Evanston is nice, but if you are running in the marathon it's far from the starting point.

CJBrown, I posted earlier that I wouldn't stay at the Cass Hotel. However, I have never stayed there. I think you need to hear some reviews of people who actually have. It is in a great location - close to the best shopping and lots of good restaurants. If this is when you have to come and it is a clean hotel, don't worry about it. I did some research on hotels and it does seem like there is not much available. I looked on tripadvisor and most people gave it good reviews - there were only a couple of bad reviews. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Illinois.html Are you running in the marathon?

Just looked up some Evanston hotels, and the town is booked solid! Here is another suggestion: split your weekend into two locations. Expedia is showing the Hotel Allegro for 10/9 and 10/10 for $139 a night. For the last two nights, try a suburban hotel. The O'Hare area is one idea (Des Plaines, Rosemont or Elk Grove Village) Another is the Glen Club is a new, small hotel in Glenview, where there is a Metra train station in the same development (not necessarily walking distance, but convenient.) Metra trains take about 35 minutes to downtown Union Station. Parking at either the El line or Metra station should not be a problem on a weekend. Have a great visit!

thaks again everyone! I haven't responded in a few days. One of my co-travellers found the Seneca Hotel,& it will work for us.(Near John Hancock Tower). We feel better about that than the Cass, but, I think we'll definitely have to peek in at the Cass, just so we can see what it's all about! (and pass on any future advice)
Thanks again, we're not a part of the marathon (we had no idea it was that weekend), just going to Chicago for fun, shopping!

OK, thanks again for everyones help. Now, we have found a better hotel, just wondering how busy restaurants will be this weekend of the Chicago marathon.
If anyone really has a good Italian, or Mexican restaurant that is a must, can we make reservations now?

Most restaurants are always busy on the weekends and you should try to reserve early. Within walking distance to your hotel there is a very popular Mexican restaurant. Actually, there are two: Frontera Grill which does not take reservations. It is best to get there early (5:00) if you don't want to wait. There is also the more upscale restaurant next door called Topolobampo and you do need to make a reservation a few weeks in advance for a Saturday night. You can walk to Rosebud, Maggiano, Scoozi which are all good Italian restaurants but they are chains. Usually you can get reservations for these places about a week before. My favorite Italian in Chicago is Mia Francesca which is in Lincoln Park but only a short cab ride away. There is also one in Little Italy on Taylor Street (also a short cab ride away).

I forgot that you changed hotels. Frontera/Topolobampo will be a little bit of a walk but well worth it. A couple of other Italian restaurants that are closer to your hotel are Pane Caldo, Spiaggia, Bice and Coco Pazzo Cafe. I have never eaten at Spiaggia but it is supposed to be very good but it is expensive.

A rec for Mexican is Salpicon on the 1200 block of North Wells (just north of Division). In the same area, I love Orso's at Wells and Goethe - it's Italian. They have a cool outdoor patio in the back (with warmers if it's cool out). Another suggestion for a small Italian place that I like is Palaggi's on Hubbard and State Street. Both Italian places are not high-end but good and kind of cozy. Palaggi's usually has live blues and/or jazz on Friday and Saturday nights.

p.s. I walk by the Cass twice a day and it's a complete dump. Thank heavens you got into another hotel.

Salpicon is just as good as Topolobampo and not usually as hard to get a reservation. I heard Palaggi was closing but don't know if it has yet?

My new favorite Italian place is Follia on West Fulton--it's relatively new, opened by a man from Milan who "imported" his pizza chef from Naples. The pizza is awesome, but authentic Italian, not Chicago, pizza. The owner also owns a modeling agency which is obvious when you see the waitstaff but they weren't snobby at all.

It was good to hear that Orso's is still around - that's on the corner, right? Old-fashioned (50s-60s type of place with a piano bar?) We've always enjoyed it, but haven't been there in several years.

CJBrown - Your Seneca location couldn't be better! Glad you were able to find something.

Until I got to that post of yours I'd been planning on mentioning the ClubQuarters hotel on Wacker, which is new(er) and kind of tucked away. We P'lined a stay there last spring and tho it was about the tiniest room we've ever been in (waaaay smaller than anything we've ever had in Paris, which supposedly gets a rap for small rooms). But it was pleasant enough - and I don't' know that all the rooms are as small as the one we had....