Chicago: Your favorite thing(s) to do

Just came back from a few days in Chicago (first time back in nearly six years). I must say that it is the only city in the U.S. that rivals N.Y.; L.A. is fun and laid-back but is more a sprawl than a real city. Also, something about exploring a city with a pretty girl by your side adds to the fun.

Some of my activities were:
Had amazing espresso at Wormhole Coffee in Wicker Park
Checked out the Blues Festival in Millennium Park
Walked around for five hours inside the Art Institute of Chicago
Drank Talisker at a window table inside Signature Room at Hancock Observatory

We have a wedding weekend in Chicago and leave this coming Thursday. Pretty excited, have not been in a while. I usually try to avoid the discount food reservation websites but had a restaurant in particular recommended to me and my friend sent me a link to 30% off when the reservation is made thru VillageVines.com - Its called Ai Japanese Restaurant. Unless I hear of bad reviews (which I really could find online, but usually just ignore due to how vastly different they usually are, we are going to go thru with it). It does have a nice look to it and a nice menu, so we will see. http://www.aichicago.us/ We have always had good meals @ Quartino - In River North. Definitely Italian, but small plates as opposed to big bowls of pasta. Think Italian tapas. Also has great wine served by the carafe that are good for large parties. The place seems to be full of large tables 6+ and they really handle large groups well. http://www.quartinochicago.com/information.html Last time there me and friends drunkenly stumbled upon Devil Dawgs - Lincoln Park. We had been drinking all day during college football season and were in between games and we all thought it was pretty damn good. Granted, we had had a really long day, and about anything would have been good, but again, we enjoyed the hell out of it. Would love to hear other opinions. http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/2/152992...-Dawgs-Chicago We are considering going to the Lake all day on Saturday. We have never done this and the others in our group are not locals, so any knowledge or recommendations on this idea would be great. We are not set on it, but just think it sounds fun.

Food wise:
Great Lake Pizza is great.
Fugo De Chao , Brazilian steakhouse is also great.

check out sites like livingsocial and groupon to see what is going on in the area.

Originally Posted by Saturdays

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Food wise:
Great Lake Pizza is great.
Fugo De Chao , Brazilian steakhouse is also great.

check out sites like livingsocial and groupon to see what is going on in the area.

Umm, fogo de chao is a chain with like 20+ locations...

If you're gonna make the trip, why not try something unique or at least go to a restaurant that you can't also eat at in indianapolis?

The museums are amazing. I spent a whole week going to all of them.

Originally Posted by LawrenceMD

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Great food.

FTFY

Sorry if any of this stuff has already been mentioned:
Rocky's Tacos Super Tortas Futboleras, on Clark in Rogers Park
Chicken Shack, in Evanston
Bacino's (for the deep dish spinach supreme), in Lincoln Park
Sun Wah BBQ (for the Peking duck) on Bway in Rogers Park
Piece (for the white clam pizza, though it's not as good as New Haven pizza), in Wicker Park
Cemitas Pueblas, in Humboldt Park
Hecky's, in Evanston
The Berghoff, in the loop

Originally Posted by wmmk

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The Berghoff, in the loop

Is this place still open? I thought it had closed.

RE-opened and was recently featured on a show w/ Emeril on the cooking channel

Yeah, it actually turned out that their 'closing' was basically just a cheap way to lay off all their unionized waitstaff and drum up some publicity in the process.

Loving this thread. There are 3 cities I want to visit in the U.S, in order: Chicago, New York, and Boston. Several of my friends have made trips to Chicago, and each one says it's an amazing place. Can't wait until I have a chance to see first hand.

Originally Posted by otc

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Umm, fogo de chao is a chain with like 20+ locations...

If you're gonna make the trip, why not try something unique or at least go to a restaurant that you can't also eat at in indianapolis?

yeah didn't realize that hehe, never been to another one before.

However there is only one Great Lake Pizza, just get their early and be patient.

Hi gents, I just landed a job in Chicago and need a restaurant recommendation. Looking for a steakhouse no more than say $100/person. Any part of the city is fair game. Thanks!

in case it hasn't been mentioned already: the best source for information on Chicago restaurants - everything from hole in the wall birrerias to world class fine dining - is lthforum.com

Originally Posted by wmmk

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Sorry if any of this stuff has already been mentioned:
Rocky's Tacos Super Tortas Futboleras, on Clark in Rogers Park
Chicken Shack, in Evanston
Bacino's (for the deep dish spinach supreme), in Lincoln Park
Sun Wah BBQ (for the Peking duck) on Bway in Rogers ParkPiece (for the white clam pizza, though it's not as good as New Haven pizza), in Wicker Park
Cemitas Pueblas, in Humboldt Park
Hecky's, in Evanston
The Berghoff, in the loop

Sun Wah is in Edgewater/Uptown, not Rogers Park