must do's in chicago? (first time)
 

so i know a lot of my fellow fg'ers are in chicago. my girlfriend and i are visiting this weekend and i've never been. is there anything that's not to miss? our hotel is on the corner of N michigan and upper illinois, a few blocks north of millenium park. we won't have a car so things have to be within a walking/easy riding distance, but i know there's plenty of stuff around there. we've been through all the travel-y touristy stuff, just wanted some input from the locals!

p.s. my gf had suggested the idea of renting bikes for a day from www.bobbysbikehike.com does anyone have any experience with them? i think it'd be cool to rent a madison

-visit top of Hancock/Sears towers
-maybe take an architecture boat tour if its not too cold
-go to museums: Art Institute, MCA, Smart Museum, Museum of Contemporary Photography, International -Museum of Surgical Science (really creepy), Museum of Science and Industry. Maybe your visit will coincide with the first friday of the month in which case you can hit up the galleries in the west loop and get drunk on free wine.

Most importantly, get out of the loop. Chicago is made up of tos of different neighbohrhoods each with a different feel. Check out Hyde Park, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Rogers Park, Bronzeville, Pilsen/Little Village. Eat the diverse selection of foods to be found in these neighbohrhoods. I've left so much out. If you have any specific questions PM me or go to chifg.com. Have fun.

Call ahead on the bike rentals, some of those places have packed it in for the season, though I still see some rentals around so somebody is still doing it. If you're downtown you can always just take buses and the El, commuting that way sucks but especially on a weekend they get you around the center of things pretty well.

I'm not a big Chicagophile, but I wouldn't miss Hot Dougs, Yojimbos, the Map Room or the Hop Leaf (for beer nerds), Par's Cove (for a nice, romantic, reasonably priced sit down meal), and maybe check who's playing at Metro or the Empty Bottle or some other venue, depending on your tastes. We don't really have ethnic food you can't get in Baltimore, but if there's something you're craving we have just about everything.

Get pizza at Lou Malnati's. And a frozen custard. And a hotdog.

go to chifg.com
register
ignore the micro-whining and just throw a post up for some help. the good folks will give you some assistance. I'd meet ya, but I will be in St Charles hurting my self-esteem at a cross race. And then I might go ring some cowbells and drink beer on Sunday in Milwaukee for my teammates as they race.

One of my favorite bars in chicago is the Black Beetle (near Empty Bottle). Map Room is really good too for beers, and HopLeaf is overpriced and too far north, IMO.

enjoy Chicago

And don't ask for ketchup unless you'd like a beating.

Also, get an Italian beef. Go to the Art Institute and check out Monet's haystacks, Hopper's Nighthawks, and Wood's American Gothic, among others.

If you enjoy record stores:

Reckless Records
Dave's Records
Vintage Vinyl
Dusty Groove is pretty good too.

Sorry, when it comes to Chicago i always think of the best record stores. I would also mention the museums but i think someone already did.

Oh man... food tour!!!!

Get a huge stuffed pizza from somewhere (I hate Lou Malnati's but there are TONS of options), Jumbo shrimp at Goose Island or Lawrence's Catfish Corner, then grab a burger at Kuma's Corner (go early), and then hit all the attractions bonelesschicken mentioned. It should be a nice weekend so a bike ride would be nice and you will be staying in a very nice spot to get into a lot of stuff. Everything is pretty much cycling distance (* < 6mi )

All great suggestions here and plenty to fill your weekend. If you do rent bikes you will be able to get to alot of these attractions that way. The city is pretty condensed for the most part and from where you are staying you can get to many of these places alot quicker than you would with public trans. or cabs. The layout of the streets is fairly efficient plus, as I'm sure you know, it's a great way to see a city.

Illinois is a east w street and you are staying in the loop, leave the loop as fast as possible. Avoid handle bar and probably wicker park altogether.

+1
but if you do find yourself in wicker park, there is a good bakery at like paulina and divison ish.

also, there is an italian resteraunt at wellington and sheffield(right off the brown line) that has red cream soad in the fountain. if you are in to that. its really good food too

If you want kick ass pizza go here "Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder, 2121 N. Clark St."-- It is baked upside down and the poppy seed dressing that is served with the greek bread very amazing. If you can make it up to the 6000 block just south of evanston there is a crazy little Indian neighborhood (western and devon) where you can get amazing Indian food cheap. Also, about 6000 n clark there is a mysterious sweedish neighborhood with shops that have fresh meatloaf, marzipan, and chocolates. It is actually one of the largest Sweedish populations outside of Sweeden and there are great views of the lake up there as well. If you have a bike just keep riding north on the lake front path until you get to loyola.

In the loop here are addresses that I can remember off the top of my head which you should see.
The Picasso (330 w washington, 300 n dearborn)
N orleans bridge (350 n orleans) if you stand on this bridge in the morning you can get an intense wiff of chocolate drifting by from a nearby chocolate factory. T
Golf coast dogs (300 s wacker) its in union station and it has the best hot dogs hands down.
Yo jimbo's (division and clybourn) Its only a bike shop, but alot of people get enthusiastic about it.
Margies Candies (960 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL) yummy ice cream sundays.

+ Billy Goats 430 n. lower michigan

> N orleans bridge (350 n orleans) if you stand on this bridge in the morning you can get an intense wiff of chocolate drifting by from a nearby chocolate factory. T

I used to go over that bridge every day. It was like having a hot chocolate while riding.

LOL, Devon & Western is an absolute ZOO!!!

The blommer chocolate factory also has a factory store that sells very cheap chocolate. The chocolate was nothing special but the lady that worked at the store was very pleasant.

http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1174

act three

oh man eat at as many places as you can. in wicker park theres these two burrito places with the same name and another across the street. they are all pretty good, but my favorite is the on on the right. like one right next door to the other, and the third directly across the street. it's great. and the signature bar it's atop the hancock tower and it's a bar. how cool is that? have a beer with that waaaaay intense view and there's no charge like the $13 sears tower one.

La Pasidita on Ashland, just before Division. Each one is a different color; Black = Beef, White = Chicken, Yellow = Mexicans only... or it used to way back in the day, I hear they changed.

grab a bite at bite cafe and catch a show at the empty bottle next door, you'll feel right at home there. As for pizza, Chicago's pizza on either Ashland or Sheffield is way better than that lou malnawhatever crap. The Clark and Belmont area is fun too, and my favorite sushi place is just north of Belmont on Clark, shiroi hana. And this might sound a little nerdy, but there is a super rad street called alta vista terrace where the houses on one side of the street are architecturally identical to the opposite houses on the other side of the street. Its a fun walk at any rate. Then you can walk through graceland cemetary a couple blocks away.

no hana (just down belmont, near reckless on halsted) was good as the bento specials were cheap and incredibly delicious. for burritos on division, my fav is Picante (first day it opened, i walked in and the dude asked if i was lost. totally confused me - great food, great staff. there was a picture of him sleeping in his car). just down damen from division is atomix coffee shop on chicago ave -. good eats, pay for wireless. also on damen, but inbetween division and chicago is another cafe called "Barista" (i think) - free wireless, but you gotta ask for the WEP key.
Cleo's bar on chicago ave has free food saturday nights, and this usually starts around 10pm or so. it is a decent place.
there is a burger place on 2900 W. Belmont Ave. (Ph. 773.604.8769) called Kuma's Corner - go HERE to read up on it. burgers named after bands. and it is effing delicious. great beer seleection too! this is north of the stuff I told you about earlier in this post, but i would say it is worth the trip if you are into burgers and great beer.

Don't pay to go up in the Hancock.

If you want to go up high, just ride the Hancock elevator up to the Signature Room on the 95th floor, get a table by a window and order a drink.

Also, get a copy of The Reader and see if there are any good shows going on at The Hideout, Schubas, Thurstons, The Double Door, Subterranean, or anywhere else. Always somebody playing somewhere just a L ride away.

Ahh, Cleo's! I used to live a couple doors down from there on that block (next to Beltran's). I miss stumbling home from the bars...

The original Playboy Mansion. I think it's condos now.

1340 N State Pkwy

http://chicago.citysearch.com/profil...y_mansion.html

enjoy the total lack of hills

this should make it easyhttp://www.viceland.com/int/chicago/...php?country=us