When I'm in Chicago for business - which seems like an awful lot as of late - my base of operations is usually the Hilton Garden Inn - O'Hare along River Road in Des Plaines. (see map) I've been staying there for years and I call it my "home away from home" when I'm in Chicago. The past three or four years, we've participated in a trade show just down the street and I've put some of my colleagues up at the place and many are amazed at the level of service they get and the overly pleasant nature many of the staff possess. "I've never stayed at a hotel where everyone is so nice," one of my colleagues remarked a couple years ago. While I'm usually not big on eating at a hotel, I have to say that the Garden Grill and Bar actually serves some pretty damned good food. I decided to let the secret out and tell you about this place where I like to stay.
I used to stay out in Addison at a Hampton Inn for a long time. But my wife and I stayed at the 9-story, 253 room Hilton Garden Inn near O'Hare International Airport during a Chicago excursion weekend not long after it opened in 2005 and I thought it was a nice place. Trying to save my company money, I kept staying out in Addison for basically $20 bucks a night less than what they were charging for rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn. Finally, I made the decision after driving for an hour and a half in rush hour traffic to get all the way out to Addison that it was worth the extra money in time saved and aggravation reduced to stay closer in. With access to the Tri-State Tollway, the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and the Kennedy Expressway all within a mile of the hotel, I could easily go in any direction to get to appointments around the Chicago area.
After staying there as long as I have, I've been recognized as a regular customer and that has some advantages. While the hotel doesn't offer a Park-and-Fly program like other hotels around O'Hare, they do have shuttles that go to and from the airport every 20 minutes. Last year when my wife and I went to Hawaii for a week, the manager allowed me to park my car there while we were gone. We spent the night before we left at the hotel, shuttled to the airport the next morning, and then they picked us up at the airport when we got home a little over over a week later. It was sweet and saved us about $150 to $200 bucks.
The Hilton Garden Inn - O'Hare in Des Plaines is managed by The Raymond Group, a Middleton, WI-based hospitality company. Most of them are Hilton and Marriott-branded hotels and I've stayed in a number of Raymond properties around the Midwest during my travels. I'd have to say that all of the Raymond hotels that I've stayed at over the years are very nice, clean and comfortable. The Raymond Group got their start in the late 70's managing a number of Country Kitchen restaurants around Wisconsin and Illinois. By the early 80's, the group had branched out into hotel management with four Super 8 properties. In the mid-80's, the Raymond Group partnered with a hospitality company to develop hotels for the fast growing Hampton Inn hotels. In 1989, The Raymond Group was recognized as the "Developer of the Year" by the Hilton corporation for their work with Hampton Inn's. In 1994, the company sold their interests in Country Kitchen and began to solely develop hotels. Today, the company oversees three dozen hotel properties in 11 states.
About three years ago, I was traveling with one of my newer colleagues and a guy from one of our manufacturers through the Midwest. One night we stayed in a Hampton Inn in Omaha and I made the mistake of not booking us at a hotel with a bar. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn - O'Hare a couple nights later and they liked the bar so much that I was immediately absolved of all transgressions I committed on the trip. The bar is cozy and comfy with a couple of flat-panel televisions that are usually tuned in to a game involving a Chicago team. The main bartender through the week is a Greek guy by the name of Jim who speaks with a heavy Chicago accent. He's a great guy and he treats me like a friend every time I pull up a seat at the bar.
One of the perks as a Hilton Diamond member (actually, I'm a Hilton Lifetime Diamond member - I no longer have to annually qualify to earn that level) of staying at Hilton Garden Inn properties is the free breakfast. And the breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn - O'Hare is very good. (The bacon they serve is exceptionally good!) The servers - Wioletta (pronounced Violetta), Maria, Lily, Elisa, and Vicki all know me and take great care of me.
A few years ago, I was staying at the hotel one night and I was stuck in traffic. A friend of mine was waiting for me at the hotel and I told him that I would be at least 45 minutes before I got to the hotel. He said that was no problem, he'd grab something to eat in the restaurant. He had the salmon that evening while he waited for me to show up. When I finally did get there, my friend was raving about the food. "This salmon is so fresh," he exclaimed. "I can't believe I'm having this at a hotel restaurant."
Jim came over and said to my friend, "Isn't it good? Didn't I tell you the salmon was great?"
My friend couldn't find anything wrong with his meal. "I've had much worse salmon in upscale seafood restaurants," he said. "You certainly didn't steer me wrong on this."
Jim explained that they have their seafood flown in daily. "And we have a real chef in the kitchen," he said. "He knows his way around the kitchen."
The menu for the Garden Grill and Bar is definitely upscale compared to comparable Hilton Garden Inn's that I've stayed at. Steaks, seafood and pasta dishes make up many of the main entrees the restaurant serves. They also have burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads to choose from, as well. Their burgers are very good, I like their open faced tuna melt made with fresh tuna, and even though it's a little more salty than I like the French onion soup with housemade croutons and gruyere cheese is a spot hitter on a cold evening.
Every couple of weeks they will have a number of dinner specials that they feature in the restaurant. On this visit, it was around Mardi Gras time so they were featuring a number of Cajun-inspired dishes off the menu. It was a cold evening, spitting rain and an east wind off Lake Michigan that just cut through the body. I decided to eat at the bar and I sat down at the bar to let Jim take care of me. I started out with a Bell's Two Hearted Ale that they perpetually have on tap. (They also feature a rotating selection of local Chicago area breweries on tap. Jim is a beer guy and he knows his beer.)
One of the specials they had that evening was a bowl of gumbo. I've had gumbo in a number of places over the years and this was very good. It featured chunks of chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp along with chunks of vegetables. I gave it a little more of a kick with some Tabasco sauce, but on its own it was very flavorful.
Surprisingly, the meat loaf that they serve on a regular basis is also very good. I think I make great meat loaf at home and having meat loaf in a restaurant is usually a dicey proposition. But the meat loaf they have at the Garden Grill and Bar is well above average. For one of their specials that evening they kicked it up a notch with a Cajun meat loaf. It featured Cajun spices on the meat loaf and a somewhat spicy sauce. Usually, their meat loaf comes with mashed potatoes, but the Cajun meat loaf came with white rice and a side of fresh sweet corn kernels. The spiciness on the meat loaf wasn't overly hot, but it was enough that it got my attention. It made me think that I could make a Cajun-style meat loaf at home, it tasted so good.
So, my little secret is now out. The Garden Grill and Bar has some excellent food for a hotel restaurant. The Cajun meat loaf special along with the gumbo they had that evening were both very good and hit the spot on a cold evening. But other things that I've had in the past have also been very good - surprisingly good considering most Hilton Garden Inn's that I've stayed at don't compare in the quality of the food served at the Hilton Garden Inn - O'Hare. The staff is always courteous, friendly, and helpful. This is my home-away-from-home when I go to Chicago for business and one of the reasons is the very good food they serve at the Garden Grill and Bar.
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