Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
633 N. Wells St. (at Ontario St.).
&
312/943-1124.
Kids' menu, highchairs, boosters. Reservations not
accepted. Pizza $8.25-$17; k ids' menu ar ound $5. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Mon-Thurs 11am-9pm; F ri-Sat
11am-midnight; Sun noon-9pm. Subway/El: Red Line to Chicago/State.
Green Door Tavern
BURGERS The Green Door is a neighborhood r efuge and a
well-needed respite from the many tr endy restaurants in Riv er North. At lunch y ou'll
find the adv ertising and graphic-design types who wor k in the neighborhood cho wing
on burgers in the unpr etentious atmosphere. The restaurant's wood-frame building was
put up temporarily after the 1871 fir e, presumably just befor e the city or dinance that
banned such construction inside the ne wly designated “fire zone.” The place began as a
grocery store with living quar ters on the second floor , and ev olved into a r estaurant in
1921. Later a speak-easy was established in a do wnstairs room no longer open to the
public. Apparently the original framing crew went light on the bracing timbers in a fe w
places because the whole building leans to the right. A bout a decade ago a ne wly con-
structed building across from the Green Door was consumed with fire and burned to the
ground. Firefighters sprayed the Green Door, earning undying gratitude and an annual
honorarium called the Golden Helmet Awards from the management.
There's no kids' menu, but r egular menu items should please, including the hickor y
burger, the triple-decker grilled cheese, and theTexas chili. There are even a veggie burger
and a turkey burger, and the menu includes some Cajun fare and pasta. Specials, includ-
ing the Wednesday meatloaf offering, are posted daily.
678 N. Orleans St. (at Huron St.).
&
312/664-5496.
Highchairs, boosters. Reservations accepted only for
parties of 7 or mor e. M ain courses $6.95-$12. MC, V. M on-Fri 11:30am-2am; Sat 11:30am-3am; Sun
noon-9pm. Subway/El: Brown Line to Chicago.
137
Hard Rock C afe
AMERICAN Not just an eater y, H ard R ock Cafe is also one of
Chicago's main tourist attractions. (D on't expect to find many locals or members of the
over-30 age gr oup here.) A r egular rock-'n'-roll museum, y ou could easily spend hours
here poring o ver the hundr eds of dr umsticks, concer t photos, gold r ecords, or auto-
graphed guitars of y our fav orite ar tists, including the likes of M ick F leetwood and
George Harrison. (The most popular pieces are a guitar autographed by the members of
Nirvana and a motor scooter used in the 1979 movie
Quadrophenia,
which was based on
The Who's album.) The food is pr etty standard fare, with fajitas and burgers as special-
ties, plus a children's menu. But who comes here for the food? The round building has a
circular bar decorated in a spor ts motif, with some nice touches: autographed bats b y
Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Shawn Dunston, and F rank Thomas, among other ball-
players. Interesting restaurant fact: The original Hard Rock Cafe was founded J une 14,
1971, in London b y Isaac Tigrett and P eter Morton, the son of Chicago r estaurateur
Arnold Morton of Morton's steakhouse fame. The Chicago location was opened 12 years
later.
63 W. Ontario St.
&
312/943-2252.
Kids' menu, highchairs, boosters. Main courses $8-$15; kids' menu
$7. AE, DISC, V. Mon-Thurs 11am-11pm; Fri 11:30am-11:30pm; Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm.
Subway/El: Red Line to State/Grand.
Kitsch'n River North
AMERICAN This '70s-inspired diner features shag carpet-
ing and one of the best kids ' menus in the city (and Tang martinis for the gr own-ups!).
Comfort foods like fried chicken and waffles, puff pastr y potpies, and gr een eggs and
ham (the green is actually provided by spinach pesto) should keep the kids happy. If the
weather's fine, sit on the large outdoor patio, enjoy a Twinkie tiramisu dessert, and imag-
ine this huge riverside building as the former home of retailing giant Montgomery Ward.
5
