As I mentioned in my other thread, I have finally booked my long distance Amtrak trip for mid May. If everything’s on schedule (It is Amtrak so it may well not be), I should arrive at Union Station at 2:50 pm. My second train departs at 2:15 pm the following day. So basically I have one afternoon and one morning to go do some fun things in Chicago. I booked a hotel that looks to be a 10 minute walk from Union Station according to Google Maps. In fact looking at the map it looks like it’s approximately halfway between Union Station and The Art Institute of Chicago, and about three blocks from The Sears Willis Tower (which itself is probably a must-see). So ideally I’d like to stick to stuff that I can walk to from that area – I’m sure there’s lots to see inside the Chicago Loop.
So, what else do Dopers recommend in that area? And and good restaurants would be much appreciated as well.
Chicago has some great museums. The Museum of Science and Industry is a good one. The German U-boat exhibit alone is IMO worth the price of admission (it’s one of a very few left in existence).
Unfortunately, MSI isn’t in downtown Chicago; it’s in Hyde Park, about 7 miles south of the Loop. It’d be a fairly easy cab or Uber ride, but not really walkable.
@WildaBeast mentioned the Art Institute, which is just outside of the Loop (it’s across Michigan Avenue from my old office). In addition, the “Museum Campus” (the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium) is on the lakefront, and a fairly easy walk from the Loop – all three of them are really good, though, IMO, the Field is the best of the three.
Double ditto. I was fortunate to have several days in Chicago so I got to do many things but if I could have only done one, this would be it. Second would be the Chicago History Museum, but I don’t think It’s close to where you’re saying (it’s in Lincoln Park).
I’ll ping my brother for ideas (he’s lived in Chicago for 40 years).
Cloud Gate (a.k.a. The Bean) isn’t too far, as far as I can recall - on that trip, we did not arrive by train, but it was an easy walk from the Union League Club. It’s a pretty surreal sculpture. There’s a neat fountain that displays pictures of faces, often with the water spraying out of the images’ mouths.
I think we took a bus from the MSI up to the Loop area when we were there with the kids - that was 15+ years ago, I think. Lyft or Uber would definitely be easier though. We definitely enjoyed the museum.
So how do the locals feel about Giordano’s for deep dish pizza? Or do locals just say deep dish is for tourists? (Regardless, I’m having some anyway). I just picked that place because I looked at Google Maps and there’s one about two blocks from my hotel, so it would be a convenient place for dinner.
And I’m thinking I’ll have to try an Italian beef sandwich for lunch the following day.
Giordano’s is pretty tasty, IMO; they technically do a “stuffed” pizza, which is slightly different from the original form of deep dish (which you’d find at Pizzeria Uno or Lou Malnati’s). I enjoy deep dish/stuffed pizza, but I only really get a craving for it a couple of times a year, which I think is pretty typical for pizza fans who live in the Chicago area.
Locals do have their favorites for deep dish, but I don’t think you can go really wrong with any of the established local places that specialize in it.
Not a local here, obviously, but the last time we were in Chicago (5 or so years back) we had a late night second-dinner at a Giordano’s, and we enjoyed it. I’m somewhat seriously thinking of getting one to bring on the westbound train, when we have our 4 hour layover in Chicago - there’s one very near the train station.
If you get the stuffed pizza, that thing is a LOT of food. The 4 of us split a small one. When my brother and I had one, 30+ years ago (may or may not have been Giordanos, but it was the same sort of thing), we shared a small one for dinner, and had the leftovers for dinner the next day.
Some will say that. It’s a bunch of bullshit – plenty of Chicagoans at deep dish joints. What’s more accurate is that deep dish is more special occasion pizza here than anything else. It’s not the day-to-day stuff, so I think some locals kind of get sick of outsiders thinking this is what we think pizza is and this is all we eat. Honestly, last time I ate a deep dish (under any definition) pie was … I can’t remember. Three years ago? Four? More usually, it’s something I may have once or twice a year. The workhorse pizza here is a cracker-ish crust cut into squares (“party cut”). Over the last decade or two it’s earned the moniker “tavern-style pizza,” but we just called it “pizza” growing up. (And I didn’t even know what the hell deep dish was until my teens.)
Anyway. Giordano’s is fine. You’ll never see me ordering it, but I won’t pass up a slice. Visitors all seem to love it, so go for it, though it’s not – as mentioned – technically a standard “deep dish.” It’s a stuffed slice, which originated in the early 70s at a joint called Nancy’s (still around). Giordano’s very soon followed.
Italian Beef would be great. If you’re staying near the Loop and don’t want to venture out, I think Luke’s (215 W. Jackson) is your best bet.
So here’s an update: As I mentioned in my other thread about Amtrak, thanks to a schedule change I’m leaving a day earlier than originally planned. But I didn’t change the second train, so that means I have an extra day in Chicago. I arrive 2:50ish on a Monday afternoon if the train’s on time, then I have all day Tuesday to do something in Chicago, then leave on the Empire Builder Wednesday afternoon.
So I’m thinking:
Monday afternoon: Check in to hotel. Lunch (apparently they don’t serve lunch on the train that last day), maybe one of those hot dogs Chicago is famous for. Go to the Sears Willis Tower observation deck. Then just explore the Loop and find someplace for dinner when I get hungry.
Tuesday: Spend all day at a museum. I’m leaning towards the Museum of Science and Industry (since I have a whole day I feel more comfortable venturing outside the Loop, and it looks like it’s a short ride on Metra from where I’m staying). Although the Field Museum also looks interesting. Then Giordano’s for dinner.
Wednesday morning: Not sure yet. At first I was Old St. Pat’s just because it’s nearby, but it looks like they have weekday mass on Wednesday morning. Maybe I’ll just take a stroll through Millennium Park or something. Then an Italian Beef from Luke’s for lunch, retrieve my luggage from the hotel (or is there bag storage at Union Station?), and head to the train station. Eat leftovers from Giordano’s on the train instead of going to the dining car.
Dunno about bag storage at the station; if you were going on a sleeper car that day you could leave them in the lounge. But the hotel should be fine with storing them, just have a few small bills handy to tip the bellman.
As far as the dining car, heading out from Chicago: unless they’ve changed things recently, you wouldn’t be able to anyway - dining car is only for sleeper passengers. You could get something from the cafe car (microwaved prepackaged stuff).
I didn’t realize they didn’t serve lunch on that last bit of the eastbound Zephyr. That’s pretty annoying, especially if the train is at all late! At least we’ll have had a good breakfast.
Less than 2 weeks until our trip starts: we catch the Cardinal from Virginia to Chicago on the Sunday. Supposedly we’ll get lunch, dinner and breakfast, but being an east-of-the-Mississippi train, it’s those pre-prepared foods. I think we’ll bring sandwiches for lunch, just in case the offerings aren’t good.
If you do make it through Millenium Park, you’ll note that Samsung really missed a marketing opportunity by failing to make a silver version of these!
Those museums are okay, but the Art Institute is world class. As others have said, the river architectural tour is fantastic, and I personally would prioritize it over those museums, especially in nice weather.
Speaking of tipping, I already asked about tipping the sleeper car attendant in the other thread, but I guess tipping is also appreciated in the dining car as well. I was planning on having a few $20s set aside for the car attendant, but I guess I should have some smaller bills handy for tipping in the dining car.
I haven’t been on Amtrak since before the pandemic, but when I took the Coast Starlight to Santa Barbra back in 2014 passengers in either class could eat in the dining car; coach passengers just had to pay for their meals separately. And it seemed like the sleeper car passengers got first dibs on the reservations, so coach passengers kind of ended up eating at odd times. Has that changed since the pandemic?
If you go to Amtrak’s page on the Zephyr, and click on “Dining” under “Features and Amenities”, it lists the meals they serve:
I take it there just isn’t time in the schedule for them to serve everyone lunch, and then clean and prepare the dining car for the next trip. Come to think of it now I wonder if they close the cafe car at a certain point before the end of the trip for similar reasons.
Normally I’m not a big breakfast person, but that day I’m going to order one of the more substantial items for breakfast.
While researching my trip I found this YouTuber who made a video of his experience on the Zephyr about a year ago, back when they were still serving those pre-preared meals on every train. He and his friends reviewed most of the menu items, so that video might be useful to you. (He makes fun of the meatballs, but watching his other videos he orders them on every trip, so that can’t be that bad).
And I just realized I’ve hijacked my own thread into an Amtrak discussion.
Art museums aren’t really my thing, though. I will definitely look into that architecture tour, though. That is an interest of mine (I actually wanted to be an architect when I was in middle school, before getting interested in computers in high school).
A friend of mine is one of the docents for those tours, and they really do a fabulous job, with a lot of neat information about the buildings (as well as it being a cool way to see the city).
