In a city known for delicacies
?like pizza, ribs, and cheesecake, to name just a few?narrowing down the list of dining destinations to a few selections can be a daunting task. For help, Medical Imaging turned to those who really know: concierges from Chicago’s finest hotels. Thanks to their generous assistance, we’ve compiled a list of the best places to lunch near McCormick Place, the classic Chicago restaurants not to miss, and a little deep-dish on the side. Bon app?tit!

Power Lunches
(and Dinner, Too)

The Chicago Firehouse Restaurant
1401 S Michigan Ave ? (312) 786-1401
www.chicagofirehouse.com

Hours:
Monday?Thursday: 11:30 am?10 pm
Friday: 11:30 am?10:30 pm
Saturday: 5?10:30 pm
Sunday: 4?9 pm

The first words in food recommendation from concierges closest to McCormick Place are all the same: The Chicago Firehouse Restaurant. Housed in an original fire station, and with an American-style menu that ranges from slow-cooked pot roast to catfish to plenty of steaks and chops, the Firehouse pulls off a hip elegance. Its high tin ceilings, three floors of leather chairs and booths, lengthy wine list, and classic fixtures?including actual fire poles?remind diners of the building’s purposeful past. Movie buffs can visit the banquet area on the top floor, where the firefighters’ living quarters and backdrop for Backdraft once stood?just don’t go looking for water hoses and fire blankets. After the building’s renovation in 2000, the only flames being put out are the torches for the cr?me brulee. A long lunch menu features salads, two-handed sandwiches, and grilled entr?es. However, visitors looking for a more casual meal can try Grace O’Malley’s, which shares the Firehouse’s owners, for above-average pub grub. Located just down the street at 1416 S Michigan Ave, the restaurant can be reached at (312) 588-1800 or www.graceomalleychicago.com for more information.

Gioco
1312 S Wabash Ave ? (312) 939-3870
www.gioco-chicago.com

Hours:
Monday?Friday, Lunch: 11:30 am?2:30 pm
Sunday?Wednesday, Dinner: 5?10 pm
Thursday, Dinner: 5 pm?1 am
Friday?Saturday, Dinner: 5 pm?Midnight

If you want to eat well in an authentic, Al Capone?gangland neighborhood?now, thankfully, in memory only?Gioco delivers highly rated rustic Italian food in an area best known for its Prohibition-era speakeasies and Capone’s one-time headquarters. Housed in two adjacent storefronts built in 1890, and just minutes from McCormick Place by cab, Gioco (meaning game in Italian) is continually recommended by concierges for its tasty pizzas, handmade pastas, and a host of roasted and grilled secondi?not to mention its mob-chic features like its exposed brick and hardwood surroundings, open kitchen, and rich velvet curtains. The lunch menu features plenty of Gioco’s notorious seafood, and the dinner menu offers an array of pasta, chicken, and steak dishes?and that delicious seafood. Call ahead to take dinner in a former safe converted into a table for two. Or, just arrive well into the night, when guests can enter the restaurant’s genuine speakeasy through a hidden alley entrance under the “El.”

N9ne Steakhouse
440 W Randolph St ? (312) 575-9900
www.n9ne.com/home.asp

Hours:
Monday?Friday, Lunch: 11:30 am?2 pm
Monday?Wednesday, Dinner: 5:30?10 pm
Thursday, Dinner: 5:30?11 pm
Friday?Saturday, Dinner: 5 pm?Midnight
Closed Sunday

A bit farther from the maddening crowd in the recently hipified West Loop area, the 5-year-old N9ne Steakhouse is already a Chicago award winner: great marks from both Cond? Nast Traveler and Bon App?tit and named “Best Spot for a Business Lunch” in Frommer’s Chicago 2005. Situated at the start of the bustling new Randolph Street Restaurant Row, N9ne aims to combine the best of a traditional steakhouse with the newest in contemporary cuisine. Lunch features an array of choices, such as Thai beef salad, a lobster club sandwich, and a chef’s-choice wrap of the day; the main dining room, which seats 100, holds an oval-shaped Champagne and Caviar Bar. Reservations are recommended, but if the wait is too long, guests may dine in the large bar area. At night, head upstairs to the Ghost Bar, where?true to its name?spirits take hold and specialty cocktails glow in the dark.

Park Grill
11 N Michigan Ave ? (312) 521-7275
www.parkgrillchicago.com

Hours:
Monday?Sunday: 11 am?11 pm

Yes, the Millennium might have begun a good 5 years ago, but things in Chicago work on Chicago time. Example: The sprawling, eagerly awaited Millennium Park is a little more than 1 year old. At the heart of the city’s new center of architecture and recreation sits the Park Grill. A classic American eatery, the restaurant serves lunch and dinner beside the park’s 16,000-square-foot ice rink, which opens for the season on November 26. (Visit www.millenniumpark.org for more information.) Park Grill’s menu features family-style appetizers and elegant entr?es?enough to suit lovers of risotto, burgers, and steak alike. Plus, floor-to-ceiling windows offer an excellent view of the holiday-dizzy skaters and Michigan Avenue shoppers beyond. Although it’s a great place for business lunches, reservations are taken and highly recommended, even if it’s cold outside. Remember, freezing temperatures never deter Chicagoans from getting to their holiday sales or the restaurants that sit between them.

Rhapsody
65 E Adams St ? (312) 786-9911
www.rhapsodychicago.com

Hours:
Monday?Friday, Lunch: 11:30 am?2 pm
Tuesday?Thursday: 5?9 pm
Friday?Saturday: 5?10 pm
Closed Monday evenings and Sundays

It would be easy to assume that diners at Rhapsody?a lovely glass-framed restaurant serving contemporary cuisine across from Grant Park?were all concertgoers, as it is the only dining establishment within the walls of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony Center. Think again, say local concierges. The eclectic menu brings many symphony-free diners back to the serene dining room for more inventive, home-style concoctions?everything from beef tenderloin goulash to pan-seared salmon with fennel-olive oil jus to chicken pot pie with roasted garlic sauce. Plenty of lighter fare?think crispy duck egg rolls or mesclun salads?are available for lunch as well. And the low-lit wine bar is great for drinks after a long day of walking the McCormick Place. Plus, Rhapsody’s service is known for its speed and efficiency, whether you’re heading off to hear Mozart or afternoon lectures on MRI.

Triad Sushi Lounge
1933 S Indiana Ave ? (312) 225-8833
www.triadsushi.com/mainmenu.html

Hours:
Saturday?Sunday, Lunch: 11 am?2:30 pm
Sunday: 5?11 pm
Closed Monday

The only concierge-recommended restaurant within walking distance and outside of McCormick Place, Triad Sushi Lounge is very new, very trendy, and reportedly very good. Recently opened for lunch on weekends, Triad offers a range of traditional and fusion Japanese specialties, such as oyster shooters and tuna tartar, classic sashimi and nigiri, a variety of roll choices, and such entr?es as prosciutto-wrapped scallops and Asian lamb chops. Gorgeously housed in bamboo-threaded walls and accented with bold red lighting, it’s also an eatery with an active nightlife: A separate lounge and full bar feature a range of “exotic” drinks, a VIP room holds a Plasma-screen TV and DVD player, and a 1,000-song karaoke sound system can help anyone leave their stress behind. Food also is available for takeout.

Chicago Classics

Lou Mitchell’s
565 W Jackson Blvd ? (312) 939-3111

Hours: Monday?Saturday: 5:30 am?3 pm
Sunday: 7 am?3 pm

For early risers, or those who just want to try a Chicago breakfast institution before 3 pm, Lou Mitchell’s is well worth the cab ride just past the Sears Tower. A city stalwart since 1923, Lou’s?which uses double-yolk eggs to make its griddle dishes just that much richer?also serves decadent French toast, huge plates of pancakes, and freshly baked pastries. Definitely affordable, the place could be a bit intimate for some tastes?there can be long lines only to be seated tightly with strangers at the long tables. But who can complain about a place that offers free donut holes while you wait?

The Berghoff Restaurant
17 W Adams St ? (312) 427-3170
www.berghoff.com

Hours:
Monday?Thursday: 11 am?9 pm
Friday: 11 am?9:30 pm
Saturday: 11:30 am?10 pm
Closed Sunday

Chances are, if you’ve spent any time in Chicago, you’ve already visited The Berghoff?the century-old German bar, restaurant, and caf? in the heart of The Loop. Genuinely authentic and certainly unique, the turn-of-last-century building provides an Old World feel, plenty of its own Berghoff Beer, and real Bavarian food (including wiener schnitzel and broiled brisket). For those wary of schweins and spaetzles, The Berghoff offers a range of American fare, too, like Cobb and Caesar salads and even pizza. Whatever you choose, you won’t be able to avoid feeling like you’ve being transported back in time. (If you’re ever in town earlier in the fall, check out the restaurant’s Oktoberfest. At two city blocks long, it’s the largest festival of its kind this side of the Atlantic.)

Billy Goat Tavern
430 N Michigan Ave ? (312) 222-1525
www.billygoattavern.com

Hours: Monday?Friday: 6?2 am
Saturday: 10?3 am
Sunday: 11?2 am

Where do you start with the Billy Goat’s city lore? Do you go with its name, taken from the “Curse of the Billy Goat,” which has been hanging over the city’s beloved Cubs for much of the past century? Or do you go with the establishment’s lengthy status as the watering hole for Chicago’s intrepid journalists from the nearby Tribune and Sun-Times newspapers? Or perhaps you go with the eatery’s most famous distinction: being featured in the famous “Cheezeborger, Cheezeborger” sketch on Saturday Night Live? No matter your reason for visiting the Lower Michigan Avenue institution, it’s guaranteed to be a true (if not quite gourmet) Chicago experience. Just be sure to grab lots of napkins, and remember: “No fries, chips,” and “No Pepsi, Coke.”

Morton’s of Chicago
1050 N State St ? (312) 266-4820
www.mortons.com

Hours: Monday?Saturday: 5:30?11 pm
Sunday: 5?10 pm

Sure, you’ve probably tried Morton’s outposts in as far-flung cities as Singapore and Vancouver, but this one is the original. As classic as a steakhouse gets?with a tuxedoed wait staff that rolls your selections to your table?the large dinner menu offers an extensive list of cuts of meats, fresh seafood, steamed vegetables, and sizable salads to suit a range of tastes, not to mention four kinds of souffl?s and chocolate velvet cake for dessert. While there aren’t too many surprises in the ambiance or d?cor, it’s still satisfying to sit back and enjoy one of the Gold Coast’s finest legendary spots.

More Eats

We could fill every page in this magazine with restaurant reviews, as Chicago is a powerhouse of dining opportunities. Here are just a few more recommendations.

For the highest-rated, highest-class dinner experience:

New and talked-about dining enclaves include:

And the most discussed new restaurant this year is:

  • Moto (Asian, eclectic, and international, including such Sci-Fi?like “food” as tuna-and-rice-flavored paper)
    ?945 W Fulton Market, (312) 491-0058,
    www.motorestaurant.com

The Real Dish

It’s thick, cheesy, and carbo-licious; so if you love pizza, Chicago is the place to eat it. After all, Chicago-style pizza wouldn’t exist around the world if there wasn’t something uniquely satisfying about it. Here are four of the city’s best.

1) Gino’s East Pizzeria
633 N Wells St ? (312) 943-1124
www.ginoseast.com

The latest incarnation of Gino’s evokes the eternal question: Can there be too much of a good thing? Although the pizza here still is worth the inevitable wait, the restaurant?which moved in 2000 from its homey original location to the site of the former Planet Hollywood?is like an obnoxious older brother to the place’s old digs. Still, there are plenty of reasons it grew so huge, and patrons (after 45 minutes or so) can gulp up those reasons?every last bite of them.

2) Giordano’s
730 N Rush St ? (312) 951-0747
www.giordanos.com

One of the oldest and more vociferous contenders for the Original Stuffed Pizza crown, Giordano’s?with locations throughout the Chicago area?lives up to its hype with consistently good crust, packed with more ingredients than you’d ever think possible. Thin crust also is available here, but really, if you can have the original of something, why go with what you could get anywhere else?

3) Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria
439 N Wells St ? (312) 828-9800
www.loumalnatis.com

Though the closest location of this widely distributed Chicagoland chain is a bit of a hike from McCormick Place, a cab ride can easily get you to what many locals consider the best of the best. Giving the traditional deep-dish an alternative spin with a buttery crust, Malnati’s also is nicely lower key than some of its tourist-heavy, downtown competitors.

4) Pizzeria Uno
29 E Ohio St ? (312) 321-1000
www.pizzeriauno.com

Long seen as a Chicago landmark in such company as the Hancock Tower and Wrigley Field, Pizzeria Uno?the restaurant most often cited as the originator of deep-dish?still holds its own. In the same location since 1943, the cozy, checkered-tablecloth-covered parlor packs in locals and travelers?so much so, they take your order at the door so it can bake while you wait. Pizzeria Due, 1 block away, is just as popular.

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Exploring the Windy City

It might be cold outside, but there still will be plenty to do and see in Chicago if your schedule allows it. RSNA plans to provide a range of tours and excursions (see rsna2005.rsna.org/rsna2005)?everything from a House of Blues Gospel Brunch to a Bloomingdale’s fashion show. But if you’re looking to head off on your own, consider these suggestions.

Getting the Blues. Forget gospel. The city where Jake and Ellwood Blues (aka John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) went all over town to “get the band back together,” is still known for its long-loved blues establishments, and conventioneers won’t have to go far to find one. The legendary Checkerboard Lounge (www.checkerboardlounge.org) is due to open its new venue in Hyde Park?the University of Chicago neighborhood south of the convention area (5201 S Harper Ct, www.hydepark.org/hpkccnews/checkerboard.htm). And arguably the most popular blues joint in the city, Buddy Guy’s Legends (754 S Wabash Ave, www.buddyguys.com/home.html) is a short cab ride from McCormick Place, and always has great music?not to mention the one-of-a-kind vintage memorabilia on the walls that make it a veritable tune-filled museum.

Laugh Out Loud. So what if, technically, Chicago is now the third, or possibly even fourth, largest city in the country? The Second City Chicago Theatre (1616 N Wells St, www.secondcity.com) is still the original comedy club of its kind, still packin’ ’em in with hilarious sketch and improv. The main stage, where countless SNL alums cut their comic teeth, has shows nightly, with extra late-night performances on Fridays and Saturdays. The current show (at press time), “Red Scare,” explores the nation’s cultural climate in the troupe’s own flavor, and Mondays showcase “The Best of Second City.” The smaller E.T.C. stage also has nightly performances.

The White City. Erik Larson’s surprising nonfiction hit, The Devil in the White City (a New York Times bestseller for 83-plus weeks), certainly put Chicago’s southside Museum Campus on the map. However, few of the glorious buildings designed by Daniel Burnham for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair?nicknamed for the white glow that the “city” exuded at night?survive. Still, Chicago’s museums are fascinating to visit, whether or not you’re a history buff. The Museum of Science and Industry (57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, www.msichicago.org), in the one building remaining from the Fair, is worth a visit. Its similarly styled neighbors?the Field Museum (1400 S Lake Shore Dr, www.fieldmuseum.org), the John G. Shedd Aquarium (1200 S Lake Shore Dr, www.sheddaquarium.org), and the Adler Planetarium (1300 S Lake Shore Dr, www.adlerplanetarium.org)?offer T-Rexes, sea life, and space, respectively. Farther north,

The Art Institute of Chicago (111 S Michigan Ave, www.artic.edu) showcases one of the world’s most esteemed art collections. Check them out independently, or take up RSNA on its offer of a “Blitz” to the Museum Campus on Sunday, with a bonus visitor’s pass to enter all of these attractions (plus the John Hancock Observatory) that’s good for 9 days.

Where Buildings Matter. It only makes sense that the place where the skyscraper was born is still an architectural city to reckon with. RSNA will offer architectural and Millennium Park walking tours, and the Chicago Architectural Foundation (CAF, www.architecture.org) provides a variety of tour options, including Historic or Modern Skyscrapers, the Monadnock Building, the Hancock Tower, and “Intersections” (a look at five major Chicago street crossings that represent five periods of architecture). Both RSNA and the CAF also offer trips to suburban Oak Park, where Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio and several of his masterpieces share a neighborhood with Ernest Hemingway’s birthplace and childhood home.

Ready, Set, Shop! It won’t take a guide like this one to tell you the primary activity taking place downtown in the days following Thanksgiving. Schedule depending, you might miss Richard M. “da Mayor” Daley’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday, November 25, which is the official start to the shopping season. But the traditional “Christkindlmarket” beside the tree in Daley Plaza will just be getting into full swing?literally?with full-on German and Polish folk music and dancing. Just across State Street (“that great street”), the original Marshall Field’s department store features its own 45-foot tree in a 10-level atrium; outside, check out its giant animated holiday display windows, where kids have been pressing up their noses for decades. Serious shoppers know, however, that where State Street is about ambiance, Michigan Avenue is all about purchasing power. Stroll and window-shop down that beautifully lighted Magnificent Mile, or try playing this game: Make it to the Water Tower before reaching your credit limit.

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Sarah Schmelling is a contributing writer for Medical Imaging.