Gene & Georgetti

Sinatra loved the cole slaw at Gene and Georgetti’s. He loved it so much, the story goes, he used to have it boxed and sent to him in California. When "ole blue eyes" was at the top of the charts and the box office, this was his place in Chicago. And it still draws the famous and the infamous, local politicians huddling over a deal, movie producers and actors discussing a script, some mob guys – well – it’s good we shouldn’t know. Gene and Georgetti’s is the oldest steakhouse in Chicago.  It opened as a saloon in 1874 and was taken over by Gene Michelotti and Alfredo "Georgetti" Federighi in 1941.  Gene ran the bar and Georgetti did the cooking. Once inside the door it still feels like the 1940s.  Observe the wood paneled walls, a large oak bar, candles flickering under heavy wooden shades and a dark maroon carpet stretching across the floor.  Many waiters  have been around for years and are said to be able to memorize up to ten orders before giving them to the kitchen.  Watch waiters wearing white aprons dart between tables balancing platters of sizzling steaks covered with cottage fires, another specialty of the house that shouldn't be missed.