Chicago

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<p>^ And, here is an article about bidding war for the pre-fixed tickets.
Bidding frenzy to buy tickets for new restaurant:</p>

<p>“Chicagoans have started a vibrant trade in tickets to a new restaurant, with bidding in one case hitting $3,000 for a group of seats overlooking the kitchen.”</p>

<p>…“Next, which opened Wednesday with a policy that eschews reservations by phone. Instead, diners purchase one-time-only, all-inclusive tickets — dinner, drinks, tip, gawking — for one set price that begins roughly in the $45 to $75 range.”</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/us/09next.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/us/09next.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>There is a special menu based on pre WWI Auguste Escoffier, that will only be served for three months. And then, Thai food. Thai food? Maybe the lines will be shorter in three months.</p>

<p>Weather: It was in the 80s yesterday.</p>

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<p>Based on the recommendations here, we ate at the Sable a couple of Saturdays ago. The Palomar is a few blocks from our place at Grand and Orleans. We could only get a 6:30 pm reservation. We liked it so much we’re going back again this weekend. We had the corn brulee, the bison burgers, the chicken drumsticks, and the ruben. </p>

<p>We were told that there will be a new menu this weekend. I wanted to try the wild mushroom burgers. Hopefully, they will still be on the menu.</p>

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<p>Not too far from Oakbrook we enjoyed the food at a catered party at the Grotto Italian Steakhouse. For something less pricy and ethnic, you could look into the Bohemian Crystal restaurant. In other words, there is plenty in the Oakbrook area if you decide to spend a day downtown and then head back to Oakbrook.</p>

<p>Driving into the city isn’t bad on the weekends. You can check the traffic reports here
[Travel</a> Midwest - Chicago Area Map](<a href=“Travel Midwest - Home Map”>Travel Midwest - Chicago Area Map)
ahead of time for an idea regarding the commute.</p>

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<p>Alinea was a fun experience, and I would not likely go back. The ratio of theater to food quality was extremely high, and of course so was the price. It was more a semi-private theatrical performance or performance art piece than a meal, although it’s lots of fun to talk about. </p>

<p>Example #1: One course consisted of a single tater tot, constructed from scratch, of course, but tasting just like a really well-prepared tater tot, and a 3-oz. portion of filet mignon cooked sous vide, with (on the side) a cellophane packet of mixed dry spices that, when used, perfectly replicated the spicing of A-1 Sauce. At the beginning of the course, some liquid CO2 was placed in a special container in the middle of the table, and for 5-10 minutes it billowed white fog that smelled like steak cooking on a grill (since the actual steak had virtually no aroma). Example #2: One of the desserts looked and tasted just like a bubblegum cigar (but had different consistency – chiffon). Example #3: Two consecutive courses had exactly the same ingredients. In the first, everything was more or less recognizable. The second was a multi-layer parfait.</p>

<p>Anyway, fun to talk about but I’m not anxious to repeat the experience. Also, we pretty much hated the wine/spirits flight that accompanied the dinner. Almost everything was super-sweet – it was like they were aiming for the taste of a 17-year-old. Not inconsistent with some of the courses described above, of course, but not my idea of what to spend gobs of money on.</p>

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<p>^ well done, JHS-!</p>

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<p>Thanks JHS, maybe I’ll get there some day. Sable and Moto and Next, too.</p>

<p>Yesterday I was at the Peggy Notebaart Museum in Lincoln Park. Thought there was an extra charge to see the live butterflies exhibit, no, there is not. It was a sunny day and those butterflies were zooming around. And out on the green roof, there is a Canadian goose nesting.</p>

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<p>How do you know it was Canadian, did you see its passport? Or did you mean a Canada Goose?</p>

<p>[Canada</a> Goose, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology](<a href=“http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/id]Canada”>Canada Goose Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)</p>

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<p>OK, a Canada goose. Maybe they will put a goose cam on the nest.</p>

<p>Go Blackhawks! On west coast time.</p>

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<p>Looking for new info on Chicago trip.Is there hotels on a subway line between Wheaton and Chicago.Would like to stay in city for two nights but need to be in Wheaton for 11:30 am for wedding on Aug. 5. so thought maybe there is a halfway place on subway and close enough to Wheaton by car but not get mixed up in high traffic and be late for wedding.</p>

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<p>Wheaton is 30 miles from downtown Chciago (“The Loop”).There is a train to Wheaton, but it’s not the subway. See the Union Pacific-West line at <a href=“http://metrarail.com%5B/url%5D”>http://metrarail.com</a> It leaves from Ogilvie Station, Madison and Canal Streets. If you decide to stay downtown and take the Sunday morning train, I’d recommend staying in the Loop or River North (across the river, just north of downtown.) You can search on a map at hotels.com
August 5th is a Sunday; there won’t be bad traffic in the morning. It’s 45-60 minutes drive to Wheaton from downtown (longer on a weekday.)
Try your questions on the Chicago forum at [Reviews</a> of Hotels, Flights and Vacation Rentals - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com%5DReviews”>http://www.tripadvisor.com)</p>

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<p>Thanks. My date was wrong. Wedding is Aug 6 which is a Saturday. Wasn’t sure how bad traffic would be on a Saturday out of Chicago. Can’t take train to Wheaton. Need car to get around to reception and hotel in Oakbrook where other family staying for the weekend.</p>