Stephanie

If it were YOUR 50th birthday and you love grilled seafood and you want to have a nice birthday dinner while vacationing in Chicago with your grown kids, where would you go?

Wendy

Red Lobster, they have them all over town and the shrimp platters are the best!

Chuck

I have lived in Chicago all my life. The best place is Shaw's Crab House on Hubbard St. Downtown.

arjay

Cape Cod Room (Drake Hotel) for good seafood...PLUS tradition....plus ambience.

Laurie

McCormick & Schmick's has very good seafood. It also has a lot of non-seafood options.

Ann

I was not very impressed by the Cape Cod Room at the Drake Hotel last summer. I thought it was overpriced and stoggy. The menu selections were just ordinary, and the service was very poor. Being from Boston, it may be that the most basic seafood restaurants here have the local advantage over one in the midwest, but I'd avoid this one and look to the ones the other posters have reccomended. We have no Red Lobsters here in Boston (that I know of) but at least there you won't feel ripped off for such underwhelming fare.

Lara

My favorite place for seafood is Blue Point Oyster Bar on west Randolph St. (just west of the Loop).

Kris

My favorite is out in the burbs, Bob Chinn's Crabhouse in Wheeling. Assuming you don't want to drive to Wheeling for dinner (at least 45 minutes from downtown), take a look at the recommended restaurants on www.metromix.com, you can narrow it down to recommended seafood restaurants, Shaw's, Chinn's and McCormick & Schmick all show up there.

Personally, I thought Blue Point Oyster Bar was overpriced and the food just OK.

Red Lobster, if you're not familiar with them, is a chain restaurant, probably not a place you want to go for a special celebration.

kal

Stephanie,
Riva's on the Navy Pier. Good seafood and a fantastic view of the skyline.
Kal

Tracy

Shaws on Hubbard is best plus you can stop in at Andy's right next door if you like Jazz.

swen

Bob Chinn's Crabhouse is about as overpriced a restaurant as I can think of! Expect to pay about $120 for two for plastic plates and cups, greasy rolls and a slice of fish.

bob

Shaw's on Hubbard St is the best overall.
P.S. What's this with Red Lobster?

Amy

You can't go wrong with Shaw's ... it's been around forever and is what everyone ususally thinks of for the best Seafood.

Riva's on Navy Pier is also very nice and certainly has the best views. It's right on the lake, so the views are spectacular.

For a newer, trendier place, try Bluepoint on Randolph ... some people I know like it better than Shaw's.

Also, McCormick and Shmick's is excellent and in a great neighborhood to walk around after dinner.

kam

Stephanie, Know that McCormick and Shmick's started in the Pacific Northwest. There are a number of them in California and they are good, but not a Chicago native. I always loved the Cape Cod Room when we lived in Chicago. The trick is to order the local fish and not the East Coast variety. I hope it's still as good as I remember.

mas

If you go out to the western suburbs, Braxton Seafood in Oakbrook is great.

Stephanie

I produce a weekly food program. I suggest going to zagat.com to see $$ ranges. Still, if you want my opinion, forget Shaws, go to Catch 35.

deb

I agree on Catch35 although I haven't been there in 5 years. I live near Shaws and if you like crowded places and a wait even with a reservation (food is average)go there. Red Lobster was a ridiculous suggestion-ignore it.