Where Should I Eat When I'm in Chicago?

My answer on Facebook that was popular...

I grew up in Chicago, from a family that loved to eat out, and a lover of meats and fatty foods (not for the health conscious, but you're visiting Chicago, right?). First, if you're visiting Chicago, you have to eat steak. It was the historic hub of the cattle industry, Morton's Steakhouse was founded here, and where else are 48 oz portershouses standard?

The local favorites are The Chop House and Gibson's. You can't go wrong with either, but Chop House has been rated "best steakhouse" in America for several years by numerous publications so I would go here. After growing up on Chop House, Gibson's, and others, Peter Lugar in Brooklyn was weak. "Steak for three" at Lugar's is like a steak for one in most Chicago steakhouses.

For higher end restaurants, I would recommend Alinea, Charlie Trotters and MK Restaurant. Alinea and Moto started the micro-dish trend (20 course dinners) several years back and frequent experimentations with liquid nitrogen.

For mid-tier priced restaurants and street food, there are countless choices. If you can travel out to the burbs, I would recommend Bob Chinn's Crabhouse in Wheeling, IL. This is one of the best seafood places you'll ever eat at and has the best Alaskan King Crab (yes, in the burbs of Chicago). They have their own daily shipments of fresh seafood flow in and the largest volume of King Crab. This one restaurant generates over $30 million in revenue and typically ranks 4th in the nation. In Chicago, I would recommend going to Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill. Bayless was the winner of Top Chef Masters last year and is an excellent chef.

For fast food, I would recommend Portillo's (chain with many locations) or Al's Beef and get the Italian Beef sandwich. If you haven't tried Italian Beef, then you haven't been to Chicago. Get it "dipped" (in beef juice) with peppers. Then travel to Buffalo Joe's in Evanston, IL and go to Buffalo Joe's. Their buffalo wings have won two national recipes (for any food) and is the standard for many wing fanatics. Their consistency in quality and size of the wings have gone down over the past decade, but it's still tasty.

Then find a Pot Belly's for one of the best subs you'll have. This was a Chicago institution for years with only two locations until several years ago Starbuck's Howard Schultz invested into it and expanded it throughout the Midwest and D.C.

For pizza, Giordano's is my favorite. It's stuffed pizza, not pan so it's even thicker and heavier with meats and cheese. Voted "Best Pizza in America" by NBC and others. I would also check out Spacca Napoli if you love Neapolitan style. And a local favorite in the burbs is Burt's Place, which has a pretty good fan following.

Update 1/9/2011: Recent TIME magazine article on Grant Achatz and Alinea, a three star Michelin restaurant

The hottest restaurant in Chicago right now is Girl & the Goat, which was started by Top Chef winner, Stephanie Izard

Peter Luger Steak House... Below Par of Chicago Houses

Monday night, over six hours ago, I went to the famed Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn with my girlfriend, my childhood friend and his wife visiting from Chicago, his wife's sister, and my other friend. My friend, Chris, from Chicago had some expectations because of Peter Lugar's reputation and our friend's hyped talk about their steaks. Jason, who grew up in NYC, said they had the best steaks even though he lives in Chicago now. Strong words from a man living in the historic cattle hub of America now.

This was a continuation of reacquainting myself with America's great steakhouses since I've been back for a few months now after my stint in Asia. While in Chicago, I went to Chicago Chophouse (Tom Horan's #1 Steakhouse In America 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003), Gibsons Steakhouse, and Tavern on Rush. Chophouse is still my favorite. Their signature prime rib kicks ass, their porterhouse (48 oz and 64 oz) melts in your mouth, and I love their 24 oz boneless NY Strip. Gibsons is my second favorite. Awesome cuts such as their bone-in ribeye.

The third spot is up in the air and I need more information and time before I would make such a call. Smith & Wollensky has a special place in my heart from my graduate school days in NYC, and their cuts are superb. Morton's is just a classic Chicago steakhouse. No matter how much I want to downgrade them for expanding so much and becoming an international steakhouse, they have been a model of consistency. All the Morton's locations I've been to have maintain their excellence in quality and taste as the original one in Chicago. Their wide but unfailing menu, such as their lobster bisque soup, places them at the highest level year after year. I went to the Hong Kong location and was surprised that they maintained their quality, and wondered how this was done with the possible variance in food quality and ingredients in a location across the Pacific.

The last steakhouse for consideration in this spot is Peter Luger Steak House. I liked their simple menu with the primary (almost only) steak being the porterhouse. They char their steak, which is great (Chicago is the home of the char dog and char burgers... what other city has burnt meats on the menus of every burger joint?), and the quality is good. It just wasn't great. I was disappointed though because I wanted it to melt in my mouth like I recently experienced at the Chophouse. We ordered "steak for six," which was two orders of "steak for three," but it was pretty small. I was going to order "steak for two" after looking at another table, but afterwards I know I can down a "steak for three." It definitely was not a bang for buck place even among high-end steakhouses. These factors led to my disappointment of Peter Luger last night, but I'm willing to give it another shot.