Dinner and a show at the house of blues

I know that if you eat there prior to a show you get first dibs for seats.Unfortunatly were to late for reservations Does anyone know if the food is good any suggestions?Were contimplating just getting there early and eating at china town Any good places besides hob in the walking area for a good drink Any info havent been there in a few years!TIA

Deb,

My suggestion, wine and cheese at Bin 36 before the show, dinner at Smith and Wollensky after. S & W's Grill Room, which has one of my favorite bars in the city, serves food until 2am, though some nights they may stop a bit earlier.

The Grill Room, which is downstairs, is very cozy, but not crowded in the least, and serves steaks, seafood and salads. S & W's steaks, in particular the Colorado, which is a bone-in dry-age prime beauty of a steak is, in my humble opinion, the best steak available in Chicago.

Speaking of steaks, I still love the original Morton's, but, on a simply meat based basis, S & W ekes out Morton's. My heart belongs to Morton's, my palate to Smith and Wollensky.

My wife and I have done this exact evening a couple of times, Bin 36, show at HOB, Smith and Wollensky Grill Room. Far as I'm concerned it's one of the more perfect big city evenings available in this pretty perfect big city.

Have fun.

Enjoy,
Gary

I ate at House of Blues once, and was far from impressed. Despite it's Cajun theme, the food was bland and tasteless. The portions were tiny. The room was cold and draughty. The bathroom was foul. The waiter was unhelpful, hard-to-find and only smiled when presenting the bill.

Overall, I left with the impression that this place was, simply, a tourist trap.

But to be fair, all this was about four years ago. Perhaps things have changed!

Also having a House of Blues here in town, I can attest to the "tourist trap chic" they can pull off. However, the kitchen attempts to be adventursome at times, but ultimately the majority of the dishes come off like an expedient, just to cater to the lowest common denominator of palates. Come on. How many permutations of spinach/artichoke dip and chicken fingers can one COUNTRY maintain?

All that being said, my host for tomorrow's stay in Chicago is a server at the HOB's Foundation Room , and with his being adept in all matters gustatory, I can see what he may reccommend, and I'll respond here POST HASTE.