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hhireno

Suggestions for a Chicago visit

hhireno
10 years ago

My husband and I are going to Chicago for 3 nights/4 days in early September. We'll be staying at the Four Seasons, they had a get the third night free deal that was too good to resist.

I plan to see the Impressionism exhibit at the Art Institute, he plans a Cubs game, we will both do a Chicago Architecture Foundation boat tour.

I'm open to suggestions on other things to do and particularly places to eat. Trip advisor lists 7900 restaurants so it would be helpful to sift through those with some personal recommendations.

Comments (25)

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    10 years ago

    The Art Institute of Chicago, of course.
    I'd also highly recommend the architectural boat tour, at night. The aquarium is lovely. And I'd take in a comedy show too.
    Have fun!

  • maire_cate
    10 years ago

    Millennium Park.

    Observatory at the John Hancock Building.

    The Blue Man Group.

    Try Chicago style pizza.

  • anitamo
    10 years ago

    All of the above plus Navy Pier. Not too far from the hotel, so you should be able to walk if you like and check out the stores along the way. Buckingham Fountain is another landmark. I love the Field Museum, and the Science Museum is another good one.

    A walk along the lake front is another idea. So much to see...good luck on your trip.

  • anitamo
    10 years ago

    And a few restaurant suggestions from my daughter who lives near there...

    "On rush st ( around the corner) there is Gibsons , Carmine's , luxbar, tavern on rush , and jellyfish. Then on Delaware is little market and cru. "

  • bac717
    10 years ago

    Hi, hhi, several years ago, DH and I spent a week on Hilton Head Island and you gave us lots of good recommendations for restaurants on the island. Now, I'm glad to be able to give you some recommendations for what to do while you are in Chicago.

    First of all, you are picking a fabulous time to visit. Generally, the weather is great in early Sept. Second of all, bring your walking shoes!!! You will be at least 10 blocks north of the river where you will catch the architectural boat tour and will do a lot of walking, in general. Be sure to do the Chicago Architecture Foundation boat tour. There are other companies, but we've been on this one and have heard it is the best.

    When you visit the Art Institute (and you must!), I recommend seeing as much of the museum as possible, not just the Impressionism exhibit, altho it is always one of my favorites. While you will be here, a special exhibition will still be open that you might like -- Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity. I will link it at the end of my response. I also encourage you to see the new modern wing at the Art Institute. From that wing, you can go right across the street to Millennium Park.

    Whenever we go into the city for the theatre, we like to eat at Petterino's, on the corner of Dearborn and Randolph, but again, this is on the other side of the river and would be a good walk for you.

    The Book of Mormon will still be in town while you are here, so if you don't mind irreverent humor, you might look into seeing if you can get tickets.

    Are you driving here or flying into O'Hare? A new, high-end outlet mall, Fashion Outlet Chicago, just opened in Rosemont, very close to the airport, in case you are interested. For shopping in the city, there's Michigan Avenue and State Street. On State Street, there's the former Marshall Field and Company, now Macy's, between Washington and Randolph. I think it's a least worth going in to see the architecture of the 12-floor building.

    For Chicago style pizza, there's Uno's or Due's.

    Yikes, I wrote a book! Sorry, but I hope at least some of this helps.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Special Exhibit at the Art Institute, Chicago

  • gsciencechick
    10 years ago

    If you have a car, you can always go out to Oak Park and see the Frank Lloyd Wright museum and walking tour.

    Another fun place is Piece Pizza in Wicker Park. It is owned by Ric Nielsen of Cheap Trick. It is thin crust pizza--I know a sin in Chicago, and they brew their own beer.

  • anele_gw
    10 years ago

    What are you interested in?

    I would agree that the Art Institute is a must. You can easily visit Millennium Park on the same day, as it is right next to it. You might consider visiting Chinatown, as it is only a few miles away.

    For a more off-the-beaten path trip, you might want to try Ethiopian food. For sure, the best one is Ethiopian Diamond. http://www.ethiopiandiamondcuisine.com/ You would not be too far (but not walking distance) from the Raven Theater. http://www.raventheatre.com/ It's small, but I like it. My daughter and I saw an all-female cast perform Julius Caesar there, and it was great. Or, you could hang out at the historic Green Mill. http://greenmilljazz.com/

    I just visited the Fashion Outlet Mall that Bac suggested yesterday. I like it-- they've included artwork throughout the mall, and the parking lot is high tech. Across the way is Muvico (plush movie theater), but probably you can buy/see all of that in your own area.

  • hhireno
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. I've added any new ideas to my notes.

    Bac,
    How funny about me helping you with HHI and now you're helping me! I am going to Chicago specifically for that special exhibit at the AI. It was in NYC, which is only 1.5 hours from me, but did I see it there? No, of course not. Instead I'm flying to Chicago and staying in a hotel and making a long weekend out of it. We've talked about doing a weekend trip to Chicago for years but never acted on it. The exhibit was the impetus I needed to make it happen.

    We're flying so no car for outlet shopping or Oak Park.

    I'm surprised that the #1 restaurant on TripAdvisor is Hot Doug's. I don't eat hot dogs, ever, duck fat fries or not. If my husband wants a hot dog he can eat one at the Cubs game.

    I'll check out the restaurants everyone has mentioned. Thanks.

  • Sueb20
    10 years ago

    We have been to Chicago twice for long weekends in the past two years. The best meal we had was at a steak place that was next to a more expensive steak place, and it had Frog in the name, but I can't remember the actual name. Loved the food and the atmosphere. Oh -- Señor Frog!

    Loved the architectural boat tour. Loved walking through Wicker Park with the funky shops. We took a cab to Oak Park, which I LOVED seeing. I think you can also take public transportation.

    I love Chicago. Now I want to go back.

    Oh, and go see the Bean!

  • gsciencechick
    10 years ago

    We fly as well, but we often end up with a car rental because it is tricky to take public transit to where DH's extended family lives, and then we often go to concerts at Tinley Park/US Bank amphitheatre, which is not accessible by public transit either. Of course, I would prefer not to drive and pay $$$ to park a car and pay tolls, but we really don't have a choice. If I were staying in the downtown area only, we'd never bother. You can even take the train from O'Hare. OTOH, rental cars are numerous and incredibly cheap from O'Hare should you need one.

  • pammyfay
    10 years ago

    I wonder if Hot Doug's has been featured on one of the TV food shows ... I'd not heard of it but just looked at the menu. I assumed it'd have a "Chicago style" dog, but there's a whole lotta variations -- rattlesnake sausage, duck sausage...

    A great place for breakfast (altho it also has lunch/dinner) is West Egg Cafe, N. Fairbanks at E. Ontario.

    My favorite for Chicago-style pizza? Lou Malnati's. Really -- if you're in Chicago and even if pizza isn't high on your list of favorite foods, you gotta get a pie!

    (And Garrett popcorn stores! There's a reason the line frequently stretches along the block. You'll find them scattered across Chicago -- its website says Navy Pier, O'Hare, Michigan Avenue, other spots.)

  • DLM2000-GW
    10 years ago

    Hot Doug's may be the darling of the food sites because it offers 'high end' dogs, but those-are-not-Chicago-hot-dogs-no-how-no-way. Sorry. You want a Chicago dog? It's Superdawg but you aren't going to get there without a car. As nice as the one is in Wheeling, the real deal is Milwaukee and Devon. Tell 'em Deb sent ya ;-)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Superdawg

  • DLM2000-GW
    10 years ago

    Here's a different food list for you.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The Guardian: Top 10 restaurants, diners and coffee shops in Chicago

  • hhireno
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the additional ideas. I adore pizza so that is definitely something we will be eating.

  • bac717
    10 years ago

    Well, if you adore pizza, my favorite, like pammyfay, is Lou Malnati's. I'm not familiar with the locations in the city of Chicago (I'm in the 'burbs), but took a look and see there's one very close to the Four Seasons at State and Rush. Much closer than Uno's or Due's.

    Also wanted to mention, if you are at all interested in the Fashion Outlets of Chicago (they opened only about 2 weeks ago), you can take the train from the city to Rosemont. Then it's a 5 minute walk to the outlet. I haven't been to the outlets yet, but have heard good reports from a few friends who have shopped there.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fashion Outlets of Chicago

  • hhireno
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    There's actually a Pizza Tour! They take you around town in a van and you sample 4 styles of pizza. I don't think I'll go that far but I will be eating pizza.

    There's a Lou Malnati's 0.3 miles from our hotel, perfect!

  • hhireno
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Removing a duplicate post.

    This post was edited by hhireno on Sun, Aug 18, 13 at 14:21

  • jmc01
    10 years ago

    I've done the pizza tour and it's wonderful! We've scheduled it again in November, when the gang is in for Thanksgiving. I've eaten at just about every other of the popular pizza places in town and the tour far exceeds all of them, even Malnati's which is good.

    I'm between Chicago and Oak Park every day. In addition to the Chgo Arch Assn boat tour, I'd also highly recommend some of their downtown walking tours, particularly Historic Downtown Old and New. Chicago is world renowned for architecture and these 2 walking tours give a great flavor of the city.

    If you are a gardener, head west of downtown on the Green Line El to the Conservatory stop and visit the Garfield Park Conservatory. It's a wonderful place and was designed by Jens Jensen. The building itself has no foundation....just sits right on the ground.

    Get back on the Green Line and keep going west to The Oak Park Ave stop. from there, it's about a 10 minute walk to the FL Wright Home and Studio. Docents lead tours of it along with neighborhood tours. They are excellent (my friend is a docent there).

    In Millenium Park, join a tour of the Lurie Garden on Fridays or Sundays. It's a great garden and, if your tour is conducted by one of the plant suppliers, it's especially good. Also in Millenium Park, in the Pritzker Pavilion, are various musical performances. All can be found at cityofchicago.org.

    Restaurants...it's getting too close for a reservation at Girl and the Goat...(Top Chef winner), but if you go there right when it opens and sit at the bar, you can order from the regular dinner menu. Right when it opens is key!! IT IS WONDERFUL! If you don't do that, a bit further west on Randolph is Belly Q, an Asian barbecue restaurant. Those are my 2 current favorites!

    When we have visitors, we do some out of the ordinary spots. let me know if you are interested in other ideas.

    Here is a link that might be useful: CAA tours

  • jmc01
    10 years ago

    I've done the pizza tour and it's wonderful! We've scheduled it again in November, when the gang is in for Thanksgiving. I've eaten at just about every other of the popular pizza places in town and the tour far exceeds all of them, even Malnati's which is good.

    I'm between Chicago and Oak Park every day. In addition to the Chgo Arch Assn boat tour, I'd also highly recommend some of their downtown walking tours, particularly Historic Downtown Old and New. Chicago is world renowned for architecture and these 2 walking tours give a great flavor of the city.

    If you are a gardener, head west of downtown on the Green Line El to the Conservatory stop and visit the Garfield Park Conservatory. It's a wonderful place and was designed by Jens Jensen. The building itself has no foundation....just sits right on the ground.

    Get back on the Green Line and keep going west to The Oak Park Ave stop. from there, it's about a 10 minute walk to the FL Wright Home and Studio. Docents lead tours of it along with neighborhood tours. They are excellent (my friend is a docent there).

    In Millenium Park, join a tour of the Lurie Garden on Fridays or Sundays. It's a great garden and, if your tour is conducted by one of the plant suppliers, it's especially good. Also in Millenium Park, in the Pritzker Pavilion, are various musical performances. All can be found at cityofchicago.org.

    Restaurants...it's getting too close for a reservation at Girl and the Goat...(Top Chef winner), but if you go there right when it opens and sit at the bar, you can order from the regular dinner menu. Right when it opens is key!! IT IS WONDERFUL! If you don't do that, a bit further west on Randolph is Belly Q, an Asian barbecue restaurant. Those are my 2 current favorites!

    When we have visitors, we do some out of the ordinary spots. let me know if you are interested in other ideas.

    Here is a link that might be useful: CAA tours

  • hhireno
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the info Jmc. Maybe I can talk my husband into the pizza tour. We just don't have enough time to do everything I want to do and eat everthing we should eat! Perhaps this will be the first of many visits.

    I'm penciling in our itinerary while waiting to hear back from a family friend who lives in Chicago. I'm keeping the dinner plans open until I hear which night he's free.

    We'll definitely do the CAF boat tour but I'm considering a Chicago Greeter tour instead of a walking tour with the CAF.

  • hhireno
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    We're back from Chicago and WE LOVED IT! We had a fabulous time. The only disappointing thing was I forgot my fitbit so I don't have a record of all that walking! My plantar fasciitis foot held up wonderfully.

    We did a comedy show, the Chicago Architectural Foundation boat tour, a walking tour with Chicago Greeter, my husband did a Cubs game, and I spent 5 hours in the Art Institute.

    We ate at Lou Malnati's, Petterinos, and Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse.

    It was a perfect few days and I'm sure we'll return there to do the things we couldn't fit in this time.

  • OllieJane
    10 years ago

    I have a question about the pizza tour! How long does it last and how does it work? We are leaving on a girls trip this Friday to Chicago and I'd like to suggest this. We are seeing The Book of Mormon and have no idea what else! Eating is big on our list, so suggestions above are great!

  • hhireno
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Olliesmom,
    I didn't do the pizza tour so I can't answer from personal experience. If you check Tripadvisor there are a few companies that offer tours and links to their websites might answer your questions.

    It's a great city, I'm sure you & your friends will have a wonderful time.

  • OllieJane
    10 years ago

    Thanks, hhireno! Don't know why I didn't think of tripadvisor on the pizza tour. We leave tomorrow!

  • jmc01
    10 years ago

    I can help with pizza tour info if you still need it.