last minute request for recommendations: nothing fancy, nothing too exotic/spicy...will be there Thursday and Friday...need ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...generally looking for neighborhoody, friendly, smallish, unique/not production-line menu...

btw: we will be at the River Hotel on Wacker

The Loop is the business district, not a neighborhood.
Cross the river to River North for many good spots.
Go even farther north to Old Town, Wells Street between Division and a north for a neighborhood feel with great dining.

Bela Bacino's is on the ground floor of your hotel and Corner Bakery is next door, however it tends to be a bit pricey. There are several restaurants in The Loop, but as the previous post says, neighborhood places are difficult to come by.

You can also head to Miller's Pub on Wabash between Adams and Madison. There are dozens of places for a quick lunch on a weekday. For dinner, you could walk three blocks south to Madison and catch the Number 20 bus west to Greektown on Halsted, there are several restaurants there. If you opt to walk it's about a mile.

Check www.chicagoreader.com or www.chicagomag.com for restuarant listings. You can search either by price, neighborhood or cuisine.

312 - a nice italian restaurant - at The Alegra hotel on Randolph. We had a nice dinner there in April. Best lasagna. They have a deal going on- will find link for u when I get home.

We had good sandwiches for lunch at The Goddess and Grocer on Delaware, a couple of blocks from the John Hancock Tower. www.goddessandgrocer.com

If you're interested in deep-dish pizza, we enjoyed ours at Giordano's. giordanos.com

I highly recommend XOCO, Rick Bayless's most casual restaurant, but it might be a bit spicy for you. http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/xoco.html

Lee Ann

Here's the web page for the deal; you do need to join their in touch loyalty program, but it's free and takes only a minute.

3 courses for $35.

http://www.kimptonhotels.com/landing...onth_2013.aspx