Hotwire Hotel: 5* Chicago (Magnificent Mile Area - River North) The Langham Chicago

[coondogg97]

Wow, I can't believe the amount of information out here. Thanks in advance for the help so far. My biggest problem now is I can't make up my mind as to where to stay. I was originally looking in the loop, but it seems like a lot of people here suggest staying in the Magnificent Mile area. I am clueless. My wife and I are staying from July 7th to the 10th. We will not have a car so we will be walking or taking a taxi most places. I looked at the conventions going on during those dates and there was only one thing listed with 1200 people so it shouldn't be too bad getting a room. I am looking to spend +/- $200 a night. I was looking at what I think was the Langham Hotel (5* hotel with 100% positive feedback and one of the amenities was free internet) for $223 a night. Someone I work with had stayed at the Hotel Felix and suggested we stay there, but I couldn't find what looked like that hotel on Hotwire. More than the number of *'s I would prefer a hotel with a nice view and convenient location. I am sure I am over thinking this but it's our first time in Chicago and I have no idea what to expect.

 

Any help and/or suggestions are appreciated. 

 

Thanks!

[AaronJB]

Basically, South of the River is fine in terms of the core of the Loop and the area near/along the river. I think the issue becomes the West portion of the Loop, which is office-heavy and once it gets later at night, those areas are quiet/very quiet. In the West portion of the Loop you may also see things like McDonalds/Starbucks closed on the weekends. The South portion of the Loop also isn't very convenient and doesn't have a whole lot going on at night.

 

When you bid on Price.line, you can wind up anywhere in the zone. 

 

In terms of Hot.wire, where you can make an educated guess as to which hotels are showing, the North end would be just fine.

 

North of the river is fine and what I'd recommend especially if you're going to be out later at night.

 

On Hot.wire, I'm seeing (and you may see a slightly different price) a 4.5* Mag Mile-RN w/Boutique, Restaurant, Fitness, Free Internet, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Spa, Blind Accessible, Deaf Accessible, Travel Accessible, Room Accessible, Bathroom Accessible, Handicapped Parking, Roll-in Shower, Pet Friendly for $126.

--- This would likely be the James, which is a very nice boutique property in a fantastic location, which would be well under your budget max.

 

I'm also seeing a 5* w/Restaurant, Pool, Indoor Pool, Fitness, Free Internet, Hi-Speed Internet, Business, Spa in the Mag Mile area for $220, which would likely be the Langham.

 

View is difficult with Chicago - the density of the city leads to a lot of hotels "boxed in" and without much view aside from the streets nearby. The hotels along the river (such as the Langham) do offer views, but often as a paid upgrade - Hot.wire/Price.line reservations are not eligible for upgrades but you can ask at check-in.

 

Please keep us updated on what you decide and let us know if you have additional questions.

 

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

 

 

[coondogg97]

Aaron, thanks for the reply and information. If I read that a couple of weeks ago I would have been lost, but I think I am getting the hang of this North of the river, West portion of the loop stuff. I was leaning towards the Langham when I had posted that last night and I think I am going to go in that direction. It's understandable that if you want a room with a view you're going to pay for it. We will take our chance on an upgrade when we get there. Worse comes to worst we don't get our view, but we will still be in a fantastic hotel in the middle of everything.

 

Thanks again!

[AaronJB]

Happy to help! :)

 

Please keep us updated on what you decide and let us know if you have any questions.

 

Additionally, I'm very familiar with the city - let me know if you have any city questions, as well.

 

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[coondogg97]

Thanks again for the help Aaron. I ended up booking today and between this site and the Bidding Helper site I was able to confidently book The Langham Hotel using Hotwire. I have read great reviews and I am sure we will be happy.

 

Now I will take you up on the city info offer. This will be our first time in the city. It is just my wife and I and we are in our late thirties. I figured we would live on pizza and hot dogs for the week. I grew up in Queens, NY so I am really looking forward to trying some Chicago deep dish! Since it will just be my wife and I we would like to check out a decent (semi-romantic) restaurant. We usually stick with Italian, but any suggestion would be appreciated.

 

As for pizza I keep reading about Giordano's. So we just stick with them or should we try a few different pizza shops out? Also any suggestions where to get a good Chicago hot dog?

 

Other than eating we planned on checking out a game in Wrigley FIeld, seeing a show at Second City and checking out the Navy Pier. We will bein Chicago for 5 days so we will have time on our hands. We wanted to check out some Blues Brother stuff, but it doesn't look like there is much of that around. I found a site with all the filming locations but most of them are gone. Any other suggestions?

 

Thanks again for the help!

[AaronJB]

If you're driving or don't mind a lot of walking and a fair amount of public transit, there's a fair amount of "Ferris Bueller" locations (as well as the "Home Alone" house) in the North burbs, as well as a lot of "Ferris" downtown. There are some "Blues Brothers" locations, but they're not visually too thrilling - Daley Plaza is one (where the finale was set.) The Billy Goat Tavern made famous in the "SNL" skit is certainly there (http://www.billygoattavern.com/legend/snl/)

 

In terms of pizza, personally I tend to favor thin crust when I'm downtown and walking around because deep dish I think just sits too heavy, like a cheese brick. When I do feel like it, I really tend to favor either Giordanos or especially Lou Malnati's - the latter now has a location in Gold Coast along with the long-time location in River North. In terms of thin crust, I tend to favor La Madia (http://www.yelp.com/biz/osteria-la-madia-chicago), which has a nice, fairly low-key atmosphere and quality ingredients.

 

I've always recommended against Navy Pier. As someone who's lived in the area all their life, Navy Pier stands out as one of the more disappointing things the city has done. Navy Pier was redone entirely quite some time ago and turned into ... a tourist trap. Navy Pier actually was on the wikipedia page for "Tourist Trap" for quite some time.

 

It's not that it doesn't have anything going for it - it has some great views. There's a stained glass museum that's completely out of place there. But otherwise, it's expensive rides, souvenir stands and restaurants that you can get anywhere else. There's little uniquely Chicago about it. They are in the midst of modernizing/revamping it and I gave it a try a couple of months ago, but they really weren't far along. I hope that it can be something that is of repeat visit value for people who live here and have it give a better impression to visitors. 

 

I've actually been much happier with what they've done with Millennium Park. While the Bean (the giant reflective metal orb) gets - for some reason - all the attention, there's actually a beautiful garden area (http://www.luriegarden.org/) and they have added a rock climbing area and a lot of other odds/ends.

 

Personally, I think time spent exploring Lincoln Park or taking the water taxi to Chinatown and back is just time way better spent. Lincoln Park is terrific - Old Town nearby, the Zoo is terrific (and free) and there's plenty of great boutique stores and restaurants.

 

If you are up for a very long walk:

 

If you are up for a long (and I do mean long) walk that winds back to Michigan Ave, what you can do is head from your hotel to the closest Red Line stop at State and Grand. At that intersection, there's a Red Line subway stop. Take the Red Line Northbound to Belmont.
 
This area (Belmont) is Lakeview and it has a large population of 20-30 somethings. It is a very nice area and this is where you're going to find more in the way of unique shops/restaurants and beyond that, things are going to be more reasonable than they are on Michigan Ave both in terms of restaurants and shops. There's a lot of thrifts/boutiques in this area.  I'll also note that Osmium Coffee Bar (http://www.yelp.com/biz/osmium-coffee-bar-chicago?) is an option a couple of blocks West of the Belmont "L" station.
 
However, to start the route that I like:
 
Once you leave the Belmont "L" station (the Red Line that you got on at Grand/State eventually goes above ground just North of downtown, so when you get off at Belmont it will be on an "L" platform), you will walk East on Belmont to Broadway. Head South on Broadway and you'll pass by Reckless Records (http://www.yelp.com/biz/reckless-records-chicago-3?, unbelievable selection of music and occasional live entertainment) then Intelligentsia Coffee (http://www.yelp.com/biz/intelligentsia-coffee-chicago-10) and you then will get to an Intersection where Clark, Diversey and Broadway meet. Broadway ends there.

 

You can continue walking South on Clark. On Clark, you will pass by La Fournette (http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-fournette-chicago-2), which is a terrific little bakery. Soon after that you will get to the intersection of Clark and Fullerton. Head East on Fullerton a short distance and you get to Fullerton and Stockton.  At this point, on the North side of the street, you should see a pond with a giant, glassy building next to it - that's the Peggy Notabert Nature Museum. There is an admission cost and it is a smaller, more "family-friendly" museum, but its main attraction is a gorgeous live butterfly exhibit.
 
At the corner of Fullerton and Stockton, head South on Stockton briefly. On the left side of the street, you should see the North entrance to the Zoo. Next to the Zoo entrance is a beautiful older building - that's the conservatory, which is free and has beautiful flower/plant shows. When you walk through the Zoo (free), you should eventually wind up at the South end of the Zoo, which is the Farm in the Zoo. At that point, walk West through the park and you will get back to Clark Street. Head South on Clark until you reach Clark and North. Head a couple of blocks West to North and Wells. This is the Old Town area, which includes the famed Second City theater. Head South briefly on Wells and you will get to the Spice House (http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-spice-house-chicago), which is one of my favorite stops in the city. It's a husband and wife-run spice/herb store that is a feast for the senses, as well as where many of Chicago's top chefs shop. They have blends based upon various neighborhoods in the city. 
 
Not far from here is Luxury Garage Sale (http://www.yelp.com/biz/luxury-garage-sale-chicago), which is a high-end thrift/boutique that's one of the options in the area for more "treasure hunt"-style shopping versus what you will find on Michigan Ave.
 
When you are in the Old Town area on Wells, keep walking South on Wells to Division. Once you are there, you're nearly back to Michigan Ave. Walk East on Division towards the Lake and you'll go through the nightlife/restaurant-heavy Gold Coast area. Once you get to Division and State, head South on State, which breaks off into Rush. Take State or Rush briefly South to Oak Street, then Oak East to Michigan Ave and at that point you're close to Water Tower/Hancock (the top end of the Michigan Ave. shopping area.
 
So, that walk - while a loooong walk - basically takes you through the Lakeview, Lincoln Park and Old Town areas before heading back to Michigan Ave.
 
If you want to head back at any point, there are buses (the 151 passes by the Zoo, http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/bus_schedules/151.pdf) and taxis should be passing by, especially along Clark. There is an app (on Android, not sure if there is an iPhone version) called CTA Tracker. That allows you to type in a bus route and show you where buses currently are along that route.

 

Lastly, you could do a shorter version of this by taking the Red Line North to Fullerton instead of Belmont. At Fullerton, walk East towards the lake. Eventually you will get to the same point (Fullerton/Stockton), then the Zoo is just a little bit South and you can go from there.

 

-------------------------

 

Restaurants:

 

Sable (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sable-chicago, which is at the Palomar hotel).

 

Hendrickx Belgian Bread (http://www.yelp.com/biz/hendrickx-belgian-bread-crafter-chicago), which is right off Michigan Ave - it's a tiny little place and primarily a bakery, but they do have more of a menu than just bakery items.

 

Xoco (http://www.yelp.com/biz/xoco-chicago) is a casual option from famed Fronterra Grill chef Rick Bayless.

 

North Pond (http://www.yelp.com/biz/north-pond-chicago?) Beautiful high-end option in a lovely setting by the pond near Lincoln Park Zoo.

 

Wildberry (http://www.yelp.com/biz/wildberry-pancakes-and-cafe-chicago-2) Traditional pancakes-style breakfast place - reasonably easy walk from your hotel.

 

Chicago Raw (http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-raw-chicago) Creative, enjoyable vegan restaurant by the river in the Loop. There are other locations now in River North (http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-raw-chicago-2) and they actually have a booth in the Whole Foods near Navy Pier.

 

Kendall Dining Room (http://www.kendall.edu/taste-of-kendall/fine-dining-restaurant/, http://www.yelp.com/biz/kendall-college-the-dining-room-chicago) This is basically the training ground for Kendall College, which is a very highly respected culinary college in the city. Basically, this is a high-end dining experience that's very reasonably priced because it's acting effectively as a training facility. I'd call for reservations.

 

Pittsfield Cafe (http://www.yelp.com/biz/pittsfield-cafe-chicago, this is an old school diner - I went here as a kid, older relatives went here when they were younger, etc.) The food is reasonably good - very classic diner fare - a real core attraction here is that old school atmosphere and the beautiful architecture of the building's interior - it's tucked away in what's otherwise a classic office building downtown. It used to be cash, now I believe they take some cards but you may want to ask. This would probably be more of an institution if more people knew about it.

 

Balena (http://www.yelp.com/biz/balena-chicago, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-31/features/ct-dining-0531-vettel-balena-20120531_1_amanda-rockman-balena-pizzas), takes a little bit of work to get to, but great Italian (and great pizzas) in Lincoln Park.

 

Boarding House (http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-boarding-house-chicago), I've been meaning to try this place, but haven't - others I've talked to have liked it quite a bit. There is a show on locally called "Check Please" that Alpana Singh hosted - hugely popular restaurant review show locally for a long time. However, she was also the youngest woman to achieve the rank of Master Sommelier. She left "Check" a year or two ago to open two restaurants - this one and a new one, Seven Lions, on Michigan Ave.

 

Hot Dogs I'd go with Portillo's in River North. Unfortunately, Hot Doug's which was quite famous is closed.

 

Let me know more likes/dislikes in terms of restaurants and I'd be happy to offer other recommendations.

 

I would highly recommend the Art Institute and - if you can get there early - the Shedd Aquarium. The Shedd is pretty fantastic, but when it's wall-to-wall crowded and it's difficult to get close to exhibits it's less enjoyable.

 

There is a beautiful farmer's market in Lincoln Park near the Zoo on Wed/Sat and on Division between State and Clark (the street is closed) on Saturdays in the Gold Coast. Even if you don't get anything, really fun to browse around a farmer's market in the middle of the city (or city park.)

[coondogg97]

Wow Aaron, just wow!! Thank you so much for taking that much time to reply. Between your explination of the hotel areas and now the city itself I feel a lot better about going in blindly. I am used to Manhattan and Philly so a lot of that did make sense. I was wondering the same thing about The Navy Pier. I have read the same thing in the research I have done. Sounds like you get a great view of the city and if you're able to get there for sun-up it's worth the visual, but other than that it's a miss. Except for the stain glass museum, that seems to be a nice attraction.

As I said we only had those three things planned. I will put The Navy Pier on the back burner now. If we have time we will swing by, if not no loss. We will replace that time with the parks. I have heard a lot about Millennium Park and The Bean so we will be sure to check that out along with Lurie Garden, that looks great. I am fine with walking, depending on the weather. If it's ridiculously hot or raining I prefer to take a taxi. Are taxis readily available? Do you have to call them or can you just wave down a cab? I have no problem taking cab’s to different spots, but I would like some experience with the Chicago metro system too so we will probably switch it up depending on where we are going. I will check out the CTA app, thanks. I will do some more research on Lincoln Park as well. I don’t know much about that park except for the zoo. But if we do end up at Lincoln Park it would probably be Wednesday since they have the farmers market too. The Art Institute and Shedd Aquarium are great suggestions! We are going during the week (Monday-Friday) so I don’t think the Aquarium would be too packed, but it is the summer and kids are out of school so we will see. I will research that as well and see what the best day to go would be, or as you said just try to get there early.

 

We are thinking about renting a car just for a day. This way we will be able to get to the couple of Blue’s Brothers spots that are worth seeing (like Daley Plaza and Chez Paul). I honestly forgot about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Maybe we will rent a car and make a day out of seeing movie locations from a few different movies.

 

I will map out a lot of the routes you listed tonight and see what they look like on paper (or screen).

 

As for food…..man, I am going to have to starve myself before we get there because I plan on eating like a pig!! The North Pond sounds like a great spot as well as Balena. We will be sure to check out one of those places (if not both). I am used to thin crust pizza; the closest I have had to deep dish is Pizzeria Uno’s. I am sure that makes Chicagoans cringe. But I think I am looking at the Chicago pizza wrong. I am looking at it like NY thin crust where you can just grab a slice and go. A slice of pizza is more like a snack than a meal. Sounds like when you eat a heavy, Chicago pizza you need a while to digest. So it's not like we can grab a slice at 2 and then have dinner at 6. Maybe we will stick with the dogs for a quick grab and go food. Does that make sense?

 

Here is a very rough draft itinerary:

Monday: Land at noon. Check out the hotel and surroundings grab a hot dog. Go to Millennium Park and spend the rest of the day there. Check out The Bean, Garden and maybe people watch or something. That night go to Giordano's or Lou Malnati's for some fantastic pizza (which one would you suggest for a first timer tourest pizza)!

Tuesday: Grab breakfast at Wildberry Cafe and head to the Art Institute. Spend the day there and head back to the hotel. For dinner go to North Pond.

Wednesday: Grab something quick for breakfast and head to the Shedd Aquarium trying to get there as early as possible. Leave the Aquarium and head Lincoln Park to check out the Farmers Market. Dinner at either Balena or Giordano's depending on if we want to dress up or not.

Thursday: Possibly rent a car and hit the movie tourest spots. That night head to Wrigley FIeld for a 7:30 Cubs/St. Louis game.

Friday: Flight leaves too early for anything fun.

 

Does that look right? Am I trying to get too much done? Am I waisting a lot of time?

 

Once again thank you for all the help. It has been huge!

 

PS - And thank you for changing the title. It was driving me crazy!

[AaronJB]

" I was wondering the same thing about The Navy Pier. I have read the same thing in the research I have done. Sounds like you get a great view of the city and if you're able to get there for sun-up it's worth the visual, but other than that it's a miss. Except for the stain glass museum, that seems to be a nice attraction."

 

Basically, my thought at one point was to have the Taste of Chicago move indoors and rather than souvenir stands, have a rotating selection of food stands within the main area. If you go there early you can stroll around and get nice views, but it's not the only place for views. The area by the Shedd offers great views and a sort of "outside the box" view is at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza hotel. There is a little restaurant/bar off to the side from check-in that offers some great views of the river. A little weird to get to the hotel, which is in the top half of the building its in, but there's nice views there.

 

"If it's ridiculously hot or raining I prefer to take a taxi. Are taxis readily available? "

 

I was going to try Uber after a wedding last year and it was a Saturday night, River North, downpour. Thought there weren't going to be any taxis - step out of the restaurant, there's a ton of taxis. I've never really had much of a problem getting a taxi, aside from some waits at places where everyone is trying to get a taxi (the train station is a big example.)

 

"I have no problem taking cab’s to different spots, but I would like some experience with the Chicago metro system too so we will probably switch it up depending on where we are going"

 

Personally, I find Chicago highly walkable and really never use the CTA that much. However, if you're trying to get somewhere quicker, it's raining or trying to fit a lot into a day, it works. There is a part just North of the city where the subway comes up from underground and goes on the "L" tracks - which is always neat and you'll see that if you take the Red Line up to Lincoln Park.

 

" The Art Institute and Shedd Aquarium are great suggestions!"

Thanks. The Art Institute is probably not an all day thing, but you could likely spend most of a morning there. For the Shedd, personally, I've always liked the walk - if you go down to Congress and Michigan Ave, then walk East on Congress towards the lake, you'll pass Buckingham Fountain, then a block or so further is the lake. Walk South along the lake and you'll get to the museum campus (Field, Shedd, Adler Planetarium.)

 

"We are thinking about renting a car just for a day. This way we will be able to get to the couple of Blue’s Brothers spots that are worth seeing (like Daley Plaza and Chez Paul)"

 

Daley and Chez Paul (which is closed, but I believe the building is still there) are downtown and easily accessible without the need of a car.

 

In terms of Ferris and the North Suburbs, scenes were filmed at a house in Highland Park (Cameron's House), Glencoe Beach (a scene where Cameron has the breakdown looking over the water) and Winnetka (the real estate office where Ferris's mom worked.) Winnetka's also the Home Alone house. Somewhat to the West is the High School where they filmed Ferris picking up his girlfriend and the "Save Ferris" Water Tower.

 

Some picture comparisons:

http://roadtripmemories.com/tag/ferris-buellers-day-off/

 

http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2014/12/24/see-home-alones-iconic-suburban-house-24-years-later.php

 

There's little to these places really, aside from being able to look (although the Glencoe beach overlook is pretty.)

 

A main attraction in the North Burbs is the Chicago Botanic Garden, which is the Art Institute of garden museums - it's a giant, absolutely beautiful garden museum with both indoor and quite a few outdoor exhibits. It's the second most visited garden museum in the United States. 385 acres.

 

I think the issue with renting a car is that it will be expensive if you're going to do it downtown and if you're going to do it on a day where you're coming back to Wrigley, parking near Wrigley - if you can even find any - is going to be very expensive.  Then parking at the hotel for that night will probably be $50-60+. There are some great things in the North Burbs (Ravinia Music Festival as well - one of the oldest outdoor festivals in the US, which runs all Summer and attracts some big names), but the car would just ultimately be really expensive and a hassle - parking at Wrigley is just terrible, it's sort of a "given" that people take the Red Line.

 

The difference between Wrigley and many stadiums is that Wrigley is really in a neighborhood where everything is built up - it's not on the outskirts of the city kind of off to itself. The nice thing about that is that there's actually a lot to do around Wrigley in terms of bars, restaurants and other things. If you get there early (which I'd recommend doing), it's a nice area to hang out. The problem is parking (again, everyone just takes the Red Line in, which is why I'd recommend doing that early - everyone does it.)

 

You could take the Metra train from downtown to Glencoe, then take the Garden trolley (http://www.chicagobotanic.org/visit/directions) and walk to Glencoe Beach if you have time either before or after. Chicago Botanic Garden yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-botanic-garden-glencoe

 

If you were to do that, you'd have to start pretty early and that's a fairly long trip each way - by the time you get to Wrigley, it's going to feel like a looong day.

 

There are some good day trips outside of Chicago - Lake Geneva is one (http://www.cityoflakegeneva.com/), but again, dealing with a car and staying in the city is just expensive and a hassle.

 

" I am looking at it like NY thin crust where you can just grab a slice and go. A slice of pizza is more like a snack than a meal. Sounds like when you eat a heavy, Chicago pizza you need a while to digest. So it's not like we can grab a slice at 2 and then have dinner at 6. Maybe we will stick with the dogs for a quick grab and go food. Does that make sense?"

 

Yeah, that's my view on it - personally, deep dish is fine but it's an end of the day thing not a middle of the day before walking around a lot thing.

 

"Tuesday: Grab breakfast at Wildberry Cafe and head to the Art Institute. Spend the day there and head back to the hotel."

 

I'd say perhaps the Shedd in the morning and the Art Institute in the afternoon on the way back.

 

 

"Wednesday: Grab something quick for breakfast and head to the Shedd Aquarium trying to get there as early as possible. Leave the Aquarium and head Lincoln Park to check out the Farmers Market. Dinner at either Balena or Giordano's depending on if we want to dress up or not." 

 

If you do the Shedd on Tuesday, on Wednesday I'd say perhaps a focus on Lincoln Park. If you want to go to North Pond, have it on this day where you're already up that way. Second City is also right there if you want to add that in on this day too.

 

Monday: Land at noon. Check out the hotel and surroundings grab a hot dog. Go to Millennium Park and spend the rest of the day there. Check out The Bean, Garden and maybe people watch or something. That night go to Giordano's or Lou Malnati's for some fantastic pizza (which one would you suggest for a first timer tourest pizza)!

 

I'd say go look around Michigan Ave. I recommend people go to Michigan Ave to window shop - it really doesn't offer anything much that you can't get somewhere else for less and for less sales tax. However, it's fun to browse around. Eataly, which is effectively the Bloomingdales or Nordstrom of Italian food - is also worth a look and that's just off Michigan Ave. It's an amazing place - great food (although it's a little chaotic) and a gorgeous area of various groceries where not a thing is out of place, despite swarms of people constantly going through. Go to the Hancock Observatory, or the Signature Lounge at the Skydeck (http://www.signatureroom.com/TheSignatureLounge).

 

There's a lot of other possibilities, as well. Let me know your thoughts on the above and if you have any questions and I'd be happy to go into further detail/make additional recommendations.

 

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

[coondogg97]

Wow, thanks again for such a detailed response. The help on this board is priceless. I think I have a pretty solid itinerary down. I want to get to Wrigley Field and there isn't a game Thursday night (figures), so I switched a couple of things around. My wife doesn't have much interest in baseball so we will probably not be at the ballpark for the entire game, but I still want to catch part of a game and grab a drink/snack. Let me know what you think.
 
Monday

• Check into hotel and look around
• Grab a hot dog at Portillo's
• Head to Michigan Avenue and window shop
• --Stop at The Signature Lounge for a quick bite to eat
• --Check out Eataly (sounds like our Mecca!!!!)
• --Go to the Hancock Observatory
• Cap the night off with some pizza at either Giordano’s or Lou Malnati’s.

Tuesday

• Breakfast at Wildberry
• Millennium Park
• --The Bean
• --Lurie Park
• Wrigley Field 12:20 or 7:05 game (double header)

Wednesday
 
Go to the Pittsfield Cafe for breakfast

• Head to Lincoln Park
• --Lincoln Park Conservatory
• --Green City Market
• --Itto Sushi
• --The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
• --Lincoln Park Zoo
• --Lincoln Hall
• --Oz Park
• Cap the night off (again) with some pizza at either Giordano’s or Lou Malnati’s.

Thursday

• Shedd Aquarium (Opens 9am - aquatic Show 10:30am, 12pm)
• Grab a hot dog somewhere
• Art Institute (Open 10:30am - 5 pm)
• Back to hotel to get cleaned up
• Head to North Pond or Balena for dinner

Thanks again for all the help. We were going back and forth on where to go and I am looking forward to seeing what Chicago has to offer.

[AaronJB]

So happy to help! :)
 

If you're going to the Signature Lounge, you don't have to go up to the observatory. It's sort of a "one or the other". The Singature Lounge is an alternative to the observatory a lot of people like because they don't have to pay the admission fee of the observatory and still get a great view.

 

If you are gong to be at the Observatory, Giordanos on Rush or the newer Lou Malnati's in the Gold Coast (which is quite an active area at night) are an easy walk away.

 

Eataly's chaotic but again, I find it rather amazing not only from the standpoint of scope and scale, but that - despite the massive amount of people that go through it - there's not a thing out of place. It's a beautiful store.

 

On Tuesday, if you see a doubleheader at Wrigley, that's a looooong day. I'd say if you don't have tickets already maybe don't get tickets square in the sun if you're going to be out there for that long. Wrigley to me is really not about the games as much as it is the experience of one of the most classic ballparks in the US. If you're going to one game, then more can be fit in during the day if you're going to a night game or maybe something can be fit in after if you're going to a day game. You could maybe fit in Second City here depending on showtimes if you go to one game and not two.

 

On Wednesday, I'm pretty sure Pittsfield takes cash only. It is within the building and you'll see some remarkable architecture in the building. You can see some history and photos at the property manager website here: http://www.morganreed.com/pittsfield_building.html  The Pittsfield is a very old-school diner in every sense of the term and given that it's not on the street, it is very much a local thing.

 

On Wednesday, when you're at the Zoo, you're so close to Old Town - such an easy walk away. The Spice House (http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-spice-house-chicago, 5/5 on Yelp) is one of my favorite places in the city and with all of the smells inside, it's an incredible sensory experience. Second City is in Old Town, as well. 

 

Cafecito (http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafecito-chicago) is on the walk back from the Shedd and on the way to the Art Institute.

 

Again, please let me know if you have any other questions at all between now and your stay.

[coondogg97]

Ok, we will plan on skipping the observatory and stick with the Signature Lounge. We actually don't plan on staying for an entire game at Wrigley. I have gotten out of baseball over the passed few years and my wife has never been a fan. But I can't imagine going to Chicago and not checking out Wrigley Field. Fortunatly since there is a double header that day we have our choice of when to go. I planned on grabbing a couple of cheap tickets from somewhere/someone and walking around the stadium to explore. I don't see us being in our seats for more than an inning or two and I don't see us spending the entire game there. So I guess this would be a good day for Second City. After I posted that I realized that was the one thing I wanted to do but forgot to add it.

 

So I think this is our finaly itenerary. My wife had mentioned going to Logan Square Farmers Market, but it looks like they only operate on Sunday. We will be doing Green City Market when we are at Lincoln Park on Wednesday anyway.

 

 

 
Monday

• Check into hotel and look around
• Grab a hot dog at Portillo's
• Head to Michigan Avenue and window shop
• --Stop at The Signature Lounge for a quick bite to eat
• --Check out Eataly (sounds like our Mecca!!!!)
• --Go to the Hancock Observatory
• Cap the night off with some pizza at either Giordano’s or Lou Malnati’s.

Tuesday

• Breakfast at Wildberry
• Millennium Park
• --The Bean
• --Lurie Park
• Wrigley Field 12:20 or 7:05 game (double header)

Wednesday
 

• Pittsfield Cafe for breakfast (*make sure you have cash*)
• Head to Lincoln Park
• --Lincoln Park Conservatory
• --Green City Market
• --Itto Sushi
• --The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
• --Lincoln Park Zoo
• --Lincoln Hall
• --Oz Park
• Cap the night off (again) with some pizza at either Giordano’s or Lou Malnati’s.

Thursday

• Shedd Aquarium (Opens 9am - aquatic Show 10:30am, 12pm)
• Grab a hot dog somewhere
• Art Institute (Open 10:30am - 5 pm)
• Back to hotel to get cleaned up
• Head to North Pond or Balena for dinner

Thanks again for all the help. We were going back and forth on where to go and I am looking forward to seeing what Chicago has to offer.

[AaronJB]

If you're not very/minimally interested in the game, there is the option of a tour instead. Gives you some additional flexibility.

 

WHAT YOU WILL SEE ON A DAILY TOUR

NON-GAME DAY TOURS:
•  Seating bowl
•  Press box
•  Bleachers
•  Visitor's clubhouse
•  Cubs' clubhouse
•  Cubs' dugout
•  Field

All stops and locations are subject to availability. Specific tour routes are established each day based on events and activities in the ballpark.

GAME DAY TOURS:
•  Seating bowl
•  Upper Deck
•  Jack Daniels Patio
•  Field

Game Day Tours will NOT visit the clubhouses, but will instead enter the ballpark before gates open to experience the excitement of a game day at Wrigley Field.

 

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/ballpark/tours/index.jsp?content=daily

 

A game is great, there is the option of this, as well and if you do this 

 

[coondogg97]

Aaron, you should be on Chicago's payroll. The information you have is priceless and those tours look perfect. I will defenitely look into doing one of them.

 

Here is some irony. I get a Thrillist email everyday about different spots in Philly. Today's email had a Chicago snippet attached. I could really go for some good food now...... WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

50 Things You Need to Eat in Chicago Before You Die

 

Would you mind commenting on some of those places?

 

Pan pizza - Pequod’s Pizza

Lincoln Park
Known as the deep-dish pizza locals actually eat, the pies at this Clybourn Avenue mainstay sport a hallmark caramelized cheese crust that’ll make you think twice about how you want to tackle each colossal slice: crust first, or save the best part for last?

 

Churros and chocolate - Xoco (address and info) --- Xoco (http://www.yelp.com/biz/xoco-chicago) is a casual option from famed Fronterra Grill chef Rick Bayless

River North, West Town
Rick Bayless’ casual sandwich place (and its very similar airport sibling Tortas Fronteras) is recommended for lunch. But a couple of freshly made churros (like unrolled donuts) and a pot of thick chocolate dipping sauce is a combo that works anytime.

 

Cake shake - Portillo’s (address and info) --- Hot Dogs I'd go with Portillo's in River North. Unfortunately, Hot Doug's which was quite famous is closed.
Multiple locations
This legendary chain goes full-tilt dessert Inception with a dessert within a dessert known as a “cake shake,” into which an entire slice of diabolically rich chocolate cake is ground. Balance out all that sweet with a Chicago-style dog.

 

Depression Dog - Red Hot Ranch
Logan Square, Lakeview
With the noticeable absence of Hot Doug’s in our lives, we’ve glommed onto a dog that’s much more simple but still every bit as traditional. The late-night hot dog stand offers steamed dogs simply dressed in mustard, relish, onion, sport peppers, and an overly generous mound of fresh-cut fries.

 

Peach Italian lemonade - Mario’s Italian Lemonade
University Village
Slushy Italian lemonade is different from hard Italian ice, and the place to go for it is this stand opposite Al’s on Taylor. It’s only open in the summer and the peach flavor is rarer than that, popping up for a few weeks every summer when peaches get cheap (and some years not at all).

 

Mozzarella sticks - Roots Handmade Pizza --- (This place sounds fantastic!!!!)
Ukrainian Village
You’ll know that Chicago truly is the mecca of the Midwest when you look over a menu of ridiculously cheesy Quad Cities-style pizzas and think to yourself “I could use some jumbo mozzarella sticks too.” But your gut instinct is spot on here, because the mozzarella is made from scratch, coated in garlic breadcrumbs, and will inspire the envy of neighboring booths as you chew on a strand of cheese stretching to infinity.

 

Black Truffle Explosion - Alinea
Lincoln Park
Pop this ravioli in your mouth and it will explode with the intoxicatingly lush flavor of real black truffle. Grant Achatz invented it at The French Laundry and it’s the signature dish at his world-famous Alinea to this day.

 

Sausage biscuit - Bang Bang Pie Shop
Logan Square
Bang Bang’s small-batch sour cream biscuits are topped with ginger-sage sausage, gravy, and a poached egg and come with a side of seasonal jam. Only sandwiches of this high a quality could make it a tough decision of whether to order a biscuit or a slice of pie (“both” is the correct answer).

 

One last question, I assume you can't walk around Chicago with an open beverage. We will be on vacation so I would like to stop for a drink every now and then. I am not looking to get sloppy drunk, but would like to have a drink with meals and when we are walking around the parks. I'm not sure how that works. Are there even bars in the parks?

 

Thanks again!

[AaronJB]

Thanks for your compliments - so happy to help with the trip planning! :)

 

The tour at Wrigley is an alternative idea vs going to a game - gives you the flexibility to go to Wrigley on another day if you want.

 

The funny thing is that I didn't even realize that you're here during Taste of Chicago (http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/taste_of_chicago.html). I've gone to the Taste on occasion over the years since I was a little kid. I think it is expensive for what it is, but it is an enjoyable experience and I think in this case it'll work really well in terms of having a collection of restaurants all in one place not far from your hotel. You buy tickets (which of course leads to that moment where you somehow are left with one ticket and everything is 3-4-5+) and redeem tickets at the various booths for food and drink. Map: http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/dca/Taste%20of%20Chicago/TOCbrochuremap2015.pdf

 

Preview: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/dining/ct-taste-of-chicago-preview-2015-20150624-1-story.html

 

Alinea is probably one of the most famed/highly praised restaurants in the country and is popular to the point where you have to buy tickets in advance. It's also extremely expensive at $210-275 per person (it is a tasting menu). I haven't been there but if it's something that you're legitimately interested in, I'd consider looking into it in advance of your trip. There's a movie (I think it's still on Netflix?) called "Spinning Plates" that focuses on a few different chefs, including the head chef at Alinea. Charming, enjoyable documentary - it's not the same experience as eating there, certainly, but worth a view if you're interested. The chef's newer restaurant, Next, is still pricey but somewhat less expensive (https://website.nextrestaurant.com/.)

 

Xoco is great - it's a quick alternative to the more formal restaurants (Topolobampo, Frontera Grill) from Bayless right nearby, which are often jammed. Peqods has very good pizza, although it's admittedly been a pretty long time. I've heard good things about Red Hot Ranch but haven't been there.

 

The others I'm not familiar with but I think the issue really becomes with some of these others that they are a bit of a ways out of the way and would almost become sort of a trip in itself. A number of the things I've mentioned/commented on above are some degree of convenient on the way to something else.

 

If you do want to fit in other food options let me know and I'd be happy to offer best directions. That said, perhaps this trip is kind of a balance of restaurants (with Taste and other stops and a good deal of sightseeing. Next time you're in Chicago, you could focus more on some of the city's restaurants (and I will say that Chicago has created a rich food scene), but you could also head up to Wisconsin for a pair of tremendous institutions - Brat Stop (https://www.bratstop.com/) and Mars Cheese Castle (http://www.yelp.com/biz/mars-cheese-castle-kenosha). Lake Geneva (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60022-Lake_Geneva_Wisconsin-Vacations.html) is also a great overnight trip not that far from Chicago at all. Brat Stop and Mars Cheese are on the way to or from Lake Geneva. There's also a lot of great restaurants in the burbs, including Bluegrass (http://www.yelp.com/biz/bluegrass-highland-park) and Abigails (http://www.yelp.com/biz/abigails-american-bistro-highland-park)

 

Drinking in public can result in a hefty fine. Even at Navy Pier, it's really limited to bar/restaurant areas (although I think they're trying to loosen restrictions there.) You can drink at the Taste in Grant Park as far as I know. In terms of unique drinking spots, there's always Green Door (http://www.greendoorchicago.com/history).

[coondogg97]

Talk about good timing! The Taste Of Chicago event looks awesome (can you tell we are foodies?!)! We would have to do that either Wednesday or Thursday. Do you think we could pull that off the same day we are doing Lincoln Park? We would obviously skip breakfast and get to Grant Park when it first starts at 11am.

 

Wednesday

• Pittsfield Cafe for breakfast (*make sure you have cash*) -- Move Pittsfield to Tuesday (replace Wildberries)
• Taste of Chicago event (11am-9pm)
• Head to Lincoln Park
•     --Lincoln Park Conservatory
•     --Green City Market
•     --Itto Sushi
•     --The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
•     --Lincoln Park Zoo
•     --Lincoln Hall
•     --Oz Park
• Cap the night off (again) with some pizza at either Giordano’s or Lou Malnati’s.

Or are we better off moving Lincoln Park to Tuesday with Wrigley FIeld and miss the farmers market? Then do Millennium Park on Wednesday before or after the Taste Of Chicago event so we have more time? I am so happy we have a decent plan in place. I can't wait to see Chicago!

[AaronJB]

I'd say consider combining Wrigley with Lincoln Park given how it's so easy to get to Lincoln Park if you're already up that way.

 

My issue with Taste of Chicago becomes kind of what you are looking for out of the experience. If you're there at 11 when it opens what you are going to likely see are a lot of people from offices nearby and there will be a minor-to-mild crowd early on. There will be some lines here and there but you won't feel rushed and it's somewhat more casual. If you want the full experience with crowds, it definitely does get more crowded as the day goes on. Personally, I'd much rather recommend the less crowded period when it first opens. 

 

Plus with combining Millennium Park and Taste of Chicago, the two things are right by one another.

 

If you go to Taste and you don't stay there for hours, you could do the Art Institute that day too (since it's right there.)

 

If you did the Art Institute on Wednesday, you could do the Shedd and Field on Thursday or the Shedd and something else (Chinatown?)

 

There are a couple of things that you have to do based on availability (the Taste), but I think it's otherwise good to have a framework in mind of what your options are and you may decide to switch things around in the moment based upon what you feel like seeing that day.

 

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[coondogg97]

Aaron, I just wanted to follow up and thank you again for all your fantastic suggestions. Unfortunately there was a small family emergency so we ended up going home a couple of days earlier than expected. But what we saw was incredible. Chicago is a beautiful, clean and friendly city. Here is what we ended up getting done:

 

Monday:

 

Took a walk to Portillos and grabbed our first authentic Chicago dog. Then it started to rain so we got a car from Uber (great service) back to the hotel. We were going to go to Second City tonight, but they didn’t have any shows on the main stage all week so we headed over to Eataly. I am embarrassed to say, this was possibly the highlight of the trip. There are rumors of opening one in Philly, I pray that’s right!! I can’t imagine it will be anything like Chicago, but still….talk about a foodies paradise. Just the inventory they had in cheese on the floor must have cost tens of thousands. Whew….needless to say we ended up going back to Eataly three times just to look around and shop. We left Eataly and headed to Lou Malnatis for some pizza which was great.

 

Tuesday:

 

We headed to Lincoln Park and started at the Zoo. Between the Zoo, Hall and Conservatory this took most of our day. The zoo was much bigger than I had expected and the conservatory was amazing! We ended up grabbing a snack at an outside restaurant by the zoo.  This was one of the unexpected highlights of the trip. Sitting outside on a beautiful day, overlooking the Chicago skyline and park….it was a perfect backdrop. We left the Zoo and headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then we went to Balena to eat and then Wrigley Field. I know you suggested doing the park and ballpark on the same day because they are close to each other, but by the time we finished at the zoo we wanted to freshen up before the game. The game and stadium were incredible and the Cubs won which made it even more entertaining. The restaurant, although it was ok, it was probably one of the low lights of the trip. The service was decent and the food was ok, the place over all was just meh.

 

Wednesday:

 

We ended up leaving later Wednesday night. But we were still able to take our time at The Taste Of Chicago event. We got 6 strips of tickets and used every last one. Sooooo many highlights here, but there was this donut stand that was out of this world! On the way back we went to Eataly to do some shopping and then went back to the hotel. We still had a few hours to kill and even though we were ridiculously full from the Taste Of Chicago event, we headed out to dinner. We wanted to check out the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre site and learned there was a pretty cool pizza place in the area called Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company. So we headed in and to our surprise, it isn’t much of a hidden gem. The place was mobbed, but we only waited about a half an hour to be seated and I am glad we waited. The Pizza Pot Pie was incredible and the place was awesome.

 

The biggest disappointment was not being able to catch a show at Second City, but now we have an excuse to go back. The biggest surprise, was how clean the city was and how nice people are. I know every area has it’s undesirable’s, but everyone who we ran into was friendly and accommodating.

 

Thanks again Aaron, your suggestions were spot on and you have a wonderful city!

 

PS – The Langham Hotel was gorgeous and the service was out of this world. We ended up upgrading to a King Size bed on the top floor for an extra $150 a night. Not sure if that was worth the cost. I was hoping to get a good view of the river, but we were only able to see a small section of it. The room, bed and bathroom were amazing though.