Headed to Chicago

[tyketime]

I just completed a crazy two-month work schedule that had me working long hours, nights and weekends. This resulted in pushing lots of extra house and kid duties onto Mrs Tyke. I have decided to surprise her with a nice weekend getaway to Chicago at the end of June. Just because it looked cool, we are taking one of those city Segway tours Saturday morning. Other than that, I haven't planned anything yet.

I would appreciate any ideas from you on sites, restaurants, etc. that we should see. We'll be there from Fri PM to Monday Noon.

Thanks for your suggestions!

[DataKing]

Good timing or bad, depending on your point of view. The Taste of Chicago runs from June 26th to July 5th.

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Great timing if that's your sort of thing, but the crowds can be downright immense.

[JAG]

Aside from what others may come up with for more recent additions, here's a sampling of threads you can peruse:

Ping: FOFC Chicago Contingent - Front Office Football Central

Ping: Chicago residents - Front Office Football Central

Ping: Chicago Residents - Front Office Football Central

Who Lives In the Chicago Area? (Or Knows Much About It) - Front Office Football Central

Goin' to Chicago - any advice? - Front Office Football Central

What are some fun things to do in Chicago? - Front Office Football Central

(have to admit, when I started this project, I had no clue there were so many of these...)

[Coffee Warlord]

Heh, many of them started by me.

Under different titles apparently.

[RainMaker]

- Wrigley Field if you're into baseball.
- Lou Malnati's Pizza (we have the best pizza in the world)
- Magnificent Mile for shopping

Those would be the places I'd hit up.

[Neuqua]

I'll take Giordano's over Lou Malnati's but you can't go wrong with either.

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

The Sears Tower is supposedly opening a sky deck...where you can walk out over the city, suspended in glass. That sounds kinda fun.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

I'll take Giordano's over Lou Malnati's but you can't go wrong with either.

How dare you

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by JAG

Aside from what others may come up with for more recent additions, here's a sampling of threads you can peruse:

Ping: FOFC Chicago Contingent - Front Office Football Central

Ping: Chicago residents - Front Office Football Central

Ping: Chicago Residents - Front Office Football Central

Who Lives In the Chicago Area? (Or Knows Much About It) - Front Office Football Central

Goin' to Chicago - any advice? - Front Office Football Central

What are some fun things to do in Chicago? - Front Office Football Central

(have to admit, when I started this project, I had no clue there were so many of these...)

I know... Search is my friend. Thanks for grabbing these links. I'm reading through them now...

[Passacaglia]

What kind of things do you want to do, and what kind of restaurants do you want to eat in?

[illinifan999]

Get the citipass. It's $70 bucks and it pays for you to get into the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, Sears Tower, and something else. It's a great value if you want to hit up all those places.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

I'll take Giordano's over Lou Malnati's but you can't go wrong with either.

+1. Sorry, RainMaker, but you are on the wrong end of this one.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

+1. Sorry, RainMaker, but you are on the wrong end of this one.

I spent 4 months living in Chicago in the Summer of '05 and sampled many pizza joints - you absolutely cannot go wrong with Giordano's. Every time I've been out there for business, first night there I order Giordano's and am in heaven. I've even ordered the pizzas they'll ship across the country.

[Coffee Warlord]

Yep, I'm going with Giordano's myself.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by DataKing

Good timing or bad, depending on your point of view. The Taste of Chicago runs from June 26th to July 5th.

Great timing if that's your sort of thing, but the crowds can be downright immense.

In my opinion (and I hate crowds) the best time to go to the taste is the afternoon of the first day. This is because:

1. Everything's still fresh (the people, the food, etc...)

2. It's surprisingly quiet. There's a bit of a rush at lunchtime, but then it clears out until the hordes descend in the evening.

Originally Posted by Farrah Whitworth-Rahn

The Sears Tower is supposedly opening a sky deck...where you can walk out over the city, suspended in glass. That sounds kinda fun.

If by "fun" you mean "terrifying".

I've always preferred the Hancock over the Sears for two reasons:

1. The view looking into the Loop (from the Hancock) gives you a better view of the city as a whole than the view from looking from within the Loop (from the Sears). It just feels like you can see more from the Hancock.

2. Generally, you're actually closer to the other stuff you want to see at the Hancock than the Sears.

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Yep, I'm going with Giordano's myself.

Same here, though I'm not sure if I'm ready to say it's the best overall.


By the way, if you're (tyketime) looking for a romantic dinner and can drop some cash, I cannot recommend highly enough the North Pond. It's expensive, but unlike other expensive places, you're eating real food (really good, local food, excellently prepared), not random stuff topped with bullshit caviar (hello Tru, hello Trotter's). The service is excellent, the wine list great, and the atmosphere exceptional. I mean, you walk through Lincoln Park from your car/the cab to the restaurant, which is on a small pond.

[RainMaker]

I grew up near a Lou Malnatis and my parents would pick it up once a month. So it's a little nostalgia that goes along with that place. Giordanos is still really good. I don't think you can go wrong with either place.