Rick's Cafe, a few doors south of the Sheridan Red Line Stop, is BYOB and I've had great food and experience both times I've been there.

For Breakfast, I'd suggest Tweet. Get the quiche or smoked salmon.
For Lunch, you have to go to Hot Doug's. Get a Chicago Dog for sure, but also one of their game dogs or other specialty dogs. Get the duck fat fries if you are there on a day they do them.
Pho on Argyle street is a good break in the action as well for lunch, or breakfast.
Dinner at The Hop Leaf will get you amazing beer and solid food; get the sausage plate for sure.
Oh, and Lula cafe, for brunch or dinner is top-notch, definitely recommended.

As for the places you are planning on, I can't really say. I know that, not being born in Chicago, I don't really care for Chicago-style pizza. Coming from New York, I'm curious if you will, either, but definitely think you should try it for a true Chicago experience. The others on this post will certainly be able to tell you more about where to go for that for sure.

Welcome to Chicago, and have fun!

Indeed I did get a bagel. I thought it was better than most I've had here; perfectly chewy on the outside, brazenly crunchy on the outside...and I love the caraway on the everything bagel. But it was so satisfying to sit in the car eating the cream cheese with my finger...mmmmm....oh, and their rugula isn't bad, either...

Not that I know of in the NW burbs, sorry--but they do have it at Paulina Meat Market on Lincoln just after Belmont...or you can order online at:
http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.asp...
...but you won't get to bask in the lovely smoky smell of the cured meats at Paulina...SO worth the trip...and the guys are super friendly.

Are you curing some meats at home?

I second the recommendation of Terragusto, and definitely the one for Ante Prima. Very quaint and cozy there, a really nice room, and servers who seem like they've been there for years despite the fact it opened maybe two months ago. And the dish described with housemade lamb sausage is great...

Alice and Friends just north of Hollywood on Broadway is actually really good. It's a vegan place,and I am a serious carnivore, so that's a glowing endorsement.

Kopi Cafe is decent (on Clark street north of Foster), but service is horrendous. Yet I somehow return there. I don't know why. I think I like the idea of it. And the food isn't bad. Just have a lot of time on your hands when you go.

Also, get a good bottle of vinegar, buy a loaf of bread at the Green City Market on Saturday or Wednesday, soak it with said vinegar, pile it with sprouts/tomatoes/lettuce/other veg from GCM and sit on the lakeshore. Best low-cal meal ever. Welcome to Chicago, and good luck!

I'd add:
-The Hop Leaf, which is about a 10 minute walk west from the Berwyn stop, but so worth it for the food, beer and the nice walk through a nice neighborhood.
-A few blocks North on Clark (so add a few more minutes to your walk)is Ante Prima--a great, beautiful Italian-styled place.
-A place called Rick's Cafe off the Sheridan stop (a few doors South)--a smalll, husband and wife run French Bistro--delish and quaint.
-Standard India Restaurant off the Belmont stop--worst name, worst decor (it is truly a dump) but delicious buffet Indian food--and BYOB.
-La Tavernetta off the Belmont stop (East to Broadway, then down a few blocks. it is a basement place, looks funny from the outside, but super quaint and good fresh pasta and great cannoli.
-In the aptly named "Viagra Triangle" (see above post), Dublin's has a great skirt steak. Get it rare with extra butter...
-Arco De Cuchilleros off the Belmont Stop, around Roscoe and Halsted, great Sangira and tapas and atmosphere
-Bittersweet Bakery West of the Belmont stop.
-Off Argyle, I like Pho 777 best for Pho.
-I second Moody's west of Thorndale.
-Coffee at Metropolis east of the Granville stop is the city's best in my opinion.

And I think that's all I got right now. Good luck!

Today, I think I died and went to heaven, and I have you guys to blame (well, in part, I guess). I went to NY Bagel and Bialy; indeed they DO make their own cream cheese, and indeed it is sublime. Thanks for the tips!

La Tavernetta at 3023 N. Broadway has my favorite Cannoli...a little family run basement spot. The best I've had...

Awesome leads--thanks, guys...

Aigre Doux is definitely the "it" new restaurant right now, and Alinea is a perennial winner. Sepia is also new; the food isn't contrived and is grounded firmly in solid technique.

For more laid back and reservation free type places, I always recommend Lula Cafe--in my opinion, one of the best restaurants in Chicago (laid back, top-notch local ingredients, pretention-less cooking, and a menu that will allow you to eat splendidly for 10 bucks OR a month of rent). Another solid laid back place is called Ante Prima in Andersonville--top notch, opened a couple months ago, but feels like it's been there for years...

HAVE FUN!

louweezy--thanks so much for the response. I've been pulling teeth trying to get some sort of lead. It all started when I was reading Calvin Trillin's 1974 book, "America Fried". In the essay entitled "A Sunday Morning Tale", Trillin describes his grief when a place in NYC called Ben's Dairy started closing on Sunday's, therefore dooming his weekly trip to Houston Street to assemble ingredients for the world's greatest bagel and lox--a trip that necessitated three stops--one for bagels, one for smoked salmon, and one for Ben's housemade cream cheese.

So I got to thinking, there has got to be a place in a city as great as Chicago that does their own cream cheese. I'm making my own this afternoon, but I also want a place that will be at the ready for any gluttonous cream cheese needs that may arise in the future. Plus, they would be sure to do it better than I could any day.

It's tough. Homemade products are hit or miss these days--by which I mean to say it is all or nothing--it is done or it isn't. This cream cheese quest is one of the more formidable ones I have faced in recent weeks; there has to be someplace out there!

Thanks for the lead!

-Hugh

Does anyone know of a place in Chicago that not only has great cream cheese, but MAKES their Cream Cheese in house?