Chicago, what to do?

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Ken C.

Ken C.

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Next Thursday I leave for Chicago. I plan on catching a few acts during the Blues Fest but I wanted some recommendations on restaurants and night life as well as some museum and anything else you guys can think of. We rented an apartment on Eugenie Ave. so any recommendations for liquor and grocery stores would be a plus. How about the trains from O'Hara to Sedgwick? What do I take?
 
Night life; Navy peer, you have to take a walk Down rush street at night pick any bar. Like beer? There are more than a few great micro brew pubs. A few great museums, Field and science. So many places to eat it is hard to go wrong. I think I once saw an artical on line something like 48 hours in Chicago I'll try and find it.
 
Mongo said:
Hopefully, you will be gazing upon our Stanley Cup...! ;):D
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Just remember who the rightful owners of that cup are ;).

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Ken,

Don't worry about stuff to do in Chicago. You won't find enough time to do everything once you get there. Its a great place to visit and you will want to go back.
 
Mongo said:
Hopefully, you will be gazing upon our Stanley Cup...! ;):D
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After last nights poor performance I say not. The Flyers are going to take that Cup this year.

How about any blues bars?
 
Not sure about Jazz, but for a good brew, you need to check out The Berghoff (sp?). And their pecan-encrusted pork medallions are excellent!

I need to get back there more often...

Daniel
 
I had a blast when I went 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately I didnt get to see all that I wanted to but it still rocked, plan to go again soon. The bean is a real cool site to be seen for $0. For $17 you can go to the near top of the sears tower, AMAZING to say the least.
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Ken C. said:
After last nights poor performance I say not. The Flyers are going to take that Cup this year.

How about any blues bars?
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The cup will be ours ! If your gonna be downtown you can go to the house of blues . If not just pickup a friday newspaper and check out the weekend section you will find plenty of blues bands in a lot of neiborhood bars . Not from that neiborhood but ive been there plenty of things to do you wont have any problems finding stuff to do . One more thing if your comeing in from ohare try not to take a cab the highway is a giant mess have fun go hawks .
 
Daniel Dorn said:
Not sure about Jazz, but for a good brew, you need to check out The Berghoff (sp?). And their pecan-encrusted pork medallions are excellent!

I need to get back there more often...

Daniel
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Second the recc on the Berghoff... great food, great beer (and rootbeer), great service.

And... it IS the BlackHawks' year. ;):D
 
Ken C. said:
After last nights poor performance I say not. The Flyers are going to take that Cup this year.

How about any blues bars?
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Before the season started I said these two teams would be in the finals. I jumped off the bandwagon mid-season but, voila here they are.

Chris Pronger will again hold the cup.(and most of the game pucks);)
 
You could walk the lake front starting at the Shedd Aquarium/ Field Museum Campus, on up to Grant Park and Millennium Park where all the lakefront fests are then on to Navy Pier. At Navy Pier you can dine, drink and board (day or night) many of the Skyline Cruise boats docked there. Architectural Cruise boats dock on the Chicago River just off the lake. There is also the Chicago River walk that straddles Wacker Drive E/W & N/S. The north side of the E/W leg of the Chicago River has many nice restaurants dockside.

Pizza = Uno's (downtown only). I suggest ordering the "Numero Uno". Give them your name, ask how long the wait is then walk a couple blocks east to Michigan Avenue and return 15 minutes before the time they gave you. Worth the wait!
 
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All the suggestions on this page are good.

https://www.signatureroom.com/Signature-Lounge/
This is in the John Hancock building on 96th floor. It is cheaper then the Sears Tower because all need to go there is get a cocktail or something to eat and the food is good. Even the bathrooms, which are 5star, have a view.

Burgoff's is really good. If you are a SNL fan go to Billy Goat's. http://www.billygoattavern.com/

The botanic garden is nice too. Although you may need to take a taxi there. http://www.chicago-botanic.org/
 
You can plan your trip from Ohare to Downtown via this CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) link.
http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/maps/htsystemmap.aspx

http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/trip_planner.aspx

To get around the city, see here:
http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/maps/default.aspx

The "L" (elevated) System is color coded. You can ride the L to get to different neighborhoods that may be too far to walk.
I suggest printing the map and having it with you. Once you hit a station, maps may be available.
 
BA_Colt said:
The botanic garden is nice too. Although you may need to take a taxi there. http://www.chicago-botanic.org/
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On the weekend you can get a pass for the train that is good for Saturday and Sunday, all day or you can buy a three day pass for $14. From down town go to Union Station and take the North line (Blue Line IIRC). It runs to Waukegan but there is a stop right in front of the Botanic Garden.

Much cheaper than a cab and the pass will get you all over Chicago.

http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/fares/fullschedule.aspx
 
Ken C. said:
Next Thursday I leave for Chicago. I plan on catching a few acts during the Blues Fest but I wanted some recommendations on restaurants and night life as well as some museum and anything else you guys can think of. We rented an apartment on Eugenie Ave. so any recommendations for liquor and grocery stores would be a plus. How about the trains from O'Hara to Sedgwick? What do I take?
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First post for me on here. There's no good, quick direct way to get from O'Hare to the Sedgwick stop. The quickest 100% CTA way to get there is the Blue Line at O'Hare to the Belmont stop, take the Belmont bus east to the Red/Brown line, transfer to the Brown line south to Sedgwick. The easier route would be take the Blue from O'Hare to the Division stop, you can easily grab a cab there that'll be under $10.

I'm going to go against the suggestions and not recommend Uno's, it's purely a tourist trap. Locals don't eat there (not the ones that know about pizza anyhow). If you want the best deep dish Chicago has to offer, you want to go to Pequod's. Lou's or Giordano's are also both better than Uno's, but second to Pequod's.
 
Tufano's Vernon Park Tap
1073 W. Vernon Park Pl.
312-733-3393
Closed Monday

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Go here for lunch during the week when you're in the loop (west but not too far, you can take a bus or walk if it's a nice day). Traditional Italian family restaurant, menu on a blackboard, looks like the bar in A Bronx Tale expanded to add a dining room. Pasta is nothing special, try the antipasti, fried calamari, lemon chicken. If you drive you'll have to valet park ($5).

Menu here:
http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/tufanos/menu

Valois Restaurant
1518 E. 53rd St.
773-667-0647

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A good cheap restaurant in Hyde Park, and good place to eat when you visit the Museum of Science & Industry. Open for breakfast every day at 5:30 AM. Harold Washington ate breakfast here every day for thirty years. Obama allegedly ate breakfast here before he ran for office and struck it rich.

Menu here:
http://www.valoisrestaurant.com/Specials.htm

Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli
1141 S. Jefferson
312-939-2855

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Big old-fashioned Jewish deli just south of the loop. Step back into 1950. This used to be the center of a retail garment district, just north of the Maxwell Street market. I used to eat breakfast here when I worked on the south side: matzo ball soup, cheese blintzes with sour cream, 3 or 4 cups of black coffee. It made me the man I am today.

Menu here:
http://www.mannysdeli.com/menus.php

Irazu Costa Rican Restaurant
1865 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773-252-5687
Closed Sunday

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Tiny, very popular neighborhood restaurant with incredibly good food, a three-car "parking lot" and very damn little street parking anywhere nearby. Go there weekdays between the lunch rush and the dinner rush — let's say, between 1 and 3 PM.

Menu here:
http://www.irazuchicago.com/menu.html

Bari Foods
1120 W. Grand Ave.
312-666-0730
Closed Sunday

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Arguably the best Italian sub in Chicago, the last holdout that doesn't use rubber bread.

Menu here:
http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurants/bari/menu

The Oriental Institute
1155 E. 58th St.
773-702-9514
Closed Monday

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Chicago's best free museum. If you make an appointment, you can tour your gallery of choice with a docent. The docents are mostly archaeology grad students, and the ones I've talked to reminded me of Daniel Jackson before he went through the Stargate.

The Green Mill
4802 N. Broadway
773-878-5552

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The Green Mill was one of Al Capone's high-end speaks. They have various local jazz bands and a "poetry slam." The Deep Blue Organ Trio is a lot of fun unless you hate organ trios.

Calendar here:
http://www.greenmilljazz.com/phpBB2/calendar.php
 
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You could start your own protection racket.
(sorry, couldn't help myself)
 
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Something to hit, if you have the time, is Second City Comedy club. Where the original cast of SNL got their start.

I've been a couple times, and although the food is crap, and the drinks are overpriced, you will laugh 'til you hurt.

Daniel
 
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