Breakfast
Bongo Room (312) 291-0100 - Want the best place in Chicago for a sinful reward after the marathon? Bongo Room offers a seasonally changing menu featuring mouthwatering dishes like pumpkin pancakes and chocolate tower French toast.
The Roosevelt Road location is only a few blocks from the start line. However, go here on the morning after your race. Standing in line for 30+ minutes and eating these delicious yet unfamiliar concoctions on Saturday might take a spring out of your race-day step and triple your port-o-potty visits.
Toast (773) 935-5600 - For a cozy eatery with a local neighborhood vibe, try Toast in Lincoln Park. Get here early as the narrow restaurant with no more than 15 tables does not accept reservations. The fare here may not be as eccentric as Bongo Room's, but the more familiar French toast, pancake and egg preparations make for better pre-race meals and happier stomachs on marathon day. (Toast is about a 10- to 15-minute taxi ride from Grant Park.)
Pre-Race Dinner
Food Life (foodlife.com) This eclectic smorgasbord located on the mezzanine level of Water Tower Place shopping mall offers more than 10 separate food stations--creating different meals for the entire picky family to enjoy. It's buffet-style so expect to serve yourself. Runners can focus their attention on the pasta dishes and more than 30 salad options. Everyone else can indulge in sushi, barbecue, burritos, Chinese, pizza, Thai and more.
For a somewhat more upscale dining experience, the adjacent Mite Nice Grill serves up traditional American fare including steaks, pastas and fish.
Topo Gigio (topogigiochicago.com) This Italian Ristorante has been an anchor of Chicago's Old Town neighborhood (about 2 miles north of the Chicago River) for years. Come here for traditional pasta preparations and a delicious variety of meat combinations including sensible pre-race dishes such as grilled chicken and vegetables with a side of angel hair pasta or roasted half-chicken and potatoes.
Where to Chest Bump
Drinking a celebratory beer or three after completing a marathon is as much a tradition as a race car driver guzzling milk after winning the Indianapolis 500. Here are a few friendly Chicago watering holes with impressive selections of tasty brew.
Goose Island Brewery (gooseisland.com) One of Chicago's largest and best micro-breweries, Goose Island prides itself on offering a wide assortment of beers on draft--often more than 20 varieties. While food is served here as well, come for the handmade ales, stouts and lagers. You will not be disappointed.
Delilah's (Delilahschicago.com) Don't be intimidated by the biker bar street image of this small neighborhood dive. Step through the doors and you'll find yuppies, recent college grads and old-timers knocking back their favorite brews in peaceful harmony. Be sure to try the nightly drink specials. Plan on a 15-minute taxi ride from Grant Park.
Rock Bottom Brewery (rockbottom.com) Located closer to the River North and Loop hotels, Rock Bottom is less unique than the two establishments listed above--there are now more than 30 across the U.S.--but tasty beer is definitely on tap. Similar to other Rock Bottoms, this location has a sports bar ambience with televisions hanging from the ceilings and wide wooden bars on multiple levels. Weather permitting; the rooftop deck is its best and most popular feature.
Race tip: Add these marathon essentials to your gear list or you may learn a few unwanted lessons the hard way.
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