cleanplateclub wrote:Can anyone go to the athletic club or do you have to be a member or guest.

The restaurants are open to the public.

(Cindy's isn't going to hit the objective of entrees under $30.)

cleanplateclub wrote:Can anyone go to the athletic club or do you have to be a member or guest.

It’s a hotel with restaurants. It’s not an actual athletic club (anymore). Anyone can go.

Cherry Circle room in the CAA was my initial thought, but it’s a bit higher priced.

cleanplateclub wrote:Can anyone go to the athletic club or do you have to be a member or guest.

They kept the name but it’s a Hyatt hotel.

cleanplateclub wrote:Can anyone go to the athletic club or do you have to be a member or guest.

Its actual name is "The Chicago Athletic Association," not "Club." It's a Hyatt hotel that is open to the public and houses several restaurants. The name derives from the original use of the premises as a private social club for about 1 century. (for many years open to men only).

For the current hotel website, see https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/illin ... gLC__D_BwE

For a history of the building, see https://www.architecture.org/learn/reso ... ion-hotel/

Hi everyone and thanks for the great suggestions. They went to the Game Room at the Chicago Athletic Association and then to Millers (Shrug emoji here).

They loved the Game Room and would definitely go back although they think it would be a better with a slightly larger group. They only had drinks and so cannot speak to the food. They thought the Drawing Room looked very interesting and would like to check it out sometime. I think they all ended up eating after the party broke up, so this is really more of a review of drinking in the loop rather than eating in the loop

They seemed to like Millers okay although they all passed on food.

As an aside, I always think of Miller's Pub when I think about the concept of "Heck."

nsxtasy wrote:

cleanplateclub wrote:Beware long waits to be seated at some of these places, notably Frontera, PPig, and Malnati's; you can phone ahead to find out how long before setting out.

Purple Pig now accepts reservations via Tock

Northcenter Joe wrote:So The Gage is right at (or slightly above) your price point, but I think hits all the other things you are looking: strong cocktails, walkable to Millennium Park, and a decently hip vibe for the loop.

I like The Dearborn ( literal sibs to The Gage) at Block 37.

nsxtasy wrote:

cleanplateclub wrote:Can anyone go to the athletic club or do you have to be a member or guest.

The restaurants are open to the public.

(Cindy's isn't going to hit the objective of entrees under $30.)

It does for lunch/brunch (when the views are best).

spinynorman99 wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:

cleanplateclub wrote:Can anyone go to the athletic club or do you have to be a member or guest.

The restaurants are open to the public.

(Cindy's isn't going to hit the objective of entrees under $30.)

It does for lunch/brunch (when the views are best).

So does just about every restaurant in the city that's open for lunch/brunch.

Hi, adding Cira at 200N. Green Street to the list of contenders. Had a very nice meal there last night, the bar is beautiful, excellent service. We stuck to the pastas which made it affordable. Food was quite good. This is a place to bring Out of town guests who are maybe a little more sophisticated and would like to see the trendier side of Chicago.

Cira
200 N. Green Street
(312) 761-1777
https://cirachicago.com/

I work in the loop and so I’ve eaten quite a bit, particularly for non-fine dining.

One of the recent spots that recently impressed me was Bereket, its Turkish food. I’m not familiar with turkish food but I had their lamb Mediterranean and it was seasoned super well. It looks/feels both authentic and tasty.

I also second the Dearborn. They are just really good American food. But if there’s one thing that’s really worth trying imho it’s their maple fried chicken

Lastly, I don’t know if they do dinners, but revival food hall is pretty cool and worth checking out. Just a large variety of good restaurants across Chicago in one place.

keanedawg wrote:I don’t know if they do dinners, but revival food hall is pretty cool and worth checking out.

Revival is open till 7 pm so you can grab an early dinner. (They're only open on weekdays.)