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  1. #1

    Suggestions for Chicago Trip?

    Some friends and I are going to Chicago at the end of October for a few days. Any suggestions of things to do and see or places to eat?

  2. #2
    Art Institute, Brintannos for a great book store, Sears Tower, Brookfield Zoo, Town of Riverside was laid out by Frank Lloyd Wright and has a number of Wright designed homes.

  3. #3
    Catch a Cubs' playoff game!

    Yes, I'm crazy.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Lompoc, West Carolina
    Who laid out Cicero?

  5. #5
    My wife is from Chicago, and some of my fondest culinary memories are there:

    Heaven on 7 -- A Cajun fusion place, with a few locations.
    Lou Malnati's -- Chicago style pizza is a must. This place rocks it out.
    Penny's Noodle Shop -- Good Thai, a few locations
    Nookie's Tree -- A nice little diner in Boys Town
    The Weiner Circle -- Sausage, kielbasa, imminent heart failure. Amusingly, this one isn't in Boys Town. I think it's around Wrigleyville, but I don't remember exactly.

  6. #6
    Skip the Sears and do the Hancock instead.
    Best pizza is Lou Malnati's for deep dish (several locations) or Ranalli's (on Lincoln Ave) for thin crust.
    Don't take the L to or from ORD. It's impossibly slow. Cab fare to downtown is $40, which isn't too bad split up among three or four people. The L from MDW is ok.
    Go into the old Marshall Field's building to check out all the atriums and balconies and stuff, but don't buy anything there unless they change the name back by then.

  7. #7
    Agreed on Heaven on Seven. Never thought Penny's was all that great, and no location I know of is in a touristy area.

    For a good honest sushi place, try Kamehachi on Wells and Schiller (I think it's Schiller; not sure). There are oodles of good sushi places in my neighboorhood actually, but don't go to Sushi Samba.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by riverside6 View Post
    Catch a Cubs' playoff game!

    Yes, I'm crazy.
    Would love to! Can you score us tickets?

  9. #9
    Sure, I promise to give you any of the tickets that I have that I'm not using. Deal?

    Of course, I don't live in Chicago and definitely don't have the money for the tickets, but don't let that discourage you from thanking me for my generosity.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by DukieInKansas View Post
    Would love to! Can you score us tickets?
    Division Series tickets go on sale Sunday morning. They're surprisingly cheap, if you can get through.

    I have access to season tickets, and with luck may end up going to a postseason game or two. Earlier today we were theorizing what good Cubs World Series tickets would sell for (say between the bases or in the bleachers, but not in the last five or six rows of the 200 level). Probably something like $10-15K each, double or triple what Super Bowl tickets sell for.

  11. #11

    October in Chicago

    Get to Millenium Park and the Art Institute, for sure. The Pritzker Pavilion looks sort of monstrous if you're not into Frank Gehry, but it's actually an amazing space if you walk around and into it. You could walk from there to the Museum Campus, although the Shedd, Adler and Field Museum are packed with tourists on weekends so go early if you're interested. They're really more appropriate for families, but the walk through Grant Park and then back up the lakefront on a nice October day is tough to beat if you've got time.

    Agreed on the Hancock over the Sears Tower rec. Also agreed on Lou Malnati's as the best 'za in town if you want pizza one night. Their physical restaurants aren't the greatest, although the other big names (Uno, Gino's East) are tourist cheese central, so you're not going to be wowed either way. Kamehachi is my favorite sushi spot, as well - traditional instead of loud and pretentious. If you're up near Wrigley, I'd suggest Sushi Mura and sit at the sushi bar. Nothing fancy but they have old-school sushi chefs, and the senior one is not afraid to do sake bombs with his customers.

    Billybreen didn't note that the most significant feature of the Wiener Circle (in Lakeview, corner of Wrightwood and Clark) is that the staff is famously and hilariously antagonistic toward the customers, especially late night weekend drunks. I've seen many a person shocked at the rudeness, and many a belligerent 26-year-old get primed for fisticuffs there. One of my fondest Chicago salad days memories was when a tall, skinny blond-haired buddy of mine kept complaining about how long we were waiting for our hotdogs and the woman behind the counter shouted "That's enough out of you - shut up, Dennis the Menace!"

    If you're foodies and here for a finer dining experience than pizza and Chicago-style dogs, pick up the latest edition of Saveur, which is a cover to cover argument for Chicago as America's best restaurant town. If you really want to splurge, Alinea in Lincoln Park has become a mecca of sorts, and replaced Charlie Trotter's and Tru as the place to go and drop $200 a head. Otherwise, Boka, right next door to Alinea, is one of my favorites in town. Further downtown, there are a ton of excellent restaurants - Topalobompo/Frontera Grill, Rick Bayless' flagship restaurants, are fun and have great food, and were the first "fine Mexican" restaurants that got that whole trend started. Consult a guide book or Frommer's online and I'm sure you'll find something.

    There are a number of excellent music venues in town with good shows on any given weekend. I'd suggest www.metromix.com or www.chicagoreader.com for listings and locations.

    I'm assuming you're staying downtown, but if not, let us all know and I'm sure people on here can give more localized info., too.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    I love the Field Museum, and the Shedd Aquarium is quite good (if a bit smallish) if you're into that sort of thing...they're right across the way from each other.
    Also, catch a comedy show at the Second City. You will laugh your (whatever) off. The improv stuff is my favorite, but I would pretty much blindly attend whatever they're staging.

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