Chicago Trip

Giordono's the best deep dish?

Deep Dish is special occasion pizza. You want square cut thin crust from a place you never heard of.

I enjoy that place R1. Is it the best? I don’t know. But it’s good. Beware you only need to eat one piece before you’re stuffed!

Hit up Ann Sather on Belmont in boys town for an amazing cinnamon roll! Their breakfasts are very good as well. It’s right next to an L stop so eat and then jump on the train and go exploring!

r2 I have only been to Chicago once long ago as a child, so this is a special occasion for me. I don't travel much and haven't gone anywhere during the pandemic.

god this thread is making me hungry!

Architecture tours by boat!

Ted Allen agrees about those cinnamon rolls!

The Art Institute. If you're at all into art give yourself plenty of time.

I visited Chicago for the first time three years ago and absolutely loved it. Some highlights for me was walking Michigan Avenue from the Art Institute to the 360 Chicago skyscraper. Fabulous views of the City and lake. I also checked out the Driehaus Museum nearby. Lovely old house museum mansion. A friend from Chicago took our group to what she said was Chicago's best deep dish pizza somewhere north of downtown but it was OK, not the best pizza I've had. I don't remember the name. Everywhere we ate the food was delicious. We stayed about a block and a half from the Art Institute, it was a great location for walking.

Overall, everything we did was fun. We were there during the Gay Pride Parade weekend and it was a hoot. Tons of creative costumes, very festive and lively.

I also took the Architectural Boat Tour, it was great.

Pequod's

That's it R10. The pizza was good but not fabulous. I'm not into thick crusts anyway, I like them thinner.

There are also walking architectural tours. I liked the one I went umptydump years ago, but God help me, I can't be sure if it was run out of the Chicago Architecture Center or not.

If you're a FAT WHORE, I also recommend a Pizza tour. One does not eat a lot on the tour, but you get to sample the various styles. I adore deep dish, but Coalfire (in Wrigleyville) was the best by far. A worthy selection of thin pies.

The miniature rooms collection at the Art Institute is a jewel.

Check out the Tiffany ceiling at Marshall Fields, the largest such ever designed.

The interior of the Rookery is worth a visit - it is an early design (1895 IIRC) by Frank Lloyd Wright in a much older building.

The interiors of the Chicago Cultural Center are also amazing.

The London House has or had a rooftop bar that was great - a very chic crowd and good drinks with superb nighttime views of the skyline.

Check out the Gangsters & Ghosts Tour!

Thanks for all the suggestions

"Guests of the Oprah Winfrey Show stay at The Omni Hotel located on Chicago's magnificent mile"

Sather's cinnamon bons were meh, but I haven't had them for years.

Museum of Science and Industry!

I've only been there a couple of times but based on what I've seen, Chicago is really underappreciated for its aesthetics. The architecture is incredible, and I've spent hours wandering around and looking at the buildings. Public art installations are everywhere and The Art Institute has some great works, including Chagall's stained glass windows, Nighthawks, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and so much more.

I've also never been to any other city on a lake like Chicago and I've enjoyed walking straight from a tall city with skyscrapers to a beachside and then strolling along the riverwalk.

I hope you enjoy it, OP.

No visit to Chicago is complete without a Subway sandwich and a stroll past The Jussie Smollett Hate Crime™ scene. Be sure to buy a souvenir rope to show your family and friends back home!

Leaving tomorrow, getting excited.

Nice location, OP. River North, the Near North Side, Gold Coast are may favorite places to stay and include some of the most attractive neighborhoods (including adjacent Old Town, too), with good restaurants, shops, and art galleries (the Joel Oppenheimer Gallery is a beautiful space in an historic building.)

Good luck.

Go to Sidetrack on Sunday for showtunes. You will have a blast. Best gay bar in Chicago.

Bucktown is a great neighborhood too. Giordano's is definitely the best. If you have time go to Susie's beef on Montrose right past Elston. You will not be disappointed. So many great places to eat in the city.

Don't do Pequod's for pizza. It's all pillowy bread with barely a layer of cheese.

OP Chicago is great and this is a perfect time of year to be there. I hope you had fun!

Giordano's deep dish pizza is lousy. The fake cheese on it is overwhelming. Gino's East is better.

[quote] No visit to Chicago is complete without a Subway sandwich and a stroll past The Jussie Smollett Hate Crime™ scene. Be sure to buy a souvenir rope to show your family and friends back home!

That’s a good one, that’s funny

My vote would be for Lou Malnati’s pizza. It’s the best. They have a location on State Street that should be convenient.

If headed to Chicago, don’t forget to look up and then hook up with the Wrigleyville Cumdump - he’s legendary. I would also have recommended Sam Cushing’s hole too, but sadly he and his hot hole have moved on to the bright lights and glamour of LA.

Took the Amtrak, I am in Chicago. I have not been on a trip in years so this is a big deal for me, thank you for all your tips (and jokes).

Take the Architecture Boat Tour. Downtown Chicago is beautiful.

[quote] Don't do Pequod's for pizza. It's all pillowy bread with barely a layer of cheese.

Nonsense. Here's a review of the top 13 deep dish. Pequod's is #1.

R31 Years?! Aww, I'm happy for you. Have fun! Make sure to see the Art Institute!

Go to Gino’s East. Visit Buckingham Fountain. See the Chicago Cultural Center. Walk the Lakefront. Visit Lincoln Park. Walk Michigan Avenue. Stroll alongside the Chicago River. Enjoy some great sunsets of the skyline from the lakefront. Eat at Italian Villiage or the Polish restaurants along Milwaukee or Belmont. Visit the Art Institute and the Shedd Aquarium.

Be careful walking around Boystown (now renamed North Halsted) it’s gotten crime ridden.

Walk the Gold Coast neighborhood.

Go to the Bean during the day . Swarms of juvenile hoodlums congregate there in the evenings

Whenever I go to Chicago for work the weather is horrific and I never get to do any of this fun stuff. fingers crossed for a future trip - some of this sounds great!

Get a CTA pass ... good for buses, the El, almost all public transportation.

If the temperature is cool, visit the Lincoln Park Zoo. Oh, and stop by Holy Name Cathedral.

Do you remember the SNL skit cheeseburger cheeseburger cheeseburger Coke no Pepsi? Well it started it’s a Billy Goat Tavern! Great burgers!

I just figured out that I recognized the Buckingham Fountain from Married With Children. How about that for some culture? HA!

The John Shedd aquarium is really cool. Also night boat rides on the lake but take a jacket, it's chilly going up and down the coast.

AAnother vote for Giordano's! Will also recommend the Leather Archives and Museum....a fascinating slice of gay history. I went because a friend wanted to go and I wasn't that interested....but it turned out to be one of my fav things I did.

If you are interested in architecture, there is an embarrassment of riches, in addition to the Loop, you can go down to Hyde Park (south side neighborhood) to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robbie House - one of his best preserved Prairie School masterpieces.

Giordano’s was right by my hotel so I had the deep dish pizza there. I thought it was good. I prefer thin or regular crust but I am glad I tried it.

I leave tomorrow. Trying to fit in everything is a challenge, there is so much to see and do. My room at The Omni is nice, they have a coffee maker, mini fridge and a separate sitting room so you can close off the bedroom. Seems clean and the bed is comfortable. My only complaint which is minor, the toilet is low to the floor. I have long legs and seems like the toilet is shorter than average.

R48 Are you there alone?

You're not reporting much about what you're doing. I hope you're enjoying it. A couple of days doesn't seem like a lot of time after several years of not having taken a vacation. I hope you're enjoying yourself. :)

As someone who lives here, try Ginos East, Uno's or Lou Malnati's - three different types of Chicago style pizza and all quite famous for it.

Boystown (the name is not going away) is safe except for around closing time (2am). Then it can get crazy as some of the bars empty out and there's a few troublemakers around.

You can rent bikes along the lakefront. The stretch between Buckingham Fountain or The Bean and North Avenue Beach is a nice ride now that the new flyover is complete over the Chicago River.

The Obama Portraits is now at the Art Institute. (You just the Monet show.)

Shopping on Michigan Avenue and State Street is hit and miss. Be sure to see the new Apple store on Michigan Avenue at the river simply for the architecture. And the Architectural Boat tours that depart right by the Apple Store are a "must see".

Rain in the forecast the next few days but warm. Have fun!

Have a great time, OP. Don't forget to visit the fabulous art museum, not far from the Bean.

Please tell me you got some of Garrett's Popcorn! The classic mix (caramel and cheese) sounds weird, I know, but it is SO delicious. The long lines are worth the wait.

I order gift tins at Christmas delivered to members of my family and always get one for myself.

R48: If you have a chance, check out Chinatown, it has a stop on the Red Line. Good food and tons of little shops with East Asian tochtkes. If you're a tochtke queen, like me. Also, forget Deep Dish, you want Thin Crust, with the pizza cut in squares. Any local pizza shop should have it.

If you don't have time today, then do it on the next trip.

Take a trip to Wrigleyville and spend an evening with the Cum Dump. It will be the high point your trip.

R54 yes, he is a top 10 gay attraction in the Windy City and appears on many best things to do in Chicago lists R30

I don't know if it's open now - or if you're even still in Chicago - but Spiaggia, on Michigan Avenue, used to be a really great restaurant.

Two years's ago, at the solid recommendation of the Mariott desk clerk (who made it a point to burst into another desk clerk's response), we ordered Pequod. It was the very worst pizza I've ever had. The very qualities they were proudly advertising were delivered...except blackened crust and mushy toppings were as repulsive as it sounds. It wasn't a fluke, I don't think, because their website and the Yelp reviews indicated that's how it normally is. There were a few Yelp reviewers who agreed with us. Anyway, there are far better selections than Pequod.

Sitting in the world’s largest Starbucks, glad I went to see The Bean this morning because it is raining now. Thanks again for all the trip advice.

Have you met the Wrigleyville Cum Dumb yet? He is the treasure of Chicago.

The original Pizzeria Uno (29 E. Ohio St) The Best! 2nd is Lou Malnatis

OP, I thought I saw you on Michigan Avenue earlier! Sorry about the rain (but we really need it). Rain or not, Sidetrack and Roscoe's will still be packed tonight.

R61: Sidetrack is so cliquey and uppity from what I remember. Roscoes is more friendly.

Little Jim's or the Lucky Horseshoe are probably more OP's speed.

Alas Little Jim's is gone (as is Big Jim's next door) and the building is being torn down to make room for a new LGBTQ+ health clinic. Lucky Horseshoe survived the pandemic however.

r48 thanks for asking. I took my 17 year old nephew, it was my treat because he will be a high school Senior and he is a good kid. The Omni worked out great because I could shut myself in the bedroom to sleep and he slept out in the other room and could flop on the couch with a big screen tv, a fridge with snacks, etc.

Oops above message was for r49. Sorry

My nephew's one request was to go to The Bean so that was easy. I read it is the #1 Instagram site in Chicago.

R67 Photos of the nephew please.

The great thing about the Wrigleyville Cum Dump, is watching him cry about daddy tRump as you blow the twelfth load of the day up his fag hole!

r68 his name is not Joel btw. He is a good looking kid, I wondered if people thought I was his sugar daddy. Oh well, keep them guessing!

I went to the 2nd busiest Walgreens in the world (#1 busiest is in Vegas). I told you I don't get out much so I got a kick out of that. It was open 24 hours on N Michigan Avenue. We sat in Jayne Park across the street with some homeless people.

I noticed a lot of police cars and cops patrolling on foot in that area at night.

Jayne Byrne Park that is.