Life Going to Chicago. What do I need to do? Avoid? - Page 16

**BigRedChief** · 10:07 AM

Going to Chicago for a little 4 day vacation(Thrusday - Sunday) on spring break. Going to the Bulls vs. Cleveland NBA game and see Lebron, Derrick Rose, Shaq etc on Friday night. What is the can't miss "stuff" in Chicago? Avoid? opinions welcome...

Staying downtown at the Allerton hotel.

Any Planeteers want to get together?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
03/22/2010 edit to pay it forward for future chicago visitors:
Transportation:
Definitely take the trains and bus’s if you are planning to spend a lot of time downtown. We saved a fortune in cabs. Get the CTA pass and you can get on how ever many buses, trains, transfers etc that you want for how many days you purchase. http://faremedia.chicago-card.com/store/main.aspx?DepartmentId=34 Check the schedule and plan your route out:
http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/maps/default.aspx http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/populardestinations.aspx

We arrived at 8:00 at the O’Hara airport and not taking the train would have been a disaster. They highways are parking lots that time of the day. We flew out of Midway on the way out and took a cab out there to the airport.
We really enjoyed riding the bus’s and talking to the locals. They gave us great tips on where to eat etc.

You don’t need a car. If you are driving, there is no where to park and where there is parking is very expensive and driving downtown is dangerous trying to navigate all those cabs and buses? Not for the weak of heart.

Attractions:
Get the Go Chicago card: Saved us a ton of money on admission fees but more importantly we avoided the lines at the attractions to get tickets. It was snowing and the line to get into the Field museum was over an hour and a half to just get tickets to get into the museum. The lines to get tickets are long. Get your tickets in advance.
http://www.smartdestinations.com/chicago-attractions-and-tours/_d_Chi-p1.html?pass=Chi_Prod_Go

Sears Tower: Was cool but if you have to wait an hour or two? Question the value. The ledge is really cool. Nothing between you and the street 103 stories up but some Plexiglas. It’s an experience you can’t get anywhere else in the world.

John Hancock observatory: We actually liked it better than the Sears tower because of the better ocean and beach views. They have something cool there, a skywalk 93 stories up that you can walk along that is exposed to the wind, temperatures etc 93 floors up. Just some mesh screen between you and the sky.

Science and Industry museum: We all felt that this was the best of all the museums. You have to see the U-Boat. It’s another one of those you can only experience in Chicago things.

Millennium Park: The silver bean was really cool. Seems like a real simple thing but once you get there and see it up close you understand the draw the bean has for people. Make sure you go underneath the bean and check it out. Looks like a wonderful place to watch a concert.

Shedd Aquarium: We were disappointed in this one. Maybe we are just spoiled but we thought the Aquarium in Omaha was much better.

The Field museum: Another disappointment. Sue the T-Rex was really cool but the rest of the museum left us flat. Seemed really educational for kids but for us adults we would like to have seen more exhibits than some pottery.

Chicago Bulls game: We decided to take the bus out there. Straight shot to and from downtown. Not really a bad seat in the house. The mascot seems to be pretty athletic and entertaining. Highly recommend getting one of the monster dogs.

Navy Pier: We went there and it was cold. Looks like a great place to visit in the warm weather.

Second City: We saw “Rush Limbaugh, the musical”. Barney Frank, Hillary, Dancing Ronald Reagan’s…Very funny stuff. Had a bit in there when Rush with the Royals and George Brett on a toilet with hemorrhoids. Highly recommend checking out a show there.

The Art Institute: A wonderful place to see art. So many Picasso’s, Monet’s and Van Gough’s you can’t really appreciate them fully like if some were here in KC just because of the sheer volume of masterpieces in one place. Very impressive collection. We also enjoyed seeing the American Gothic and some American art.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/

Eats:
Ginos East: Great pizza. Love the crust. We went to the one on Shapiro and it has all the walls filled with customer graffiti. Not living off its past reputation. My son thought it was the best pizza ever.

Giordanos: on Shapiro, Excellent deep dish pizza here also. Better than anything you can get in KC. Try sprinkling a little Italian herb seasoning on the pizza here.
http://www.giordanos.com/locations.html

West Egg: Breakfast by the doubletree. Reasonable prices and great food. Everything we had was good.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/west-egg-cafe-chicago-2

Yokes: Breakfast on Lake Shore drive. Best crepes we have ever had. Very good food.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yolk-chicago-2

Quaritinos: Best meal in Chicago. Very trendy and hip place but don’t let that push you away. You order 5-6 things and share them. Ravioli, Brusheta and the Bananas foster desert were our favorites but everything we had was real flavorful and well prepared. http://www.quartinochicago.com/

Lodging:
We stayed at the Allerton hotel downtown. I would highly recommend if you are coming to Chicago and you are going to do these things listed above to stay downtown. This was a great hotel. If you can’t afford the downtown rates just take the train into the city and go from there.

Mama Hip Rockets · 06-22-2011, 08:24 PM

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but try to avoid going to a White Sox game. Unless you like to get stabbed and/or robbed.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 07-10-2011, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Nice bump. I'm thinking of heading up in August for Cards-Cubs.

Have our hotel choices narrowed down to Hotel 71 and Hotel Monaco. Both are right on the river and are close to the red line that will take us straight to Wrigley. Probably going to be up there Thurs-Sun, going to the game on both Friday and Saturday afternoon.

We've already done most if not all of the touristy stuff on other trips - the only things I absolutely want to do this time around is hit Portillo's, and do one of the Chicago River Architecture Tours.

And of course, we'll be hitting Yolk every morning - best breakfast place ever.

Trip is set, and we're going Thursday-Monday.

Tickets for the Friday afternoon Cards-Cubs game came in the mail this week. Scored seats 6 rows behind the Cards dugout for $70 under FV. Still looking for Saturday tickets. May skip Saturday and go Sunday and hope it becomes the ESPN Sunday Night Game.

Decided to stay at Hotel Palomar on State, just north of the river. We enjoy the hell out of that River North/Streeterville area. Definitely hitting Portillo's for lunch one day, since it's just a few blocks away.

Also going to have dinner one night at Benny's Chop house. We had an outstanding meal last time we were there.

Any other suggestions for lunches/dinners?

Definitely up for pizza, but neither of us are fans of the deep dish variety. If we wanted a ****ing casserole, we'd order one. Anyone up there have good pizza with a regular thickness, hand-tossed crust?

DanT · 07-10-2011, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Trip is set, and we're going Thursday-Monday.

Tickets for the Friday afternoon Cards-Cubs game came in the mail this week. Scored seats 6 rows behind the Cards dugout for $70 under FV. Still looking for Saturday tickets. May skip Saturday and go Sunday and hope it becomes the ESPN Sunday Night Game.

Decided to stay at Hotel Palomar on State, just north of the river. We enjoy the hell out of that River North/Streeterville area. Definitely hitting Portillo's for lunch one day, since it's just a few blocks away.

Also going to have dinner one night at Benny's Chop house. We had an outstanding meal last time we were there.

Any other suggestions for lunches/dinners?

Definitely up for pizza, but neither of us are fans of the deep dish variety. If we wanted a ****ing casserole, we'd order one. Anyone up there have good pizza with a regular thickness, hand-tossed crust?

I used to live in Little Italy in Chicago and really liked Pompei's pizza. Back then it was just a neighborhood place that sold terrific pizza by the slice, but they've added locations recently and I see that there is now a location that isn't too far from Wrigley Field:

http://www.pompeipizza.com/restaurant/lakeview/

Brock · 07-10-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Any other suggestions for lunches/dinners?

Definitely up for pizza, but neither of us are fans of the deep dish variety. If we wanted a ****ing casserole, we'd order one. Anyone up there have good pizza with a regular thickness, hand-tossed crust?

Pizano's has a fan****ingtastic thin crust pizza.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 07-10-2011, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

Pizano's has a fan****ingtastic thin crust pizza.

Awesome. Just a half-mile north of our hotel on State Street.

Thanks.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 07-10-2011, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanT

I used to live in Little Italy in Chicago and really liked Pompei's pizza. Back then it was just a neighborhood place that sold terrific pizza by the slice, but they've added locations recently and I see that there is now a location that isn't too far from Wrigley Field:

http://www.pompeipizza.com/restaurant/lakeview/

Might have to look into this place as well. Half-mile east of the hotel.

Thanks.

SLAG · 07-10-2011, 04:51 PM

Funny this got bumped...

I leave for Chicago tomorrow for an interview on Tuesday.

If all goes well I may be a new Illinois resident

Sent via tapatalk from the EVO 4G

**BigRedChief** · 07-10-2011, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

Pizano's has a fan****ingtastic thin crust pizza.

yep, good choice for the thin crust variety pizza.

**BigRedChief** · 07-10-2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Trip is set, and we're going Thursday-Monday.

Tickets for the Friday afternoon Cards-Cubs game came in the mail this week. Scored seats 6 rows behind the Cards dugout for $70 under FV. Still looking for Saturday tickets. May skip Saturday and go Sunday and hope it becomes the ESPN Sunday Night Game.

Decided to stay at Hotel Palomar on State, just north of the river. We enjoy the hell out of that River North/Streeterville area. Definitely hitting Portillo's for lunch one day, since it's just a few blocks away.

Also going to have dinner one night at Benny's Chop house. We had an outstanding meal last time we were there.

Any other suggestions for lunches/dinners?

Definitely up for pizza, but neither of us are fans of the deep dish variety. If we wanted a ****ing casserole, we'd order one. Anyone up there have good pizza with a regular thickness, hand-tossed crust?

Isn't that up by Second City? Loved seeing a comedy play there.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 07-26-2011, 02:26 PM

Question for you guys that live in Chicago, or for those of you that know the city really well.

We thought about flying up for our trip next month, but it seems like a waste for such a short flight.

So, we're going to drive, but we're not going to need the car at all. The hotel we're staying at wants $50 a night for parking.

Is there anywhere we can leave the car for say half that per night? Somewhere safe? We could just dump the car in a garage and cab it to the hotel.

Also willing to park somewhere safe outside of the loop and taking the train in.

Any help appreciated.

**petegz28** · 07-26-2011, 02:29 PM

WTF goes to Chicago for thin crust pizza? Are you ****ing kidding me????

**OnTheWarpath15** · 07-26-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petegz28

WTF goes to Chicago for thin crust pizza? Are you ****ing kidding me????

Not me. I can get thin crust here. Guess it depends on your definition of thin crust.

I would like a good hand-tossed crust while I'm up there.

Don't get the fascination with deep dish. If I wanted a casserole, I'd order one.

But to each their own.

Frazod · 07-26-2011, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Not me. I can get thin crust here. Guess it depends on your definition of thin crust.

I would like a good hand-tossed crust while I'm up there.

Don't get the fascination with deep dish. If I wanted a casserole, I'd order one.

But to each their own.

I like deep dish (particularly Gino's East), but only occasionally - not something you want to eat all the time.

There's a bar we go to on Fridays that has St. Louis-style thin crust and fried a ravioli appetizer. Works for me.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 07-26-2011, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

I like deep dish (particularly Gino's East), but only occasionally - not something you want to eat all the time.

There's a bar we go to on Fridays that has St. Louis-style thin crust and fried a ravioli appetizer. Works for me.

Thoughts on my parking question? Almost avoided posting completely and just PM'ing you.

**Easy 6** · 07-26-2011, 02:36 PM

Make sure to tour the historic southside using the El & act as timid as possible.

01-31-2010, 11:04 AM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $3169627 VARSITY	Going to Chicago. What do I need to do? Avoid? Going to Chicago for a little 4 day vacation(Thrusday - Sunday) on spring break. Going to the Bulls vs. Cleveland NBA game and see Lebron, Derrick Rose, Shaq etc on Friday night. What is the can't miss "stuff" in Chicago? Avoid? opinions welcome... Staying downtown at the Allerton hotel. Any Planeteers want to get together? -------------------------------------------------------------------- 03/22/2010 edit to pay it forward for future chicago visitors: Transportation: Definitely take the trains and bus’s if you are planning to spend a lot of time downtown. We saved a fortune in cabs. Get the CTA pass and you can get on how ever many buses, trains, transfers etc that you want for how many days you purchase. http://faremedia.chicago-card.com/store/main.aspx?DepartmentId=34 Check the schedule and plan your route out: http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/maps/default.aspx http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/populardestinations.aspx We arrived at 8:00 at the O’Hara airport and not taking the train would have been a disaster. They highways are parking lots that time of the day. We flew out of Midway on the way out and took a cab out there to the airport. We really enjoyed riding the bus’s and talking to the locals. They gave us great tips on where to eat etc. You don’t need a car. If you are driving, there is no where to park and where there is parking is very expensive and driving downtown is dangerous trying to navigate all those cabs and buses? Not for the weak of heart. Attractions: Get the Go Chicago card: Saved us a ton of money on admission fees but more importantly we avoided the lines at the attractions to get tickets. It was snowing and the line to get into the Field museum was over an hour and a half to just get tickets to get into the museum. The lines to get tickets are long. Get your tickets in advance. http://www.smartdestinations.com/chicago-attractions-and-tours/_d_Chi-p1.html?pass=Chi_Prod_Go Sears Tower: Was cool but if you have to wait an hour or two? Question the value. The ledge is really cool. Nothing between you and the street 103 stories up but some Plexiglas. It’s an experience you can’t get anywhere else in the world. John Hancock observatory: We actually liked it better than the Sears tower because of the better ocean and beach views. They have something cool there, a skywalk 93 stories up that you can walk along that is exposed to the wind, temperatures etc 93 floors up. Just some mesh screen between you and the sky. Science and Industry museum: We all felt that this was the best of all the museums. You have to see the U-Boat. It’s another one of those you can only experience in Chicago things. Millennium Park: The silver bean was really cool. Seems like a real simple thing but once you get there and see it up close you understand the draw the bean has for people. Make sure you go underneath the bean and check it out. Looks like a wonderful place to watch a concert. Shedd Aquarium: We were disappointed in this one. Maybe we are just spoiled but we thought the Aquarium in Omaha was much better. The Field museum: Another disappointment. Sue the T-Rex was really cool but the rest of the museum left us flat. Seemed really educational for kids but for us adults we would like to have seen more exhibits than some pottery. Chicago Bulls game: We decided to take the bus out there. Straight shot to and from downtown. Not really a bad seat in the house. The mascot seems to be pretty athletic and entertaining. Highly recommend getting one of the monster dogs. Navy Pier: We went there and it was cold. Looks like a great place to visit in the warm weather. Second City: We saw “Rush Limbaugh, the musical”. Barney Frank, Hillary, Dancing Ronald Reagan’s…Very funny stuff. Had a bit in there when Rush with the Royals and George Brett on a toilet with hemorrhoids. Highly recommend checking out a show there. The Art Institute: A wonderful place to see art. So many Picasso’s, Monet’s and Van Gough’s you can’t really appreciate them fully like if some were here in KC just because of the sheer volume of masterpieces in one place. Very impressive collection. We also enjoyed seeing the American Gothic and some American art. http://www.artic.edu/aic/ Eats: Ginos East: Great pizza. Love the crust. We went to the one on Shapiro and it has all the walls filled with customer graffiti. Not living off its past reputation. My son thought it was the best pizza ever. Giordanos: on Shapiro, Excellent deep dish pizza here also. Better than anything you can get in KC. Try sprinkling a little Italian herb seasoning on the pizza here. http://www.giordanos.com/locations.html West Egg: Breakfast by the doubletree. Reasonable prices and great food. Everything we had was good. http://www.yelp.com/biz/west-egg-cafe-chicago-2 Yokes: Breakfast on Lake Shore drive. Best crepes we have ever had. Very good food. http://www.yelp.com/biz/yolk-chicago-2 Quaritinos: Best meal in Chicago. Very trendy and hip place but don’t let that push you away. You order 5-6 things and share them. Ravioli, Brusheta and the Bananas foster desert were our favorites but everything we had was real flavorful and well prepared. http://www.quartinochicago.com/ Lodging: We stayed at the Allerton hotel downtown. I would highly recommend if you are coming to Chicago and you are going to do these things listed above to stay downtown. This was a great hotel. If you can’t afford the downtown rates just take the train into the city and go from there. Last edited by BigRedChief; 03-22-2010 at 10:07 AM..
Posts: 78,982

06-22-2011, 08:24 PM	#226
Mama Hip Rockets You don't faze me, Gobble. Join Date: Dec 2005 Casino cash: $10005644	Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but try to avoid going to a White Sox game. Unless you like to get stabbed and/or robbed.
Posts: 13,675

07-10-2011, 04:51 PM	#232
SLAG Superbowl MVP Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: OOOOOOOOOOOOOLATHE Casino cash: $9910252	Funny this got bumped... I leave for Chicago tomorrow for an interview on Tuesday. If all goes well I may be a new Illinois resident Sent via tapatalk from the EVO 4G __________________ Ad astra per aspera
Posts: 11,177

07-26-2011, 02:26 PM	#235
OnTheWarpath15 MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $4931115	Question for you guys that live in Chicago, or for those of you that know the city really well. We thought about flying up for our trip next month, but it seems like a waste for such a short flight. So, we're going to drive, but we're not going to need the car at all. The hotel we're staying at wants $50 a night for parking. Is there anywhere we can leave the car for say half that per night? Somewhere safe? We could just dump the car in a garage and cab it to the hotel. Also willing to park somewhere safe outside of the loop and taking the train in. Any help appreciated.
Posts: 60,167

07-26-2011, 02:29 PM	#236
petegz28 Supporter Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Olathe, Ks Casino cash: $2824127	WTF goes to Chicago for thin crust pizza? Are you ****ing kidding me????
Posts: 127,981

07-26-2011, 02:36 PM	#240
Easy 6 pie is never free Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: the drivers seat Casino cash: $3757775	Make sure to tour the historic southside using the El & act as timid as possible.
Posts: 91,634