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CGR

Kosher Restaurants:

MEAT:
Milt's (BOOOOO).
Get chili, cornbread, and beans. Drink a beergarita. 
3411 North Broadway Chicago, IL 60657. 773-661-6384
Delivery available through Postmates
Open S-T: 11:30-10 F: 11:30-2 S: Call for hours

Shallot's.   Amazing sushi and great steaks though quite pricey.
7016 Carpenter Rd Skokie, IL 60077. 847-677-DINE
Delivery available. Shallots has their own app.
Open S-T: 11:30-9:00 Closed Friday Sat: 1.25 hours after Shkia-11:00

Ken's Diner.  The classic burger diner joint. Better than Milts.
3353 Dempster Skokie, IL 60076. 847-679-4030
Delivery Available
Open S-T: 11:00-8:30

Great Chicago. Used to be owned by Ken's, but sold to a different owner. Many of the same items.
3149 W. Devon Chicago, IL 60659. 773-465-9030
Delivery Available. Great Chicago has its own app.
Open S-T: 11-9 F: 10-3

Taboun Grill. Good Israeli food. Schwarma, Shnitzel, moroccan Cigars.
8808 N. Gross Point Rd Skokie, IL. 847-965-1818
Open S-T: 11-10 F: 11-2 Closed Saturday.

Mizrahi Grill. Similar to Taboun. Located in the northern suburbs. 
215 Skokie Valley Rd Highland Park, IL . 847-831-1400
You can order online via their website.

Tein Li Chow. Chinese food. Located in the Jewel supermarket which also has a kosher bakery and deli.
Takeout only.
2485 W. Howard Evanston, IL. 847-328-4642


The Sandwich Club. Burgers, deli sandwiches...etc.
4507 W. Oakton Skokie, IL 60076. 847-677-6020
Open S-T: 11-8 F: 11-2 Closed Saturday

Bebe's Kosher Deli
. Downtown Chicago- They have bagels/cream cheese on one side and deli sandwiches on the other.
Located in the French Market by the train station. Free parking with $20 French Market Purchase
131 North Clinton Chicago, IL 60661. 312-207-0572
Open M-T: 10-6 F: 10-1(winter) 2(summer) Closed Sat & Sun

Evita Steakhouse. Argentinian Steakhouse -
6112 N. Lincoln
Chicago, IL 60659 (773) 463-8482
Sundays to Thursdays from 5 pm to 12 am. Saturdays on winter time sometime after Shabbat to 12 am. Summer time Saturdays closed!!

Metroklub. Downtown Chicago-Only open during lunch M-Th.
In the Crown Plaza hotel. 733 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL 60661. (312) 602-2104
CLOSED

Hy Life Bistro. Connected to Slice of Life (see below). On the expensive side, though not quite Shallots levels.
4120 W. Dempster Skokie, IL 60076. 847-674-2021
CLOSED

Tacos Gingi. Mexican Place. Pretty much takeout only.
5128 Dempster Street, Skokie IL 60077. 847-983-0648
Open S-T: 11-8  F: 11-1 Closed Saturday

Hamachi Sushi. Sushi Bar and Chinese menu (Meat and chicken) They have their own app. 2801 West Howard Chicago, IL 60645. (773) 293-6904



DAIRY:

Emma's Bagel Cafe. Many breakfast options, but they have lunch dinner options as well like mac n' cheese. 9306 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL 60077. 847-673-3030

Chalavi. 2931 W. Touhy Chicago, IL 60645. 773-338-9640

EJ's Pizzeria.   9149 N. Gross Point Skokie, IL 60076. 224-534-7215 On ubereats, and have their own app as well.

Bond Coffee. Starbucks type atmosphere and food. Has a drive through. Available via grubhub.
7555 N. California Ave Chicago, IL 60645


Slice of Life.(request Cholov Yisroel)4120 W. Dempster Skokie, IL 60076. 847-674-2021  CLOSED

Tel Aviv Pizza (Cholov Yisroel - Pizza is Yoshon), 6349 N. California Chicago, IL 60659. 773-764-3776

The Lincoln Cafe. Breakfast/lunch food as well as pre-packaged wraps and salads. Don't miss the bbq chicken pizza!!! Takeout only. Lincoln Cafe has their own app. Located in The BP gas station 6599 N Lincoln Ave. Lincolnwood IL 60712

Sarah's Brick oven. New place 12/18. Pastas and sandwiches. Located next to Hungarian Kosher Supermarket 4020 Oakton St, Skokie, IL 60076


Nuovo. Italian. Open lunch/dinner. High end dairy restaurant. 3750 W Devon Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712. (847) 213-1026


ALL DAIRY RESTAURANTS LISTED ABOVE ARE C"Y AT THIS TIME (9/2021) BUT DOUBLE CHECKING IS RECOMMENDED AS THINGS CHANGE

Activities:
Navy Pier
Millennium Park/The Bean
Segway Tour
Six Flags Great America
Botanic Gardens
Willis Tower Skydeck
Lincoln Park Zoo (Free, but their lot is pay to park, look for street parking)
Museum of Science and Industry


Hotels:
Fairmont Millennium Park
Park Hyatt Chicago>Category 6
Hyatt Regency Chicago>Category 4
Hyatt Regency O'Hare>Category 2
W Lakeshore>Category 5
W Chicago City Center>Category 5
Westin Chicago>Category 5
Aloft Chicago City Center>Category 4
Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers>Category 4
Aloft Chicago O'Hare>Category 2

Shabbos Tips:

Public Transport options:

Guidebooks:

Other Tips
Parking at ORD: The cheapest place to park is in the O'hare lot G. It's $10/day. Be aware that you need to take a bus to the tram (in lot E) which takes you to the terminals. This can take 20-25 minutes
« Last edited by as2 on September 06, 2021, 09:41:00 AM »

Author Topic: Chicago Master Thread  (Read 556493 times)

Offline as2

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1400 on: March 19, 2017, 12:51:38 PM »
They have some really good burgers on the bar menu. And they supposedly have some good ones off the menu as well.
+1 also, I've said it before and I'll say it again, the braised BBQ short ribs are unbelievable.
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

Offline Dan

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1401 on: March 19, 2017, 12:54:08 PM »
+1 also, I've said it before and I'll say it again, the braised BBQ short ribs are unbelievable.
Never had Shallot's, but after having Mikes short ribs I always disappointing by other versions.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1402 on: March 19, 2017, 01:04:31 PM »
Never had Shallot's, but after having Mikes short ribs I always disappointing by other versions.
It's a whole other dish. Shallots is extremely BBQ saucy. Personally I'm not as much of a fan of milt's on this one, but I know I'm not in the majority.
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1403 on: March 19, 2017, 01:46:53 PM »
Who said Milt's?
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1404 on: March 19, 2017, 01:57:47 PM »
Who said Milt's?
Sorry, misread.
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

Offline Dave A

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1405 on: March 20, 2017, 01:07:30 PM »
whats the best steak at Shallots? Whats the best thing if your not a steak lover to order?

Chef's special filet is great and the best value (relatively speaking).  For non-steak options, the Breakfast Burger is awesome.

Offline mercaz1

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1406 on: March 23, 2017, 04:11:11 PM »
Here is TR from my wife's and I 36 hour trip to Chicago for a quick getaway.

We booked tickets on Spirit when they were having a sale. We flew out on Tuesday morning and landed in Chi-town around 10:30 at O'hare. We picked up our car (booked through Priceline) and went straight to downtown to the Willis Tower to see the Skydeck. we got out tickets from Travelzoo and saved $5 per ticket. It's an amazing view and the Ledge is really cool. It is a glass ledge that is 103 stories up. You can see 4 different states on a clear day and can see the whole city of Chicago from up there.
We then went to lunch at Tel Aviv pizza since we wanted something light. I thought the pizza was a little burnt but my wife liked it. we also ordered the cheddar fries and we both thought they were really good. Different than cheese fries in NY as in NY they use mozzarella cheese and it is stringy while cheddar tastes better.
After lunch, we went to the hotel where we were staying to check in. I bought a free night on DDF for the Park Hyatt and it was beautiful. They didn't have any suites available but they did give us a high floor with a great view of Magnificent Mile and the Chicago Water Tower. The Magnificant Mile is like NY's 5th Ave and the water tower is one of the surviving structures from the great fire. The room was very large and my wife especially loved the authentic Eames chair that they had in the room.
After checking in, we drove to Millenium Park and saw the Cloud Gate aka the Bean which is pretty cool. We also walked and saw Buckingham Fountain which was a let down as there is no water in in in the winter. We then drove to Shallots for dinner. I had bought a gift card from Great Kosher Restaurants which saved me some money (make sure to order it a few days in advance as they mail out a physical gift card-thankfully they were able to drop it off at my house as I didn't know this before ordering it. The gift card is $90 for a $100.) It is a little far out from downtown but worth the trip. We split the Homemade Gnochetti as an app and I had the Chef's special fillet and my wife had the short ribs. We both liked our meals. The ribs were a drop to bbq saucy in our opinion. The gnochetti was very good and my steak was pretty tasty. We didn't order any sushi or dessert (gotta save something for next time) After dinner, we went to The Second City comedy club which is the number 1 improv club in the nation. It was extremely funny.  I would consider it rated R as there is a lot bad language and some sexual topics, if that doesn't bother you then I would highly recommend it. After the show, we went to the hotel and parked in a different lot for $40 overnight which is cheaper than the Hyatt overnight parking.
The next morning in the Windy City we woke up late and then walked around the Magnificent Mile and went into some stores. We also went into the Chicago Sports Museum as it was across the street from the hotel. Its a cheap place ($6 per adult) and it is cute though nothing major. They have some cute memorabilia and exhibits. They also have some fun games where you can pretend to be professional sports players while playing a Xbox motion. We checked out of the hotel and drove to Milt's for lunch which was really good. She ordered the nachos and I had the Milt's burger. we both thought the food was very tasty. We also ordered food for the airport for dinner- we split a smoked turkey sandwich which was disappointing as we assumed it was sliced turkey. Turns out it is a piece of smoked turkey which wasn't the worst part. The bread was rye with caraway seeds. My wife and I can't stand caraway so it was a little disappointing. We also ordered empanadas which were really good and the fries were really amazing. After lunch, we tried to go the Navy Pier but we couldn't find any parking so we drove around for a few minutes and then we went back to the airport. We returned the car and got to O'hare for our flight home. Of course, LGA didn't disappoint and our flight was delayed 2 hours due to high winds in NY.

All in all, it was a great fun little trip and would recommend Chicago for anyone looking for a quick getaway.

Offline YitzyS

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1407 on: March 24, 2017, 07:55:13 AM »
Really enjoyed the TR. One thing that stuck out is your comment about cheese fries- my wife always complains that you can't buy cheese fries like Chicago's anywhere on the east coast, so interesting that you picked up on it!

Offline shulem92

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1408 on: March 24, 2017, 08:53:33 AM »
Really enjoyed the TR. One thing that stuck out is your comment about cheese fries- my wife always complains that you can't buy cheese fries like Chicago's anywhere on the east coast, so interesting that you picked up on it!
+1 I've been saying that for years about the cheese fries. Its my first stop whenever I go to Chicago, because I have family in that neighborhood

Offline mercaz1

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1409 on: March 24, 2017, 09:29:19 AM »
someone from Chicago recommended them before we went. They really are much better than cheese fries here in NY.

Offline as2

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1410 on: March 24, 2017, 09:42:38 AM »
someone from Chicago recommended them before we went. They really are much better than cheese fries here in NY.
They are the only of their kind in Chicago. No other restaurant has anything in the cheese fries department, that competes with NY
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

Offline ushdadude

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1411 on: March 24, 2017, 11:03:33 AM »
I love poutine but you can't get that in NY either

Offline mercaz1

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1412 on: March 24, 2017, 11:32:49 AM »
There are some places in NY where you can get poutine.

Offline YitzyS

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1413 on: March 24, 2017, 01:48:12 PM »
Four Corners in Lakewood (Squankum branch) has poutine on their menu, but I never tasted it. And Ottimo in Lakewood has a chedder based cheese fries that I thought were very good, but my wife claims that Chicago is still better.

Offline henche

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1414 on: March 24, 2017, 02:15:36 PM »
You can't get poutine because it's bassar b'cholov.

You can get it with fake gravy, or with fake cheese.  I think I'd prefer with fake gravy.  So it's cheesy fries with fake gravy, basically.

Offline mochjas

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1415 on: March 30, 2017, 04:59:01 PM »
I need to get in on this milts and shallots, so thinking of planning a one day trip with my 2 kids (ages 3 and 4).

Need to stay in a hyatt. Plan on arriving Sunday having lunch at milts. Then I need a good activity which will be followed by dinner at shallots.

The next morning we'll do lunch by a dairy place (looking for a recommendation as well) maybe even an activity for Monday morning.

Which hyatt should I pick. Want to be close to all the places that I'm going as I will be unerring. In a perfect world I would pick the park hyatt but is it the best location out of all the hyatts?

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1416 on: March 30, 2017, 05:09:30 PM »
3 and 4 year old to Shallots?
Yatzah s'choro b'hefseido.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1417 on: March 30, 2017, 05:11:40 PM »
3 and 4 year old to Shallots?
Yatzah s'choro b'hefseido.
im not going for a romantic dinner. Going just for the food thanks to all the hype here.


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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1418 on: March 30, 2017, 05:13:35 PM »
Nothing to do with romantic, but personally I don't find it enjoyable to go out and eat $30 sushi rolls and $100 steaks with my kids. It's one thing if I'm there anyway, but if the point is the going out to a fancy restaurant then like I said,
Yatzah s'choro b'hefseido.
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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1419 on: March 30, 2017, 05:15:17 PM »
Nothing to do with romantic, but personally I don't find it enjoyable to go out and eat $30 sushi rolls and $100 steaks with my kids. It's one thing if I'm there anyway, but if the point is the going out to a fancy restaurant then like I said,
eh I take my kids all the time to nice restaurants. Just wanna try the food. I know it's not easy but that's my best option