We're going to Chicago late Thursday and staying until Sunday. Already have tickets for a Cubs game. Any recs on restaurants and bars to hit up? We'll be staying at the Avenue Hotel, close to the Magnificent Mile. Also, any things that are a must see? Any input is appreciated.

Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry,
Art Institute of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium. Do one of the boat architecture tours. Eat at one of the many great Pizza places.

i second the architecture tour. what kind of food are you into? we have everything! here are a few ideas:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hot-dougs-chicago

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kumas-corner-chicago

http://www.yelp.com/biz/violet-hour-chicago for the dricnks, but the food is pretty good too..

Thanks for the suggestions. We like all sorts of food. Figure we want one night to go to a nice steakhouse. I read somewhere that Gibson's was really good. Maybe a night at a nice Italian restaurant, and then cheaper meals for the rest (hot dogs, pizza, etc). As far as bars, we are more into pubs and more relaxed, unpretentious bars. Are there any good bars close to Wrigley? Figure we'll hit up one for a few drinks after the game.

Thanks again for the help! We'll definitely add the architecture tour to our list.

Tuscany is excellent for Italian food--very authentic:

http://www.stefanirestaurants.com/tuscany.htm

Gino's East has awesome deep dish pizza--don't order a large, I promise you can't eat it:

http://featuredfoods.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/a-store/c-GinoAns_East.shtml?L+scstore+hzft2137ginosff09af09

Harry Carey's actually has really good steaks. Chicago is such an great city.

Giordano's is good. Definately take an architecture boat tour. They have very nice museums. Many great steak places. Last time we went, we tried David Burke Primehouse, also very good.

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Harry Carey's actually has really good steaks.

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This. Go, and don't think twice ...

Navy Pier! Very touristy, but fun for a firt-timer...

Go to the top of Hancock.

Eat a pizza... be prepared, our deep dish at uno's took an hour to bake, so call ahead! The pizza joints also get very crowded, so again call ahead

The brazilian/sushi place, Sushi Samba, is fantastic... make reservations about a week ahead of time.

if you must have the abomination that is Chicago-style pizza, do NOT go to Uno. That would be like going to Bennigan's for Irish food...

Gibsons
Keefers

Rosebud - on Taylor

Any recs for Wrigleyville?

Not sure what the problem with Pizzeria Uno is. I like Pizzeria Due better than Giardanos but all three are a lot better than anything down here.

no problem, but it is a nationwide chain, primarily east coast. not the place to go if you are in chicago, and can get the real deal

The one in Chicago IS the real deal ... it's the first location of what eventually became a chain -- not quite the same thing as grabbing a slice at a mall location in Poughkipsie. Still, I would hit Giordano's or Gino's first.

Oh, and in Wrigleyville, try Murphy's Bleachers or the Cubby Bear for a bar scene. There are a lot of great bars in that area, and a ton of restaurants ... hard to go wrong.

[This message has been edited by phoenix491 (edited 4/14/2009 2:26p).]

I had a ton of fun at the Cubby Bear when I went.

Also, for a 2am burger or hot dog: http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-wieners-circle-chicago

Where you're gonna be at, I spent about 2 months working there in 2003. Do these:

1. Ditka's (The Coach is often upstairs)
2. Hancock Center Signature Lounge (96th floor, I think). The drinks are going to be $10, but the view is amazing. They'll charge you to go to the observation deck (one floor up), but you can get into the bar for free and the view is just as good.
3. Weber Grill Restaurant (unique anyway, they do breakfast too)
4. Heaven on 7 - one of the best Cajun restaurants I've ever been to.
5. Gibson's Steakhouse - DO NOT order more than 1 dessert per table. One slice of cake is probably 12" high (I might be exaggerating by 10%)
6. Lots of votes on here for Giordano's, I like Pizzeria Due myself.
7. I cannot think of the place over on State that does Italian Beef, etc.
8. If you don't have one in your area, you should try Fogo de Chao - Brazilian Churrascaria (sp.?). You won't be disappointed. You also won't be able to move for about a day afterwards if you gorge yourself on meat.

Seriously in the 2 months I was in Chicago, I gained about 10-15 lbs. I loved it.

Great! Thanks for all the suggestions!

Good suggestions! I'll be in Chicago the same days and have tickets to the Cubs game on Sat. 30% chance of rain on Sat. for the game....crap!

Staying at the Allerton Hotel. Should be a good time. Might try and do the boat tour. Good stuff...

Rebel96 - do me a favor and go to the "Tip Top Tap" and tell me what that's like. I think they were scheduled to re-open that at the top of the Allerton a few years ago.

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if you must have the abomination that is Chicago-style pizza, do NOT go to Uno. That would be like going to Bennigan's for Irish food...

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You must have never tried the one I ate at downtown. Felt like a scene out of sopranos, the place was extremely old and very authentic.

Pizzeria Uno in downtown is definitely the real deal. Great Pizza!!

fair enough, i have never been to the uno downtown...

most of the locals swear by Lou malnatti's over giordano's, and i've never heard anyone from Chicago recommend Uno. i'm just saying...

... to clarify, do the architecture tour that goes down the river, not the one that goes on the lake

^ +2 -> the Lake one is crap... def do the river tour.

My sis swear's by Lou's, although she insisted we try the downtown Uno while I was visiting her. it was fantastic!

I didn't say it was better than Lou's. That's a whole different ball game. Just saying it is a really good pizza in a neat atmosphere.

HollywoodBQ ~ I'll check it out and re-post when I get back. Keep the suggestions rolling....

Rebel96 - thanks.

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fair enough, i have never been to the uno downtown...

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Pizzeria Uno is a chain of "Chicago-Style" pizza places. And they do own both the downtown Chicago Uno and Due (1 & 2 in Italian, I believe). The Uno and Due (my recommendation) are completely different than the suburban middle-America chain stores. They are owned by the same company, but the experience is completely different.

Another idea for nightlife is "Mother's" near Rush & Division. It was in some movie back in the 1980s, I think. Forgot to add that there's some good Sinatra at Jilly's (on Rush, I think) and live Sinatra upstairs at Ditka's.

I'm a hard core Metalhead, but even I left there singing Chicago is ... The Wrigley Building, Chicago is ...

Also, if you're there in summer, check out Navy Pier.

Rebel - noticed that the Allerton was right next door to our hotel (Avenue). Small world!

Chicago was great, but we didn't get to fit in as much as we would have liked. Cubs game was awesome. I wish Houston fans were like Cubs fans. Went to Sluggers before the game. Wanted to go to Cubby Bear, but it was packed and we just wanted to grab a quick bite to eat. The energy out in Wrigleyville really makes for the experience.

Ate at Harry Carey's. Thought it was pretty good, but have had better steak. We went to Keefer's another night. It was fantastic! Steak was so flavorful. Ate at Gino's East another night. Had to wait about 30 minutes or so, but it was worth it. The pizza was so good. Had the breakfast buffet at Houlihan's yesterday... it was pretty damn good. The made-to-order omelet was my favorite. We probably gained about 10 pounds on this trip!

Enjoyed Millennium Park. Free and good picture opportunities. We also went on the river architecture tour... found it very interesting and enjoyable. Went to the Sears Tower... that was a waste of time and money. We tried to go to the Shedd aquarium, but the line was ridiculous. Also, went to Navy Pier... just walked around for a few minutes and found that to be sufficient.

Went bowling one night over by the House of Blues (can't remember the name). That was pretty fun. Then ended last night hanging at our hotel bar, the Elephant and Castle.

We had a great time seeing the city. Got to see some old friends, so that was a nice bonus. Wish the trip hadn't gone by so quickly.

Thanks again for all the suggestions! Really helped make our trip great, even though we didn't get to do everything.

HollywoodBQ ~ the Tip Top Tap is no longer there. The only lounge is on the second floor along with the Restaurant. The guys at the desk said there was no plans of recreating it. Overall, the Allerton was a great hotel!

Kay's Lounge ~ I noticed on Sat. that your hotel was right next door. Funny how that works.

I agree with Kay’s Lounge. Great City. We did a lot of the same things. Cubs game on Sat. was great. Walk off homer in the 11th inning. Fans there are rabid for their teams...kind of like in NYC and Boston. Crazy environment. We went to Cubby Bear for a bit and found it too crowded and loud so headed to Goose Island for chow before the game. We bar hopped on Clark St. after the game and ended up at Vines on the rooftop bar.

Tried Gino’s East and Giordano's. Both great pizza’s in their own right, but I can see how people can have their favorite. I’ll have to try the others next time.

Did the Weber Grill and although it is a chain, it’s a pretty neat concept. Good food as well. Also ate at Devon Seafood Grill. Hung out at Rockit one night and Martini Park. Both great places. Headed to see some blues at Kingston Mines in the Lincoln Park area. Lots of places to hang out in that area.

It was nice walking around the city and using the subway and L. Did the Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain, Sears Tower. Checked out the Historic Water Tower and water pump. I could have skipped the Navy Pier. Sears was ok. The views were nice, but they didn’t have the 103 floor open so we were on the 99th. Guess you can’t really tell the different anyway. I’ll do the John Hancock next time. At least they have a lounge right below the viewing floor so you can have some drinks.

We did the architectural river tour and it was great. The weather on Sat. was awesome. We got to see the bridges being raised and lowered for the sail boats to get out into the lake. Also got to see a helicopter installing a rooftop unit on a high rise.

Kay's Lounge ~ did you hear the helicopters (different than the ones I saw the day before) on Sunday morning? They were out on Michigan avenue helping move some crane parts right outside the hotel. Pretty cool stuff.

Good trip...I see mail order Chicago style pizza in the future!

Did either of you sit in the bleachers at Wrigley?

Rebel - didn't see/hear the helicopters on Sunday, but did see the one you are referring to on Saturday. We had to get up pretty early on Sunday, so we were probably too out of it to notice.

SlowLane - no... we had tickes on the third base side. Kind of wish we had sat in the bleachers, but we got free tickets, so went with those.

Rebel96 - thanks for the follow-up.

BTW - As far as Navy Pier goes. Be glad that you did go. Now when local Chicagoans talk about how great it is, you'll know what they're talking about and not feel like you might have missed something cool.

One thing about Chicago style pizza is the fact that it takes 45 minutes to make it properly. So now that you've had the real deal, you'll never be satisfied with a restaurant's "Chicago Style" pizza that's ready in 20 minutes. Mangia Pizza in Austin does a pretty good job.

Next time y'all will have to try out a Sox game. I recommend leaving before the 9th inning on that one. Sounds like the Cubs game was great. It's amazing how two ballparks only separated by a few miles can offer such a different game day experience.

SlowLane ~ I in section 116 on the 3rd base side. I should have yelled out "KAY's LOUNGE" to see if anyone responded!

HollywoodBQ ~ not a problem. Definitely will be back next year or maybe summertime to see a Sox game for comparison. But it'll be hard pressed not to see a Cubs game again while I'm there!

The Subway and L make every part of Chicago accessible. Good recommendations guys...had a great time!

Rebel96, it wasn't until my 15th trip to Chicago that I rented a car. I took the "El" Train everywhere. I even took one of the heavier trains up to some concert place north of Evanston called "Ravinia". Anyways, somebody had given me some "Blues Traveler" tix and I didn't have anything else to do. It was worth the trip just to see this outdoor venue that local Chicagoans had raved about. (Of course, it was nothing compared to Red Rocks outside Denver - where I was living at the time)

Haha... we were in section 112, I think. But at the Friday game.