I have never been to Chicago and will be there the 2-5 of October. On short notice res. were hard to come by. I did make res. at Ambria, Spiggia, and Rosebud on Rush. Any comments? I love great shopping and wonderful food. Any suggestions on shopping or foodie things would be great. Any ideas for breakfast or lunch places would be appreciated as well as ideas for Sunday or great cocktail places. We are staying at the Palmer House.

Rosebud is excellent. Just ate there the other night. Very nice. Spiaggia is good too. Shop on Michigan ave. and Water Tower. Definitely have a drink on the 95th at the Hancock Building. Great views of the city.

Spiaggia and Ambria are two of the highest rated restaurants in Chicago, you should enjoy both. A trip to Chicago without eating deep dish or stuffed pizza would be a crime. Pizzeria Uno is my favorite but you can't go wrong with any of the others-Giordano's, Edwardo's, Bacino's, Gino's, etc.

A great place to get a cocktail is the John Hancock Building on Michigan Avenue near Water Tower Place. The floor below the observatory is a bar. Go up there on a clear day/night and have a drink and get the best view of the city for the price of a drink. There is also a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in the Hancock Building. You might try that for a casual lunch. Other options for lunch in the shopping district include Chicago Flat Sammies for sandwiches, 811 North Michigan Avenue in the Pumping Station; Heaven on Seven on Rush for cajun food, 600 N. Michigan; or Food Life in Water Tower Place, an upscale food court.

Shopping, of course, is on Michigan Avenue. Check out Water Tower Place and all of the stores in the area.

There is a hot tix booth on State Street between Randolph and Washington, not too far from the Palmer House. Go there for 1/2 price same day theater tickets. There is also a hot tix booth near Water Tower Place in the same building as Chicago Flat Sammie's.

Also, check out the Cows on Parade. They are scattered throughout the city, but there's a large number of them on Michigan Avenue.

www.metromix.com has restaurant reviews, theater reviews and general info about Chicago.

Although it's not haute cuisine (but it is very good), I'd suggest the restaurant in the John Hancock building for lunch. It's on the 86th or 89th floor (or thereabouts) and has floor to ceilng windows on three sides with an incredible view of the city and the lake. There is a lunch buffet (aabout $13-14) or you can order a la carte. The buffet was actually quite good, as I recall - poached fish, green beans vinagrette, wild rice salad etc.. I have no other food ideas to share but encourage everyone to take the Architecture Foundation's boat tour of downtown Chicago architecture and history. It's fascinating even for those of us without an architecural bent. Chicago is great city - you'll want to go back again soon!

There's a 4 star review of Ambria in today's Chicago Suntimes. Go to www.suntimes.com and click on dining and the review is in the right hand corner.