Heading to Chicago in June for a Bachelor party (not mine)… a few questions:
is Alinea still worth going to? if so do they allow corkage/how much is it?
good wine bars or restaurants for an individual diner if I don’t need theatrics or quirky, just great food/wine at good prices (i flying the night before so i have a dinner without the group)
Is there a regular tasting group in Chicago / offlines? would be fun to sync up for some bottles. if there is, i can post a thread about that separately… PM me if it’s easier?
Cheers!
Updated in post #15:
Say you have a day free before the festivities begin… what’s there to do in Chicago? (for someone who have been).
been to the various museum, aquarium, art institute, boat cruise, various observation decks.
Been to the grant park, millienium park, etc etc…
Going to wrigley as part of the bachelor party… as well as beer breweries etc…
Sooooo.
Is there like a Napa to SFO nearby? A Grand Canyon to Las Vegas? something unique to the region?
Or just chill at a wine bar i suppose?
Frequent Chicago diner here especially at Alinea and all Achatz restaurants - let me try to respond to each of your questions:
Alinea is now chicago’s only 3 michelin starred restaurants (Grace was the other but it closed over a year ago) - I just was at Alinea last week and it is very much refined and the tasting menu (about 18 courses) is fabulous. Unfortunately even for local regulars like me corkage is not available. They have 3 pairing levels: $135, $245, and $395 and a wonderful wine list. I did bottles with my wife last time there. I have a PDF of the wine list so PM me and I can send to you.
Other great options for BYOB are: Oriole (2 michelin starred) or Smyth (2 Michelin starred) or EL Ideas (1 Michelin star) are all great tasting menus with BYON option.
As for wine bars - try Webster’s wine bar or Cherry Circle Room at the Chicago Athletic Club - both have dining options.
Yes I am member of a large group affectionately known as “The Wine Flock” - happy to coordinate with you if we have any offlines.
I am travelling for most of June but let me know when you are in town.
Chicago is such a cool city! its gonna be a fun trip for you. As for your specific questions: yes, I would say Alinea is totally worth it. But, if the price seems a little steep there are some other great tasting menus in the city too. Last time I visited I did the tasting at Topolobampo. It was fantastic. If you are into cocktails and want to experience Grant Achatz cooking but without as much price tag, check out The Office or the Aviary… or look into Roister. All great options.
I would second Websters and Cherry Circle Room. CCR is a very cool experience I think. I would also add Rootstock. I’ve even had really good experiences at Eno right off Michigan Ave, but I got there when it was quiet and had a level 2 somm to myself. Purple Pig right across the street has really great food and a cool wine list as well.
I would also thumbs-up any restaurant from Stephanie Izard. I was at Little Goat diner last trip and it was boisterous like a diner but the food was top notch. delicious all around!
Dont forget that some great wine shops are based in Chicago! Flickinger and The Chicago Wine Co especially.
I’d second Roister and El Ideas. Roister has to be the most talked about chicken in Chicago the past 6-12 months. They do a chicken 3 ways that is absolutely incredible. El Ideas is in a rough part of town, but the meal is incredible and a great experience. It’s an easy in-and-out with an Uber, so it’s location doesn’t affect things too much. No corkage if I remember correctly.
I’m new to this forum, but live in Chicago, so I’d be down for a meet up if anything gets organized!
I second a lot of what was said above. If you want steak, Swift is my favorite steakhouse in the city, has a nice wine by the glass list, and are great about bringing your own bottles.
There is a Michelin-starred BYOB restaurant, Schwa.
And, if you like cocktails, Proxi is pretty good. They have a kitchen counter that is great for a party of one.
I also like Monteverde as a party of one. I’ve brought a book there before on a Wednesday night.
Smyth is awesome. I had one of the most thoughtful and interesting wine pairing menus of my year last summer.
Girl and the Goat and Momataro from above were great too.
Bad Hunter for mostly veg, but it will blow your mind!
Lots of great info from the posts above. Just wanted to add my thoughts on Alinea. Ate there last month and also last Spring. I’ve eaten at several Michelin 3 star restaurants and Alinea is the best yet, for me. In April, we had the expensive wine pairing, the Alinea pairing, and felt the selections were a bit uninspired and we were disappointed with the selections. Last month, when we dined at Alinea, we ordered off the list, but I did see the bottles poured at our neighboring table from the pairings and those wines included interesting bottles like SQN grenache, Turley, and Chateau Musar. The wine list is very expensive, as you’d expect. They are always getting new bottles in, so it helps to ask the Som about things that may not be on the list. We asked and were able to buy the 1989 Chateau Palmer and it was fantastic. We had the same bottle this past summer while in Bordeaux, purchased directly from the Chateau and this bottle at Alinea was almost just as good. We were quite thrilled with our experience.
Outside of Alinea, I’ve dined at Oriole and agree its incredible…and they have a corkage policy. The food at Oriole might rival Alinea, but just doesn’t have the same experience.
Also recommend El Ideas highly. It’s 'cheaper" than the other two above and you can bring multiple bottles in. The food is inventive and great, albeit not quite to the Oriole level.
Hope you have a great time! Any of the restaurants listed above will be a great experience.
Say you have a day free before the festivities begin… what’s there to do in Chicago? (for someone who have been).
been to the various museum, aquarium, art institute, boat cruise, various observation decks.
Been to the grant park, millienium park, etc etc…
Going to wrigley as part of the bachelor party… as well as beer breweries etc…
Sooooo.
Is there like a Napa to SFO nearby? A Grand Canyon to Las Vegas? something unique to the region?
Or just chill at a wine bar i suppose?
Just did Alinea for the first time about two months ago. It was outstanding and worth the tariff. We did the basic pairing and it was very good. Went to Smyth about a year ago. Much more casual, but great experience. I highly recommend both. Most importantly, have a cocktail at The Office (below The Aviary). You wont regret it.
Take the tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in neighboring suburb Oak Park. Unity Temple and several Wright-designed homes in Oak Park. I believe both the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust and the Chicago Architecture Center offer versions of these tours, which include the bus ride to and from Chicago.
See one of the top five orchestras in the world, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in concert at Symphony Center.
BYOB Concert at Ravinia. Schedule should be announced in a few weeks.
