Going to Chicago

A few random ideas.

Go to the top of the Hancock tower. It's a really amazing view.

Also if it's nice weather go check out all the people out on Lakeshore Drive.

A while back when I was there in the summer we took a boat tour of the lakefront area which was incredible.

I guess the rest of my time spent in Chicago was either spent working or was spent with a beer in my hand (or perhaps both at once) in the Wrigleyville area, but that might not be the best idea if you're there with the church bunch.

 

Load up on Nike gear at Nike Town!

 

Go to Portillos and get a dog.

 

I prefer Demon Dogs

 

Art Institute of Chicago is a world class museum and is a can't miss if you like art.

Otherwise, the Field Museum (Natural History) Museum of Science & Industry, and Haydn Planetarium are worth checking out.

For chicago style pizza try pizzeria uno, pizzeria due, giordanos or some other placw whose name I forgot.

A good way to tour the city and get a little background is to take one of the boat tours of the Chicago River & the Lake. They're pretty reasonable and you get good background on downtown.

Alos, if you like Frank Lloyd Wright, there are literally dozens of his buildings around. Especially cool is Oak Park, it is a suburb outside the city where he designed a church and a bunch of homes, but there is a tour you can take, very interesting.

 

Science and Industry kicks ass. Navy Pier is quite cool. I would advise if you have rental car, drive up Sheridan Road up north out of the city. There are some spectacular views of Lake Michigan and high bluffs north of town that are more reminiscent of California than Illinois. I went to a school up at the squid training center north in Great Mistakes one time, so I lived there over eight months.

 

Check out Western Avenue if you want to see some cool pubs. Other than that I can tell you all about the South Side but not much about the rest of the city.

 

go to the Original House of Pancakes in Hyde Park (south side)...best pancakes in the world!

 

Top of the Hancock tower is cool.....

Navy Pier and Shedd Aquarium are also good ways to spend some time..

Walking down the Miracle Mile and checking out the stores and the architecture is pretty cool also.

word of advice...if you arent staying Downtown....park your car and ride the train in...we made the mistake of driving in the first day...and got caught in a traffic jam that makes Houston's look like amatuer hour.

 

Those are excellent as well. But do you agree that in Chicago, you gotta get a dog.

 

I highly second the recommendation for the Art Institute. You'd definitely want to set aside a whole afternoon for this as lines can be long and there is much to see.....

 

Hot Doug's is the best, www.hotdougs.com, I'm not sure Demon Dogs is there any more. They lost their lease to DePaul a while back.

Hit the Green Mill, take in Wrigley, and take in the MJ statue.

I had some friends from Australia visit me last spring and they enjoyed just riding the El and seeing the sites from up above.

 

If you're going to Wrigley wearing your Astros gear, I would suggest finding a mylar vest.

 

If you go down there you better just beware of a man named Leroy Brown.

 

I live four blocks from Hot Doug's

Demon Dogs is still open. I think their problems are due to the CTA's planned Brown Line renovations.

Definitely go to Demon Dogs if you can. It's owned by the manager (former or current, can't recall) of the band Chicago. They have some of the band's memorabilia there. It's right under the Fullerton stop that you'll take on your way to and from Cute and Cuddly Field.

 

I vote for the Wiener's Circle. It's usuallly staffed but foul mouth teenagers who yell at you. However that is considered part of the charm. I'm not kidding about that.

 

I used to live at Claremont and Roscoe, three houses and across the street from Hot Doug's. I'm still kicking myself for not going there until four months after I moved in.

Good to hear about Demon Dog's. Many a hangover has been washed away at that place.

 

Go visit Buddy Guy's Legend's club. You'll be glad you did.

When you are going to Wrigley, take the L if at all possible. Quite an experience riding to the ballpark on a train with a bunch of Cubbie fans. In the neighborhood, have a brew at the Cubby Bear and have a burger at the Billy Goat Tavern (Cheezboigy, Cheezboigy, No coke....Pepsi).

One of the things I love about Chicago are the ethnic neighborhoods. One of my faves is Greektown. If you are in that neighborhood around dinner time, check out Santorini.