Staying In Chicago?

[Godzilla]

I'm asking this with a bit of trepidation after my previous question which, contrary to my expectations, suggested that no-one on the site knows the first thing about New Orleans...

 

However, I'm an eternal optimist and I prefer recommendations from real people as opposed to anonymous Tripadvisor types so here goes: we've decided to break the journey by having a four night stop-over in Chicago. Just me and Mrs G on this trip so I'm not asking for advice on record digging, just decent (but affordable ) hotels, great places to eat, sights not to miss etc.

 

Come on now Soul Source - don't let me down!

 

 

[Peter99]

I'm asking this with a bit of trepidation after my previous question which, contrary to my expectations, suggested that no-one on the site knows the first thing about New Orleans...

 

However, I'm an eternal optimist and I prefer recommendations from real people as opposed to anonymous Tripadvisor types so here goes: we've decided to break the journey by having a four night stop-over in Chicago. Just me and Mrs G on this trip so I'm not asking for advice on record digging, just decent (but affordable ) hotels, great places to eat, sights not to miss etc.

 

Come on now Soul Source - don't let me down!

I'm afraid all I can offer is "You lucky bugger"!

 

Have a great time buddy.

 

Peter

 

[Simon T]

I'm asking this with a bit of trepidation after my previous question which, contrary to my expectations, suggested that no-one on the site knows the first thing about New Orleans...

 

However, I'm an eternal optimist and I prefer recommendations from real people as opposed to anonymous Tripadvisor types so here goes: we've decided to break the journey by having a four night stop-over in Chicago. Just me and Mrs G on this trip so I'm not asking for advice on record digging, just decent (but affordable ) hotels, great places to eat, sights not to miss etc.

 

Come on now Soul Source - don't let me down!

PM Boba on here, he lives there I think

[Staceys Dad]

we stayed at the AMBASSADOR EAST with the soul trip run by kev roberts a few years back very nice hotel....maybe worth a look...

[Godzilla]

PM Boba on here, he lives there I think

 

Thanks Simon - yeah I'm aware Bob lives there but just wanted to canvas a variety of views, hence posting on the forum.

 

we stayed at the AMBASSADOR EAST with the soul trip run by kev roberts a few years back very nice hotel....maybe worth a look...

 

Thanks also SD. It's now called the Public Chicago and it's one of the places we've already read about. Definitely on the maybe list, ta.

[Phild]

I usually stay at The Congress hotel in Chicago. It's a nice place.Its on Michigan Avenue near the lake

 

For entertainment there's a few blues bars on North Halsted and aroud Lincoln Park. Plus in town around Halsted & Division some good bars too.

 

there's usually festivals around Lincoln Park area most weekends in summer too.

[Godzilla]

I usually stay at The Congress hotel in Chicago. It's a nice place.Its on Michigan Avenue near the lake

 

For entertainment there's a few blues bars on North Halsted and aroud Lincoln Park. Plus in town around Halsted & Division some good bars too.

 

there's usually festivals around Lincoln Park area most weekends in summer too.

 

 

That's in our price range and looks really interesting Phil. Our preference is for places that are clean but with a bit of character rather than modern buildings with luxury conveniences. Great tip - Cheers!

[Timemarcheson]

Not been to Chicago since 2005 but it is a truly great city (we broke our journey for 4 nights on our way back from California). We stayed at Hotel 71, right on the river opposite the Wrigley Building. Great hotel in ideal location. The Art Institute of Chicago (www.artic.edu) is well worth a visit and offers a unique opportunity to see the American Modernism section which includes Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" as well as many other great exhibits, including furniture, the decorative arts and design. Also did the Sears Building, great views and went to the beach, strange finding it at the top end of the Magnificent Mile

We had breakfast at The Ralph Lauren store (has a restaurant) on North Michigan Avenue (Magnificent Mile) on the recommendation of a friend who used to work in Chicago, food was very good and service excellent. Not an obvious place to eat but it was so good we went back for lunch. Can't remember the club we went to but live act was a band with a female lead singer by the name of Patricia Scott, super voice and great choice of material. Hope this helps.

Regards

Frank

[Godzilla]

Not been to Chicago since 2005 but it is a truly great city (we broke our journey for 4 nights on our way back from California). We stayed at Hotel 71, right on the river opposite the Wrigley Building. Great hotel in ideal location. The Art Institute of Chicago (www.artic.edu) is well worth a visit and offers a unique opportunity to see the American Modernism section which includes Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" as well as many other great exhibits, including furniture, the decorative arts and design. Also did the Sears Building, great views and went to the beach, strange finding it at the top end of the Magnificent Mile

We had breakfast at The Ralph Lauren store (has a restaurant) on North Michigan Avenue (Magnificent Mile) on the recommendation of a friend who used to work in Chicago, food was very good and service excellent. Not an obvious place to eat but it was so good we went back for lunch. Can't remember the club we went to but live act was a band with a female lead singer by the name of Patricia Scott, super voice and great choice of material. Hope this helps.

Regards

Frank

 

 

Excellent review Frank and one we'll check out for sure. Mrs G's background is design so we've already got the Art Institute earmarked. Thanks for taking the time to add all the extra detail - we're not going until the end of September but I'm getting right excited now!

[boba]

I can help but can you give some more details about what sort of things you like to do?

 

The congress hotel has been under picket since the late 90s, it's insane. I doubt any of the union workers picketing now have worked there longer than the non-union workers. 

[Davemac3]

You lucky so and so!!

 

Just a few suggestions from me

Good firework display on Navy Pier Weds and Sat evening in summer, very busy but nice atmosphere

River taxi from Navy Pier to Sears Tower, along Chicago River past lots of Skyscrapers - cheaper than an architecture tour

Shedd aquarium (including whale/dolphin show)

Millenium Park, near Art Institute -stunning architecture including Cloud Gate

Swimming off Oak Street beach with Hancock building and Drake Hotel in background

Baseball at Wrigley Field

A couple of record/CD stores Jazz Record Mart and Dusty Groove

 

Harry Caray's Steakhouse

Edited May 29, 2013 by davemac3

[Ian Parker]

I stayed in Chicago for a week. Vibrant,, lively, exciting and daunting.

Please stay in the downtown area, do not travel on the tube at night (I got threatened with arrest if I stepped foot on it, for my own safety).

There is so much to see and do, I badly wanted another week. Hire a car, go to Detroit, go to rock island.... Fab place, stay safe

P.s.

The waterfront is amazing, the views from sears tower is breathtaking, George benson at the jazz festival was special. You'll love it

Edited May 29, 2013 by IanP

[boba]

Please stay in the downtown area, do not travel on the tube at night (I got threatened with arrest if I stepped foot on it, for my own safety).

 

how did this happen? a cop told you s/he would arrest you if you got onto the subway? Business travelers even take the train to go to the airport.

[Godzilla]

 Thanks for all the responses so far - lots of stuff to look into.  As for things we like to do - well, we only have four days so the odd gallery/museum would be good but we also like exploring on foot, seeing interesting architecture and so on.

 

As the main part of holiday will be in New Orleans where we start of with the Ponderosa Stomp festival, we'll have plenty of quality live music, but if there's a recommended venue in Chicago that's likely to have something interesting between Sunday to Wednesday I'd definitely like to know.

 

Keep the tips coming folks

[pikeys dog]

Buddy Guys is great (you can check for acts online), I can recommend the Chicken Fried Steak with Collared Greens and Garlic Mash -  it's just around the corner from the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

 

I went to the Aquarium, which was fantastic, but it was a long, long wait in the queue, which isn't pleasant if it's cold / windy.

 

If you travel outside the city, then the Hala Kahiki is well worth a visit - Tropical drinks in one of the few original Tiki Bars still operating outside of the West Coast.

 

Enjoyed going to Wrigley Field, it's worth going even if it's closed, just for the architecture - there's a street nearby that has a preservation order on it, on which every house has a different style windows / doors etc, which doesn't sound as impressive as it really is...

 

The Water Pumping station is worth a look in (one of the few buildings to survive the great Chicago fire) and it's within walking distance of the Chicago Museum of Modern Art.

[Godzilla]

 

If you travel outside the city, then the Hala Kahiki is well worth a visit - Tropical drinks in one of the few original Tiki Bars still operating outside of the West Coast.

 

Sold!

 

Will check back again in the morning folks.

[boba]

one thing i tell everyone is that if they are in Chi on Sunday morning to early afternoon to go to the "maxwell street market" ... it's a shadow of what it used to be and is now in a gentrified neighborhood but it's still fun, crowded, and you can get all sorts of mexican and other latin american food. the largest ethnic population in chicago now is hispanic, you can't get better mexican food anywhere.

 

i'm vegetarian but if you want to go to one of the real old school type steakhouses where there are all male waiters and it's an old boy's club type setting, go to morton's. if you want to go to a place with a really nice view of the river, go to smith and wollensky, it's right by the house of blues and trump towers, etc. I've been there a lot (they have a lot of side dishes).

 

one night go to the signature room on the 95th / 96th floor of the john handcock building to get gouged on cocktails and have an amazing view. another night check out the pump room, old school fancy chicago bar where all the celebrities have passed through.

 

if you want me to take you around one day i probably could do it, just hit me up. i would suggest a bunch of places on the south side to check out but almost everything's been gentrified so they're less interesting. if you're vegetarian or just interested you should go to soul vegetarian on 75th street (run by Black Hebrews) to have a different, interesting experience.

 

Chicago is also all about Brunch for some reason, lots of places to go on Sunday, with long waits though. Chicago is also known for Italian Beef, Polish Sausages ("maxwell street style"), hot dogs, deep dish pizza (i would say lou malnati's first, then giordanos), etc. If you want to kill yourself, you can get a cheesy combo on garlic bread, which is a polish sausage covered in italian beef covered with cheese whiz served on garlic bread.

 

More upscale, Chicago is also the center of "molecular gastronomy" although that's not really hip as it was 5 years ago. if you want more specific recommendations on specific things, just ask. I actually think food is sort of bad in chicago, like the ethnic food is good, and probably hamburger / hotdog type places are good, but midrange places suck compared to when i was in memphis or new orleans.

 

I would avoid wrigleyville unless you want to deal with drunk fratboys partying, etc. It is the bar district though if that's your thing (not that there aren't bar areas elsewhere). If you want more hipsterish type experiences, my neighborhood (logan square) and wicker park are closer to what you might want. You can get super fancy cocktails in my neighborhood.

 

You should check out the garfield park observatory:

 

https://www.garfield-conservatory.org/

 

I would avoid the lincoln park zoo, i went there a month ago and it was depressing.

 

This is all stream of consciousness, can probably think of more things if you want.

[boba]

more stuff: go to the logan hardware record store, in the back they have a whole arcade / museum with free 80s arcade games and pinball.

 

everyone suggested this already, but you should check out millenium park downtown.

 

walk through the loop downtown during lunch hour on a weekday to see the city in action.

 

EDIT: go to the Point in hyde park on the south side, but I wouldn't go there as a tourist at night. the back cover of the windy city LP is shot there. walk around kenwood (just north of hyde park) to see large old houses and obama's neighborhood. Walk down the midway at the university of chicago.

 

drive down south lake shore drive, maybe go to the south shore cultural center. you can also see the beachhouse where the cover of Phil Cohran "on the beach" was shot. Also, Phil Cohran actually performs frequently on the north side at the Ethiopian Diamond restaurant, which is a good Ethiopian restaurant.

 

go to the museum of contemporary art.

Edited May 30, 2013 by boba

[Godzilla]

Sounds like four nights won't be anywhere near long enough.

 

Huge thanks for the tips Bob - and yes it would be great to hook up if we get the opportunity. Maybe we can buy you lunch at Soul Vegetarian...

[boba]

if you tell me which of the above things sound more interesting I can come up with more things along those lines.

[Godzilla]

It's all really helpful Bob.

 

We'll definitely be hitting the museum of contemporary art and the market sounds like another must. I guess we'll try to get a balance between the kind of things where we'll need half a day and other things that will be more about being on the streets, giving use a chance to get the feel of the city. The river tour mentioned sounds like a great way to see some of the buildings and I certainly want to experience the elevated railway. We'll also be looking for things that give some cultural insight into the city while remaining safe. An American colleague of Mrs G's keeps reminding us that people have guns over there and he says it's likely we'll hear one - although we sure didn't in New York...

 

We'll need to eat of course and we both eat some meat but really enjoy good vegetarian food too. I like the sound of cocktails in a skyscraper and we'll definitely hit a couple of bars but I should also stress that we are on a budget as once our stay in New Orleans and flights are taken into consideration it's going to be an expensive holiday. Very excited though!

[Britmusicsoulfan]

we stayed at the AMBASSADOR EAST with the soul trip run by kev roberts a few years back very nice hotel....maybe worth a look...

@Stacey's Dad, my wife and I stayed at the Ambassador East fall of 2011 on a visit with my wife for an anniversary trip to Chicago after really enjoying the hotel at SoulTrip.  Unfortunately, the hotel has been sold, redone (but they still have a pump room) and now is a Public Hotel.  Not the same.

[boba]

I've been on the architecture boat tour a couple of times. it's worth going. As long as the dave matthews band doesn't drop their poop on you:

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-0503100266mar10,0,5749199.story

[Godzilla]

I have a knack of avoiding that sort of thing. I managed to be at the opposite end of the festival site during the Glastonbury Dance Tent sewage truck incident of 1998.

 

https://blog.q4music.com/glastonbury2008/2008/04/great_glastonbury_moments_danc.html

[boba]

coincidentally just today the news broke that the congress hotel strike gave up after 10 years (apparently it started in 2003, not the late 90s). I was on the architectural cruise a week before it was covered in dave matthews' poop.

 

another thing to definitely do downtown -- take the el (in chicago you're supposed to write the "L" according to the transit authority but nobody I know does) around the loop. Take the brown line on the start and it should go all the way around. you will get a really cool view of a lot of downtown.

 

my favorite building downtown is the Thompson Center. It's this:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Thompson_Center

 

I really like the building because it totally embodies public space to me, it's a huge open space, basically a massive skylight. It subverts the functionality of all of the packed office buildings and truly functions as a public space as all sorts of people go there (to the lame food court) for lunch, ... there's homeless people, businessmen, etc. You can get onto most of the CTA trains there. There's even birds inside the building, there's some open space near the top that pigeons get into and inside the food court there's this weird green area in the food court where the birds go to. The inside is cool to walk through to look up, but the food court is a lame food court. 

 

A block away is the Daley Center, in front of it is the famous Picasso sculpture. There are frequent festivals / markets in front of there, don't know if there will be one when you are there. Do all the walk through the loop stuff in one afternoon around lunchtime. There are some other interesting buildings like the board of trade building, go there and see all the asshole traders, they're wearing vests and act like total dicks and will bump into you and be rude to you.

 

EDIT: also go to the sears tower observation deck.

 

EDIT: also, the congress hotel is actually downtown. the hotel formerly known as the ambassador east isn't really downtown, it's north, near the gold coast / magnificent mile. the congress hotel will have more character and give you access to millenium park.

Edited May 30, 2013 by boba

[Shoebox Soul]

Godzilla,

We visited Chicago in 2010 and had a great time. Would recommend that you get one of these multi-day transport tickets which gets you unlimited travel on trains and buses all over the city.

If you are lucky windy city soul club at the empty bottle will be on when you are in town,  a fantastic Saturday night of northern where £5 records and £500 records are played side by side to a packed dancefloor. We also visited "soul night" at Danny's Tavern Bucktown which was on the first Wednesday of each month, really more of a funk night in the back room of a bar, with original 45s all night and again packed out. Jimmy Burns is host at Buddy Guys most Monday nights which features his band and an open mic session. The night we visited Buddy Guy turned up for an impromptu show and Holly Maxwell did a turn on the open mic! If nothing else you can meet a rare soul legend and the soul food is not too bad either. Jimmy is on at least twice a week in Chicago try jimmyburnsband.com for his schedule, and no he does not have any copies of "I really love you"!

You could also visit Chess records at 2120 Michigan Avenue. This is now run as the Willie Dixon Blues Foundation and is not particularly great for soul fans-but it is still good to visit the legendary building.

The John Hancock tower has great views of the city and if you get really bored there are quite a few record stores to fill up your day!

Shoebox

Edited June 1, 2013 by shoebox soul

[Zoomsoulblue]

I'm asking this with a bit of trepidation after my previous question which, contrary to my expectations, suggested that no-one on the site knows the first thing about New Orleans...

 

However, I'm an eternal optimist and I prefer recommendations from real people as opposed to anonymous Tripadvisor types so here goes: we've decided to break the journey by having a four night stop-over in Chicago. Just me and Mrs G on this trip so I'm not asking for advice on record digging, just decent (but affordable ) hotels, great places to eat, sights not to miss etc.

 

Come on now Soul Source - don't let me down!

 

Recommend the red trolley ride, also the boat trip that takes you out into the main lake, that looks back on Chicago — we did the sears building one year and then the next year did the John Hancock, would recommend the John Hancock ask for the bar floor — it costs nothing and it over looks the pier while you get drunk — we went up at lunch time and you look out onto the other building you can see office workers taking a sly fag on the roofs — visit the pier good views looking back and take a train ride through the city — you have to go to the two The Corn Cob towers (Marina City) and just walk the streets. (just be careful)

[Greg Belson]

 

Enjoyed going to Wrigley Field, it's worth going even if it's closed, just for the architecture

 

It's worth getting the stadium tour of Wrigley Field.....you get guided around the locker rooms, behind the scenes stuff, plus you can get on the field and the dugouts......it's a pretty great tour for very little cash.

[Godzilla]

Lots of terrific tips here - thanks everyone.

 

We'd already decided to hit Sears tower and to walk around the Loop. I know that some people make a point of not doing the obvious stuff when they travel but for us it's about completely acknowledging that you're a tourist and making sure that you don't miss something extraordinary. Thompson Center is now added to the list as it looks pretty amazing. Looks like we're going to be spending some time on the water too.

 

Still debating whether to take the ipad as it's a bit heavy but if we decide against I'll be printing off this topic to help work out our itinerary.

Great work guys.

 

 

edit - specs on, spelling corrected....

Edited June 2, 2013 by Godzilla

[boba]

you really should take the brown line around the loop, takes about 15 minutes, you see a lot

[Manfromsoul45s]

Chicago. One of my favourite cities in the world. Great vibe there and nice people

[Jkvinyl]

Sounds like you won't have time for clubbing it but if you do try Double Door at

1572 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL "Ž

(773) 489-3160 "Ž Â· doubledoor.com .Right next to Damen-O'Hare station on the Blue Line. Mr Fine Wine Deejayed here last year.

 

OR

Kingston Mines at 2548 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL "Ž

(773) 477-4646 "Ž Â· kingstonmines.com.

I saw Jimmy Burns at this venue about 8 years ago. Great 2 room venue. 10 mins walk from Fullerton on the Red and Brown lines.

This is also 10 mins walk from North Clark St where there are a few record stores and loads of restaurants /bars etc. And half an hour walk(or 10 mins on bus) from Wrigley Field. There must be 100 bars/restaurants on that half hour walk.

Edited June 2, 2013 by JKVINYL

[boba]

also in the loop, they're almost totally gone, but if you walk down wabash (n/s street on the east end of the loop) the old diamond store district is there. old school vibes. not much left though, even compared to a year ago.