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Chicago Hotel Restaurants Finally Step up to the Plate

Where: 601 North Milwaukee Avenue [map], Chicago, il, United States, 60090

June 19, 2006 at 12:05 PM | 2 Comments

Hotel restaurants aren't what they used to be. Today they are a celebrity game, they offer picture-worthy plates, and in some cases, they are better known than the hotel itself. Las Vegas and New York have both boasted this trend, even stealing super star French chefs like Alain Ducasse and Joel Robuchon.

In the heartland however, Chicago hasn't really been keeping up. Sure Chicago has great Polish sausage and hot blues bars, but the too-cool hotel restaurant scene hasn't hit until now. The Chicago Tribune recently ran a story on the windy city hotels' efforts to compete in the culinary warzone:

an ambitious project by two of Chicago's most celebrated chefs--culinary partners Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand, of the acclaimed restaurant Tru--is the latest signal that change is afoot.

Tramonto and Gand will open four new restaurants, yep, four, as a part of a Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel which is currently in the works. The star-chef duo will cover all areas, a coffee bar café, a midrange Italian eatery, a steak and seafood dinner hotspot and finally, a lounge featuring small plates. But they're not stopping with these four:

The partnership formed for this venture intends to open restaurants in a 525-room Le Meridien planned for Rosemont, and in Naperville, at a Holiday Inn Select that is being renovated and will be rebranded. And they have their eyes on other markets, including Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., New York, Miami and Scottsdale, Ariz.

This trend brings good news and bad news. The good news is, no more boring hotel restaurants with blasé menus. Bad news, after we shell out all our cash on our overpriced room, we're tempted to shell out even more on a celeb-worthy dinner.

Related Stories:
· Chicago Restaurants Built in Tru Fashion [Chicago Tribune]