Noteworthy: The Walnut Room

I met mom and dad and cousin Verna at the Walnut Room in downtown Chicago after I conducted an after school in-service for the teachers at Salizar School on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. The school was only 1 mile away but with the crazy downtown Chicago traffic it took me a bit longer to get to my destination. I finally made it to the Walnut Room on the 7th floor of Macy's department store (formerly Marshall Field's) and we enjoyed a quick meal before heading across the street to the theatre.

The Walnut Room opened in 1907, and it is one of Chicago's oldest and most famous restaurants. The evolution of the Walnut Room on State Street in Chicago began when a member of the department store's millinery department brought homemade pot pies for her clients so they would not go hungry while shopping. A few years later, her pies became the central offering of the tea room. Demand called for more space, and in the late 1890s the very first restaurant in a department store was opened. The Walnut Room, the grand dame of our seventh-floor restaurants, soon grew to 17,000 square feet, with Circassian wood imported from Russia and Austrian chandeliers contributing to its elegance and comfort. Tourists and locals especially enjoy the Walnut Room at Christmas when you can dine under the 45-foot-tall Christmas tree decorated with 1,000 handmade ornaments.

We enjoyed the famous chicken pot pie and the beautiful Great Tree!