<p>JB, slightly concerned…there’s a lovely tradition every year when the first years are piped in through the gates and the sobbing parents are handed a kleenex and guided over to a great courtyard for drinks and delicious food. Your parents should stay for that…it’s totally worth the 50 thousand. Seriously, it’s a lovely memory and well worth your parents staying around for it. If not maybe check out India House in town or anywhere in greektown. Not huge with the cost but a really nice taste of great city food.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know. Like I said, I tried to convince them, but they want no part of being in Chicago on Monday, September 21.</p>
<p>I suppose I should ask a practical question here. It’s feasible to walk to the places on 57th Street, but what about the places at the other end of Hyde Park and elsewhere in the city? I would imagine that Hyde Park will be somewhat of a zoo on move-in day, and that parking spaces would be few and far between. I’d have no problem walking anywhere in Hyde Park, but my parents complain if they have to park more than eight spaces from the door at Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>Kind of hectic but not quite a zoo and parking wasn’t a problem either. There is a multi-story parking garage just north of MaxP (in front of the gym). I thought the dropping off at the dorm would be crazy at 8 am and, after stopping the car right at the door of MaxP, all it took was 5 minutes to unload and take the stuff up to the room, then took the car half a block to the garage. Remember that the first-years go one week early.</p>
<p>Some nice, cute restaurants I’ve been to in Chicago include:</p>
<p>JoYee Noodle in Chinatown Square Market. Oh my goodness, they are good. You gotta try out their Chap Chae noodles as well. Priced reasonable, super fast service, and very nice atmosphere. Authentic Asian food here: Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese,…you name it. I’m a huge fan of this place.</p>
<p>Edwardo’s Pizza in Hyde Park. A nice, small sit-in for some good ole chicagoan deep dish pizza. Only problem is that you have to wait 45 min for deep dish, since they make it fresh and organically. But I believe you can call in early and then arrive on time for the pizza. Compared to other pizza places in Chicago, though, they’re relatively okay, but only because there’s so much goddamn good pizza around. I still think their pizzas taste solid.</p>
<p>Gino’s East in Downtown. Better than Edwardo’s and Giordano’s, imo. Also a 45 min wait for fresh deep dish, but all worth it, I tell you. Great restauarant, high in demand, but long lines out the door. Chicago pizza in general ought to be experienced, at Giordano’s, Pizzaria, Uno’s, or wherever, the pizza there is definitely better than any pizza I’ve tasted in my hometown (including the badly named “Old Chicago” pizza, a chain founded in Colorado in fact). Their pizza sauce is beast.</p>
<p>Medici. Pizza, sandwiches, fries, etc. Nice atmosphere, good service, and pretty decently priced food. Kind of too “cutesy” for me.</p>
<p>Rajun Cajun. Fusion Indian food, you line up in a buffet style and they serve your food and then you get cozy in their booths in this local restaurant northeast of campus. Great place if you like Indian food. It has a cozy little atmosphere that isn’t too high-maintenance.</p>
<p>Thai 55th/ The Snail/ Siam’s/ Noodles Etc.
All of these places are Thai (except Noodles Etc., which serves noodles from all across Asia; if you go here, gotta try the drunken noodles I tell you), and they are all within walking distance of campus. Some are even right next to each other (on 55th st, somewhat by the shore) Personally, I’ve tried all of them but the Snail, and in my experiences, Siam’s and Noodles Etc. have been solid whereas Thai 55th has only been okay for me. Siam’s is cozy and priced within $7-11ish? A good sit-in place. Noodles Etc is pretty solid imo and I heard the Snail is pretty schmancy.</p>
<p>Cafe Florian. It’s another pizza/cafe place on 57th street. They serve italian soda (!! peppermint!), great small little individual pizzas, and in my experiences their food and service have been great. Very cute place with nice lights. It’s also a short walk from campus, somewhat east.</p>
<p>Cedars. It’s a cute restaurant with a nice atmosphere and serves greek food. It will be packed that day, I tell you. Personally, I thought that Cedar’s was more cute than it was delicious the several times I’ve been there. Low lights, wine glasses and all. But the food is okay.</p>
<p>Somewhere I WISH I went to last year was Oysy in Downtown (South Loop), which is a sushi place with great atmosphere and ambiance. They’re supposed to have really great maki. I am going there once I arrive on campus, though, I must…</p>
<p>Woo! Man, I love food in Chicago. Anywho there’s my 2 cents! =)</p>
<p>They give you parking passes to park in the parking complexes on campus for free. Don’t worry about parking too much.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for all that information. I ate at Noodles Etc. when I visited, and it was probably the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. It was much, much, much better than the Chinese food in Ohio.</p>
<p>I was just getting stoked for a parking battle. I guess that will have to wait for some other time.</p>
<p>If you want something hearty and early you can try the Original Pancake House at 51st and S. Lake Park. We had breakfast there Sunday morning before saying the final goodbyes. S headed for placement tests and we headed downtown for the day, and then O’Hare.</p>
<p>Giordano’s is great, but I would not rely on it being open. They were gutting the place a few weeks ago, the type of renovation that may take a bit longer than a few weeks.</p>
<p>Has anyone been to one of the Rick Bayless restaurants? Any good? [Restaurants:</a> Restaurants - Rick Bayless | Frontera](<a href=“http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/index.html]Restaurants:”>http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/index.html) </p>
<p>They seem to be in downtown Chicago (near north side), which looks really far from U of C. But after seeing Bayless win Top Chef Masters, it makes me want to visit Chicago just to eat at one of his restaurants! Topolobampo is serving the menu that won Top Chef, so I hope someone gets to go there while dropping off their student.</p>
<p>Everyone likes Frontera Grill, including Barack and Michelle. I’ve never eaten at Topolobampo, but I’ve never heard anyone who has say anything bad about it.</p>
<p>Lou Malnatis!! The best pizza, ever @_@ It was like bruschetta almost, because they were tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Oh my god was it good. It was almost backwards though. It was tomatoes on top, cheese, then sausage, instead of the other way around. Except it was extremely hot and I burnt my tongue and I had a lisp for my interview which my interviewer thought was funny xD</p>
<p>I forget the name of the hotdog place we ate, but to be honest, I thought the hotdogs on Navy Pier were awesome :P</p>
<p>JHS, I agree with you on deep dish pizza. That’s for tourists. I do like that spinach stuffed pizza from Eduardo’s. Is there a Lou Malnati’s in Hyde Park? And no one seems to have mentioned Valois, is that only for breakfast?</p>
<pre><code>If you are near the Broadview dorm, you can park in the CPS Bret Harte School’s lot.
</code></pre>
<p>It is behind the Broadview, one block west. Enter through the alley BETWEEN the other (pay to park) lots.</p>
<pre><code>If you are moving to Chicago, there is a fun show on local restaurants. CHECK PLEASE on channel eleven WTTW, Chicago’s PBS station. WTTW stands for window to the world, in case it comes up in scav. Each show features three Chicagoans, all three try each other’s favorite restaurant and they discuss them back in the studio. Obama was on in their first season and the station recycled that episode last winter.
</code></pre>
<p>cottonwood513: Until 4:00 pm or so Valois serves breakfast. Thereafter you can get dinner or simply enjoy a drink. It’s a great place! The best description I can give is that it’s a neighborhood cafeteria with a unique atmosphere, nice food and low prices. I would not recommend it as a place to take your parents to if they will only be staying a day or so in the area. A restaurant with a more cozy atmosphere would be a much better choice. If they are staying longer though, a student may do his parents a huge favor by taking them to Valois. My son introduced me to this place this summer and I’m very glad he did.</p>
<p>I haven’t eaten in Valois in over 15 years, but I remember they had great chicken-pot-pie. And Lou Malnati’s pizza is wonderful. And for those who can’t make it to Chicago, they will send it to you on dry ice ready for your oven. [Lou</a> Malnati’s Pizzeria - Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza](<a href=“http://www.loumalnatis.com/]Lou”>http://www.loumalnatis.com/)</p>