Old thread was old.

Heading up there for Labor Day weekend and have never been before. What should I do while up there?

7/15/2011 1:13:30 PM

Billy Goat Tavern, the one under the street, not the one on navy pier

7/15/2011 1:19:14 PM

If mobster stuff interests you at all

http://www.gangstertour.com/

7/15/2011 1:54:01 PM

Boat tour

7/15/2011 2:39:07 PM

WRIGLEY FIELD IS A MUST!!!!!!!!

7/15/2011 2:46:15 PM

mag mile is fun if you drink.

7/15/2011 2:52:12 PM

[everything] is fun if you drink. that being said.. who drinks at the mag mile? aint even good bars there. go to lakeview/wrigleyville/wicker park/bucktown for all the fun yuppie shit

[Edited on July 15, 2011 at 2:56 PM. Reason : .]

7/15/2011 2:55:27 PM

I thought there were some pretty good bars there. i don't remember the names of any of them. good bars at wrigleyville too, but we weren't gonna stick around in any one area while we were there for just one weekend.

7/15/2011 2:58:02 PM

1060 West Addison Street

7/15/2011 3:01:06 PM

The neighborhoods surrounding Cellular Field are great to walk around at night.

7/15/2011 3:15:07 PM

Are there any breweries worth checking out?

Going there for about a week in two weeks and probably not doing the whole Lollapalooza thing.

7/15/2011 3:15:09 PM

^ have you talked to Lindsey at all? i remember a few years ago we went to this one brewery/restaurant/bar for her birthday.....i believe it was in wrigleyville because she was living in lincoln park at the time.

7/15/2011 3:24:39 PM

Dinner at Alinea (recently raised to $210 a person now for 18 courses, but its #1 restaurant in North America and a bargain compared to similar level experience)

Cubs will be in town that weekend and tickets are cheap right now (suck this year and playing sucky Pirates and Reds). This is a total blast, especially an afternoon game.

I always love the Museum of Science and Industry, just kinda neat. Contemporary art museum is great too.

Goose Island was the big brewery in Chicago but last year they got bought out by AB InBev. Rock Bottom and Two Brothers are probably the next biggest.

Hot Doug's is an icon for hot dogs (and their duck fat fries).

7/15/2011 3:48:59 PM

^ Goose Island was good when I went, but that was ~3 years ago. Not sure if the buyout will impact that.

7/15/2011 3:51:24 PM

Quote :

"^ have you talked to Lindsey at all? i remember a few years ago we went to this one brewery/restaurant/bar for her birthday.....i believe it was in wrigleyville because she was living in lincoln park at the time."

I dropped her a line on Facebook, just waiting to hear back.

7/15/2011 3:52:21 PM

I went to Goose Island when I was there last October, it was fine then. The food was good, and the craft brew selection was nothing to scoff at. If you are into photography, get one of the Navy Pier boat tours at sunset. The sun going down behind the downtown skyline is incredible.

Do try the pizza - it's an interesting diversion from what you get most places. I got some at Giordano's and Gino's East, both were good. My cousin that lives there recommended trying Lou Malnati's, but I didn't have time to get over there.

The Field Museum is pricey, but totally worth it if you have a few hours to spend and like history. There is an incredible amount of stuff in there and it takes the better part of a day to really get to it all. I didn't get to go to the art museum, but my fiancee did and said it was worth the trip.

The Hancock building has an audio/video tour that you can do from the top floor. You basically walk around the skydeck and your handheld ipod-thing will point out items in the scenery and you can choose to hear more about them. It was very informative, and not terribly expensive, like $20 maybe.

7/15/2011 4:03:06 PM

^ Agreed on most everything you said.

Field Museum is neat, Shedd Aquarium is right next to it. They're both on the Lake Shore and semi-close to Navy Pier. I wouldn't really recommend Navy Pier however, just a tourist trap. They do have an IMAX theatre if you're needing to go to a movie.

Pizza is awesome, although I'm not a huge fan of the deep dish. Thin crust pizza at those places is actually more like regular pizza here, but it's delicious. I think I've been to all the ones mentioned above.

Don't be scared to take the EL, it's actually pretty easy to navigate. Do you have a hotel already? When I went there for business I'd stay in the W Lake Shore, it's an awesome hotel. All the Starwood hotels are good, there's another W that's off of Jefferson or something like that. There's a Westin off of Dearborn that's got an Asian theme going, there's a Sheraton near the water that has a good steak restaurant at the bottom and then there's another Westin on Michigan Avenue.

7/15/2011 4:22:58 PM

I've become a Hyatt loyalist and I'm staying at the Hyatt Regency ( http://www.chicagoregency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?null )

I could also use a good date night type restaurant. Alinea seems like it would be a bit much.

Also, I'm sorry for stealing your thread wolfpackgrrr, but I'll be sure to report back my findings.

7/15/2011 4:33:40 PM

We're staying at the Hyatt too

7/15/2011 5:02:51 PM

I (we) like Roy's for Hawaiian Seafood on State St. Good date place, great food. http://www.roysrestaurant.com/

For a good architectural company use Wendella Boats: http://www.wendellaboats.com/ Make sure you get there early enough for your tour that you get a seat on the top.

For good deep dish, I'm a Gino's East guy. They have two downtown, but if you want a good place to jumpstart a night of bar crawling there's a BYOB hole-in-the wall Gino's in Lakeview (http://ginoseastlakeview.com/). From there you can basically start crawling north until you're in Wrigleyville.

Might be worth it to get a student membership to whatever museum you go to, because half the time it's the same cost or cheaper to get a student membership and +1 your SO that day than it is to pay for a one day visit for two adults.

The el to anywhere you're going is fine during the day. I try to stay off the Blue Line anytime past 10 or 11pm. Different crowds are on the trains at night. If you really don't know where you're going, it's always best to take a cab. Busses are fine and most drivers are helpful. Like any major transportation system, don't be timid but be smart (and alert). Tourists are easy to spot.

I imagine you'll be downtownish so do yourself a favor and use your legs when you can.

Don't stay at the Hyatt near McCormick Place. McCormick place is faaaaar South Loop. Farther than Soldier Field.

Anyway, PM me if you want any more information. I've been living here for 4+ years now.

Quote :

"Hot Doug's is an icon for hot dogs (and their duck fat fries)."

This place is cool, but it's really remote (train to California+Bus), in a so-so neighborhood (Logan Square.. my neighborhood!) and usually has hour or two waits. Went their once, thought it was nice, not worth the wait. IIRC Duck Fat fries are only on Saturday and they are closed on Sunday, so take it FWIW. Forget Kuma's, too-- that wait is worse. You should be out enjoying yourself. Hopleaf on the other hand is fucking awesome.

[Edited on July 15, 2011 at 5:22 PM. Reason : .]

7/15/2011 5:13:21 PM

Quote :

"Don't be scared to take the EL, it's actually pretty easy to navigate."

+million

I totally forgot to mention it, but the unlimited weekly bus/rail pass is a must-have for downtown travel. Take time to figure out how the bus and train routes work because you can basically forget about parking downtown. The service is great, the buses are clean and most always right on time, and they go freaking everywhere. There's a bus or train that will take you to within 2-3 blocks of virtually anywhere you want to go. The bus routes are a tad confusing, so use Google maps to find the place you want to go (it knows the bus/train routes and times), then write down the stops for your trip and take it with you. Smartphones work in a pinch, but the tall building make GPS pretty flaky.

7/15/2011 5:15:48 PM

I don't see how an old sightseeing thread would have any less relevance but you absolutely must have an Italian beef sandwich, preferably from Portillos

Sears Tower is cool, Science and Industry museum, field museum, anything around the lake really - planetarium, aquarium, Navy Pier is awesome, Millennium Park, Mag Mile, etc.

For real, make sure you have good deep dish, a chicago hot dog, Italian beef sandwich, and Garrets caramel corn

7/15/2011 5:24:57 PM

Quote :

"For real, make sure you have good deep dish, a chicago hot dog, Italian beef sandwich, and Garrets caramel corn"

And talk with a Southern accent the whooooooole time!

7/15/2011 5:25:57 PM

^ 2 it was too old for a premie to bump

Does the Hawaiian place have good poke?

7/15/2011 5:56:44 PM

I leave tomorrow and haven't done shit for planning

9/1/2011 12:16:43 PM

If you're doing any sightseeing (Shedd Aquarium, Willis Tower, Field Museum, etc) get the CityPass.

It's worth every penny.

9/1/2011 12:44:03 PM

Yeah I think we are going to get the pass. Can you get it at any of the museums?

9/1/2011 12:46:18 PM

1)

Quote :

"WRIGLEY FIELD IS A MUST!!!!!!!!"

And the surrounding Wrigleyville area. The people there are really nice and easy to talk to.

2)Chicago Pizza

3)Blues

9/1/2011 1:35:57 PM

Quote :

"Yeah I think we are going to get the pass. Can you get it at any of the museums?"

Yes, or probably at your hotel.

The thing really is awesome -- it cut the wait at Willis from an hour to about 5 minutes, and the wait to get tickets at Shedd from 2 hours to about 20 minutes (mostly because that's where we bought our pass and there was a line to buy it there).

9/1/2011 1:54:42 PM

I wrote about my trip to Chicago on my travel blog. I talk about Wrigley, Magnificent Mile, Millennium Park, and the Field Museum. Lollapalooza was going on too, but I didn't go in.

http://mikeallover.com/74/

9/1/2011 2:55:36 PM

Quote :

"probably at your hotel."

Ooh good tip. The less I have to stand in line the better

9/1/2011 3:00:18 PM

Well sweet, turns out you can buy it online and then exchange it when you get there. Now to figure out how to cram 5 museums into a weekend

9/1/2011 3:38:53 PM

If you're looking for a nice place to eat you can check out The Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. It was pretty good. While I've had a better steak at other expensive places, the view/experience is what you're also paying for. They also have a bar on the 96th floor thats always packed. Though we didn't go up there.

9/1/2011 4:32:47 PM

I too, utilized a CityPass while visiting Chicago and it was awesome.

9/1/2011 4:37:28 PM

^^ Thanks for the tip! occamsrezr got a reservation for our honeymoon dinner

9/1/2011 8:35:36 PM

Another good date night restaurant is Bandera on the Magnificent Mile.

9/1/2011 8:46:40 PM

Quote :

"WRIGLEY FIELD IS A MUST!!!!!!!!"

FOR ME TO POOP ON

9/1/2011 9:14:25 PM

thought this thread was about

9/4/2011 8:03:04 PM

I loved Lou's pizza. Nom nom. And please to try italian beef - I've never been much of a beef sandwich eater (I really only like steaks..lol), and god, I love italian beef.

I loved Shedd Aquarium too. It's been the best I've ever been to.

9/4/2011 8:40:07 PM