Lettuce Entertain You- Hitting the Chicago restaurant scene on the "head"
May 21 '01
The Bottom Line Try Lettuce Entertain You restaurants for good eats.
Once upon a time in a wonderful land called Chicago, there was a guy named Rich Melman. His daddy had been a restauranteur, and Rich learned a bit from him. Rich met up with this guy named Jerry Orzoff and together they started a restaurant called R. J. Grunts in Lincoln Park. R for Rich, J for Jerry, and Grunts for the sound pigs make when the eat. This restaurant became a success and Rich and Jerry went on to start many more restaurants.
Eventually, Rich Melman became the head of a restaurant empire (well, in Chicago anyway) called Lettuce Entertain You. See that play on words? Lettuce Entertain You restaurants are not what I would call a chain. They are all very unique, and range in price and cuisine all across the board. The restaurants are all owned by Lettuce, but they each have their own identity.
Over the years, the restaurants have become hot spots around town. Lettuce has expanded its reach to Arizona, Minnesota, and Vegas. The restaurants, all of them, are packed on Saturday nights and are known to be great places to eat.
My top five restaurants in the Lettuce Family are also some of the top restaurants in Chicago, in my opinion. They are:
(5) L. Woods The L stands for Lincoln, as this restaurant is in Lincolnwood. For those of you from the area, you may remember the great Bones. L. Woods is the new Bones, in the same building with some of the same far. It is just a little more upscale than Bones was. For me, it’s a great place to meet my suburban parents. Try the ribs, and save room for the Apple Strudel. It’s to die for.
(4) Maggianos I have written a review on this fabulous (and popular) Italian eatery. If you’re going with a large group do two things: make reservations and order a family style meal. The value is great, as is the food.
(3) Nacional 27 The 27 in the name represents the 27 countries in Latin America that the menu draws from. The food was absolutely outstanding, and very reasonably priced. After a certain time on weekends, the restaurant converts to a salsa dance club, which I hear is great fun, but I’ve never stayed.
(2) Wildfire Another steak restaurant, this one has a big fire pit in the back, open kitchen, where you can watch rotisserie chickens cook. Wildfire is outrageously popular, so make reservations. They have a fabulous French Onion Soup, which I adore. I also tried the mussels last night for the first time, but definitely not the last.
(1) Café Ba Ba Reeba For a big group of girlfriends, this is a great place for dinner. They serve tapas, Spanish food served in small portions (so you get a lot of them). It’s a great way to try something new, and have a lot of fun. Make sure you have the sangria to drink, and the queso de cabra (goat cheese and tomato sauce) to start.
The following is a list of all the restaurants in the Lettuce Empire:
Ambria 2300 N. Lincoln Park West
Chicago , IL - 60614 (773) 472-5959
Antico Posto 118 Oakbrook Center
*Oakbrook , IL - 60523 (630) 586-9200
Ben Pao 52 W. Illinois St.
*Chicago , IL - 60610 (312) 222-1888
Big Bowl - more than 3 locations
Brasserie Jo 59 W. Hubbard St.
*Chicago , IL - 60610 (312) 595-0800
Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! 2024 N. Halsted St.
*Chicago , IL - 60614 (773) 935-5000
Cajun Kitchen 1155 West Golf Road
*Rolling Meadows , IL - 60008 (847) 290-5500
Chicago Flat Sammies 811 N. Michigan Ave.
*Chicago , IL - 60611 (312) 664-2733
Corner Bakery - tons of locations
Don and Charlie's 7501 E. Camelback Rd.
*Scottsdale , AZ - 85251 (480) 990-0900
Eiffel Tower Restaurant Paris Hotel 3655 Las Vegas Blvd.
*Las Vegas , NV - 89019 (702) 948-6937
Everest 440 S. LaSalle St., 40th Floor
*Chicago , IL - 60605 (312) 663-8920
GranCrema 520 N. Michigan Ave.
*Chicago , IL - (312) 494-9285
Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak, and Stone Crab 60 E. Grand Avenue
*Chicago , IL - 60611 (312) 379-5637
L. Woods 7110 N. Lincoln Ave.
*Lincolnwood , IL - 60646 (847) 677-3350
Maggiano's - more than 3 locations
Mity Nice Grill Water Tower Place, 835 N.
*Chicago , IL - 60611 (312) 335-4745
Mon Ami Gabi
*2300 N. Lincoln Park West
Chicago , IL - 60614 (773) 348-8886
*260 Oakbrook Center
Oak Brook , IL - 60521 (630) 472-1900
*Paris Hotel, 3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas , NV - 89019 (702) 944-4224
Nacional 27 325 West Huron
*Chicago , IL - 60610 (312) 664-2727
P.J. Clarke's 1204 North State Parkway
*Chicago , IL - 60610 (312) 664-1650
Papagus Greek Taverna
*272 Oakbrook Center
Oak Brook , IL - 60523 (630) 472-9800
*Embassy Suites, 620 N. State St.
Chicago , IL - 60610 (312) 642-8450
Petterino's 150 North Dearborn Street
*Chicago , IL - 60601 (312) 422-0150
R.J. Grunts 2056 N. Lincoln Park West
*Chicago , IL - 60614 (773) 929-5363
Scoozi! 410 W. Huron St.
*Chicago , IL - 60610 (312) 943-5900
Shaw's Crab House
*21 E. Hubbard St.
Chicago , IL - 60611 (312) 527-2722
*Streets of Woodfield, 1900 East Higgins Rd.
Schaumburg , IL - 60173 (847) 517-2722
Shaw's Seafood Grill 660 Lake Cook Rd.
*Deerfield , IL - 60015 (847) 948-1020
Tru 676 N. St. Clair
*Chicago , IL - 60611 (312) 202-0001
Tucchetti 2135 E. Camelback Rd.
*Phoenix , AZ - 85106 (602) 957-0222
Tucci Benucch
*900 North Michigan Ave.
Chicago , IL - 60611 (312) 266-2500
*Mall of America
Bloomington , MN - 55425 (952) 853-0200
Twin City Grill Mall of America
*Bloomington , MN - 55425 (952) 854-0200
Vong 6 West Hubbard
*Chicago , IL - 60610 (312) 644-8664
Wildfire
*159 W. Erie St.
Chicago , IL - 60610 (312) 787-9000
*232 Oakbrook Center
Oakbrook , IL - 60523 (630) 586-9000
*235 Parkway Drive
Lincolnshire , IL - 60069 (847) 279-7900
foodlife Water Tower Place, 835 N., 4th Flr
*Chicago , IL - 60611 (312) 335-3663
I have probably eaten at half of these restaurants and I have never been disappointed. I have written reviews on a couple already. The cuisine ranges from American (RJ Grunts) to Asian (Big Bowl) to Vietnamese (Vong) to French (Brasserie Joe) and on and on. Each restaurant has an ambience of its own, but all are delicious.
A nice bonus is the Lettuce Entertain You Frequent Diner Program. This is a great way to earn free food by doing what you do best- eating! To sign up, you pay a $25 fee, but as soon as you eat at three Lettuce Restaurants, you get your money back in the form of a $25 gift certificate, good at ANY Lettuce Restaurant. I got it in about a week, as I eat lunch at the Corner Bakery several times a week.
You earn 1 point for every dollar spent at a Lettuce Restaurant and get a $25 gift certificate for every 250 points. I have earned about $200 of gift certificates this year. I like putting the card down when I am out with a big group at say, Cafe Ba Ba Reeba. Hey, it's my friends' own fault they don't have a card!
I'm saving the GC's for a night at Tru, the fancy schmanciest of the Lettuce Restaurants. I have heard only fabulous things, but let's put it this way: my $200 probably won't be enough for my boyfriend and I. One caveat: the gift certificates can't be used on Saturday nights or Valentine's Day. And they can't be used on Friday at the fancy places.
No matter what you have a taste for, Lettuce Restaurants have an answer for you. And you'll know you've picked a popular place when you find out there's a 2 hour wait. A tip: call 1-888-LETTUCE to make reservations at any of the restaurants listed above.
So let's hear it for Rich Melman, the man with a dream. He made the Chicago restaurant world a better place for all of us.
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Epinions.com ID:
levda
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Member: Dana
Location: Chicago IL
Reviews written: 94
Trusted by: 74 members
About Me:
"CPAs are not boring. We just get excited over boring things."
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