Diners with discerning palates tend to seek out the finest menus in the world’s top cities — and Chicago is often at the top of their list. But what about the setting? For those with a taste for history, these culinary stars can’t be beat; indeed, these are the culinary destinations where layers of history are as integral to a dining experience as layers of flavor.
Italian Village {71 West Monroe Street; 312.332.7005}
While Chicago has never been short on Italian restaurants, few have the provenance of Italian Village. An anchor of the city’s culinary scene, the gourmet destination was opened in 1927 in a building that dates back to the 1800s. That building enjoyed many (and varied) tenants through the decades, including Iwan Ries Tobacco company, Allen Heating & Air Conditioning, and a bar by the name of Bud Meyer. While relics of these businesses are hard to find, Italian Village has maintained its own original décor, giving guests a sense of pre-Prohibition fine-dining. There are even marks of legendary guests from decades past, including crooner Frank Sinatra and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley Sr. Fun fact: The iconic neon marquis out front is the original from 1960.
River Roast {315 North LaSalle Street; 312.822.0100}
River Roast — a self-described fixture of American tavern fare — has more going for it than hand-carved lamb shank and celebrated Midwestern beer. Its storied digs at 315 North LaSalle, otherwise known as the Reid Murdoch building, date back to 1914 when it served as the home of wholesale grocers Reid, Murdoch & Co. Several floors of the building were dedicated to food preparation and processing at the time, while the architects even allocated space for a humidor for cigar-rolling. The building was repurposed in the 1950s for government work, specifically work for the state’s attorney, and was later bought up by Friedman Properties in 1998. These days, 315 North LaSalle enjoys Chicago landmark status. Indeed, it’s hard to envision a River North without its iconic clock tower and red brick façade.
The Chicago French Market {131 North Clinton Street; 312.575.0306}
Uniquely housed in a train station, The Chicago French Market’s abode is one of the most unique of any food establishment in Chicagoland. In fact, the original 1911 North Western Terminal is still intact; you can see the Renaissance Revival construction style of the building balancing imposing exterior stonework with internally-laid steel to powerful effect. In its heyday, the station housed bustling stalls, retail shops, and emigrant wait-and-mingle areas, collectively serving as a communal meeting space. The head house was razed in 1984 and replaced by a glass-and-steel structure known as the Citicorp Building. The train shed and lower commuter concourse (where the Chicago French Market resides) was rehabilitated over a period of four years (1992-96). Indeed, renovations from 1991 onward preserved the original exterior features of the building while reinforcing dilapidated elements. Re-named Ogilvie Transportation Center in 1997, the station has remained in continuous operation but now serves travelers with tickets on the Metra Rail system.
Topo Gigio Ristorante {1516 North Wells Street; 312.266.9355}
Old Town revelers know all about the fine Italian fare of Topo Gigio, but they may not know its origin story. The building once served as the first ever Crate & Barrel — now a chain with some 122 stores in the U.S. alone. Over the years, the building has played several roles, including warehouse, factory, civic building, and retail outlet. Over the course of Topo Gigio’s history, notables like Anthony Bourdian, Jim Belushi, and Bill Clinton have dropped by, giving the building — and the restaurant — even more allure.
Club Lucky {1824 West Wabasnia Avenue; 773.227.2300}
Little do guests of Bucktown’s Club Lucky know: The restaurant used to be a hardware store with a speakeasy in the basement. The building — once two separate ones, connected in 1990 — was built around 1910 and gave life to everything from a Polish community center and a polling station, to the aforementioned hardware store and speakeasy. The building’s construction is as impressive as one would expect from Art Deco-era properties: while porthole windows on the western side take the spotlight, limestone details adorn the front façade and oversized windows dot the exterior. Inside, the original barrel bar ceiling from 1937 is still in place, complete with a bullet hole from a scuffle of decades past. It’s little wonder this historic gem has been a destination for countless politicians, celebrities, and sports heroes — including the likes of John Travolta, Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and media maven Oprah Winfrey.
The Kitchen {316 North Clark Street; 312.836.1300}
Kimbal Musk and Hugo Matheson have earned acclaim for The Kitchen outposts from Boulder to Chicago, but their joint culinary and business prowess is only part of their success. They’ve also leaned into historic preservation and community engagement. In Chicago, for example, they launched the city’s first The Kitchen restaurant in 2014 in the Reid Murdoch Building — years after their community outreach efforts to bring Learning Gardens to hundreds of schools across Chicago. Before or after a meal at The Kitchen, guests can relish the rich brick exterior and clock tower of the building while ambling along the cozy Riverwalk just outside. Another curious feature of the original property not mentioned above: a freight tunnel system that dropped 60 feet below street level and enabled goods to be delivered directly to the building, regardless of weather or traffic.
Taureaux {155 West Van Buren Street; 312.624.8778}
Taureaux’s rich wood interior speaks of an era in Chicago history when opulence and sophistication guided design and elegance was rule number one. On the menu, French classics of decades ago are updated with a combination of inventiveness and whimsy, while the building retains its historic character, dating back to the origins of the Chicago Stock Exchange. Most notably, the building housed the office of stockbroker Chris Gardner in the 1980s, famously portrayed by Will Smith in the movie “Pursuit of Happyness.” Finance era standards like deep brown leathers, brass finishes, and emerald greens are still in attendance while echoes of the trading glory days can be seen in Taureaux’s own logo — the iconic bull.
The Berghoff {17 West Adams Street; 312.427.3170}
The Berghoff institution opened its doors more than a century ago, in 1898. Back then, proprietor Herman Berghoff sold beers for a mere five cents — and each one came with a free sandwich. But the restaurant’s space was small compared to its current stately housing. By 1910, however, Berghoff would expand the restaurant to the “Berghoff Annex” on the east side of the current property. About the same time, the restaurant saw the installation of an 89-foot mahogany bar (that can still be enjoyed today). By 1950, another expansion was underway, this time to the impressive Palmer building to the west.
But as old as the Berghoff is, its native buildings are still older. The restaurant’s housing on Adams Street once served as fire brigade buildings while the eastern building of the Berghoff complex is owed to Horatio Stone, an early clothing and dry goods merchant. The Palmer Building on the west is another historic gem; it was built and used by early 20th-century developer Potter Palmer, a Chicago hotelier.
The features that weave throughout the Berghoff showcase breathtaking woodwork, cast iron façades, inlaid paneling chosen and installed by Berghoff himself, turn-of-the-century chandeliers, and soaring ceilings — some as high as 16 feet. All of this has been painstakingly maintained by the Berghoff family, including renovations in the 1990s and early 2000s. Most recently, the family took on the restoration of the bar in 2016. And as the Berghoffs have a history of expansion, it’s little wonder that they recently took on a project to install a 10-barrel microbrewery onsite.
Signature Room at the 95th® {875 North Michigan Avenue; 312.787.9596}
While not a restaurant with a generations-long pedigree, The Signature Room – capped at the 95th floor of what was originally called the John Hancock Building – was born in 1993 as a way to capture market-driven fine-dining and awe-inspiring views. The building itself was completed in 1970 by the celebrated architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with the goal of housing Chicago’s finest residences, retail outlets, and high-end offices. It also held the honor as being the second-largest building in the U.S. outside of New York when construction was completed.
These days, the John Hancock Building is known, simply, as 875 North Michigan Avenue. And while it has long been celebrated for its towering, trapezoidal exterior design – recognizable in movies like “Poltergeist” – it has also earned a high profile thanks to its association with celebrities like Chris Farley, who once owned a residence in the building. If you want the full 875 Michigan experience these days, be sure to take part in the “Hustle Chicago” event, where Chicago natives and tourists alike can run up all 100 floors, racing for donations to benefit the Respiratory Health Association.
Terzo Piano {159 East Monroe Street; 312.443.8650}
No doubt an idyllic (and delicious) ending to a tour of the adjacent Art Institute, Terzo Piano opened in 2009 at the same time the Modern Wing of the Institute was completed. The Institute as a whole, however, is much older — clocking 126 years as of 2019. At its inception in 1893, the building served as the site for the World Parliament of Religions and, concomitantly, the World Columbian Exposition. Guests can still see evidence of this history in the imposing bronze lions outside of the museum and the massive assembly halls that served visitors of the Parliament and Exposition. Uniquely, the newly minted Modern Wing contrasts well with these historic elements, complete with a “zero gravity”/levitation effect and an aluminum blade exterior.
90th Meridian {231 South LaSalle Street; 312.929.3948}
Also a new inductee to Chicago’s dining scene, 90th Meridian opened in July 2019 in the Central Standard Building, a pillar of the city’s financial district. The building was erected in 1924 by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White with a bank in mind — specifically, the Continental Illinois Bank. That institution resided there until 1984, when the building opened up to commercial and retail entities. Inside, visitors will see remarkable features of a bygone age: Neoclassic and Gothic Revival architecture with Art Deco sprinklings, including the 88,000-square-foot grand banking hall on the second floor. Outside, golden embellishments, flourishes of bronze, and steel accents hearken back to the 1920s, complemented by preserved Gothic windows and detail elements like keyholes and cogs. Another revelation: Before the current stately building was conceived, the 1883 Grand Pacific Hotel stood in its place — the very site where U.S. time zones originated.
Making a Splash: Navy Pier Pairs Fine Dining with History
Navy Pier is arguably one of Chicago’s most historic darlings. The Pier itself opened to the public in 1916 and served the Streeterville neighborhood as a hub for expositions, pageants, events, and of course, as a dock for freight ships. During WWII, the Pier became a training ground for the Navy — including for sailors like the late George H. W. Bush — but that was to be its only major service as a military outpost; subsequent years saw the Pier transition into a facility for UIC’s undergraduate division until eventually becoming a public gathering and shopping space. The push for renovation, greatly needed after a century of use, launched in 2006 and continues today.
Anchoring the modern-day Pier are two restaurants of culinary note: Offshore and Riva. Offshore {1000 East Grand Avenue; 312.535.6660} opened in 2019 featuring “The World’s Largest Rooftop Bar,” according to The Guinness Book of World Records. At the Pier’s lake-facing side, the restaurant incorporates extensive glass windows that allow guests to look out onto both the water and parts of the Pier itself. Most notably, you can see the Pier’s historic light towers on the east end. To add a final maritime touch, the seats in the restaurant are designed to look like the seats of a boat. As Owner Bob Habeed pointedly says of the location, “Here is the second most visited tourist destination in the central U.S. What better spot for a rooftop bar?”
As a foil to Offshore, RIVA Crabhouse {700 East Grand Avenue; 312.644.7482} serves as a Pier “original,” opened in 1995 under the banner of the Phil Stefani Restaurant Group. For tourists flocking to this destination, keep an eye out for Pier features visible from the restaurant, especially the historic Pier columns.” and grand ballroom. Inside the restaurant, RIVA offers a nod to the history of the docks with a 50-foot mural celebrating the Pier’s history hung right above the open kitchen. If all of that is not enough to entice you for a meal, this will be: RIVA has played host to countless celebs, including Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama, and Michael Jordan.
By Jeffrey Steen
The post Once Upon A Time: Chronicling the Storied History of Chicago’s Restaurants appeared first on DiningOut Chicago.