The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Things to do in Chicago!
bioreboot
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I will be in Chicago next weekend, through Monday. Trying to come up with a good list of places to visit, any help is appreciated (touristy places, food places, boat rides, architecture, tours, etc).
Not a huge baseball fan, so the field is out. So far I am planning on hitting the Art Institute, Navy Pier, and possibly the Aquarium. What do you guys think?
Not a huge baseball fan, so the field is out. So far I am planning on hitting the Art Institute, Navy Pier, and possibly the Aquarium. What do you guys think?
bioreboot on
0
Posts
California Clipper.
The Empty Bottle.
Swank Franks.
Taste of Randolf Street will be that weekend.
For pizza, Lou Malnati's is the general local favorite, though I like Gino's East too. For a classier evening, Tru is tops, along with the InterContinental or The Drake for cocktails. Signature Room in The Hancock building is quite a sight.
Home Inspection and Wind Mitigation
http://www.FairWindInspections.com/
Those look like some nice clubs, thank you.
Google seems to claim that Swank Franks is closed... replaced by a BofA... Too bad, seemed like a place I'd really like.
The boat architecture tour is an awesome idea! Thank you! And thank you for the festival tip, that looks quite interesting.
Lou's looks perfect too. The classier stuff seems way out of my price range though... maybe I'll be able to convince my self to go to one of those places when I'm there though...
Downtown Chicago for the first 2 days, Rosemont for the next 3. Don't ask.
Excellent!
It really is. So is the art museum, but you already have that on your list.
There's also the Field Museum that has the best T-Rex skeleton in the world. Wish I had gotten to see that.
Uno's or Lou's... can't decide... will have to do both.
Not to derail this thread but...
Nice Avatar! I prefer Lion :P
Yeah, they're all about the same. Gino's is the most "touristy."
Sorry to hear about Rosemont, :P The train (El - Blue Line) is right there, so you can get downtown pretty easily if you're not going to have a car. Stuff farther away would be the Botanic Gardens, which is reachable by train (Metra).
Do try to get to the Signature Room, even if just for a beer. The views are pretty incredible.
I don't even play =P. I did pick up a bunch of the last core set, and really liked the themes for Mantis. And needed an avatar, my old one having gone MIA.
Sears Tower or whatever it's called now can be neat, but I'd put it far below most of these other suggestions.
also the Wicker Park area is full of great restaurants and bars within walking distance of the Damen blue line stop. I'd recommend The Violet Hour for cocktails, Coast for Sushi, seeing what bands are playing at The Double Door or Subterranean, and Estelle's for late night booze. If you're more in a mood for Mexican over Sushi, go to Big Star for the pork belly tacos, and stay for the whiskey.
If you want to head out that way, the Brookfield Zoo is cool. Stingray Bay is open, and you can pet some Stingrays. If you get there early, you can feed them. Last year I had a membership to the Shedd, this year to the Zoo.
I second the Museum of Science and Industry. It's really cool. Get there early though if you want the u-boat tour. It was sold out last time I went.
I like Delilah's for drinking the boozes.
Grab a copy of Time Out Chicago when you're in town. It's a listings magazine that will give you a ton of things to doo.
Is it wrong that I just imagined a whole scenario of American Dad/Simpson's style mafia characters fighting over a pizza recipe? Handicapped Mafia style?
Yea neither do I these days. Really fun game though.
I'm hoping to do Sears Tower for sure... but I'm afraid I will literally soil my self if I walk out into this.
I will once again echo having a beer or two at the Signature Room, preferably at night, it is a sight to behold.
For Navy Pier, there is the SeaDog massive speed boat tour thing which is pretty cool since it will take you out on the lake so you can get a view of the entire (imho) best skyline in the world.
I will recommend you avoid the whole Ontario area though with the Rock and Roll McDonalds, it's kind of a touristy place for the suburbanites which I've never really cared for at all.
I can't think of anything else though that hasn't been mentioned. Oh if you're a fan of sausages/encased meats, you absolutely need to check out Hot Dougs, this guy has the absolute best hot dogs and gourmet sausages known to man, and if you go on a fri/sat you can get the homemade fries fried in Duck Fat, it's heaven. As a tip though, call ahead and place an order or you will be waiting in line for a the minimum of an hour. That's how good this guys hot dogs are...
Millennium Park and the Chicago Bean (Cloud Gate) are popular locations, they're quite nice places to just walk around and well, everyone loves the Bean. Just at the north west corner of the park is the Chicago Cultural Center. It's a beautiful location on the inside with free art exhibits that are neat, live music (usually orchestral) can be found there and the staff are also super helpful. It's actually a really useful center, while there are lots of brochures, I find the cultural center to be an attraction in itself.
Depending on if you have a car or not, some of these suggested museum campuses will be harder to get to than others. The Art Institute is easily accessible and MichaelLC and I have been to the Hancock's Signature Lounge. If I can only show people a couple things in Chicago, this is always on the list whether or not they drink. There's snacks and non-alcoholic beverages available here. It costs you nothing to go up although you're expected to eat something, it's not actually required if you show up and walk around.
If you're much of a night life person, I'd second the vote for Wicker Park as it's my neighborhood and I can vouch for it. Violet Hour is a nice, although pricey, cocktail lounge. Across the street from it is Big Star, an extremely affordable bar & taco stand. Both are incredibly close to the blue line Wicker Park stop. Depending on your transportation and budget and eating habits, I'd highly recommend The Publican. It is so delicious.
You should also check out Wikitravel for Chicago.
Best fast food burger in Chicago, by far, and one of the top 5 burgers in the city period. They also make a fantastic chocolate banana milkshake that has made a believer out of everyone I've managed to talk into trying it. On River Road, half a mile or so north of Touhy, and easy to get to from pretty much anywhere in Rosemont if you have wheels.
Lots of other good suggestions thus far, though I'd avoid overdoing the stuffed pizza. Get an Italian beef at some point, as it's a preferable local specialty imo. In the city I'd go with Al's if possible, or a Portillo's if not. Buona Beef if neither is doable for some reason, I suppose, but only in a pinch.
Hot Dougs is great but I hate to recommend it to visitors given the usual wait. Consider the rather similar Franks n’ Dawgs at 1863 N. Clybourn in the city. Very new, not all that well known yet, but getting lots of praise. They do a hot dog/sausage created by a different notable local chef each month, this month's: The Veal Deal consists of a Veal Sausage, Preserved Lemon Aioli, Pickled Golden Raisins, Capers and Crispy Sweetbreads.
The Violet Hour is a great rec - best cocktails in the city. Big Star gets way too crowded, but the pork belly tacos are worthwhile if you don't have to wait too long. They do a great dulce de leche milkshake as well.
The Field Museum ($29) is pretty neat, especially the "Evolving Planet" exhibit (dinosaurs, man!), but it is kind of on the expensive side. Shedd Aquarium ($29) is always a favorite for me, even if the dweebs moved the jellies downstairs in a corner for no good reason. You can get a cheaper aquarium-only ticket if you don't want to see the oceanarium, just ask about it. I think they're around $10. Adler Planetarium ($10 exhibits only, or $19 includes one show) is kind of fun but small, and I think better for a younger (8-12) audience, but if you're a kid at heart it's neat, and it can be a good place to go if you only want to spend an hour. Museum of Science and Industry ($15 entry, +$8 U-boat tour) can be interesting, though it doesn't appeal to me as much as some of the other places. The Art Institute ($18) is awesome, I'm particularly fond of the miniatures exhibit, so if you go there I recommend making sure to see those.
If you're planning on going to multiples of these museum-places, you can get a city pass that covers the Field Museum, Aquarium, Museum of Science & Industry, and Adler Planetarium ($69) and save yourself some money. The Art Institute is not covered under this, though.
I don't know how much traveling you're going to want to do, but Brookfield Zoo is fun, has a new area for the bears that's supposed to be cool (just opened, haven't gotten there yet) and has their ray touch-tank right now, which is always fun. That's outside the city, though, so I don't know if that's in your plans.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
If you can stand the hour+ wait on any given day, it'll be the best burger you've ever had.
For food, I can't recommend the Hop Haus enough. Freaking AMAZING burgers and app's. If you go, get the mac and cheese instead of fries for your side - it's basically lasagna with tons of cheese and nothing else and is so awesome.
Hopeless Gamer
I class Kuma's with Hot Dougs - awesome for locals, but not worth the time for anyone visiting for a short period (not just due to the inevitable wait, but also because their locations are not terribly convenient for people trying to see Chicago). Also, while the wide array of unusual toppings makes for some very tasty combinations, the burgers fall short of quite a few places in the city if you compare apples to apples. Er, beef patties to beef patties. Still a great place.
I'm with Ketar on these viewpoints of Hot Doug's and Kuma's. Both are delicious, but not really worth the hype/wait that they receive. Don't get me wrong now, it's just that I feel like both places are lauded far more often than they are worth when you factor in wait time and comparatively delicious meats at other locations. And they are inconvenient to get to without a car.
This place is actually quite intriguing. I am of Eastern European decent, and have yet to find a restaurant that does it as well as Grandma. Will certainly have to try this out.
well, maybe. I'd recommend Franks n Dawgz over Hot Dougs just because they have business hours that might be able to accommodate a reasonable person, but there aren't many places in the city that do the burgers-with-interesting-toppings thing better than Kuma's. A few are pretty close (I've heard good things about the Bad Apple in North Center) but Kuma's is more well known, and I feel like it's really become more of a touristy go-to spot than anything else. I normally can't be arsed to wait two hours for a burger on a weeknight, but for people visiting the city, it's a big destination.
also, both Kuma's and Hot Dougs are within walking distance of the Belmont blue line stop (or you can transfer to the Belmont bus if you're lazy), so transportation isn't much of an issue if you're taking the blue line to get around anyway.
http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articles/youve-never-been-5-things-bob-odenkirk-recommends,41060/
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
OMFG CHICAGO IS AWESOME!
Also, in almost reverse order of me visiting the sites:
1) Aquarium : "B+" We actually ran out of both time and energy when we got to this place, it seemed to be pretty interesting, but with 1 hour left till closing, and us being tired and hungry, this didn't really tickle my pickle. I can definitely see myself enjoying it much more if I had more time to explore.
2) Science and Industry: "C-" First of, this is my grade for everything but the submarine. The submarine alone is an "A+" and made the trip down there entirely worth it The rest of the place however, was very much kid oriented. and I found it difficult to find exhibits that were interesting or warranted the price tag. This may have been due to going to the terrific submarine tour first, and then exploring everything else later.
4) Wandella's Sunset Boat Cruise: "A+" I set this up to be the last event we did in Chicago and I was not disappointed. Was very happy I brought my sweater though, as around 9pm out on the lake it got a bit chilly. Terrific sights, the guide was very knowledgeable. As luck would have it my camera batteries died right as we set sail, but none the less a terrific time. Made me truly appreciate all the architecture and get a much clearer picture of the local as a whole.
5) Sears Tower: "A" Long lines are none the less worth the admission to the tallest building I will probably ever be in. The view is incredible. The elevator ride up is kinda fun. The ledge is terrifying. There were people jumping up and down on it. I was barely able to make my way out onto it.
6) Art Institute: "A" We only had an hour in here, I wished we had more time, but I could spend days in there w/o getting bored. My only regret was not devoting more time to this place.
7) Signature Room: "B+" We did this before sears tower, so it was actually much more impressive at the time we did it, but after sears tower it seems less amazing. The food was so-so, but you're not going for the food right? Again, great place to take pictures, and a much more relaxed and casual atmosphere than sears tower.
8) Navy Pier: "C" This may be because we went there in the morning, and most shops were closed. There wasn't much to do, and besides the incredible views of the coastline and cityscape I did not find a lot of interesting stuff to do. Supposedly there are theaters and what not inside, but it felt like a mall, and we were pressed for time so we left before exploring that.
9) Millennium Park, The Bean, and the fountain in the middle. "A" I got to do this the first night in Chicago, the park was terrific to walk through at night, the bean was incredible, and the fountain equally impressive. Why didn't anyone mention it was the fountain from Married with Children??
Food:
1) Garret's: "A" Prices are a bit steep, but definitely a must try.
2) Lou Malnati's: "B" The stuffed pizza I got did not have the sauce on top, I thought that was a requirement of Chicago deep dish pizza? The pizza itself was quite good, but again, not what I was expecting, and outdone by the below.
3) Giordano's: "A-" Terrific, the cheeses were delicious, and even great cold the next day. My only quibble is the actual sauce, which despite being on top as I had hoped, was a bit too acidic for my taste.
4) Jimmy John's: "B" Not sure if this is a Chicago only chain or not, as I had never seen these before, but the one I walked into had extremely fresh vegetables, fluffy and delicious rolls, and tasty tuna salad. Maybe I got lucky, but if you are going into a fast food chain sub place in Chicago, I think this is tops.
Overall the trip was fantastic and I did not want to leave. Also, I'm now dreaming about moving there.
Thank you everyone for your ideas and opinions, your help was huge in getting this trip planned out and hitting all the spots I would enjoy the most!
I cut out the unimportant bits, 8-)
Glad you had a good time! The museums are pretty close to what you saw, though I wish you had more time at the Shedd, it's often the best. Sadly the Science hasn't really kept up with the times. I actually like the views better from the Hancock (Signature Room) than the Sears, so awesome you got to do both. All I can do is apologize for Navy Pier, but we take no responsibility for Jimmy John's; it's a national chain. There's fireworks sometimes at the Pier, if that helps. Yeah, there's plans to redo most of it.
Well, Jimmy John's did start in Illinois, near EIU, and is currently headquartered in Champaign. So an Illinois chain, if not a Chicago one.
Navy Pier is mainly a tourist trap, but a visit now and then for specific purpose is alright. The Chicago Shakespeare Theater there can be worthwhile, and Toy Story 3 on the IMAX at Navy Pier looked amazing.
I still like the S&I museum. Thpppth to everyone who doesn't