Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
6 Lincoln Park
Singles and upwardly mobile young families inhabit Lincoln Park, the neigh-
borhood roughly defined by North Avenue on the south, Diversey Parkway on
the north, the park on the east, and Clybourn Avenue on the west. No surprise,
then, that the neighborhood has spawned a dense concentration of some of the
city's best restaurants.
EXPENSIVE
Geja's Café
FONDUE Are your kids over age 10? Can they sit through a
2-hour meal? If so, they will love Geja's (pronounced Gay-
haz
), an all-fondue
restaurant. For some diners, the dark rathskeller decor will be a welcome change
from the slick, commercial trattorias and bistros common all over the city. The
restaurant has single-handedly preserved the fondue experience in Chicago, pro-
viding a fun and welcome break from the ordinary mode of dining.
Choose the Prince Geja's combination dinner, the best Geja's has to offer. The
meal begins with a Gruyère fondue appetizer, into which you dip apple wedges
and chunks of dark bread. Next, a huge platter arrives, brimming with squares
of beef tenderloin, lobster tails, chicken breast, scallops, and jumbo shrimp—all
raw—and a caldron of boiling oil to cook them in—the reason why only kids
10 and up are allowed! These delicacies are accompanied by a variety of raw veg-
etables, and eight different dipping sauces. When the flaming chocolate fondue
arrives for dessert, with fresh fruit and pound cake for dipping and marshmal-
lows for roasting, you'll want to beg for mercy.
One word of caution:
You have
to work for your fondue—keeping track of how long each piece of meat has
been cooking, and taking it out before it burns—so Geja's is not the best choice
if you just want to sit back and be pampered.
340 W. Armitage Ave. (between Lincoln Ave. and Clark St.).
&
773/281-9101.
Reservations accepted every
day except late Fri-Sat. 3-course dinners $20-$39. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Mon-Thurs 5-10:30pm; Fri
5pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-12:30am; Sun 4:30-10pm. Subway/El: Brown Line to Armitage. Bus: 22.
O'Brien's Restaurant
AMERICAN From the looks of the interior, you'd
expect O'Brien's to be a rather ordinary restaurant with that standard “Irish pub”
feel—dark wood, brass, and hunter green feature prominently. But outdoors,
you'll make an amazing discovery: the best alfresco dining in Old Town. And
that's saying something, as you'll find multiple options up and down Wells
Street. In good weather the chance to kick back outdoors with your kids can
make for a much less stressful dinner—who cares if a few fries wind up on the
patio bricks? The birds will thank you for it. The outdoor patio has teakwood
furniture, a gazebo bar in the center, and a mural of the owners' country club on
a brick wall. Order the dressed-up chips, a house specialty. Rib-eye steak, Dover
sole, and whitefish are specialties. The bar has a nice assortment of microbrews.
Every night from 7pm until midnight, O'Brien's features piano music.
1528 N. Wells St. (2 blocks south of North Ave.).
&
312/787-3131.
Kids' menu, high chairs, boosters. Reser-
vations recommended. Main courses $15-$25; kids' menu $5-$8. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Daily 11am-2am. Sub-
way/El: Brown Line to Sedgwick.
MODERATE
Goose Island Brewing Company
AMERICAN Some of the best beer in
Chicago is manufactured at this comfy, award-winning microbrewery in the
Clybourn corridor. (An impressive cast of professional beer critics agrees.) In the
course of a year, Goose Island produces about 100 varieties of lagers, ales, stouts,
pilsners, and porters that change with the seasons. But why include a beer-oriented
