My wife has a conference in Chicago in early August, and I am tagging along. We’ll be there for 5 days, staying right across from Grant Park.
So, what are the things I can’t miss? What museums are the best? Restaurant recommendations for a quintessential Chicago eatery (that’s also not a tourist trap)? Any recommended experiences, like "make sure to bike along the shore at sunset, or whatnot)?
Some additional info:
[ul]
[li]I’m a theatre person, so I’ll definitely be taking in a couple of shows. Any recommendations there are welcome. [/li][li]Yes, we’ll visit Millennium Park for sure.[/li][li]I don’t generally like stuff that is mobbed with tourists. I prefer more out of the way stuff.[/li][li]I’ll have most of 3 days to myself while the wife is conferencing, so I’ll need some solo activities.[/li][/ul]
There’s a great train station that can get you to Milwaukee in a couple of hours.
KIDDING. I love Chicago. Plan on two hours at least at the Art Institute. Have an Italian Beef at Al’s on Taylor, which will put you within walking distance of the Pilsen neighborhood, which has excellent Mexican restaurants. Go look at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House on the South Side. Hear live music at a blues bar.
But Chicago, like my hometown of New York, is awash with excellent musicians. I’ve stumbled into many a Chi bar without knowing anyone on the bandstand and enjoyed the music.
I stayed in Chicago way back in 1987. There was a bar close by that I frequented for the three weeks I was there. A classic neighborhood tavern. Joe’s On Broadway, 3563 N. Broadway. 312-528-1054. No tourists, regulars only. (BTW: it took two of my three weeks to become a “regular.”)
This is a typical neighborhood tavern. Nothing special here. But I enjoyed the local flavor. I still have the business card that I picked up while there. If I ever get back to Chicago Joe’s will be on my visit list.
My very favorite museum is one that no one’s ever heard of: the International Museum of Surgical Science. It’s small, you can do it in an afternoon, but it’s really interesting and not overly crowded. https://www.imss.org/
If you’re truly into theater and not just into popular mainstream theater, see what’s playing at Neo-Futurists (Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind is their most famous, long running show, and it’s good, but so is their other stuff) or Prop Theater, or, if your budget is a bit larger, Mercury Theater or Lookingglass.
For Blues, Buddy Guy’s Legends is a classic, but yes, it will be overrun with tourists, and the drinks are priced accordingly. If you want to get away from the tourists, try Rosa’s Lounge. And, tourists or no, check out Green Mill, just because you can’t come to Chicago as a Blues fan and not go to Green Mill. (There’s some great Pho restaurants in the same neighborhood, too.)
Great suggestions, thank you. I’m passingly familiar with the Neo-Futurists, and will happily explore the others you suggest.
I’m not necessarily a huge Blues fan, but I like it and Chicago seems like an ideal place to get a little Blues on. Two suggestions for Rosa’s is good enough for me. Now I just need to convince my wife to join me
Across Michigan Ave. from Millennium Park is the old library, now the Chicago Cultural Center. There are two gorgeous Tiffany glass domes there. And it’s free!
I recommend the Oriental Institute of the U of Chicago. It’s not heavily trafficked and its chock full of beautiful stuff. Their oeuvre is art, history, and archeology of the ancient Near East. I’ve always learned something when I’ve visited. They are on 58th Street, if I recall correctly.
My favorite place for the blues is Kingston Mines on Halsted. They run two stages continuously, so you have choices. You’ll see a lot of good up and coming local talent there, as well as occasional headliners. It does get crowded, though, if there’s someone special performing.
Deep dish pizza is iconic in Chicago. I like Pequod’s in Lincoln Park on Clybourn.
Very cool, I appreciate the suggestions. It’s good to get a recommendation for deep dish, since I know there are gojng to be many lousy tourist places where I’m staying.
Go to the Chicago architecture Foundation @ 224 S Michigan (across the street from the Art Institute) and sign up for a walking tour. There will too many to chose from. You will get some history and knowledge of the city via our architecture and see stuff that us locals overlook on a daily basis. The riverboat tours are very popular and sell out in advance but a single ticket on a weekday should be possible. Seeing our buildings from the river provides a different perspective.
Go eat dinner at the Purple Pig on Michigan Ave. You will probably need a reservation. But it’s great food. Instead of each getting an entrée, get several starters for you to share.
I always recommend the Museum of Science and Industry, since there is nothing else really like it in the U.S.:
The CTA will get you around easily if you are starting from the Loop:
http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/service_overview.aspx
Prepare for sticker shock: the base price of major museums, not to mention other attractions, is around $20, often with many add-ons.
Best freebie: Lincoln Park, with zoo, conservatory, nature areas, classic urban park walks, museums with admission fees, and more:
There are fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday night during the summer. The nexus for them is Navy Pier, but you’d better LOVE tourists if you plan to go there. But you can see them fine from anywhere in Grant Park.
Any deep dish pizza you find in the Loop area will be excellent; don’t worry about “tourist pizza.” And definitely have an Italian Beef or ten, preferably at Al’s, but other places make excellent ones as well.
If you want good old-school Italian food, you can’t beat the Rosebud family of restaurants. My favorite one is Carmine’s on Rush Street. I like sitting in the bar and enjoying the live music while I eat.
If you want the best gyros ever made, there’s a little hole in the wall called “Five Faces” at Rush and Division that is open really late.
While you’re in Lincoln Park visiting the Zoo and the Conservatory, you might also take a stroll around the “Nature Boardwalk” - about a mile of native landscaping around a peaceful lagoon.
Kingston Mines is indeed a good place for blues music, but there is also another iconic place across the street called B.L.U.E.S. that is worth a visit. And a little bit north is a great place for live reggae called the Wild Hare.
Have a great trip! File a report when you get back if you get a chance.
Years ago I was there on a business trip, having a drink with two work buddies in the hotel bar. “Let’s grab a cab and get dinner in Greektown!” I said. They said “Nah, we’re tired, we’re just going to have something here in the hotel.” I said , “You’re in Chicago and you’re gonna eat hotel food???”
Don’t eat in your hotel or in a chain restaurant. You’re in fuckin’ Chicago.
Al’s looks great - that’s a definite lunch stop for me - dipped, please! We will be there on a Saturday night and our hotel is right across from Grant Park, so the fireworks sounds like a no-brainer. I hadn’t considered the zoo, so I’ll check that out, thanks!
