Life Going to Chicago. What do I need to do? Avoid? - Page 15

**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.

**Dartgod** · 07-07-2010, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Woofy's is the best Chicago Hot Dog place I've been to, it's been around for about 40 yrs or so. Off of California and Peterson IIRC.

It's Wolfy's and it's not downtown.

FAIL!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

Hot Doug's. If you don't go there then you are depriving yourself of one of the best meals of your life. Seriously.

Not downtown.

FAIL!

Seriously, thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to give Portillo's a try.

**BigRedChief** · 07-07-2010, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dartgod

It's Wolfy's and it's not downtown.

FAIL!

Not downtown.

FAIL!

I never found a good hot dog place downtown. Lots of great pizza. Went to the Bulls game and had a great hot dog.

**Reaper16** · 07-07-2010, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Not downtown.

FAIL!

Seriously, thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to give Portillo's a try.

Yeah, a fail on your part for not catching a bus.

Frazod · 07-07-2010, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dartgod

It's Wolfy's and it's not downtown.

FAIL!

Not downtown.

FAIL!

Seriously, thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to give Portillo's a try.

Portillos is great, but it is a chain. There's one a couple of miles from my house. Never get the hot dog, but they have an excellent beef and cheddar croissant sandwich.

One thing you should try if you haven't that's unique to this area is the Italian beef sandwich (Portillos has them). Thin sliced beef on a bun, generally dipped in broth. You can get it with mozerella cheese. One of my best friends is from here but now lives in New York, and whenever he visits the first thing he wants is an Italian beef from the nasty little hole in the wall diner he's eaten at since childhood.

**SAUTO** · 07-07-2010, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

Portillos is great, but it is a chain. There's one a couple of miles from my house. Never get the hot dog, but they have an excellent beef and cheddar croissant sandwich.

One thing you should try if you haven't that's unique to this area is the Italian beef sandwich (Portillos has them). Thin sliced beef on a bun, generally dipped in broth. You can get it with mozerella cheese. One of my best friends is from here but now lives in New York, and whenever he visits the first thing he wants is an Italian beef from the nasty little hole in the wall diner he's eaten at since childhood.

what area are you in fraz? im pretty sure i ate at the one close to you for some reason. cant for the life of me recall the name of the area....
Posted via Mobile Device

Frazod · 07-07-2010, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

what area are you in fraz? im pretty sure i ate at the one close to you for some reason. cant for the life of me recall the name of the area....
Posted via Mobile Device

I'm in Naperville. Portillos are all over the area, though.

**SAUTO** · 07-07-2010, 05:51 PM

hey dartgod you could hit up an outlaws clubhouse. just walk up and knock.

just kiddin, hell you cant even enter the pisser if you arent an outlaw, all others use the porta poddy outside lol
Posted via Mobile Device

**SAUTO** · 07-07-2010, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

I'm in Naperville. Portillos are all over the area, though.

nope thats the spot. we were there for my bros funeral and back for the benefit.
Posted via Mobile Device

**Dartgod** · 07-07-2010, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

One thing you should try if you haven't that's unique to this area is the Italian beef sandwich (Portillos has them). Thin sliced beef on a bun, generally dipped in broth. You can get it with mozerella cheese. One of my best friends is from here but now lives in New York, and whenever he visits the first thing he wants is an Italian beef from the nasty little hole in the wall diner he's eaten at since childhood.

I keep hearing that. I'll have to check one out.

**BigRedChief** · 03-10-2011, 05:38 PM

ChiefaRoo · 03-10-2011, 08:04 PM

Avoid the Clap/Jimmy Dugan

Rooster · 06-22-2011, 07:46 AM

I'm heading up there for the first time, aside from connections, in August. A friendly bump.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 06-22-2011, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooster

I'm heading up there for the first time, aside from connections, in August. A friendly bump.

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.

**BigRedChief** · 06-22-2011, 08:06 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.

We loved Yolk's too.

HonestChieffan · 06-22-2011, 08:17 PM

Allerton is nice. Robert Allerton's family founded the Chicago Stockyards. Trivia for the bar. Allerton Park is now owned by the Univ of Illinois. Huge arts benefactor.

Ginos East for Pizza.
MOSI a must.

01-31-2010, 11:04 AM
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $3219627 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: 78,938

07-07-2010, 05:51 PM	#217
SAUTO Shit Join Date: Jun 2008 Casino cash: $10039067	hey dartgod you could hit up an outlaws clubhouse. just walk up and knock. just kiddin, hell you cant even enter the pisser if you arent an outlaw, all others use the porta poddy outside lol Posted via Mobile Device
Posts: 55,715

03-10-2011, 05:38 PM	#220
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $3219627 VARSITY	bump __________________ Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. -YODA
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03-10-2011, 08:04 PM	#221
ChiefaRoo MVP Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Austin,TX Casino cash: $5207505	Avoid the Clap/Jimmy Dugan
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06-22-2011, 07:46 AM	#222
Rooster Draft a QB Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: JoCo Casino cash: $9961689	I'm heading up there for the first time, aside from connections, in August. A friendly bump. __________________ When Reno Hightower was a prick he was the best damn quarterback in the history of Kern County.
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06-22-2011, 08:17 PM	#225
HonestChieffan Seeking the Truth daily Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the Country in MO Casino cash: $2304309	Allerton is nice. Robert Allerton's family founded the Chicago Stockyards. Trivia for the bar. Allerton Park is now owned by the Univ of Illinois. Huge arts benefactor. Ginos East for Pizza. MOSI a must. __________________ “Make no mistake. If you try anything to raise the cost of vishessavatubs, I will veto it.” - Joe Biden, SOTU 2023
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