spend $500 for dinner), kind of romantic, something we couldn%26#39;t get at home. So far, I%26#39;m really intrigued by North Pond especially, although Crofton on Wells looks decent too. Anyone have any opinions about these restaurants, or want to throw another in the mix?

One-day trip - restaurant advice

North Pond is a good choice. I%26#39;ll add - http://www.l2orestaurant.com/

One-day trip - restaurant advice

I%26#39;m not nuts for North Pond or Suzy Crofton%26#39;s place. They are ok. For a special dinner, I would choose Tru, NoMi, Nomades or Spiaggia for a higher end dinner. It won%26#39;t be $500. But it does depend on the wine you choose.

I have not been there, but I have heard the views from Sixteen are outstanding. May want someone to chime in first on the experience though.

Brasserie Jo and Kiki%26#39;s are both romantic resonable priced French places and fronterra grill is possible the best Mexican restaurant in the country. Some of the previously mention places are not $500 but are well over $200 with drinks. Tru was $80 just for dessert and Spiggia is great but will be at least $300.

http://chicagovisitor.net/Restaurants.html

Thanks for all the replies!

I%26#39;d looked at Spiaggia too, but since it doesn%26#39;t list prices online, I figured the old adage ';If you have to ask how much it costs, you probably can%26#39;t afford it'; would probably hold true. Feel free to correct me if I%26#39;m wrong though!

I%26#39;ll take a closer look at some of the other places mentioned. Was L20 the one Anthony Bourdain went to when he visited Chicago? It sounds familiar.

Thanks again for the suggestions - keep em coming! I love to dream about food...

L2o was the place that Anthony Bourdain went to, they do post their prices on line, the meals are a range of different multiple course meals ranging from $90-$165 per person.

You might have a look at www.lthforum.com where all they talk about it food :-)

I was at Brasserie Jo this weekend and I probably won%26#39;t go back, they forgot one of our courses (same thing the last time we were there), the specialty cocktails weren%26#39;t that good and the annoying waiter corrected our pronunciation of everything we ordered with some weird Spanish accent. I%26#39;m really disappointed because I used to really like the place.

I have heard that Geja%26#39;s is really good for a special dinner, but I haven%26#39;t personally been there so I can%26#39;t say for sure...

I have been to sixteen for lunch, and the cost was about $50/person. The views are really nice (16th floor looking over the river) and the service exceptional. I would guess dinner to be at $100-$150/person.

S

Anytime a restaurant does not have their prices online, I just call and have the menu with pricing faxed or emailed over to me. Restaurants provide a service and, like all services, it%26#39;s perfectly acceptable to find out the cost of the service before you decide to use them.

Since you might be checking the lthforum, do a little search there on the Chicago Food Planet tour.

young married couples