Trip to Chicago (June 2012)

[sox4lifeinPA]

Chicago friends,

 

Me and Mrs PA are planning a trip to Chicago for our 5th anniversary. Give me your recommendations for what we should do (aside from a visit to The Cell) while we're in town for a 4 day trip?

 

thanks!

 

PA

[sox4lifeinPA]

Bueller?

[RockRaines]

1. Where are you staying

2. What do you like to do on vacation? Walk around? See sights?

3. What kind of restaurants do you like? Quiet, popular, energetic etc?

4. What areas of the city have you already been to?

5. Will you have a car?

[sox4lifeinPA]

1. Where are you staying where do you recommend?

2. What do you like to do on vacation? Walk around? See sights? sight see, shop, landmarks, food, quintessential Chicago things

3. What kind of restaurants do you like? Quiet, popular, energetic etc? Lunches would be nice to do near the lake front beach or at a quieter shop. Dinners can be trendy, energetic, popular.

4. What areas of the city have you already been to? (New York, Philly, Houston, San Antonio, Orlando, etc)

5. Will you have a car? (rental)

[IlliniKrush]

Use one of your nights and go here:

 

http://www.secondcity.com/

 

You will not be disappointed.

[southsider2k5]

Use one of your nights and go here:

 

http://www.secondcity.com/

 

You will not be disappointed.

 

Even if you have to hit up the second stage, it is worth it. If you can afford it, stay downtown somewhere with a view. The Hilton Towers on Michigan Ave is a great place.

[RockRaines]

1. Where are you staying where do you recommend?

2. What do you like to do on vacation? Walk around? See sights? sight see, shop, landmarks, food, quintessential Chicago things

3. What kind of restaurants do you like? Quiet, popular, energetic etc? Lunches would be nice to do near the lake front beach or at a quieter shop. Dinners can be trendy, energetic, popular.

4. What areas of the city have you already been to? (New York, Philly, Houston, San Antonio, Orlando, etc)

5. Will you have a car? (rental)

You read areas of the country, I mean areas of chicago.

 

I'll give you a full write up later on today when I have time. I'll give you what I would do with a 4 day trip and you can pick and choose what you like.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Use one of your nights and go here:

 

http://www.secondcity.com/

 

You will not be disappointed.

This.

 

 

The Southside of Heaven is quite literally the funniest thing I've ever seen.

[RockRaines]

1. Where are you staying where do you recommend?

2. What do you like to do on vacation? Walk around? See sights? sight see, shop, landmarks, food, quintessential Chicago things

3. What kind of restaurants do you like? Quiet, popular, energetic etc? Lunches would be nice to do near the lake front beach or at a quieter shop. Dinners can be trendy, energetic, popular.

4. What areas of the city have you already been to? (New York, Philly, Houston, San Antonio, Orlando, etc)

5. Will you have a car? (rental)

Ok.

 

So there are obviously parts of the city you need to see, and parts that are better left alone, especially if traveling during the weekend. For example, anything south of the Chicago River is pretty much worthless west of michigan. Therefor dont stay at the Palmer House or something crappy like that. Stay in River North of in the Viagra triangle. My picks would be the Conrad (Hilton) on Rush or something near there. If you want a river view there are alot of options, I would just make sure you are near Mich ave and preferably a little further north. The reason why is that the loop is completely dead at night and on the weekends. Like nothing going on at all. There is no need to go south of Wacker into the city unless you are going to take a ride up the Sears tower.

 

As for nightlife and food, you have come to the right place. There are a myriad of larger more popular and expensive places in the touristy area of River North and up into the Viagra Rush/Division area. The Triangle is very lively and is a must see if only to grab a drink somewhere like the Elysian Hotel. If you want to grab a lunch in Grant Park you can always check out the Park Grill, but I actually prefer going up north into Lincoln Park and checking out some the places there including the Uber Romantic North Pond $$$$

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/north-pond-chicago...rk%20restaurant

 

I'm sure if its nice you will be just walking around and will find something you really like anyway, but I can always give some particular suggestions. I prefer smaller intimate dining places in Chicago like Blue 13 or West Town Tavern, but you may want to be more mainstream and try out Topo or something of that nature and thats not a bad idea. If you continue up past division street you will start getting into the Old Town area near Wells streets which is a good walking neighborhood. On Division you have several old spots that were famous in movies like Mother's and Butch McGuires. Those are popular nightspots that have a ton of Chicago history. On North Ave there are still plenty of places and if you keep going north you get into LP and Lakeview which is extremely rich with places to check out.

 

Phew. SO probably cannot fit too much info into one post. If you DO stay in River North or Gold Coast area, I would recommend a few restaurants to check out:

 

Frontera Grill_obviously

Blue 13-One of my favs, its a little west on ontario, but small, intimate with a rock and roll attitude and fine dining

For steak dont miss Chicago Cut on the river.

The Purple Pig is a great spot off of Michigan

Chicago Q for BBQ

Big fan of Gilt bar for drinks as well as Public House for people watching

Graham Elliot for the slightly strange but famous chef experience

GT fish for atmosphere and seafood

Sunda for sushi

 

All the good italian places IMO arent located near there. I can give you some more info on that. If it looks like I have way too many suggestions its because I do. I eat out 3-5 nights a week and I am the go to guy for everyone I know to ask about places in particular areas. So once it gets closer I can help you narrow down choices. Sorry for the long post.

[sox4lifeinPA]

You read areas of the country, I mean areas of chicago.

 

I'll give you a full write up later on today when I have time. I'll give you what I would do with a 4 day trip and you can pick and choose what you like.

 

Never been to Chicago. Thanks for the write up. I'll read it now!

[sox4lifeinPA]

Ok.

 

So there are obviously parts of the city you need to see, and parts that are better left alone, especially if traveling during the weekend. For example, anything south of the Chicago River is pretty much worthless west of michigan. Therefor dont stay at the Palmer House or something crappy like that. Stay in River North of in the Viagra triangle. My picks would be the Conrad (Hilton) on Rush or something near there. If you want a river view there are alot of options, I would just make sure you are near Mich ave and preferably a little further north. The reason why is that the loop is completely dead at night and on the weekends. Like nothing going on at all. There is no need to go south of Wacker into the city unless you are going to take a ride up the Sears tower.

 

As for nightlife and food, you have come to the right place. There are a myriad of larger more popular and expensive places in the touristy area of River North and up into the Viagra Rush/Division area. The Triangle is very lively and is a must see if only to grab a drink somewhere like the Elysian Hotel. If you want to grab a lunch in Grant Park you can always check out the Park Grill, but I actually prefer going up north into Lincoln Park and checking out some the places there including the Uber Romantic North Pond $$$$

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/north-pond-chicago...rk%20restaurant

 

I'm sure if its nice you will be just walking around and will find something you really like anyway, but I can always give some particular suggestions. I prefer smaller intimate dining places in Chicago like Blue 13 or West Town Tavern, but you may want to be more mainstream and try out Topo or something of that nature and thats not a bad idea. If you continue up past division street you will start getting into the Old Town area near Wells streets which is a good walking neighborhood. On Division you have several old spots that were famous in movies like Mother's and Butch McGuires. Those are popular nightspots that have a ton of Chicago history. On North Ave there are still plenty of places and if you keep going north you get into LP and Lakeview which is extremely rich with places to check out.

 

Phew. SO probably cannot fit too much info into one post. If you DO stay in River North or Gold Coast area, I would recommend a few restaurants to check out:

 

Frontera Grill_obviously

Blue 13-One of my favs, its a little west on ontario, but small, intimate with a rock and roll attitude and fine dining

For steak dont miss Chicago Cut on the river.

The Purple Pig is a great spot off of Michigan

Chicago Q for BBQ

Big fan of Gilt bar for drinks as well as Public House for people watching

Graham Elliot for the slightly strange but famous chef experience

GT fish for atmosphere and seafood

Sunda for sushi

 

All the good italian places IMO arent located near there. I can give you some more info on that. If it looks like I have way too many suggestions its because I do. I eat out 3-5 nights a week and I am the go to guy for everyone I know to ask about places in particular areas. So once it gets closer I can help you narrow down choices. Sorry for the long post.

 

Great stuff, thanks!

[RockRaines]

Never been to Chicago. Thanks for the write up. I'll read it now!

I can clarify as your trip gets closer and you know more about what you want to do day to day. Chicago is such a great city and the heart of it is its neighborhoods. You could literally spend an entire weekend in Bucktown/Wicker park and have a great time without even coming close to the downtown area.

[He_Gawn]

2nd City is a definite must see. SS of Heaven, as someone said, is amazing. You can usually hotwire a good deal for a 4.5 star Hotel. Mercadito is a restaurant we always hit up. Zeds 451 for dessert.

 

Really though, so many options in Chicago. Just depends what you like.

[Rex Hudler]

I put together a trip last year so I have pretty good insights.

 

1. Use Priceline and name your own price for a hotel. You'll get a great hotel, be able to narrow down the area and much cheaper than even hotwire. We got the Sutton Place Hotel (for less than $100/night) right across the street from Gibson's (is this the triangle you were referring to, Rock?). Hopping bar in the hotel and nightlife in general in the immediate area. I've also gotten the Westin Michigan Ave for about $75/night. Weekends are especially cheap at those type hotels.

2. If you haven't, I suggest a Blue Man Group show. It was a lot of fun.

3. If you want to learn a lot about Chicago, I definitely suggest one of the river architecture tours.

4. If you like architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright has two homes in the area that are pretty cool. We went to the Robie House.

5. If you are staying downtown, you probably don't need a car. If you're flying in, you can take trains and buses everywhere you want to go. You can buy an unlimited transit pass for a certain # of days ahead of time at chicagotransit.com.

6. Go to Google maps and put in things you want to see and/or addresses for directions. There is a tab at the top where you can get directions via public transit that will give you specific bus times, which bus #, where the stop is and all the right stops on the El. The Red Line is your friend in downtown Chicago.

7. Check out Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives web site for some cool places to eat. We hit 3 or 4 of them.

8. Check out the museums, Shedd Aquarium, Planetarium, Art Institute based on your own interests.

9. Wear good tennis shoes because you will do a ton of walking.

10. Eat great pizza! Can't get everyone to agree on which is the best, but there are a lot of good choices. Garrett Popcorn was also a hit.

 

There was a long thread with a lot of suggestions for my trip in July 2010. Not sure if you can still pull it up, but you will find a lot of good info there.

 

That should be a pretty good start!