Chicago Travel Tips?

[kama_s]

I'm heading down to Chicago this long weekend with a girlfriend and I'm looking for suggestions on must-see places and must-eat foods. Any suggestions?

We're doing the art institute one day, and the symphony one night and that's all that we've planned thus far!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Hi there! I actually live downtown so will be happy to help you. Where are you staying? And have you been here before (i.e., are there things you've already done)?

 

[kama_s]

Thanks, Dee Jay!

Nope, neither of us have ever visited. We're staying downtown at the Palomar. So far on this list we are doing:

Art institute
Chicago symphony
Millenium Park
Navy pier (is there much to see here?)
John Hancock observatory (probably going to skip this, unless you don't recommend doing so)
Shopping! (magnificent mile, Nordstorm rack at State and Washington)

 

[AprilBaby]

If you have the time, go for a drink at the sky deck at the Hancock. It costs less than paying to see the deck ( the bar is free) and you get a drink

Welcome to Chicago!!!

 

[sillyberry]

Instead of the Hancock building, I would try to do the skybox at Sears (now Willis) Tower.

I would skip Navy Pier...very touristy and really a place for the kiddos (in my opinion).

As for eats, Girl and the Goat (Top Chef Stephanie Izard's place) is awesome, but you need a car (and a reservation!). Purple Pig is on Michigan Ave and is awesome charcuterie, cheese, and wine. If you're down in Millennium Park to see the Bean (I love the Bean!), I actually think the Park Grill is very tasty. I'm not a big deep-dish pizza person, but you should probably try Giordano's or Gino's for the experience.

There are a ton of great restaurants in Chicago. What type of food are you looking for?

 

[Dee*Jay]

One thing I LOVE is the architectural boat tour (if the weather is good, of course). There are a couple of tour companies, but go with the official Chicago Architectural Society one. You have to book tickets in advance (I think you can do it just the day before if you want to gauge the weather), and the last time I did it it was about $25. Take the tour that goes up the river, not up the lakefront.

As for the Hancock/Sears Tower... six of one, half dozen of another. If you're already in one location over another, do that, but I do agree with AprilBaby about having a drink in the Hancock bar though. But I worked in the Sears Tower for many years, so I probably don't give it the credit it's due. And I hear the new clear boxes that jut off the side are just awesome!

Do you want to see ***bling***? If so, Oak Street (starting at the north end of the Mag Mile and going west off of Michigan Avenue) is the way to go! Harry Winston, Graff, Troebert and Hoeffer (sp?), Lester Lampert... ooh la la!!! Catmom and I had quite an outing there one time! Of course there are also Bulgari, Tiffany, Cartier, and Van Cleef on Michigan itself.

Food... SO MANY great choices! I'm not a fan of deep dish pizza, but if you want to do the pizza experience all the places do thin crust too. My favorite is Lou Malnatti's, but they are all good in their own way.

I second the recommendatin for the Bean! That whole area, with the beautiful park, is so nice to stroll around.

And I agree with sillyberry about skipping Navy Pier. Not really a ton to do over there.

Bring COMFORTABLE shoes because although there are cabs at every turn, Chicago is such a great walking city.

I hope you're weather's good!

 

[Pandora II]

We went a few years ago for my BIL's wedding to a girl from Chicago.

The boat trip was amazing - especially if you like urban architecture and especially skyscrapers (a particular interest of mine since I sat on a Planning Committee in London giving approval to such buildings here - I came back and demanded that all architects and developers should be sent to Chicago to do this trip and see great tall buildings).

Coming from the UK where sushi is $$$$ we ate a huge amount of that - I can't remember the names of the restaurants though. We did go to 'Shaw's Crab House' which was fantastic.

I love the Anish Kapoor 'Bean' in the Millenium Park, also the zoo is really good.

I wasn't so impressed with the Museums, but we are rather spoilt here in London - plus all museums here are free!

 

[vc10um]

I'm going to sound a bit like a broken record here, but...

I'm with SB, I also enjoyed the Park Grill. And I think they do 1,000 point reservations on Open Table.

And like Dee*Jay, I'm a Lou Malnatti's girl.

The architectural tour is one of my favorite things to do, and if you want to get a view of Chicago and are NOT afraid of heights, the skyboxes at the Big Willy (ha!) are the way to go (glass floor beneath you, you can see all the way down to the street)...

I'm also a sucker for the Shedd Aquarium, and right now there's a Mythbusters exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry...just in case you're a geek like me.

My mom also really enjoyed the Segway tour she took. (She lives in Chicago and took a friend on it...now she wants to go every time she has someone visit!) So that may also be worth looking into...

Have fun! Chicago is an amazing town!

 

[CurlySue]

Just popping in here to echo the sentiments about the architectural tours. They are a must-do!!! And I second Dee-jay's suggestion of going with the Architectural Society's tour down the river.

Do you like comedy? You could try to get tickets to a show at Second City or the iO Theater. I love improv, so I try to bring out-of-towners to shows. It shouldn't be too difficult to get tickets.

If you like beer, there are also some great microbreweries - Revolution, Metropolitan. There's Piece, which is an awesome place for pizza (though it's not traditional Chicago-style) and brews its own beer, too. Not sure how adventurous you are with food or if you'll have any time to wait around to be seated, but Longman & Eagle is a fantastic gatropub but doesn't take reservations. Publican is good, too, but I'm not sure what reservations are like - I've always booked pretty far in advance. I think someone else mentioned Girl & the Goat, but it's incredibly difficult to get reservations. If you don't mind waiting to get in or sitting at the bar to eat, I *highly* recommend it. Soooo delicious!

Weather looks nice for the weekend. Hope you have a wonderful visit!

 

[AprilBaby]

Agree on the boat tour, agree on Lou Malnati pizza. Also try deep dish at Giordanos! The bean is cool, love the she'd aquarium. You just can't go wrong no matter where you go! The advantage of the Hancock over the Sears is the price, like I said, free view at the bar/restaurant. The advantage of the sears, if you are not afraid of heights, is the glass boxes.

 

[quaddio]

+1 Lou Malnati's - the Gold Coast store is excellent.

+1 Architectural boat ride, I've done them all and agree the Architectural Society's is the best - smaller boat and a more personal tour. If you don't do the boat ride consider a walking tour

+1 Millennium Park, fountains, lake...

+1 Hancock for a drink/snack instead of Sears - the view is far better from Hancock IMO, especially if you go for evening drinks and see both day and night time views. The lake views are spectacular

Other recommendations:
- Kingston Mines for some
- Friends Sushi (it's close to the other Nordstrom Rack in downtown Chicago - on par with the Washington/State store)
- If you don't take the Architectural boat ride, why not try a regular ferry boat ride, the yellow coloured ferry service is half the cost of the 'tourist' version and if you ride around the city (to Union Station and back) you can see many city highlights

and of course, why not visit Jewelers Row on Wabash, so much bling!

 

[April20]

If you have the time, go for a drink at the sky deck at the Hancock. It costs less than paying to see the deck ( the bar is free) and you get a drink

Welcome to Chicago!!!

I was just in Chicago Monday and Tuesday for work. I took the employee with me to the Signature Lounge in the Hancock for a drink. I love taking people up there and its convenient if you're staying on that end of downtown.

 

[Haven]

Great recs so far!

I just want to add another voice to the Lou Malnati's chorus of love. Best pizza in the world.

I hope you enjoy Chicago! I think it's the greatest city ever.

 

[kama_s]

Whoa. Thank you aprilbaby, sillyberry, Dee*Jay, Pandora, vc10um, CurlySue, April20 and Haven for taking the time to provide input on my trip. Loving all the recommendations.

I looked into the bout tour by the architectural society, and alas, they only resume end of April. They do have an art deco walking tour, however, it appears as though we are going to have to choose between with the walking art deco tour or the Art Institute. We just can't pick between the two. What would you guys suggest?

Our itinerary for the weekend is as follows:

Saturday:

Arrive and check-in
Stroll down Millennium Park (see cloud gate and bean)
Dinner at Park Grill at 5:30pm
Walk to Chicago Symphony at 8pm
Drinks at a jazz bar

Sunday:

Option 1:
Walking Art Deco tour at 11am (~2.5 hours)
Tour ends at Walker and Michigan, walk few blocks to lunch at Lou Malnati (439 North Wells Street)

Option 2:
Walk around downtown
Lunch at Lou Malnati (805 South State Street)
Art Institute of Chicago at around 1pm (AIC closes at 5pm)

Dinner at Bin 36 at 7:15pm (I REALLY wanted to do The Purple Pig, but read that line-ups can be 2-3 hours long. Unfortunately, we just don't have the time in our short stay for that. I love charcuterie)
Drinks at Pops for Champage

Monday:
Shopping!!!!!!!!!!
Hit Nordstorm Rack at at the Shops at State and Washington (24 North State Street)
Lunch TBD

Some other points:

- I know a few of you suggested bling hunting. Unfortunately, my friend isn't into that at all. That said, I will be making up for it by picking up my new JbEG necklace that weekend.
- Probably not going to do either of the two observatory decks. We have the CN tower here
- Thank you for advising against the Navy Pier. It's been scratched off the list.
- vc10um: LOVE Mythbusters, but we just saw them at their live tour last week!

Thank you all, once again, for your invaluable suggestions!

 

[AtomicLush]

I do not like Lou Malnati's at all...tastes like tomato sauce on hard toast to me. Giordano's is sooooo much better with a flakey buttery crust and double layer of dough. Yum! Although people say the best Chicago pizza is at Pizzeria Due.

I also love the Museum of Science and Industry (but you have to like science stuff to appreciate it). The Shedd Aquarium is okay...I feel it gets a little redundant unless you love fish.