A Hotel: The Public

A chilly evening in Chicago was the perfect backdrop for our second anniversary. My husband and I spent the night at The Public hotel in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood – and we never left through the lobby doors the entire 24 hours.

Usually on a trip, whether to a new city or a city we love and know, I spend a good portion frantically Yelping and Googling to make sure we fit in as many feast-worthy restaurants, can’t-miss bands and enlightening gallery exhibits, with perhaps a small collection of boutique shopping, as possible in our time frame.

But, the lobby of The Public is grand, with striking white, arching walls, large mirrors, and inviting furniture. Hefty coffee table books on subjects of jazz and modern art are laid-out for perusing and the moment I plopped down on a couch with my bags as Zach parked the car (we are our own valets) an overwhelming sense of settlement came over me. I did not want anything more than my husband, a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant, a comfy-couch-filled screening room within which to watch that evening’s Oscar’s (aptly called The Screening Room) and hotelier Ian Schrager’s artfully appointed space.

The Pump Room restaurant, Vongerichten’s collection of simple and straightforward dishes based in the now-common in-season ingredients ethos, in a fashionable spot for dinner. We love pizza too much, so we did start with a Margherita as an appetizer and a month later we still have not stopped talking about it with people. Chewy, soft dough with a light hand of ingredients including handmade mozzarella was incredibly satisfying. We ate it so fast, well, it was like a bread bowl when you get to a restaurant and you’re starving – yet we weren’t mindlessly eating to fill up, it was just that good. And these are listed as “Whole Wheat Flatbreads” –  Zach, this man who makes pizza every day, can’t get over how whole wheat flour might have been used and is set on recreating it. As for bread bowls, since I brought it up, was homemade loaves with oil and salt on the side for dipping. I mention this because save that flaky salt to put on your pizza and then anything else you order. My kale salad was zesty with a hint of mint added to the lemony dressing. Zach’s fried chicken was something immediately served for dinner at our home two weeks later. Lightly breaded with something similar to panko, with a hot butter sauce drizzled around the sautéed greens and meat – creamy butter, melted down, mixed to an easy temperature with a zingy vinegary hot sauce. A ‘best meal’ that has been added to our gastronomic list.

We then ordered some yogurt cheesecake and headed over to The Screening Room  – this is on the opposite side of the lobby from the restaurant and is tucked behind what the hotel calls The Library – a little bar area that becomes a coffee area in the a.m. The Screening Room showcases much-loved and independent films as well as art and musical performances throughout the week and weekends – even early morning cartoons on Saturdays – but this Sunday night the Oscars were showing. Ah, we thought, let’s tuck in here with our dessert, sink into a comfy couch and watch some musical performances and actor speeches on this big screen instead of heading out to a venue. Another brilliant idea. It was so relaxing snuggled in front of the huge screen. Plenty of great evenings could be spent watching memorable and unique films and listening to intimate acoustic acts in this intimate space.

In the a.m., soothed by the delicately decorated room, I was able to finish off quite a bit of work. The airy white walls and handful of small, humorous prints of cows along with a set of streamlined furniture made for a mind-freeing work environment. And then we headed down to The Library for a late-morning of coffees, warming up by the fireplace on fur-lined armchairs. This lasted for quite a few hours actually – ordering two more pizzas from the restaurant for lunch – and we enjoyed our simple afternoon sitting inside the hotel lobby rather than heading into the city for a swing through the art gallery. We ended up late on the road, in fact, after having soaked up every last ounce of this perfect space.

K

Nearby Notes:

The water of Lake Michigan peaks over the end of the road if you turn out left from the hotel’s lobby doors and right on the first corner of this street (East Goethe) is a fantastic playground for kids.

If your stay is a touch longer than ours and you do want to pop out for another dinner elsewhere, try the highly-rated Bistrot Zinc – casual French fare including croque-monsieurs, lamb sandwiches and slices of quiche. An oozing, Nutella crepe for dessert is never a bad idea.