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Visiting Chicago, What Should I Do?
The Crowing One
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I'm off tomorrow for a business trip to the windy city. Now, I love the city and have been there many times, but I've always stayed up in the Lincoln Park area where my former employer held their meetings.
This time, I'm staying at Swissotel and I have no idea where I'm actually spending the next week as I'm totally unfamiliar with the location.
Anyone know what's up in that area? Anything I need to know or should keep an eye out for? What about restaurants, bars etc? how's the nightlife down there?
This time, I'm staying at Swissotel and I have no idea where I'm actually spending the next week as I'm totally unfamiliar with the location.
Anyone know what's up in that area? Anything I need to know or should keep an eye out for? What about restaurants, bars etc? how's the nightlife down there?
The Crowing One on
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You're close to Millennium Park, too, but if you've been to the city at all someone has already taken you to see it. There's a shiny bean there.
The Art Institute is awesome.
If you want to go somewhere totally bizarre and a bit under the radar, you could hop on the L and head to the Museum of Holography. It's really cheesy and small but it's just odd and interesting that such a place exists. You can probably breeze through it in 30-60 minutes but it's only 5 bucks. Here's the link: http://www.centerstagechicago.com/other/holography.html
Not too sure about downtown bars. Once I got really drunk and stumbled into a place called Jilly's where everyone was at least 35 and gin and tonics cost $9. If you're interested: http://www.jillyschicago.com/
That area (a bit north of your hotel) is called the Viagra Triangle in the local parlance, for reasons that will become all too apparent if you venture across its borders: Chicago Ave on the south, State on the West, with Rush St being the hypotenuse.
Holography looks interesting.
I'll pass on Jilly's. I'm sure there are better places within stumbling distance.
And because you mentioned it, I'll have to see this "Viagra Triangle" for myself. I may hate you next week, though.
Considering I'll be with a bunch of Foreclosure Intervention counselors, "0% Down, 100% Screwed" at the ETC looks pertinent.
The Viagra Triangle is a bit of a hike north - walkable, but possibly preferably cabbed as well. It's basically the area between Rush & Division to the north and Rush & Delaware or so to the south. A lot of eateries, bars, and clubs along that route. On Division at Rush you get a 1 block stretch of after-hours bars that becomes probably the busiest nightlife area in Chicago past 1am or so on a Friday or Saturday. Pretty much all of the bars there are best described as meat markets though, so keep that in mind - none of them really have any character, and especially not on a weekend night.
Think about grabbing dinner at The Gage on Michigan Ave one night - between Madison and Monroe across from Millenium Park. It's pricey, but they have some really unusual dishes there like antelope tartare, and a lot of game meats. The food is good and I'd recommend it despite the expense.
Kuma's - they have great burgers on their menu, like the Goblin Cock (hot dog on top of the burger patty w/bacon, cheddar, neon green relish, mustard) and the Lair of the Minotaur (onions, brie cheese, bourbon soaked pears [yes, pears]) and the Plague Bringer (roast garlic mayo, hot sauce, jalapenos, more garlic). They have normal stuff, too.
http://www.kumascorner.com/
Hot Doug's - the best Chicago style hot dog in town, they also have all kinds of exotic tube-shaped foods. Where else can you get an antelope sausage?
http://www.hotdougs.com/
My recommendation is if your not into the meat market of the Viagra Triangle area (rush/division) head back up to Lincoln Park. There are some really great bars in that area like The Lion Head Pub (I love table tappers and half priced Thursdays).
But for the touristy things, definitely see the Art Institute, Millenium Park. They just installed glass boxes at the top of the Sears tower so that brave souls may venture out and actually look straight down through the glass. The river architecture tours are actually pretty cool too if you catch a nice day. Lots and lots to do here.
Good eats anywhere near that area? I'll be there for several days by myself, then on the weekend my bf will come up and he's never been to Chicago either. Is there anything I should save to see with him vs stuff I should see myself?
I can has cheezburger, yes?
You shut your filthy mouth.
It's 'Comiskey Park' and 'Sears Tower' until I'm dead and buried, then you can call it whatever the hell you want.
Shedd Aquarium.
Shedd Aquarium (http://www.sheddaquarium.org/)
Museum of Science and Industry (http://www.msichicago.org/)*
Sears Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Tower)
The Magnificent Mile (http://www.themagnificentmile.com/)
The Navy Pier (http://www.navypier.com/)
Northwestern University (http://www.northwestern.edu/)
Check out the Hunt Club for some hot chicks and drinks and visit the Frog Bar late night for some good food and beer. Also, the House of Blues is, well, the House of Blues. There's a great sushi place right across the stree from Grant Park further down South. Can't remember the name of it.
Ninja chop!
*Seriously. This is fucking rad.
Yes, only if you can stand hordes of children running around you, in front of you, behind you, into you, into each other. Try to go during the week when it's less crowded if you really want to go.
What sort of things do you like to do? There's lots of stuff to do in Chicago.
School has started in most districts. Go on a week day and it shouldn't be too bad. Also, you could not hate children.
Where's a good place to go to try deep-dish pizza?
Also, are all of these places people are mentioning open past 6pm? I don't know about The Crowing One but I'm going to be stuck doing work stuff every day until about then.
Giordano's for deep dish, in second place Lou Malnatti's (really comes down to your preference of sauce: Lous for a chunkier more watery sauce and Giordanos for a thicker sauce, though I do love how with Lous you can get a solid sausage patty as a layer of the pizza), and screw everything else unless it's a mom and pop shop that has come recommended. Everyone comes to Chicago and just has to go to that big Ginos East but I personally think it's crap as far as deep-dish goes.
As for things open past 6, you just have to get out of the loop. Both of you Chicago visitors are staying in the loop which is our financial district, which kinda shuts down around 6-8ish.
Of those three, I'm a fan of Lou's too; if not just for the sausage patty.
There's a pizza place on the North side called Pequod's that has the best pan crust pizza I've ever had.
If you want some more Chicago cuisine you need to find a Harold's Chicken Shack.
Italian beef is a wonderful Chicago invention, but I'm not sure the best places to go for it. A cursory googling suggests Al's Beef, but I can't vouch for it.
You're going to be very close to the restaurant I recommended earlier, The Gage, and that will definitely be open for dinner. So will all of the pizza places. I'd probably recommend Lou's as the top choice as well, though I do order from Giordano's on occasion and it is a perfectly acceptable Chicago stuffed pizza.
A lot of options in your area will shut down early though - the Loop just isn't a good place for nightlife outside of theater and restaurants that accommodate the pre or post theater crowd, for the most part.
Go west to Halsted and Adams and check out Greektown one evening. My personal recommendation would be Greek Islands right at that corner, but most of the restaurants there are worthy, and if the weather is nice one of the others with outdoor/rooftop seating might be preferable.
Go north on Michigan Ave. at least one evening over to the Water Tower area. Preferably on a Fri or Sat evening if you're up for splurging a little (or a lot). The old water tower itself is an interesting piece of Chicago history, and definitely stands out in the midst of all the skyscrapers around there. For the ultimate night, make dinner reservations for the Signature Room up near the top of the John Hancock building and enjoy the view and the food, follow that up with a horse-drawn carriage ride departing from any of a number of spots next to or near the old water tower, and then make your way to the Lobby of the nearby Peninsula Hotel for the Chocolate Bar - basically the ultimate buffet of chocolate desserts of all types. Only offered on Fri/Sat evenings, it's pretty much the ultimate dessert experience in Chicago. On Sat nights they usually have a live jazz trio playing, check the hotel's website to see if they do on Fridays now as well, or not.
Of course, you could tone down the splurging a little by going up to the bar connected with the Signature Room for a drink or two and still get the great view, have dinner at Food/Life in the basement of the Water Tower shopping mall next to the Hancock building (high-end food court, with many options available but in all likelihood a total bill for 2 of under $30), just walking around and enjoying the old water tower area, and then still doing the Chocolate Bar at the Pen. Seriously, don't miss the Chocolate Bar, it's one of my wife's favorite evening activities in the city, and we try to visit at least twice a year
Pequod's isn't quite what it used to be, but still good. It's at Clybourn and Webster, so a bit out of the way, and unfortunately with not a lot else to offer in the area. Though if you went by for lunch perhaps, Vanille is right down the street and that may be Chicago's #1 bakery - certainly the best French pastry option in the city.
Harold's is...Harold's. I like it, but not a must for tourists.
Al's is the best Italian beef option in the city. Failing that, grab one at a Portillo's. The best Italian beef in Chicago is at Johnnies in Elmwood Park, but that's way out of the way unless someone really wants to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright homes and Hemingway museum in Oak Park.
Aquarium of the Smokies (Gatlinburg, Tennessee)
Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, Georgia)
Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
If you're gonna do something educational in Chicago, hit the Field Museum.
LMAO @ Viagra Triangle!
If you're in for some superb, real, chicago pizza, do yourself a favor and hit Gino's. Don't try to do so during peak times, though - when my son and I were up there a few weeks back, the line at the location off of Michigan Avenue was literally 200+ people deep just to get in the building (at 6:30 PM or so).
We came back at 10:30 and walked right in.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Also, while the Field Museum is alright, the two museums that tend to be most popular with visitors are the Art Institute, and the Museum of Science and Industry. The only catch with the MSI is that it's in the Hyde Park neighborhood in the south side, and not terribly convenient unless you have a rental car. If you did want to visit, and to take public transportation there, go with the Metra South Shore line rather than the Red or Green El lines. Both let you out far enough west that you would have to take a bus from either stop, and neither lets you out in a good neighborhood. The Metra stop is much closer - walking distance, and in the middle of a nicer residential area.
I found the food to be amazing - and I normally avoid deep dish like the plague.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Nom nom nom
It just isn't as good as other, particularly smaller, pizza places. Why is that? Well, obviously that will come down to personal preference for a lot of people, but one commonly cited reason I hear is a lack of consistency in the quality of the pizzas they put out. I don't like their crust as much as a number of other places, personally. Beyond that though, it's overpriced because they know the tourists will pay for the name - a pizza from Gino's is more expensive than comparable pizzas at Coalfire or Spacca Napoli that are vastly superior. It's also much too crowded, and the atmosphere blows.
The best pizza places in Chicago are Great Lake (recently named #1 in the country by GQ magazine), Coalfire, Spacca Napoli, Burt's Place in Morton Grove, and Pequod's, imo. Lou Malnati's would be the best of the chains, with Giordano's being acceptable for a stuffed pizza. There are innumerable mom and pop joints I would also choose over Gino's based on price and convenience alone, with quality often going in the small place's tally as well.
edit: Garret's popcorn is a great quick snack in the Loop area - they have locations all over the place, and when you smell that caramel corn as you walk by you'll understand why they get such big lines at busy times of day (like, right when work gets out for most people).
Giordano's does a worthy stuffed pizza, but they don't do deep dish - deep dish pizza and stuffed pizza are not the same thing :P
Hah, you are right of course. I think stuffed has more cheese and some kind of small layer of crust on the top. Doesn't matter... just that it is delicious.
http://thepublicanrestaurant.com/menus/4-dinner-menu
By the way, that chocolate bar sounds fantastic, I'm going to make a point to find it
Sorry that you missed the chocolate bar, but I'm glad to hear the Gage worked out for you. Exchequer has been around for a long time, and has a goodly number of fans among those who work in the area - I used to go there for lunch or a drink or two after work when I was at the Art Institute 12-13 years ago, and I know my dad did the same 20 years before that
I had sent an email to Daley asking hi to reduce the hobo stabbings (stablo) for the day.