Season's Eatings: Holidays at The Walnut Room

The Wine Bar at The Walnut Room stocks more than 100 wines by the bottle and features a 36-foot walnut communal table

It’s hard to believe that a simple homemade chicken potpie launched an international department store dining trend and spawned a century of cherished traditions for Chicagoans. But it happened right here, at the iconic Marshall Field’s flagship, now home to the Macy’s State Street store.

The story goes that in the early 1890s, Mrs. Hering, a saleswoman in the millinery department, would bring in a chicken pot pie to share with her hungry customers back in the stock room. Once word of this custom spread, Marshall Field decided the store needed a place for its customers to dine, so he wouldn’t lose their business at lunch. He decided to sell Mrs. Hering’s pot pies on a larger scale in the South Tearoom—the world’s first restaurant in a department store—which opened in April 1890 on the third floor, with just 15 tables.

Eventually the overwhelming demand for the pies led to the creation of The Walnut Room, a massive dining area on the seventh floor. Opened September 30, 1905, the restaurant took its current name from the imported Circassian walnut that panels the walls and gives the room its comfortably elegant charm.

Fast forward more than 100 years: The original Circassian walnut paneling still shines, and the sconces and chandeliers first installed in 1907 are still intact. Those elements nicely complement contemporary accents, including the relatively new wine bar. On peak days, namely during the holiday season, the restaurant attracts more than 5,000 visitors, both tourists and locals alike. In fact, for many Chicagoans, the holiday season is just not complete without a trip to the State Street store to take in the holiday joy.

“If you grew up in Chicago, you have a memory of going to The Walnut Room with your parents or grandparents,” says Neal Zucker, who held his 45th birthday party at the restaurant last year because he knew everyone who walked in would have a memory of it. “The classics—the pot pie, the Frango mint desserts—they taste just as good [today] as they did back then,” Zucker attests.

	The famous chicken pot pie that started it all.

In addition to a dose of comfort food, visitors make the pilgrimage to The Walnut Room to see the Great Tree, a 45-foot behemoth with more than 2,000 ornaments and more than 15,000 sparkling LED lights. This year’s Great Tree, dubbed “Macy’s Star-Studded Believe Tree,” is decked with glittering ornaments inspired by Macy’s celebrity designers (Martha Stewart, Rachel Roy, and Tommy Hilfiger among them) and is surrounded by 14 seven-foot trees.

At many restaurants, the idea of an hours-long wait induces eye rolls and groans, but at The Walnut Room, it’s just an opportunity to take in the department store’s holiday sparkle. Guests are issued a pager (a decidedly modern touch) and are free to take a closer look at the State Street windows (although the pager doesn’t work outside the store), get a jump-start on holiday shopping, or just meander through the festive décor as classic Christmas carols fill the air. Those who are too eager to wait to dig into Mrs. Hering’s 1890 Original Chicken Pot Pie, the Asiago Crusted Chicken Breast, or the Field’s Special Salad (actually an open-face sandwich of turkey, Swiss cheese, applewood-smoked bacon, tomato, and egg on rye), can tuck in at the first-come, first-served wine bar.

And it wouldn’t feel like a holiday—or a visit to The Walnut Room—without a dose of Frango chocolates. We prefer ours in the form of the Frango mint ice cream pie, a permanent favorite on the menu, but a super best seller come holiday time. 111 N. State St., 312-781-3125