Chicago: Food

Since there are tons of places to eat, we did a little research to narrow our options based on where we would be going. We didn't hit all of the places we planned for, but we did make it to a few. Sorry, but for some reason, we didn't take any photos while we were eating. So I've thrown a few other random photos in from this trip to Chicago for those who are more visual.


Downtown: Tulips were abundant

We ate Chicago-style hot dogs ("The Dog") with fries at Hot Doug's (they have a wide variety of options, though; check out their menu). Apparently, this place is really popular. Despite the fact that it was mid-afternoon, rainy, chilly, and the restaurant is sort of away from the main attractions, the line weaved around the block (and there wasn't much shelter for those outside). It was good, though. And Doug, the owner, was very nice. They closed at 4pm that day (it was a Friday), but they still served those who were standing in line before closing time.

The next day, we ate deep-dish pizza at Lou Malnati's. Both the food and service were good, but we also want to try other pizza places in the future, since there are so many in Chicago.


View from Shedd Aquarium



 
Alexis and I ate lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at the Navy Pier on the day we had to go home (Ed left early for work), since I had never eaten there. I got the "Bucket of Boat Trash", which was really good. We also split a dessert of cinnamon bread pudding (a la mode), to celebrate our birthdays. We highly recommend it! I'm going to try to make the bread pudding some time, though. And we totally passed the pop quiz our waiter gave us on Forrest Gump trivia.


Navy Pier

We also gave grubhub a try (a food delivery web site) one night for dinner at the hotel. It worked really well for us. They even delivered to our room door. We ordered Chinese and they didn't skimp on the portion sizes! We also ordered smoothies (from the Chinese place) because they had odd flavors (we tried cantaloupe).
So, Ed and I have officially checked off "eat pizza and hot dogs in Chicago" from our 2011 goals. Okay, so that was more of a sub-goal ("Do" Chicago), but whatever. It counts as part of the "doing Chicago" experience. And that officially wraps up the series of Chicago posts for this trip!

Chicago: Courtyard Marriott O'Hare

So, remember how we went into Chicago back in May when Alexis was visiting? Well, this and one other post about that trip didn't get published for some reason. I'll post the other one next (hint: food). Like I said, we're catching up.

Anyway, here's our review of the hotel we stayed at while we were on our weekend trip to Chicago: The Courtyard Marriott O'Hare.


Courtyard Marriott O'Hare

 Pros

• We got a really good rate for the three nights we stayed (about $85/night), considering it's the Chicago area. And it was way cheaper than anything in town.
• They gave us a room when we showed up a couple of hours earlier than check-in time, so we didn't have to wait.
• Breakfast came with our stay, and the options were anything from a la carte items (e.g., container of yogurt, fruit) to a hot, cooked meal, for no extra charge.
• There was free shuttle service to O'Hare, which we used each day so we could get to and from the train station (which is at O'Hare). It ran every half hour to and from O'Hare.
• They held our bags (for free) after checking out so we didn't have to lug them around town until it was time to go to the airport (Alexis flew and Jennifer took the bus home).

Cons

• It's a little far from attractions, so the train ride is pretty long (took us 45 min. to an hour-ish, then a bus or two).
• The roads surrounding the hotel were under construction and virtually unwalkable (no sidewalks, lots of construction fences) and we didn't want to drive and pay for parking (which is why we used the shuttle).
• Our room didn't have a refrigerator, but it would've been nice to have one so we didn't have to eat out for every meal except breakfast.

The Verdict

We recommend it and would stay there again. If we were going to stay longer, we'd get a room with a refrigerator and/or microwave. We do live close enough that we could've driven to and from each day, but it is much more convenient to stay nearby and not have to drive as much or try to find downtown parking.

Chicago: Shedd Aquarium

We went to the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago on a Sunday afternoon during our visit with Alexis. We had to stand in line for over an hour; next time, we're getting city passes (we wouldn't have gotten our money's worth for this particular trip). We were pleasantly surprised at the variety of animal species. They even had some beluga whales, sea lions, dolphins, sea otters, and penguins. All but the penguins moved too fast to get any good photos.

Some highlights:


Found Nemo!

 



There are also aquatic shows, special exhibits (right now it's jellyfish), dive presentations, animal encounters, and a 4D experience. We didn't have time to see these and didn't want to spend the extra money, given the amount of time we had. Maybe next time we'll check them out.

Chicago: Skydeck

Continuing with highlights from when Alexis was in town, we went into Chicago for the weekend before she left. We got lots of good photos of Chicago from the Skydeck of Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, which is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere (8th tallest in the world) at 1,450 ft and 110 stories. The view extends up to 50 miles. We stood on "the Ledge", which extends 4.3 ft out from the building on the 103rd floor (1,353 ft), so we could also see directly below. There are also historical/cultural exhibits on the 103rd floor.



Willis Tower: View from the street



Views from the 103rd floor:



 




Long-distance view

 

Alexis standing on the Ledge

 


Ed taking a photo of the view below from the Ledge



Lego model of Willis Tower!



Pushing on Willis Tower, of course!