Overnight Chicago trip

Gene & Georgetti for an old school steak house

Gibson's for the Viagra Triangle Chicago scene

David Burke's for an upscale modern steak house

Bavette's for date night

 

I guess David Burke's is upscale, price-wise especially. But it doesn't feel the least bit pretentious or stuffy.

 

It's been a couple of years since I was there, but I liked it.

It's good, but it's not the old school steakhouse some people want when they go for steak.

 

Glad I made it to Katy's Friday night. Dan Dan noodles and xiao long bao (soup dumplings) were both on-point.

Buddy recommended Johnnie's Beef in Arlington Heights. Glad he did (went for a late breakfast/early lunch today before leaving town), now my favorite Italian Beef I've had there. The hot giardinara is legit.

 

It's been nearly 20 years since I went to (maybe?) the Art Institute. Whichever I went to had a huge Jackson Pollack pretty close to the entrance, and it had a bunch of Van Gogh that I absolutely loved, almost as good as the Van Gogh's Van Goghs exhibit at the national gallery of art in D.C. that I went to in 1998 or '99.

Sue is the real deal.

 

OK, trip was Monday and yesterday. Except for the trip to and from the ariport we stayed inside the loop. Kez Ban (a really quirky singer who was on four episodes of American Idol) showed up on our train and did the starving artist thing. Kinda sad, but she can definitely sing. First thing we saw when we got off the train at State/Lake was the Chicago Theatre sign. Ended up eating supper Monday at Giordano's near Midway. (tip: don't bother asking for directions to the nearest train station) It's really close to one of the runways, so ever couple of minutes the building rattles and you look out and see a 747 a hundred feet off the ground. Which I found pretty cool. Loved the deep dish - it did indeed take 45 minutes, but thankfully I had great company. Saw the bean at night Monday. It had a snow cap and looked very spaceshippy the way it reflected all the street lights. This was right at 11 p.m. and a security guy ran me off. Saw it in daylight on Tuesday and YF was right. It's aweseome.

Opted for convenience over quintessential Chicago for lunch - did the Shake Shack across from Millennium Park. Needed to get in out of the cold.

Visited the Chicago Cultural Center. The archictecture and deco are definitely worth seeing, and they have and exhibit of Strandbeests there. Fascinating. Found the memorial room for the Grand Army of the Republic pretty interesting. The docent told us the GAR room was a Civil War memorial and GAR was the Union Army. I found it interesting in just how understated it is. At Civil War memorials in the South, every opportunity for garishness is taken advantage of.

Went total tourist and visited the Willis Tower Skydeck. Mainly the little Novelista wanted to do it, so we did it. I wussed out on the glass ledge - that looks insane to me, despite the people standing out their like it's granite - but the views are pretty spectacular.

Didn't cram as much into one day as Ferris Bueller, but it was a good day. Didn't see Abe Frohman or Mr. Rooney. We'll look for them on the next trip ...

Thanks for all the tips. Definitely want to go back and meet up with local SJers when my schedule isn't dictated by other things. When it's warmer.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip.

It was obviously too short to do everything, but now that you've sampled a bit of it, you can better plan a future trip.

I personally enjoy the Willis (Sears) Tower Skydeck, including the glass window ledge. It's a great view of the city on a nice day, and really let's you get a sense of the geography.

Now, it might not have mattered on a weekday in February, but for others who might read this in the future, if you want to visit the Skydeck, go online and buy a "FastPass". It's more expensive, but it's the best money you will ever spend. On a busy day, the line to get to the top of the tower is hours long. With the FastPass you skip the entire line. You're up to the top in about 10 minutes.

Shake Shack is relatively new here. The location you went to is the first Chicago one, there's another in River North. They were very busy when they opened, but at least for now, in the low tourism season, their are no lines. (Lines are always long at the original NYC location.) I think the burger is good. I wouldn't wait on line for it, but as my wife is pregnant, and craving food that is a little more caloric than usual, we've been to the second location twice in the last couple of months.

The building the Michigan Ave. Shake Shack is in was recently renovated, and opened as a boutique hotel, after being shuttered for a long time. There is an awesome rooftop rooftop bar/restaurant that I highly recommend in good weather.

 

Novelist your recap brought back memories of my recent trips to Chicago. I went several times from about 2008-2012 while covering Big Ten media day(s) in late July/early August. Also had a "starving artist" performance in an elevated subway and also wussed out onto the ledge. I'd never had a problem with heights before, including while looking out the regular windows. But going on the ledge and looking down gave me a feeling of dread I've never before or since had.

I and the reporter I was with once also got on the wrong bus line from the convention center Hyatt and ended up in Leroy Brown, deep-south Chicago territory. Eventually got off when the bus stopped at a subway stop. Never did make it to Millennium Park anytime, and a couple of times I stayed at the Hilton right down the street.

 

For those who have never been onto the glass ledge of the Skydeck, here's the view. It's amazing to think the buildings below are probably 30 or 40 stories tall.

 

Uhhhh. NO!

 

It's sturdy. You can jump up and down on it.