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Headed to Chicago
Acebgd12
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Chicagoans/otherwise familiar people,
I'm visiting Chicago this weekend with the girlfriend, as I've generally heard it to be a fun and interesting place. I'd like to fill Saturday and Sunday with some decent adventures and good food. I have a few questions for my journey:
a) What are some fun things to do that aren't completely...touristy? I don't mind their being tourist attractions inherently, but I generally find them to be kind of boring. What types of things would actual people from Chicago do for fun? I enjoy "nature things" quite a bit and am generally open to anything.
b) What are some good and reasonably priced places to eat? Say, less than $25 a person excluding alcohol?
c) I'd like to save money by staying at a hotel in one of the suburbs. What would be my best bet on that front? I've heard Chicago is kind of a driving/parking nightmare as well, so what would be my best means of getting into the city and around the city?
I'm visiting Chicago this weekend with the girlfriend, as I've generally heard it to be a fun and interesting place. I'd like to fill Saturday and Sunday with some decent adventures and good food. I have a few questions for my journey:
a) What are some fun things to do that aren't completely...touristy? I don't mind their being tourist attractions inherently, but I generally find them to be kind of boring. What types of things would actual people from Chicago do for fun? I enjoy "nature things" quite a bit and am generally open to anything.
b) What are some good and reasonably priced places to eat? Say, less than $25 a person excluding alcohol?
c) I'd like to save money by staying at a hotel in one of the suburbs. What would be my best bet on that front? I've heard Chicago is kind of a driving/parking nightmare as well, so what would be my best means of getting into the city and around the city?
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There are a billion restaurants all over the city, and all of them are excellent. Just check Yelp mules you want specific suggestions on cuisine or neighborhood, then I could mention a few.
If you're not staying in the city proper, try to stay near the Blue Line near OHare, or somewhere along the Red Line to the north of the loop. The city's train system is excellent, and both the blue and red lines run 24 hours, meaning you'll never end up stranded when your plans run too late.
edit: and by Metra I mean http://www.metrarail.com, not the CTA ('L' train) that runs mostly within the city.
Even if they are touristy things to do, I'll still recommend the museums. The Field museum (natural history), Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, and the Art Institute are all fantastic. The river Architecture tours are also pretty nifty if you're into that kind of stuff.
I guess the Metra is now $7 on weekends, so $14 for the pair of you, whereas two trips on the CTA would be about $4.50 ($9 for two people going there and back once). Parking downtown would probably cost about $20. As far as good, relatively inexpensive food goes, if you like Italian I recommend Quartino (http://www.yelp.com/biz/quartino-chicago)
you can actually get 3-day passes for the CTA for $14 each (or 1 day passes for $5.75)
that'll get you unlimited rides on any of the CTA ('L') train lines and buses in the city, and is your best bet if you're staying near O'Hare and taking the train in. It's about a 35 minute ride from the Rosemont or Cumberland stops to the loop, so it's not too bad.
I'd still recommend against taking the Metra just because you're stuck on their schedule and it can be kind of a hassle. The last Metra trains out of union station are usually around 12:40 AM, meaning if you're up on the north side somewhere you're going to have to leave where you are before midnight.
For hot dogs, go to the Wiener's Circle.
For pizza, hit Lou Malnati's.
So many years of comedic genius stored up in that place.
As for accommodations, friends of mine have done places like http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/vac/1669611455.html and they've worked out wonderfully. 100 dollars a night and IN the city. Plus bucktown/wicker park has nothing but awesome restaurants and bars - so nightlife is fun.
If you find yourself in Wicker Park, have a fun time and go to The Violet Hour. It doesn't have any signage, just a yellow lightbulb above a door - but inside are delicious alcoholic concoctions and an air of pretension that shouldn't be missed.
Also, in wicker, there is a restaurant called Feast. I've only gone there for brunch but have gone several times, delicious!
If you're going to Quartino and are in that area, may I suggest a few options I find worlds better?
Rick Bayless is a ridiculously good chef, a top chef master, who specializes in mexican fare. He happens to own three exceptional restaurants in River North (Lasalle and Illinois are the cross streets), do yourself a favor and eat some tortas at Xoco (they're like 8 bucks each and are out of this world). Seriously, insanely good.
For dinner, try to get a reservation at Frontera Grill, it's next door to Xoco and outstanding.
If you decide you want something different for dinner, go to Avec. Last time I went there on a date I ended up dropping 80 bucks and that was for four courses (they're shared) and quite a few drinks.
A few years later I stayed with a friend who lived off the red line north of town, and that was much better. The train rides were much shorter and we didn't have to worry about scheduling as much. I would spend the extra money to find somewhere to stay that is at least on a CTA line and not in a sketchy part of town.
I really enjoyed the aquarium when I was there. It's pricey but worth it in my opinion. Get there early though, it gets crowded.
http://www.italianvillage-chicago.com/menu/italviDinner.swf
If you're willing to splurge on a meal, I highly recommend the Signature Room, which is on the 95th Floor of the Hankock building. You can't beat the views and the food, while expensive, is well worth it.
http://www.signatureroom.com/Cuisine/Dinner/
Other than that, I second the suggestion regarding the musems. Chicago has the best meseums/attractions in the country other than maybe D.C. (and yes, that includes New York and Boston). The Field Museum, Science and Industry Museum, and Shedd Aquarium are my favorites. Those also just happen to all be included in a Chicago CityPass http://www.citypass.com/chicago, along with the Adler Planetarium.
edit: Oh, and I agree with those who said you should avoid staying in the outlying areas if you can help it at all. Go to one of the travel sites and search for rooms in the Grant Park/Loop area or in Miracle Mile. You should be able to find something reasonably priced. Last time we were in Chicago, we did the "Name your Price" thing though Priceline and ended up paying about $90 a night at the Palmer House Hilton.
Do you like indian food? Indian Grill at 2258 Clark is fucking awesome. They have a lunch buffet too.
The Shedd Aquarium just renovated their Oceanarium, and it's awesome. See the Fantasea show. It's great. Sit in the middle, and up front so you get really close to the animals that walk down front.
If you like the outdoors, you can go up to the lake front and wander around. The weather is starting to get nice, so it should be fairly comfortable over there. You could poke around Navy Pier while you're there.
If you want a bar to hang out at, I really like Delilah's. Can get packed though.
Go see ComedySportz. www.comedysportzchicago.com
Pick up a copy of Time Out Chicago. It's a listings magazine that will let you know what's going on while you're in town.
http://craftbrewersconference.com/
There is a shit load of beer and beer related events going on all over Chicago.
I've never stayed at either, but last year when my fiancee and I were looking for venue's we looked at both, and both are nice. The Congress is pretty old school, in a good way. The best western is a best western (I've never had a bad experience in one, but its nothing to write home about). The other place you might look at is the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza; the location is pretty good, and the bar on the is in a really nice location; its got a great view of the loop from over the river. Although looking at their website it seems a little pricey this weekend.
The other bars that I can name with good view: the John Hancock, of course. The Hancock is expensive as a bar, but they don't charge you to go up the Signature room, which means that with one drink each it comes out near a wash versus the observation deck ($10 per ticket last I checked, which is probably five years ago now). Upsides: great view (apparently, the ladies room has a stunning view, but I am sadly barred). Downsides: crappy drinks, frequently crowded.
But that only takes us to the Trump. Not the bar on the second floor, but the one on 16, which is attached to the restaurant. Its small, but quiet, pricey as a bar but the quality of the drinks is in line with the price, and it has a stunning, stunning view. Unlike being on top of the Hancock or the -fuck- Willis Tower, it puts you in the skyline, at about the level of the Wrigley, and looking right at it. Its an amazing view. Go a little before sunset. Or during a thunderstorm.
For other stuff, I mostly second all the other recommendations here, although I find neither Hot Doug's nor Kuma's to be in especially sketchy neighborhoods. (To calibrate from Chicagoans: Rogers Park is probably my favorite neighborhood in Chicago, so. I do find the strip of Uptown near the redline/North Sheridan scary as fuck though, at least at night).
I shall shut up now, lest I further justify the windy city crack.
The metra is great in that it's safe. Most of the regular subway/el lines are a little shady.
The best thing in Chicago is the theater. Second City is a classic (improv, lots of Second City alums went to SNL.) Also Steppenwolf is famous for serious drama. But the little places are worth checking out. I like the Court Theater and sometimes the Remy Bumppo.
The other thing you want to check out is blues (but it's at tourist prices.)
I really like the Eleven City Diner (damn good deli food) on Wabash. We're also good at Indian food but that's a bit of a trek (the good stuff is in Devon) and Greek food (in Greektown, which is easy to get to.)
Like impressionists? Go to the Art Institute. Like history? Chicago Historical Society is awesome. Like the outdoors? Go bike or run or walk on the lakefront. Forever open, clear, and free, bitches.
http://numberblog.wordpress.com/
I'm from Chicago too!
The Congress is old, and the rooms reflect it. If you're looking for some "character" in your hotel, it certainly is a choice.
We stayed at the Hyatt on Wacker; it's a nice hotel recently updated. The InterContinental is also nice, I think more $$, though.