Chicago - Topolobampo & Other Suggestions?

2,285 Views | 27 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by SkiMo
SkiMo
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AG
So I did some searching on TexAgs Travel Board for restaurant/bar rec's in Chicago and people kept mentioning this restaurant. I looked it up and it looks really good and I'm intrigued. I was able to make a reservation for next Thursday somehow. But I wanted to get opinions from anyone who has been there. Like is it really really good? Because what I seem to be calculating with the 7 course meal and wine pairings is around a $500 meal with tip for 2 people. Is it really worth it?

This will likely be the big expensive dining experience of the trip so if there is another place that's better for the price or lower then I'm open to suggestions.

Never been to Chicago but based on research I have the following on my list:

Location/Timeframe:
- Staying in River North
- Flying in around 1:30 next Wed / Leaving Sunday around 1:30
- No car - Plan to walk/train/uber

Entertainment/Activities:
- Hamilton (definitely going - tickets purchased)
- Architectural Boat Tour - company recommendations?
- John Hancock Center (maybe the bar there?)
- Art Institute of Chicago - This is probably 100%
- Field Museum of Natural History - Worth the visit?
- Museum of Science & Industry - Worth the trip?
- Millennium Park - Just walk around or something?
- Aquarium - maybe
- Neighborhood exploring - any suggestions for cool young funky neighborhoods with lots of bars/pubs/shops? Like, is Wicker Park cool?
- 100% NOT NAVY PIER

Restaurants People Have Suggested:
- Obviously Topo as I have made a reservation
- Lou Malnatis - Deep Dish
- Yolk - Brunch
- Le Colonial - Good Vietnamese
- The Purple Pig - Tapas
- Nonnina Italian - open to less expensive yet delicious and quaint spot in a non-touristy area

Bars/Pubs:
- Give me all your secrets!!!

I enjoy a nice fancy restaurant, but I really enjoy visiting restaurants/bars that aren't as touristy and have lots of character and locals. I realize based off my list this sounds contradictory, but I wanted to stay in a central spot to do all the toursity stuff with ease and explore out to other areas as well. And have a full list to choose from when me and my SO are being very indecisive.

Thanks!







texas_ute
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AG
XOCO (next door to Topo) is the more casual of the Rick Bayless restaurants. I have been to Topo and enjoyed it however if I am short on time and want quick, excellent food I get a cochinita pibil torta + margarita at XOCO!
SkiMo
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texas_ute said:

XOCO (next door to Topo) is the more casual of the Rick Bayless restaurants. I have been to Topo and enjoyed it however if I am short on time and want quick, excellent food I get a cochinita pibil torta + margarita at XOCO!
Thanks for the suggestion. You live in Utah? Or a Ute living in Texas?
I Play With Guns
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S
Skip Lou's. It's not good. Go to Pequod's (best in the city by far) or Gio's!

Also, the West Loop has amazing bars and incredible restaurants. Look up RM Champagne, Roister, Aba (make a reservation at LEAST a month in advance), Beatnik (not on the river), Pacific Standard Time, RPM Steakhouse.

Armitage has some cool local shopping and a to die for breakfast/brunch at Summer House but make reservations at least 2 weeks in advance.

I'll suggest more later as I currently have a headache and don't feel like thinking.

But I will say Aba is absolutely divine!! <3333333
Wicked Good Ag
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Field museum is worth it if you are into natural history type museum. I am more into the history museum and art but Field was a solid choice

I would check out Second City Comedy Club for a show and late night dinner after with some deep dish pizza.

As for the architectural boat tour it was the best part for me in terms of just seeing the city skyline and some history of the city as well. I can't remember which company because if I did I would easily recommend them. Based out of Navy Pier area which is nothing huge to see but we killed an hour or so counting time before and after tour. Go city card saved us some bucks on various things we did.

As for topo. It was excellent. We went for lunch so not near as expensive but had some pairings with real Mexican food (mole was amazing). I think for lunch it was under 100 for both of us but that wasn't a 7 course meal either

If you are spending that kinda coin for food I would try to get Alinea but it might be too late
SkiMo
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Thanks for the good suggestions! Unfortunately this is a last minute trip so reservations at super top places aren't much of a reality. Really wanted to try Girl and a Goat but no dice.

I was thinking of changing my reservations to Frontera instead of Topo. The only reservation at Topo I could get was for 8:45 and I'm not sure I wanna take my entire evening for dinner. Too much to explore.

I think there are some openings for The Publican if you any of you have been there and have opinions?

Also.... any cool secret bars or speakeasy's you got in mind, I'm listening.

Thanks again!
SkiMo
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Oh yeah...also meant to ask...

What is the general attire for the restaurant scene? Let's rule out upscale steakhouses and places like Alinea. Nice dark jeans a a dress shirt pretty standard?

Also, it looks to be in the 50s during the day when we will be there? Given that it's the windy city, I'm sure it still requires a pretty decent jacket when out walking around any exploring?
Wicked Good Ag
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I would then do Topo for lunch. the one next door would work as well
I Play With Guns
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The Publican is awesome awesome awesome!! It's one of my husband's favorite places for brunch. Which location are you looking at going to? We love both of them!

Also, jeans and a nice shirt will suffice for dinner attire anywhere in Chicago.

And yes, bring a nice fall jacket as it will be chilly and even more chilly at night.

Bars:

-Old Town Ale House (Bourdain filmed here)
-Kingston Mines (late night jazz/blues bar)
-Ceres (our favorite bar for happy hour during the afternoon - located in the CBOT)
-The Berghoff Bar (since it's the oldest restaurant in Chicago)

SkiMo
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AG
Thanks so much!

Funny you mention the Ale House. Just watched that Bourdain episode last night!
I Play With Guns
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My pleasure!

I'm not sure where you live but if you want to surprise your SO with a super cool fall activity, look up Jack's Pumpkin Nights and get tickets to go to the corn maze on Goose Island right in the heart of the city. It's a pumpkin patch and a corn maze with hidden bars located throughout. $33.00 gets you into the pumpkin patch, the corn maze, and 2 premium drinks at the hidden bars.
Aggie1391
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My favorite Chicago bars are

the Aviary - pricey but a cool experience
3 dots and a dash - tiki bar
London House rooftop bar - great view
Cindy's rooftop bar - also a great view
ThunderCougarFalconBird
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I've never been to Chicago as a tourist but I've always wanted to go to the museum of science and industry just to see the U-boat.
BSD
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Aggie1391 said:


the Aviary - pricey but a cool experience



Was just about to come post that. Next, the restaurant next door, is phenomenal. It's the same group as Alinea.

Also, the U-boat tour was awesome.
Wicked Good Ag
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I Play With Guns said:

My pleasure!

I'm not sure where you live but if you want to surprise your SO with a super cool fall activity, look up Jack's Pumpkin Nights and get tickets to go to the corn maze on Goose Island right in the heart of the city. It's a pumpkin patch and a corn maze with hidden bars located throughout. $33.00 gets you into the pumpkin patch, the corn maze, and 2 premium drinks at the hidden bars.


That sounds great. Pub crawl type thing with a corn maze and pumpkin patch. If ever in Chicago at that time would love to look that up
breezecustomtravel
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Went in April and used Chicago's First Lady Cruises for Architectural Boat Tour and it was top notch! I would highly recommend them and you can purchase your tickets online beforehand.

John Hancock Building/Center was fantastic and the view from the 96th Floor Bar was absolutely worth the wait and elevator ride up to the top. Drinks were expensive but that was also worth it just to hang out and look out at Lake Michigan and the city.

Millennium Park is cool, but yes, you just kind of walk around and take pictures and that's about it.

As far as restaurants go we tried to get into Au Cheval and it was a four hour wait, but it's supposed to have one of the best hamburgers in the US. We tried to get into Girl and a Goat also but they were booked, should have made reservations way before we got there. As one person said, Pequod's was WAY better than Lou Malnati's. We had a long wait at both pizza places.

By far our favorite bar/restaurant was 3 Dots and a Dash. It's a tiki bar and you have to walk down an alley and then go downstairs to get into it. If you're wanting to go there make reservations ahead of time, we were lucky and got in but we heard that's not always the case.

Enjoy your trip! Cheers!
Lauren K '07
www.breezecustomtravel.com
@breezecustomtravel
mavsfan4ever
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We were there this weekend. We did Pequods Friday night. I've never had deep dish so I don't have much to compare it to. It was good though. If I go back, I'll try s more traditional deep dish restaurant and see which I like better.

We got last minute reservations for Girl and the Goat for 4:30 on Saturday. My wife checked reservations online a few times and got lucky to have something open up. They open at 4:30, and there was a couple in line in front of us with no reservation and they actually allowed them to eat. So getting there when the doors open may be an option. I thought some of the dishes were amazing (fried walleye was my favorite) and didn't care for a couple (did not like the pig face).

We saw Hamilton Saturday night and then went to Au Cheval for a late night burger around midnight. We went to a bar nearby and they texted when we were up. Only took 30 minutes or so. Burgers were really good. We are in a food coma today.
thisguy05
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You've got a solid itinerary and there's a lot of great suggestions on the board. There's a ton of great beer in Chicago, if that does it for you. My favorite brewery is Haymarket.
Keeper of The Spirits
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Pequods for sure and an Italian Beef from Als
SkiMo
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I Play With Guns said:

My pleasure!

I'm not sure where you live but if you want to surprise your SO with a super cool fall activity, look up Jack's Pumpkin Nights and get tickets to go to the corn maze on Goose Island right in the heart of the city. It's a pumpkin patch and a corn maze with hidden bars located throughout. $33.00 gets you into the pumpkin patch, the corn maze, and 2 premium drinks at the hidden bars.
Not gonna lie. That corn maze thing sounds like a lot of fun actually. That's for sure on the list of possibilities. We don't get that type of fun stuff here in SLC. You know, because, mormon children can't look at a bottle of liquor or they will literally turn to stone.

Lots of good suggestions on this thread! Flying out Wednesday morning and super excited!
mavsfan4ever
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I thought the corn maze thing sounded awesome too. But we looked at yelp reviews, and they were all awful. Lots of people were really disappointed. They acted like it was really small and didn't even have bars inside the maze. They also said drinks were basically limited to Miller Lite and well liquor in the bar outside the maze.

The yelp reviews scared us away from trying it (we were also pushing it on time). I 'd suggest reading them before going. Or if you can talk to someone who has been, you can probably ignore the yelp reviews.
SkiMo
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mavsfan4ever said:

I thought the corn maze thing sounded awesome too. But we looked at yelp reviews, and they were all awful. Lots of people were really disappointed. They acted like it was really small and didn't even have bars inside the maze. They also said drinks were basically limited to Miller Lite and well liquor in the bar outside the maze.

The yelp reviews scared us away from trying it (we were also pushing it on time). I 'd suggest reading them before going. Or if you can talk to someone who has been, you can probably ignore the yelp reviews.
Thanks for the heads up! That would have sucked to waste time and money there.
I Play With Guns
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Damn. That sucks! We've got a group of 10 people going and have already bought the tickets.
gif
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If you're in the Lincoln Park area and want something a little quiet, my friend owns a small wine bar off
N Halsted called J9 Wine Bar that is next to a bunch of restaurants and other bars. I don't have a ton of knowledge on wine, so I honestly couldn't tell you about the selection. If someone has ever been or ends up going, I would love to hear some feed back on your experience. Really not trying to push my friends bar, but when my wife and I go to Chicago, we usually stay at my friends house directly behind the bar and hang out in the Lincoln Park area most of the time, so that is just the area we know really well.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/j9-wine-bar-Chicago
SkiMo
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Any of you guys been to Beatnik in West Town? This place looks super cool and creative

https://www.beatnikchicago.com/
I Play With Guns
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Oh yes. It's another brunch staple for us. It doesn't look like much from the outside but you step inside to some magical place with delicious food. <3

If you're going for brunch on the weekend, get the pork fried rice since they don't have it on the regular menu (and make reservations!!!!).
SkiMo
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I Play With Guns said:

Oh yes. It's another brunch staple for us. It doesn't look like much from the outside but you step inside to some magical place with delicious food. <3

If you're going for brunch on the weekend, get the pork fried rice since they don't have it on the regular menu (and make reservations!!!!).
That place looks super unique. But sometimes they draw you in with that and then the service/prices/food quality aren't up to par. It's always hard to take reviews too seriously sometimes because some people will just never be happy.
texas_ute
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An Aggie (from Houston) living in SLC, Utah!

I travel to Chicago frequently for meetings. If you are there during an A&M game, there is an active Chicagoland A&M club that does game watchings at a bar called The Pony.
SkiMo
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Successful trip! Thanks for all the advice. I officially love Chicago!

Rundown:

- Wed: Got to hotel in River North around 3:00. Went to the bar for a few drinks. Back to hotel to get ready for Hamilton. Had a drink and some food at Revival Food Hall downtown and then off to Hamilton. Went to a bar in River North after followed by a 1am stop at Portillos for a hot dog on the walk back.

- Thu: Walked to the Venezuelan Embassy so my husband could renew his passport. Official business completed followed by a stop at The Purple Pig for a couple drinks before the Arch Boat Tour. Glad we did it. I highly recommend. We went with Wendella and did the tour that goes into Lake Michigan and half the river. Beautiful blue sky day. Loved it! Walked to BienMeSabe in downtown to get some tasty Venezuelan arepas. Soooo good. Walked around Millennium Park then went to hotel to rest. Late dinner at Frontera Grill where of course we sat next to a tu professor and his wife. They were nice though. Went to the bar after that for some late night drinks.

- Fri: Slept late and went to lunch at Purple Pig as we didn't eat there the day before. Maybe I was starving but that is probably some of the best food I have ever had. Ordered three different dishes and devoured them all. Truly a flavor explosion and super quality. Could eat there every day. Followed that up with quite a few hours at the Art Institute. I honestly couldn't believe the size and quality. Was so impressed. Back to the hotel for a bit before reservations at Three Dots and a Dash. Loved it! Super cool basement tiki bar. Reservations needed for sure. Followed that up with a train ride to Boystown for dinner and bar hopping. Went to Yoshi. The burger was good but the atmosphere was boring and weird. Maybe because it was a later dinner.

- Sat: Brunch at Yolk. Good stuff. Hopped the train to the West Loop to walk around and have a drink. Then followed that with a little exploration of Lincoln Park. Went back to the hotel for a nap then the plan was to go grab some deep dish but we changed that up. Went to Green Door for a few drinks and got on the waitlist for the The Drifter which is a separate speakeasy in the basement. Couldn't recommend this more. A true speakeasy from Prohibition era. Maybe 30 people can fit in there max. Good strong drinks and a small stage with a performance about every hour. One of my favorite experiences of the trip and an amazing way to end it.

- Sun: Adventure to the airport. But while we were leaving the hotel doors we ran into my husband's old boss/friend who lives in Venezuela and was there for a little vacation. I'm not sure what the chances of that happening were but we probably should have bought a 1.6 billion dollar lottery ticket after that. Just solidified what was already a pretty amazing trip.

The guilt about overindulging goes away slightly when you clocked 27 miles/65,000 steps during your trip.

Thanks again for the recommendations!
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