AAU Teammate wrote:If you're not intent on the Chicago style, go to Piece. More the New England style. Even though I was born and raised here, and love all things Chicago, that place is great.
Aim your snowballs (or shards of ice) this way - and...fire!
Some great bars to go to if you want a wide array of beer-bar beers..... The Hopleaf, The Map Room, Quenchers
This reminds me -- as I've mentioned before, Chicago doesn't have JUST deep dish. Chicago style thin pizza is just as (and actually, with the spread of deep dish) MORE unique to the city, and I miss it terribly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_pizza
Thin-crust pizza
Chicago style thin-crust pizza.
Chicago style thin-crust pizza.
In addition to Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, there is also a thin-crust pizza unique to Chicago, sometimes referred to as "flat" pizza.[5] The crust is thin and firm enough to have a noticeable crunch, unlike a New York-style pizza, yet thick enough to be soft and doughy on the top.
The crust is topped with a liberal quantity of Italian style tomato sauce, which is usually quite herbal or highly spiced, and typically contains no visible chunks of tomato. Next, a layer of toppings is added, and finally a layer of mozzarella cheese.
Traditionally, like St. Louis-style pizza, this pizza is cut into squares, also known as party cut, as opposed to a pie cut into wedges. However, the consistency of the crust and the quantity and choice of the tomato sauce and cheese are what separate this style from East Coast-, Roman- and St. Louis-style pizzas, and it makes the pizza from neighborhood pizzerias immediately distinguishable from that offered by national chains such as Papa John's or Pizza Hut.
EDIT:
Strong calls you have there, Scott May! I had Frontera on my list, an I agree with you about Morton's. Great call on Arun's. I would have put that on my list if I'd thought of it. Heaven on Seven is indeed a great place to go for a filling bowl of gumbo. Also great call on the Seminary Co-Op. I spent a lot of time there when I lived in Hyde Park/Woodlawn.
As to Chicago Chop House, I have to admit...I'm not sure if I've ever had a traditional "steak" there. I like to start with a seafood appetizer...oysters or the Irish Salmon...and, perhaps it is the literalist in me that I try to deny, I tend to order the pork chops or lamb chops. I did have the veal porterhouse once and it was amazing. They do make a great Gray Goose martini with blue cheese stuffed olives, though.
Also, Scott -- since you think they started here, I added the link for Morton's rather than just having then as an honorable mention.