Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

Quite easily America's best academic bookstore.

http://centerstage.net/literature/bookstores/seminary-coop.html

http://www.semcoop.com/

enjoy!

A glass of wine in the Signature Room near the top of the John Hancock center, best done in the evening for a clear view of all the lighted buildings of the Chicago downtown. The Sears Tower is taller, but too touristy and the view is essentially the same.

Michigan avenue is always nice for gorgeous, over-priced shopping, if you like to walk and shop. I heard there is a tour of famous Gangster locales, though I have no idea what is like. The Shedd aquarium may be worth a visit, and I figure a trip to Navy Pier may be considered by some to be obligatory.

Oak Park (located 20-40 minutes west of the loop) has some of my favorite restaurants. Of course I can't remember the name of my favorite, but I do remember it was on the corner of Lake St. and Oak Park Avenue. I'm sure that really helps. There are lots and lots of good restaurants in downtown Chicago. A couple of ideas, Bistro Zinc for French fare and The Italian Village for, well, Italian.

Have a nice vacation, and, yes, I am jealous.

The architectural boat tour is well worth the 90-minutes - http://www.cfl81.com/archtour.html - if the subject interests you.

And I would echo the top of the Hancock if the weather is remotely clear.

I took this architecture cruise a few years ago and enjoyed it:

http://www.cfl81.com/archtour.html

One way or another I'd try to get out to the water assuming it's hot and sunny. The lake is beautiful, breezy and will give you great views of the skyline. Besides the cruises there's a lovely walking/jogging/biking path along Lake Shore Drive. The touristy Navy Pier is another option.

Also, as a teenager I used to love to go to this place for their awesome ice cream desserts:

http://chicago.citysearch.com/profile/3717490/?cslink=cs_boc_lw_2_6

(it might be a bit of a schlep depending on where you stay).

Welcome back to our fair city. On a neighborhood by neighborhood basis, it's amazingly walkable, an excellent quality indeed.

I'd second the Architectural Boat tour though I have a different URL:

http://www.architecture.org/river.html

for it. I'm not certain if there are two competing tours or not; though I've been on two of them and the one linked above seemed better, it's also very dependent on docent.

Also echoed is the Shedd - I was just there last week and the new 'wild reef' is a crowd-pleaser. Not cheap, however - total admission (all access) is something north of $20/each.

The Art Institute is showcasing Seurat at the moment

http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/seurat/seurat.html

and the Terra (a nice break in N Michigan) is showcasing modernists at the moment

http://www.terramuseum.org/exhibitions/index.html

The city sells museum passes for some set of the venues; they may be worth it if you're going to hit the Field and the Aquarium, etc.)

For non-meat dining, Chicago Diner is in the city and nice

http://entertainment.metromix.chicagotribune.com/top/1,1419,M-Metromix-Home-!PlaceDetail-20139,00.html

and in Evanston I very much like (and I am a meateater) Blind Faith

http://www.blindfaithcafe.com/

And the have, according to my wife, the best cupcakes -ever- (and they're vegan cupcakes). She makes semi-regular pilgrimages there for them (and is, apparently, overdue - this was a train discussion yesterday)

Green Zebra is getting good notices

http://entertainment.metromix.chicagotribune.com/top/1,1419,M-Metromix-Home-!PlaceDetail-24998,00.html

and Devon Avenue is chockfull of Indian (including South Indian) restaurants.

And I'm terrifically pleased to hear you don't much care for the blues. Certainly the tourist-trap of Chicago.

Too bad the Cubbies are in St. Louis and then the All Star break.

If you're into theatre, the new Terrence McNally show downstairs at the Steppenwolf is supposed to be good.

All the museums and don't worry about food. It's virtually impossible to get bad food in Chicago.

Thanks for all the help!

I've updated http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Chicago with the architectural boat tour urls.

yay chicago! i am veggie chicago native and i can't wait to go back and get some of the delicious food. Cafe Voltaire (3231 N. Clark St.) is a great vegetarian restaurant that serves up some really creative dishes. If you like Indian food, Raj Darbar (2660 N. Halsted St.) is fantastic. The Bourgeois Pig (738 W Fullerton Ave) is a really cool coffee shop near DePaul U. Their atmosphere is really unique: like an old library, all wooden and cozy. I believe they also serve veg and non-veg food.

Check out the view of the city from the Adler Planetarium. And if you need to cool off, take swim over at Oak Street Beach!

Unfortunately the Cafe Voltaire closed down a few years ago... Echoes on the Bourgois Pig, though!

Dave--Some Chicago favorites for me include visiting Oak Park and the Frank Lloyd Wright house there--really wonderful!
Hanging out on the lakefront
Ravania, which is like Tanglewood and should have concerts going on
I also don't eat red meat, and I had a lovely meal downtown at a place called Prarie that specializes in local, regional food prepared with local agriculture, etc. Good food, pretty spot.
Have a great time.

The Museum of Contemporary Art is just steps behind Water Tower Place and not as overwhelming, crowded, and time-consuming as the Art Institute. http://www.mcachicago.org/

Do you eat cheese? Have a pizza then. And I'll second the architectural boat tours, and the Magnificent Mile. Spend some time down at Grant Park on the lakefront. And visit the museum campus too. While you're downtown, you might also want to stop in Union Station to see how we used to build public buildings...

I guess these all qualify as "the obvious," but you only have three days: The Museum of Science and Industry (I'm partial to the electric train set-up). The Field Museum. Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. The Art Institute... as noted above they're doing the Seurat thing right now but their impressionists in general are said to be among the finest anywhere.

John Miller left a reference to a restaurant in Oak Park. While you're there, visit the Frank Lloyd Wright houses....

http://www.oprf.com/flw/index-walk.html

Beth swears by the architecture boat ride on the river. I've never taken it.

visit fermilab

i'm so sad that the cafe voltaire closed. =( i guess it's been 5 years since i've been there. le sigh. but pizza! great suggestion! i might get beaten for this but, avoid Uno's. i took my boyfriend there last October because he wanted a "chicago pizza experience", and it just wasn't too great. i loved eating at Gino's East - perhaps they've maintained their quality, even if they've abandoned their original location. although, back in the day it was much easier to get in there without a huge wait. now the whole, tourist mecca things is just annoying.

soo... anyone out there have any suggestions?

right after i posted i remembered an awesome place in chicago that serves up some extremely delicious (and unconventional) pizza: The Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Factory

http://www.chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com/default.htm

They serve "pizza pot pies" and their salad is a must - it comes with three dressings that go amazingly well together. Also, it's located right across the street from the site of the famous Valentine's Day Massacre!

If you're looking for pizza in Chicago, Gino's East is good, Pizzeria Duo is pretty good, Giordano's is good. And of course quality on the hole-in-the-wall pizzerias is extremely variable, but I've been to some great ones. Ask a local.

I love the University of Chicago neighborhood (aka Hyde Park) with its many bookstores and student restaurants. The Museum of Science and Industry, also in Hyde Park, has an amazing simulated coal mine tour. Chicago pizza has a thick soft crust loaded with topping. The downside to its deliciousness--after 4 yrs at U Chicago our daughter dislikes all non-Chicago pizza.

Check out metromix.com best site for all your tourist needs.

One thing a lot tourist dont do is go down to hyde park and check out Museum of Science and Industry.

Go to china town and get some bubble tea and sweet buns. They are awesome.

Another off the beaten path place is argyle street which is on the northside of town about 30 min from the loop by el. It is basically a little vietmanese town.

Lastly check out Garfield Park Conservartory. You can take the green line from down town directly there. It one of the biggest Conservartories in the nation.

Hi David,
Enjoyed meeting/driving you around at the Digital Genres conference, which may have been the last time you were here.

I think the most interesting street in Chicago is Devon, which is at once the most Hindu, the most Muslim, and the most (orthodox) Jewish street in the city. Take a cab or rental car westward from the lake (it's on the far North side), buy your wife a sari, get your kids some Banghra (Indian rave music) and enjoy the intense South Indian flavors of Uduppi Palace or the phantasmagoria of good cheap North Indian food at Arya Bhavan.

So? How was it?

You should get Chicago style Deep Dish Pizza at the Exchequer Pub in the south loop on Wabash, ribs are also reallllly great there as well as fresh fish, the atmosphere is traditional british pub style and very charming , in my opinion.

Hi there,
I just indexed a site that has a 1-Day, 2-Day and extended plan for tourists: http://www.chicagofortourists.com. Hope it is useful to someone. As a long-time Chicago resident, I think Chicago has tons to offer (though not always the best weather!) Come visit!