Chicago: Marshall Field [well, Macy's]: Walnut Room

OK, I know you’re going to think I’m crazy for talking about a restaurant in a department store, and an old one at that, but this place is a classic and I love it. This is what shopping downtown and having lunch during the excursion was all about in the heyday of American cities. I remember it from my smaller city experience with my mother at Buffum’s in Long Beach, and we are the poorer for its decline, both as a reprieve from the frenetic pace of shopping and the civilized stop for a fine lunch and conversation that it offered. Happily the Walnut Room remains a beacon in downtown Chicago, a reminder of a time gone by and yet still here. The room is elegant and formal; at my last visit the spring flower show was on and the room’s center was dominated by a huge fountain overflowing with flowers and flamingos . . . who could ask for more. Come for lunch or tea and don’t hurry. And, let the Macy’s goons know that this kind of place should be celebrated and cared for, rather than removed as has happened at Meier and Frank [Portland] and Wannamaker’s [Philadelphia] and I’m sure other of the old downtown landmarks no longer know by their “real” names.

The food at the Walnut Room is actually very good, updated luncheon fare from some of the chefs featured in the food hall of the store. The chicken pot pie arrives fragrant and steaming under its chapeau of puff pastry, just like it has for ages I’d imagine. Swedish meatballs with chive mashed potatoes, accompanied by the obligatory ligonberry sauce, updated by Marcus Samuelson, are heartier fare perfect for a chilly day [which was the case on my visit].

The wait staff seems to have been around for ages and is a perfect fit for the ambience of the room. Mostly women of a certain age and size, they graciously welcome guests into this sanctuary on the seventh floor and time slips away. Wonderful. When you’re in Chicago and on State Street, don’t miss the opportunity for a visit to the Walnut Room. My only complaint was the disappearance of the foil wrapped walnut candies that used to be presented with the check. They were a nice touch and I would celebrate their return.

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