We went to the Sundays On State street festival on this beautiful Chicago summer day. There was lots of singing and dancing and we got hungry and went into the old Marshall Field’s store (some people call it “Macy’s”). One of the few remaining grand department stores.
The Walnut Room has been serving lunch since 1907. It’s a lovely place for lunch, and yes, it has a lot of walnut.
My grandmother would take me there as a treat when I was a tot.
They also have drag show brunches.
But I don’t remember that from when I was little.
I had their signature chicken pot pie, “based on the original 1890 recipe”. It’s interesting to taste a little of what people ate way back when. The bowl in this promotional picture is labelled “Marshall Field and Company”, but mine said “The Walnut Room”. I don’t know if they really have any bowls left that say “Marshall Field”. That just doesn’t seem like something Macy’s would allow.
The maitre d’ came by and I told him it was just like it was sixty years ago. He said that he hears that a lot.
The Walnut Room is on the seventh floor, and although CVH does not like elevators, she likes stairs and escalators even less. The elevators have been modernized a little in the last sixty years; for example, the lady in the corner who took you up and down is no longer there.
The elevators still have mechanical annunciators. I thought the sound was really neat, but the scrape-clunk-ding just made my wife nervous. And when all the button lights went out and the elevator zipped down to the ground floor she was not reassured. The sign on the elevator that said “Out of Order” didn’t exactly help, either. These elevators are victims of deferred maintenance. Who knows how much longer the store will be open….
