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Going to Chicago April 19-22 - catching 2 mets-cubs games (April 21, 22) what else can I do?

A

Al Neri

Diamond Member
edit april 19 part2

just had giordanos - on w belmont

it was ok - similar to pizzeria unos (the chain - all over NY and wherever else)

Tonight we have reservations at 945 for ChopHouse.

Will report back





edit: April 19

I'm here!



Me and my girl are going to Chicago April 19-22 to catch 2 games vs the mets - we're going to be in chicago april 19 around 3PM and don't have any plans for the rest of the 19th, the whole day of the 20th and the each night (19, 20, 21). The two games are day games. 21st game is at 6:05, 22nd game is at 1:20 Central Time.

We're staying at City Suites Hotel (the highest rated/closest hotel to wrigley we could find at a reasonable rate) - it's at 933 West Belmont Ave b/w N Sheffield Ave and N Wilton Ave. appears to be about .5 mile walk from Wrigley.

We rented a car (is this a waste?) and are looking for really anything fun to do.

What Bars, Museums, Sights, Attractions, etc. are good to do around the area?

Her mom said to check out the field museum and that there was a captured German Sub from WWII (or WWI) there - but the website doesn't list that - is it still there? Is the field museum worth visiting?

How's the weather around there - a friend who went to a game last year said it was pretty cold in June at the stadium -so what should I expect in mid april.

Thanks for any advice.

Don R.
 
I would say the car is probably not needed, you're very close to the CTA (public trains) and you can get pretty much anywhere you want to go via that. The museums would be the only benefit to having a car but when you factor in parking+rental cost you can just get a cab for cheaper.

The Field Museum is ok.. but the Science and Industry Museum is much more fun and probably more attractive to you guys.

There are literally tons of bars in Wrigleyville but they're mostly 'brah bars' if you know what I mean. Picture 100 frat guys all fighting for bar space 😉

What sort of place are you looking to hang out at? What sort of food do you guys want to dine on?

As far as weather.. anything goes really, I'd bring a jacket to be safe.


edit: there are lots of chicago AT'ers, let us know if you want to grab a drink or dinner
 
The City Suites Hotel is about 3 buildings away from the Belmont L stop (I pass it every day to/from the train). Taking the train would be the easiest/cheapest way to do stuff off Michigan Ave. and in the Loop. A 5 day unlimited pass is $18.

April weather is usually reasonably warm though a jacket and umbrella would be good to have though.

Places of Interest:

Museum of Science and Industry (the sub is still there)
Shedd Aquarium
Field Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art
Navy Pier
Millennium Park
John Hancock observation deck
Sears Tower observation deck
Michigan Ave between Oak St. and the River (stores, lots of stores)
Rush/State St. area (bars/restaurants)
Alder Planetarium
Lincoln Park Zoo

Boat tours of the river and lake Michigan are also offered (recommended)

Bar/food recommendations depend on tastes and budget.
 
Chicago style pizza - i understand that you guys have more signature pies than "deep dish" - what is good - pizza and italian is our favorite type of food, also a good steakhouse (ruth chris/peter lugers good, not outback good) - i'd prefer a local place and not a chain (contrary to popular belief there are good chains - ruth's chris for example) and anything else worth going to.

 
Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
Chicago style pizza - i understand that you guys have more signature pies than "deep dish" - what is good - pizza and italian is our favorite type of food, also a good steakhouse (ruth chris/peter lugers good, not outback good) - i'd prefer a local place and not a chain (contrary to popular belief there are good chains - ruth's chris for example) and anything else worth going to.
Click to expand...

Pizza is going to largely depend on preference but I would recommend Giordanos because you can probably hit the one next to your hotel with a rock from your window that's how close it is. My personal favorite is Lou Malnatis though.

As far as steakhouses, there are a lot of great places in Chicago: Mortons, Chophouse(my favorite), Keefers (chef was ex-general mgr of ruth chris's as well as cooking with the Palm as well), Lawrys, etc. Any one of those places is going to be better than RC in my opinion, price is the determining factor.
 
Science and Industry
Navy Pier
Field Museum
Planetarium
Shedd Aquarium
Sears Tower


The sub is at the Science and Industry Museum. If you like "museums" then the Science and Industry is a MUST SEE location.
 
Originally posted by: Platypus
Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
Chicago style pizza - i understand that you guys have more signature pies than "deep dish" - what is good - pizza and italian is our favorite type of food, also a good steakhouse (ruth chris/peter lugers good, not outback good) - i'd prefer a local place and not a chain (contrary to popular belief there are good chains - ruth's chris for example) and anything else worth going to.
Click to expand...

Pizza is going to largely depend on preference but I would recommend Giordanos because you can probably hit the one next to your hotel with a rock from your window that's how close it is. My personal favorite is Lou Malnatis though.

As far as steakhouses, there are a lot of great places in Chicago: Mortons, Chophouse(my favorite), Keefers (chef was ex-general mgr of ruth chris's as well as cooking with the Palm as well), Lawrys, etc. Any one of those places is going to be better than RC in my opinion, price is the determining factor.
Click to expand...

I have to agree on the steaks. The RC store here actually is pretty good but the Chophouse and Keefer's are much better IMO.

For some good Italian near your hotel walk up Clark St. to Mia Francesca.
http://chicago.metromix.com/re...akeview/135304/content
 
Originally posted by: K1052
Originally posted by: Platypus
Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
Chicago style pizza - i understand that you guys have more signature pies than "deep dish" - what is good - pizza and italian is our favorite type of food, also a good steakhouse (ruth chris/peter lugers good, not outback good) - i'd prefer a local place and not a chain (contrary to popular belief there are good chains - ruth's chris for example) and anything else worth going to.
Click to expand...

Pizza is going to largely depend on preference but I would recommend Giordanos because you can probably hit the one next to your hotel with a rock from your window that's how close it is. My personal favorite is Lou Malnatis though.

As far as steakhouses, there are a lot of great places in Chicago: Mortons, Chophouse(my favorite), Keefers (chef was ex-general mgr of ruth chris's as well as cooking with the Palm as well), Lawrys, etc. Any one of those places is going to be better than RC in my opinion, price is the determining factor.
Click to expand...

I have to agree on the steaks. The RC store here actually is pretty good but the Chophouse and Keefer's are much better IMO.

For some good Italian near your hotel walk up Clark St. to Mia Francesca.
http://chicago.metromix.com/re...akeview/135304/content
Click to expand...


Def +1 on Mia, we frequent that place and it's always good. They have a fairly fresh menu that changes a lot. I would say check out the Chophouse for steaks as my personal rec.
 
Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
If you are in the loop area, the italian village restaurant is decent.

The best italian food in my opinion is going to be the the UIC area. A little far from wrigleyville. Mart Anthony is one of my favorite restaurants.
Click to expand...

I'd probably pass on the Italian Village, the food is decent but if you're visiting there are better places.

Taylor street has some good Italian food.
La Scarola on Grand Ave. is also dynamite. http://chicago.metromix.com/re...istrict/138074/content


Also OP if you are going during prime dining hours reservations are highly recommended at these restaurants.
 
i know in NYC there are about 3 pizza places that wind up 1 2 and 3 on most lists (citysearch, zagat, etc.) are there like a handful of best pizzeria's? equivalents in chicago

I can get good italian food in NY - I'm looking for local things (i.e. Chicago pizza)

1 Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
2 Gino's East
3 Giordano's
4 Pizzeria Uno
5 Home Run Inn
6 Aurelio's Pizza
7 Louisa's Pizza & Pasta
8 Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder
9 Connie's Pizza
10 Vito & Nick's


is a ranking I saw - what do you guys think
 
I would rank Giordano's over Gino's personally.

Save your time with Uno.. Pizzeria Due the sister restaurant has better pies in my opinion.
 
Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
i know in NYC there are about 3 pizza places that wind up 1 2 and 3 on most lists (citysearch, zagat, etc.) are there like a handful of best pizzeria's? equivalents in chicago

I can get good italian food in NY - I'm looking for local things (i.e. Chicago pizza)

1 Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
2 Gino's East
3 Giordano's
4 Pizzeria Uno
5 Home Run Inn
6 Aurelio's Pizza
7 Louisa's Pizza & Pasta
8 Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder
9 Connie's Pizza
10 Vito & Nick's


is a ranking I saw - what do you guys think
Click to expand...

Go here:http://chicago.metromix.com/re...akeview/146188/content

And here: http://chicago.metromix.com/re...ln-park/135690/content
 
Originally posted by: Platypus
Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
Chicago style pizza - i understand that you guys have more signature pies than "deep dish" - what is good - pizza and italian is our favorite type of food, also a good steakhouse (ruth chris/peter lugers good, not outback good) - i'd prefer a local place and not a chain (contrary to popular belief there are good chains - ruth's chris for example) and anything else worth going to.
Click to expand...

Pizza is going to largely depend on preference but I would recommend Giordanos because you can probably hit the one next to your hotel with a rock from your window that's how close it is. My personal favorite is Lou Malnatis though.

As far as steakhouses, there are a lot of great places in Chicago: Mortons, Chophouse(my favorite), Keefers (chef was ex-general mgr of ruth chris's as well as cooking with the Palm as well), Lawrys, etc. Any one of those places is going to be better than RC in my opinion, price is the determining factor.
Click to expand...

yeah, if you're going to try Pizza in Chicago, stick with deep dish Chicago style. It's quite good, but every other type of pizza that is made here is really, really poor.

like others have said, ditch the car. If, like Platypus suggested, you end up hitting the science and industry museum, a car would be much more convenient (it's on the South Side, far away from the museum campus)

You will be staying close to many things. Plat's assessment of the bars is spot-on as well, especially in the Wrigley area.

My favorite place for steaks is Tango Sur, which is also in the area you'll be staying. It's an Argentinian place, and I've never had a poor or improperly cooked steak there. Recent reviews from longtime patrons suggest that they've gone downhill a bit (seems they've become a bit pretentious, and too successful for their capacity). but it's still a great place to consider. Moderately priced and no corking fee (it's BYOB)
 
Originally posted by: Platypus
I would rank Giordano's over Gino's personally.

Save your time with Uno.. Pizzeria Due the sister restaurant has better pies in my opinion.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

I usually take people to Giordano's as well, but recently (well 2 years ago...haven't had pizza in a while), they've been sub-par. And this was at the Belmont restaurant.
 
Originally posted by: K1052
The City Suites Hotel is about 3 buildings away from the Belmont L stop (I pass it every day to/from the train). Taking the train would be the easiest/cheapest way to do stuff off Michigan Ave. and in the Loop. A 5 day unlimited pass is $18.

April weather is usually reasonably warm though a jacket and umbrella would be good to have though.

Places of Interest:

Museum of Science and Industry (the sub is still there)
Shedd Aquarium
Field Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art
Navy Pier
Millennium Park
John Hancock observation deck
Sears Tower observation deck
Michigan Ave between Oak St. and the River (stores, lots of stores)
Rush/State St. area (bars/restaurants)
Alder Planetarium
Lincoln Park Zoo

Boat tours of the river and lake Michigan are also offered (recommended)

Bar/food recommendations depend on tastes and budget.
Click to expand...

Go to the restaurant and get an $8 martini. (they're not great) It's better than paying $8 to simply go to the observation deck. I guess you could also get a cheaper drink. 😉

I second the boat tour idea. Still might be a little chilly in April, but the architecture tour is worth it, IMO. they leave from Navy Pier and motor up the Chicago River. You get a nice, sometimes fascinating history lesson for $20 a person.

I always suggest that first-time visitors must (time permitting) check out the Art Institute. It's one of the premiere museums in the world, and shouldn't be missed. Millennium park is adjacent. I try to go at least 2 times a year.
Lincoln Park Zoo has improved recently. It's free, and they have some new animals (red panda :heart🙂. It's also in the neighborhood...The cat exhibit is horrible though. very depressing.
 
Sweet, another Chicago thread! 😀


If you want to go dancing, check out Liar's Club. It's on Fullerton, west of Ashland/Clybourn six-way.
 
Go to the restaurant and get an $8 martini. (they're not great) It's better than paying $8 to simply go to the observation deck. I guess you could also get a cheaper drink.

Good idea. It's only 1 floor lower. I don't recall if it is everyday or not, but they have a lunch special. Sandwich and a drink for $12 or something.
 
Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
Her mom said to check out the field museum and that there was a captured German Sub from WWII (or WWI) there - but the website doesn't list that - is it still there? Is the field museum worth visiting?
Click to expand...
Different museum. Worth seeing if you're interested in subs, or museums in general. If it's something you decide to do, buy tickets from the website ahead of time, the museum gets filled with school field trips.
http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/U505/index.html

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
How's the weather around there - a friend who went to a game last year said it was pretty cold in June at the stadium -so what should I expect in mid april.
Click to expand...
You could get lucky, but realistically expect to dress in layers. April in Chicago, one weak is peaking at 70, the next week is peaking at 40 degrees.

You could hit up the Art Institute for education, or the Goose Island Brewery for even more education. 🙂 Both are walking distance from the red line el / subway, which runs next to Wrigley Field.
 
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