Fullscreen in Lion is not the same as Fullscreen in ANY other OS at all. It's a totally new paradigm. Each application window that is put in fullscreen gets its own space, i.e. virtual desktop, and can be switched between via trackpad gestures or key command. It's truly amazing.
But currently Chrome only supports the old-world style Fullscreen where the app window takes over the entire desktop and doesn't give it up until you leave fullscreen.
Trust me, in Lion, you will want to use Fullscreen. Everything has it now. iTunes, Mail, iCal, Safari as well as all the iLife and iWork applications. When Chrome supports that, it'll be a dream. And side tabs will just make it so much better.