Priceline Hotel: Trip to Chicago Nov 4- Nov 9, 2012

[prime rib]

Hello guys, I need help. I want to go with my husband to Chicago for his birthday. He loves a good hotel and food. Last year we went to New York and it was a success. The restaurants were amazing! This year it will be Chicago. Unfortunately I don't know much about where to stay or what are good places to eat there. I heard that Magnificent Mile North - Water Tower area hotels are perfect location for us. Have you heard about any good deals for 4-5 star hotels in this area? My husband is a chef so I will also appreciate any advice on where to eat - in NY we had great food from street food carts and some cool restaurants and what about pizza?! Oh yeah, I will absolutely need advice on must eat places in Chicago! Thank You

[AaronJB]

Welcome to Betterbidding. :)

One major recommendation (a must, really) that is "food related" would be the Spice House, which is a very highly regarded husband/wife-run store in the Old Town area, which is a short taxi ride (or pleasant trek on a nice day) from the NMA area. That store is a "museum for the senses" and they have spices of really, really high quality sourced from around the world, as well as blends based on neighborhoods in the city. I could spend an hour in Spice House. Many of the area's top chefs shop there and their store has been featured on "Good Eats". If your husband goes there and likes some of the things he gets there, you can order everything in their store through their website.

Another idea is the dining room at Kendall College, which is a more reasonable place to get nice meals, because the dining room is essentially a training area for the chefs at that major culinary school. As for restaurants, that really depends on what you are looking for in terms of price, atmosphere, style, etc. My view on pizza is that I like Lou Malnati's for Chicago-style, but I really recommend La Madia, which is an Italian place that offers a wide variety of really contemporary, high-end pizzas.

http://www.dinelamadia.com/menu.php

http://www.thespicehouse.com/info/chicago-spice-store.html

In terms of hotels, what would be your desired budget per night for this stay?

Thank you for using the site's HOTWIRE or PRICELINE links to start your purchases and searches.

[thereuare]

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Thanks.