Photo credit: National Geographic
At the end of the month, my friend Elisha and I are taking a little weekend trip to Chicago. I am so excited to see the city with my friend, but it’s kind of overwhelming, there’s so much great stuff to see and do! So… if you’ve ever been there (or even better, lived there), do you have any suggestions? Obviously it will be freezing, so I’m figuring we won’t spend much time outdoors! I’m excited to drink great coffee, eat great food, visit some trendy shopping areas, and maybe check out a museum or the sky deck. What do you think?
Chicago is a big city – a weekend is definitely not enough. But as that’s what you’ve got, I suggest starting with the museums. As far as food, there are dozens of great ethnic neighborhoods, each with their own all-star restaurants, so do some online research. And make sure to ride the el, see the lake, and visit the (free) Lincoln Park zoo. Have fun!
So nice to see your holiday photos and hope that everyone has recovered from stomach bugs and all of the travel! We sure were thinking of you all!
I have several recs for Chicago 😉
-If you’re going to a museum, there are so many to choose from, but the Art Institute is delightful and the Renzo Piano restaurant in the top has a great view of the city (without being outside). The resto is expensive, but you can always just have a glass of wine or an app up there and feel fancy: http://www.artic.edu/visit/dining
-In terms of trendy shopping, we lived right near Andersonville, which is an old Swedish neighborhood now known as an interior decorator haven–there are a ton of home decor stores up and down Clark St. here (you could spend all day browsing), but one of our favs is Scout (http://scoutchicago.com/). There are also some cute Swedish bakeries and small cafes for coffee pick-me-up. If you’re in the hood for lunch or dinner, check out Taste of Lebanon (the best felafel ever–get it with baba ganoush), Middle Eastern Bakery (perfect place to pick up homemade spice mixes and their amazing olive oil dough hand pies in flavors like feta, olive, herb); Hopleaf for a huge variety of beer and good mussels; or for a nice dinner, we always loved the restaurant Vincent, which is one of our favs in the city and has the cosiest French bistro environment and huge, delicious entrees for very reasonable prices (http://vincentchicago.com/dinner.html).
-Nearby Andersonville, I suggest antiquing as well. Architectural Artifacts is over 20,000 square feet of amazing antiques from around the world, pricey, but so fun to browse (http://www.yelp.com/biz/architectural-artifacts-chicago); Woolly Mammoth Antiques has weird taxidermy and old things too (http://www.yelp.com/biz/woolly-mammoth-antiques-oddities-and-resale-chicago).
-You MUST (and I really mean it), go see jazz at the Green Mill. It’s an amazing jazz club that looks like it’s trapped in the 1930s, and which used to really be a mob hangout. They have great shows for cheap. You can’t talk while people are playing, but you can soak in the amazing atmosphere and music (http://greenmilljazz.com/). Top 5 experiences in Chicago.
-If you’re going to the Green Mill, why not get Vietnamese nearby in Little Saigon? We always liked Hai Yen for entrees, but there are tons of Pho and Ban Mi places on Yelp to enjoy. Cheap, warm, and so good.
-Skip the Magnificent Mile and head to Wicker Park around Division (http://www.timeout.com/chicago/wicker-park-bucktown/shopping-wicker-park-bucktown-guide-2013 and check out Milwaukee Ave. in particular) Bonus: Jayson Home is not too far from Wicker Park); Bucktown around Damen Ave (Check out Pagoda Red! http://shopchicagochic.com/bucktown-damen-ave/); and Armitage around Old Town and Lincoln Park (http://shopchicagochic.com/armitage-avenue-lincoln-park/).
-For coffee, you can’t go wrong with Intelligentsia, Metropolis, Gaslight, or La Colombe.
-Consider getting Korean in Korea Town; Chinese in Chinatown; Indian on Devon (very far North); or Ukrainian in Ukrainian Village.
-If it’s truly too cold to do anything, get a Zipcar or a ride out into the suburbs (it’s quite far out) to my favorite spa in the world, King Spa–a Korean bizarre and amazing spa that costs $30 for 24 hours of dozens of pools, steam baths, saunas, and includes an awesome Korean food court (http://www.kingspa.com/chicago/).
Let me know if you need more specific recs for anything! And have a wonderful time!
xo
Holy moly! Thanks ladies, and Cat, I think you need to do a travel guide to Chicago! You sure do know what I like, lady! 🙂 I really want to treat my friend to a birthday dinner (the Art Institute restaurant sounds really cool) and Wooly Mammoth Antiques sounds very cool — I think we were already planning to shop in Wicker Park. All your food choices sound amazing! My friend is what I would consider a very adventurous and open eater, so we will have to check out international cuisine. Thank you! So incredibly helpful, and I know that must have taken some time to write all that out and link to everything. I do appreciate it!
Might be my favorite city besides the weather!!! Bring lots of warm clothes bc it really is a gorgeous city to walk around. Wicker Park. I love walking the streets of Lincoln Park. Coffee – Intelligentsia. I love RPMItalian which might be crowded but it was so good. (Get the ricotta and tomato with crostinis! YUM!) You MUST get some chicago pizza. Lou Malnati’s or Gino’s. Love this for drinks: Three Dots and a Dash. And some more to sample: Bavette’s, Sunda, Taco Joint, The Violet Hour, Big Star. Have fun!!! PS thanks for the christmas card! Love it as always!
I second the Art Institute. I love that place. I actually had a few of my renderings in an architecture exhibit there almost 20 years ago. It was so cool. My parents were super excited and dorky about it – meeting me and my (then boyfriend) husband there for the weekend to see it. I still think that was one of my favorite weekends ever.
My favorite thing is the river tour (the architecture one), but too cold for that this trip! We buy the city pass and use it to see what we want to see at several museums, rather than spending an entire day at one. It’s been a few years, but the gem room at the Field Museum is exquisite. It’s not huge, but it’s so perfectly curated. You get to see gems in their natural state, polished state and then in some fantastic piece of jewelry – all side by side. Seems like something you would love.
I love Frontera Grill, but I also just love Rick Bayless, and used to spend a lot of time watching him on PBS. Cat’s shopping tips are spot on.
Have fun. Stay warm!
Yay! Thanks, ladies! And I’m thinking a trip to Intelligentsia is in order! Alejandra, the ricotta and tomato with crostinis has me drooling!
XOCO was crazy delicious. http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/xoco/
If you’re thinking of doing sky deck, art institute, shedd aquarium, etc., and you don’t have Bank of America (which can get you in free to a few popular museums), then you may want to look into CityPass. We used it once a few years ago on a busy May weekend and it lets you skip or jump ahead in most lines, in addition to some savings over regular admission prices. That was definitely worth it so we didn’t have to spend hours in the heat, but I’m not sure if there will be any lines in January.
Penelope’s on Division (cool boutique), Merz Apothecary, and LULA CAFE! I moved to Oakland from Chicago 3 years ago and those are the places I miss most. Truly, Lula is a gem.
Greetings from Chicago!
The Art Institute is a must see! Make sure you don’t miss this: http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/jes-s-rafael-soto-p-n-trable-de-chicago. While you’re there don’t forget to walk over to The Bean (um… Cloud Gate ;)) and take some silly photos.
I live near Andersonville, and it’s a wonderful little neighborhood. If you’re there, the Brown Elephant is a lovely thrift store with an excellent book selection. There’s also a new coffee shop at the corner of Foster and Clark called La Colombe, which has the best coffee I’ve ever had in this city. They serve it in cute REAL cups and there’s no wifi there, so it has really lovely atmosphere. You also HAVE to go to the Swedish Bakery (http://www.swedishbakery.com/) and Roost (http://www.yelp.com/biz/roost-chicago).
Wicker Park/Bucktown is nice for shopping, though lots of it is a bit too upscale for the likes of me. Same goes for Lincoln Park. I do love to walk around in both neighborhoods though, as they are very pretty.
If you like vegetarian/vegan food I highly recommend the Chicago Diner (http://www.veggiediner.com/). They’re Reuben is amazing, as is the Poutine.
Let me know if you need to know more.
Thank you! Meredith, Penelope’s was on my list, so I know I must also go to Lulu’s. Thanks for the insider scoop.
And Sandy, wow! Such great suggestions! I’m adding the Swedish bakery to the list, as I am not one to pass up a good pastry or cake!
… and the Swedes in my family would be proud!
Wow you got some fantastic suggestions! I love Chicago, my dad lived there for a good while during my youth and my closest cousin is there now… but there is nothing I know that hasn’t already been covered. I do love the Chicago Diner, as a veggie fan 🙂
I loved the Art Institute when we went to Chicago- the Thorne Miniature rooms downstairs and the Impressionist section were my favorite parts.
Before you go, check to see if any of the museum memberships you own have reciprocal benefits. We were able to visit four or five museums/planetariums/etc for free because of the reciprocal benefits when we visited.
Great suggestions here! I was only in Chicago once — for a girls’ weekend, too — and loved it. We went to Second City for an improv night and went to the Green Mill for jazz — a night to remember. We also made a stop at the Aquarium and spent some time at the Art Institute — loved both. You can’t go wrong with restaurants there – so many possibilities. We ended up an authentic Russian place drinking vodka and slurping borscht — it was the best 🙂 Our hotel, which was super cheap and downtown, was awful, but makes for a hilarious story now. It didn’t deter us one bit from having a fantastic time. Would love to go back! (The sound of that Korean Spa is rocking my world.)
My wife and I live in Lincoln Park just north of downtown with our two little boys. The Field Museum is wonderful, same for the Art Institute. If you go to the Art Institute, don’t forget to go across the street to the Chicago Cultural Center to the top floors to see the ornate ceilings and Tiffany glass dome, same for stopping by the lobby of the Palmer House Hilton to see the frescos there. For dessert, Sweet Mandy B’s is a local favorite. Check out Little Goat (Stephanie Izard, Top Chef winner) in the West Loop. You won’t be able to get a reservation now for dinner, but if you go early for breakfast, a good bet. You can get deep dish pizza, but it will put you to sleep! The Hubbard St area in River North has numerous places for dinner, but is also packed at night, depending what you’re looking for — Hub 51, Paris Club, Sienna Tavern, RPM, etc. All are very good. If you are up in Lincoln Park area, Summer House is really a standout for dinner. So many options!
I visited your blog just now for the first time; we loved your article in the Post about kids taking risks and why it is good for them. It really resonates with the education we’re providing for kids at a school I co-founded in Chicago called Bennett Day School where taking risks helps our kids build confidence and a sense of responsibility. Our school is inspired by the collaborative, Reggio Emilia approach to learning by doing — the pictures of your kids building, playing with translucent blocks, etc. reminds me of our school! If you want to see Bennett Day while you’re in, let me know. But hit the landmarks first. 🙂
I wanted to say thank you to you for sharing all your posts about your trip to Chicago. My husband and I went this past week and used your tips and the tips from your readers! Such a neat city. We can’t wait to go back as there is too much to see and do!
It may have been posted but next time you go check out the restaurant Trenchermen in the Wicker Park area. They had such a great and interesting cocktail menu and the food was delicious!
Ashley, I’m so glad you found it useful! Chicago is a great city, glad you enjoyed yourself! I’ll have to check out Trenchermen next time I’m there! Thanks for sharing.