Chicago – Quaint Dinner At The Bristol

Feb 25, 2015

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Chicago – Quaint Dinner At The Bristol

f you know me you’ll know that the secret to most of the adventures I have are the people behind the experience. I ate at the Bristol tonight. A friend of mine told me it’s the spot she was taken to for Valentine’s Day dinner and was pretty impressed with her date for choosing such a place so I decided to give it a shot. If you know me even better I tend to avoid the trendy “gourmet” food places where the food is prettier than it tastes and the Bristol seemed to fit the “not for cultured diners” category. However It is on here because I believe there is a really good way to do The Bristol and I thoroughly and elegantly enjoyed my dinner tonight. It is a place to impress and the way you go about it will make the experience a level more cultured than the everyday chic place…

Reservations by the Window

There is a certain charm about the corner spot by the window. Strategically it is also where the servers notice you fastest. It’s also sort of secluded so you can enjoy your date without worrying about what the next table thinks.

Go On a Weeknight

Skip the waiting list or the hustle and bustle of a Friday. Try a romantic Tuesday night where there is just enough of a calmer crowd for you to enjoy the attention span and demeanor of a chiller staff.

Ask for Eliot

The secret of the place! I sat down almost regretting I had walked in thinking to myself after I looked at the menu, “This is another fancy shmancy trendy cheesy place with the same so called healthy ingredient listed dishes that I will end up intellectually dissecting. And then Eliot entered, our server for the evening. I asked him to pick the dishes out for me and his response to this request told me exactly that I had come to the right place. A little more background here… I walk into several restos and ask the same thing, I say “Hey can you pick and choose out the dishes for us instead of us ordering from the menu and well let you know when were starting to get full” If they say, “Well, what do you like…” that is the wrong answer. I obviously don’t know what I want thats why I want you to choose for me. Anyway Eliot was very confident grabbed the menu right after I made that statement and said “Cool! I’ll take care it then!” and that was that till our food came out surprise after surprise. He knew exactly what we would like and it was fantastic. He also was very suave about it. Did not have the upward inflection that most servers have when they want to please you that can tend to bring about a superficial vibe. He was just plain “I got this! and Let’s go for a ride” Make sure you let him know to do the choosing from your wine or cocktails all the way till dessert where he can choose a sweet and liquor or coffee pairing for you. Now I am drunk and happy and most importantly satiated.