Chicago road trip: Cubs, Lollapalooza, sightseeing and booze

Del,

I'm just going to miss you. I'm going to be in town for 2 weeks just before you.

I lived in Chicago for 14 years, so here are some suggestions, in case you're interested.

1) If you've never been, go to a Cubs game (preferably a day game.) The teams (and their lack of quality) don't really matter. It's just seeing the park and the neighborhood. Several good restaurants right by there: Tuscany (right across the street from the park, great northern Italian), D'Angostino's (again walking distance from park, great flat pizza), a small branch of Geno's East (the best stuffed pizza IMHO is a short cab ride from the park.) Added bonuses, aside from the bars, in the neighborhood: 1) The Music Box Theater is a great old fashioned theater that plays art house moves - again walking distance from the park. 2) If you're a golfer, there's a great nine hole course right along Lake Michigan called Marovitz (sp?) but everybody knows it as Waveland Golf Course.

2) As for Museums, the Museum of Science and Industry is pretty cool, especially if you happen to be there when they have a special exhibit. There really isn't too much else around there, except if you're a golfer. If so, there's is an 18-hole course that's supposed to be pretty nice although I've never played it so I can't personally recommend it like I can Waveland. Don't let others scare you off from the Museum of Science and Industry saying it's way out of the way. Nothing else is really around there to see, but it's only like a 15 minute drive down Lakeshore Drive from the Loop (downtown) and I think they have all kinds of museum express buses that go down there and trolleys in the summer. The other Museum I'd check out is the Art Institute. (As I said in another thread, they started some kind of late hours on I thiink Thursday and Friday this summer. So they're open until 9 p.m. and from 5-9 admission is free.) Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Field Museum, but they can sometimes have cool exhibits. If you've seen the aquarium in New Orleans or Baltimore, you really don't need to see the Shedd IMHO. And I'm just not a big planitarium fan. But the Field Museum, the Shedd and the Planitarium are all right together. One thing that's cool about out by the Planitarium is you get a great view of the skyline from there. Depending on your pace, and I run slow, you can do the Museum of Science and Industry and the Art Institute (especially with the later hours) in one day.

3) If you're a shopper and/or into architecture, you need to see Michigan Avenue. Don't, however, pay to go to the top of the Sears Tower and/or the Hancock Building. Instead, go to the bar near the top of the Hancock building. It's like one or two floors below the top and you get essentially the same view. If you want to pay for an overpriced drink and sit and enjoy the view, you can. If not, you can walk around a bit and people don't really hassle you.

4) If you have the time, do the walk from Oak Street Beach to at least Lincoln Park and see the park. (The zoo is free.)

Wow, writing all of this has gotten me really anxious to go. Chicago is so great and alive during the summer. Too bad it has brutal winters.

 

No one goes to Wrigley to see the Cubs. They go for the privilege of being at Wrigley. I have seen grown men walk into Wrigley for the first time and dissolve into tears.

Now go, and never speak of this again.

 

I love Chicago. Special place in my heart for Chicago.

Geno's East is a great place for Chicago deep-dish pizza. The Navy Pier is worth checking out -- I'm huge on Ferris wheels, and they've got a great one.

As for the Cubs game, I love Wrigley, but you've got to do it right. Pregame, go down to Murphy's for drinks -- it's on the outfield side. Postgame, go across the street from the marquee and have drinks and the Cubby Bear, where it seems like half the crowd flocks to. Good atmosphere. This is the only way I can do Cubs games now.

 

Sorry, had to do it.

 

Dickhead. ;D ;D

 

I've been to Wrigley probably 50-60 times, so the novelty has worn off. Having said that, it's worth the trip. But if you're gonna see ballparks, check out Comiskey (won't call it by its corporate name), too. You have access to the entire place, unlike Wrigley, and it really is a nice ballpark. Not to mention the world champions play there. Of course, if you go at night, don't take public transportation.

As for pizza, forget about the deep-dish stuff. True old neighborhood Chicago pizza is thin crust (and it has to be cut into squares, none of this triangle bullshit). Stop by a Home Run Inn and order an italian sausage pizza. You won't be disappointed. Also, if you really like to eat and are not a vegetarian, try a place called Fogo de Chao at 661 N. LaSalle. It's a brazilian steakhouse/buffet, and as long as you're willing to sit there, they'll keep bringing out food (beef, pork, chicken, you name it) and there's also a great salad bar.

If you want to waste a few hours checking out music to buy, you can always go to Tower Records, but if you want to take a drive and see something a little more unique, go to the NW side (Harlem and Irving) and check out a place called Rolling Stone.

And when you're in Chicago, don't forget the Old Style.

 

Don't take public transportation? Terrible, terrible advice, especially with the Ryan torn up. Going to 35th is as safe as it's ever been. The Robert Taylor Homes are almost completely torn down (with the land being readied for the $500,000 townhouses replacing them), and Bridgeport itself gentrifying to a hurry (my wife's relatives, who live there or grew up there, are dumbfounded by what even the crappiest places are fetching.) Plus, even when it was more dangerous, the trains are filled with Sox fans before and after the game, so it's not as if someone had you to themselves if they wanted to pull something. And what would you rather do -- pay $4 (roundtrip) for a train or sit in traffic, then pay $20 for parking?

It's worth coming down early to check out the neighborhood and the bars (yes, some exist). Jimbo's appears to be becoming the Murphy's Bleachers of the area. In fact, you'll get much more of a native's-eye view of Chicago hanging out there (even with the gentrifying going on) than in hanging out with the tourists around Wrigley.

 

Ryan's not the only way to get there in a car. Also, it's been a few years, but you used to be able to park within a few blocks for $10 and get out pretty quick after the game with little traffic to deal with. Glad to hear the area's improving; that bodes well for future Sox attendance. I prefer to get in and get out regardless because my base is the northside when I'm there.

 

Thanks to the WS, there's no more $10 parking, and you can't get out quickly -- what with people actually going to the games now. And, true, you could drive down Halsted or Ashland to get there, but if someone doesn't know the lay of the land, they're probably better off just taking the Red Line and not messing with moving your car if you don't have to.

I give you credit for recommending a trip to Sox Park (say it that way if you want to sound like a native -- SAHX Park). It's not the most inherenly charming place in the world, but it's a good place to see a ball game. Especially with kids (which I'm not sure is an issue here, but it's worth mentioning.)

 

Oh, and if you're really into baseball, you can do the minor-league tour -- Schaumburg, Joliet and Gary (all Northern League), Kane County (A-ball) and Crestwood (Windy City Thunderbolts -- Frontier League). I just went to Joliet's park, which is very, very nice, and surrounded by some decent hangouts for after the game. The players get drunk and consider how they got stuck in Joliet at the bar in Union Station across the street. So you could take a Metra train there, though you should drive if you're staying past, say, 11:30 p.m.)

Crestwood (the closest to my house) is the first one I'd eliminate from the list -- it's not horrible, but it's nothing special, either. I haven't been to the other ones, but believe it or not, the best of the ballparks is supposed to be Gary. I don't know where the city found the money, but Gary spent $40 million on its ballpark, which hugs the Indiana Toll Road for easy quick access on and off. (It's also near the city's rail stop, too.) I'm told it's safe right around there, mainly because there's a very heavy police presence. But not a lot of places you'd want to hang out in after the game.

 

I drove past that Gary ballfield about 50 times the last couple of years on my way into town but never stopped. Looks really nice and completely out of place in that area.

 

It's my kind of town.