Tips for Visiting Chicago

[legi]

If you have some money to spend and want a really awesome dinner and fancy atmosphere, try Maple & Ash.

Maple & Ash | Luxury Steakhouse & Seafood Dining

Experience Maple & Ash, a luxury steakhouse known for wood-fired steaks, seafood towers, handcrafted cocktails, and exceptional dining across the country.

mapleandash.com

 

[canker2323]

Roots pizza on Chicago Ave has taco pizza like happy joes.

 

[Cycsk]

Here is a building you have to see while in Chicago. It is just up the street from the Hyatt Regency on Wacker Drive near the river where the team is staying.

It is called Aqua. Designed by Jeanne Gang, a woman who is dominating Chicago architecture.

Aqua

<p>From the moment it appeared on the Chicago skyline, the Aqua Tower has earned numerous awards for design excellence. However, it hasn’t kept all the glory for itself.</p>

www.architecture.org

 

[Cycsk]

Also, for you engineers, this book on engineering and design innovations was written by an Iowa State professor in the School of Design. I got to go on a walking tour with him back in 2019. Fantastic.

Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934: Leslie, Thomas: 9780252037542: Books: Amazon.com

Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934 [Leslie, Thomas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934

www.amazon.com

 

[HFCS]

I heard Chicago has good pizza. May want to give that a try.

If people don’t want deep dish my favorite pizza place in wicker park is Piece. It’s New Haven style pizza and they are also a legit brewery, one of the older ones actually from before it was a trend.

Strongly recommend that neighborhood for bar hopping if you want urban neighborhood fun not that far from UC.

 

[cycloner29]

If you want the pizza, but don't necessarily want to see the Gino's East place (which is great), you can always get carryout and take it to your hotel.

Be careful when out and about. I stayed at the Hyatt this winter for a meeting and few of us walked over to Geno's as a couple people in our group wanted some authentic deep dish Chicago style pizza. Never thought I would get assaulted by a guy that came out of nowhere and took a swing at me. Thankfully, the manager was there in a split second and had the guy in a full nelson right away. Don't know if the guy was drugged out or what.

Guy threw his cell phone at me and took a swing at me. I was able to duck and just grazed me. Our table of people were in shock. They kicked the guy out, and gave us a security escort back to Michigan Avenue. Never really thought about but was lucky the guy didn't pull a gun on me. Never saw the guy before in my life! I wonder if he thought I was someone else or something, but all of us were like WTF??

 

[melt]

The west loop has a ton of hotels and aren't far from the United Center. That area has been booming for a decade and has a lot of Chicago's hottest restaurants like Publican, Momotoro, and Au Cheval. The hotels are generally more expensive though, you're not finding a Holiday Inn over there, but they are nice. I worked on the Hoxton Hotel. You can hop on the green or blue line over there for like one stop and that will drop you off a few blocks from the UC. Some restaurants and bars also have shuttle buses, but I don't remember which ones those are. You can also walk it, it's about a mile depending on where you're staying.

The area right around the United Center is not nearly as bad as it used to be as development has pushed west. There are a couple hotels around the medical district that are perfectly safe places to stay, and are also close to some good eats on Taylor Street, especially if you like Italian.

My favorite deep dish places are Pequod's and Art of Pizza, but Lou Malnati's, Pizzeria Due, and Giordano's are fine too. There's a million places to eat, and I could never list them all. So if anyone wants specific recommendations or in a certain area, just ask.

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

Be careful when out and about. I stayed at the Hyatt this winter for a meeting and few of us walked over to Geno's as a couple people in our group wanted some authentic deep dish Chicago style pizza. Never thought I would get assaulted by a guy that came out of nowhere and took a swing at me. Thankfully, the manager was there in a split second and had the guy in a full nelson right away. Don't know if the guy was drugged out or what.

Guy threw his cell phone at me and took a swing at me. I was able to duck and just grazed me. Our table of people were in shock. They kicked the guy out, and gave us a security escort back to Michigan Avenue. Never really thought about but was lucky the guy didn't pull a gun on me. Never saw the guy before in my life! I wonder if he thought I was someone else or something, but all of us were like WTF??

A guy starting a fight out of the blue ain’t starting with a fist if he has a gun.

 

[2020cy]

Don’t forget about Greek town, flaming cheese is awesome.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

How could I have left off this?

Here is a link to scenes from The Blues Brothers movie.

The Blues Brothers: Chicago Location Guide & Stops

Explore a Chicago location guide to The Blues Brothers, visiting iconic filming spots and behind-the-scenes favorites that fans can see in the city today.

www.choosechicago.com

Haha! We were just in Chicago over spring break and after I turned on to Lower Wacker I said "well, this is definitely Lower Wacker Drive". Nobody in the car got the reference and I knew they wouldn't but I felt like it needed to be said.

 

[August]

For the College of Design folks or just Frank Lloyd Wright Fans.

Frank Lloyd Wright Trust | International Gateway to Wright’s Chicago

www.flwright.org

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Is Ed debevics still a thing. I remember going there and not much caring for it. Not realizing that apparently being miserable is apparently their goal.

Yeah we were there last week.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I've always thought Chicago had the best architecture and museum infrastructure of any city in the country. Yes, even better than what is offered in New York and Washington, DC.

 

[HFCS]

People concerned about safety.

If you stay in a group or busy area, downtown and north/west side neighborhoods are as safe as any other city. I can’t imagine a reason for traveling ISU fans to be in a rough south side neighborhood, maybe if they got lost in a rental car from midway airport. Stay in a group and everywhere discussed in this thread is incredibly safe. I took orange line train from midway to downtown all the time for 14 years and was fine.

My one experience with a north side mugging was a women by herself late at night using phone outside in a quiet side street mugged for the phone she was holding…so you can add up those variables that made a target.

 

[HFCS]

The west loop has a ton of hotels and aren't far from the United Center. That area has been booming for a decade and has a lot of Chicago's hottest restaurants like Publican, Momotoro, and Au Cheval. The hotels are generally more expensive though, you're not finding a Holiday Inn over there, but they are nice. I worked on the Hoxton Hotel. You can hop on the green or blue line over there for like one stop and that will drop you off a few blocks from the UC. Some restaurants and bars also have shuttle buses, but I don't remember which ones those are. You can also walk it, it's about a mile depending on where you're staying.

The area right around the United Center is not nearly as bad as it used to be as development has pushed west. There are a couple hotels around the medical district that are perfectly safe places to stay, and are also close to some good eats on Taylor Street, especially if you like Italian.

My favorite deep dish places are Pequod's and Art of Pizza, but Lou Malnati's, Pizzeria Due, and Giordano's are fine too. There's a million places to eat, and I could never list them all. So if anyone wants specific recommendations or in a certain area, just ask.

That restaurant row new development of west loop is eventually going to stretch all the way to UC. I started biking the city a lot around ‘12 to ‘15 and I could get a better idea of how new development was moving than I could driving or riding cta.

 

[Gonzo]

Lived in Chicago for several years and I'd highly recommend grabbing brunch at the Twisted Spoke on Saturday morning. Tons of great stuff, excellent bloody bar, their fried egg sandwich is probably the best sandwich I've ever had.

 

[Spanky]

Born on the south side, moved back to Chicago after ISU 30 years ago.
Some good ideas here, but of you want true Chicago, ya gotta make a late night Wiener Circle run.

 

[moores2]

The west loop has a ton of hotels and aren't far from the United Center. That area has been booming for a decade and has a lot of Chicago's hottest restaurants like Publican, Momotoro, and Au Cheval. The hotels are generally more expensive though, you're not finding a Holiday Inn over there, but they are nice. I worked on the Hoxton Hotel. You can hop on the green or blue line over there for like one stop and that will drop you off a few blocks from the UC. Some restaurants and bars also have shuttle buses, but I don't remember which ones those are. You can also walk it, it's about a mile depending on where you're staying.

The area right around the United Center is not nearly as bad as it used to be as development has pushed west. There are a couple hotels around the medical district that are perfectly safe places to stay, and are also close to some good eats on Taylor Street, especially if you like Italian.

My favorite deep dish places are Pequod's and Art of Pizza, but Lou Malnati's, Pizzeria Due, and Giordano's are fine too. There's a million places to eat, and I could never list them all. So if anyone wants specific recommendations or in a certain area, just ask.

Pequod's is by far the best. About time I saw someone mention them.

 

[Lineup]

If you like steak Gene & Georgetti steak house the best

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Be careful when out and about. I stayed at the Hyatt this winter for a meeting and few of us walked over to Geno's as a couple people in our group wanted some authentic deep dish Chicago style pizza. Never thought I would get assaulted by a guy that came out of nowhere and took a swing at me. Thankfully, the manager was there in a split second and had the guy in a full nelson right away. Don't know if the guy was drugged out or what.

Guy threw his cell phone at me and took a swing at me. I was able to duck and just grazed me. Our table of people were in shock. They kicked the guy out, and gave us a security escort back to Michigan Avenue. Never really thought about but was lucky the guy didn't pull a gun on me. Never saw the guy before in my life! I wonder if he thought I was someone else or something, but all of us were like WTF??

Yeah, sorry about that. In the lighting, you looked like Jordan Bohannon.