Me n my girl are thinking about taking a weekend off and coming up to chicago to just have some fun...I need suggestions, you guys live there so you have inside info on the best things to do, places to eat, and bars to drink at. Help please. Thanks in advance

 

check out nifba.com theres some chicago guys on there. me personally, i hate the city, lol. driving in there sucks. way too much traffic

 

do you want to stay downtown ??? plenty of hotels, medium and high priced per night.
yes some will cost you 250-500 a night, if you so choose.

weed st and rush st have lots of bars and clubs....all other streets are littered with clubs, bars, lounges and restaurants.

plenty of site seeing downtown to do, from museums to the "willis" aka sears tower, hancock bldg, millenium park etc....

plenty of neighboring suburbs have activities and sites to visit....all depends on what you want to accomplish and what your budget is. if you want to hit a club on a saturday night, then plan on 7-12 bucks for a mixed drink......

 

yeah were gonna stay downtown and most likely use the "L" to get around or just walk if it's close. I know she wants to go shopping so well probably hang around the magnificent mile for a while on saturday but shopping isn't my thing lol so im gonna try to limit that but will def be trying to go to some nice restaurants and/or bars (something that is unique to chicago, wont be going to any chain restaurants). Clubs really aren't my thing and I sure as hell not paying 10 bucks for a drink.

and we'll most likely do either the hancock or sears tower probably hit up one of the zoo's and the pier or millennium park

 

Buddy guy's is pretty good to catch a blues show and get some cajun food.

The Double Door is a a nice/venue for rock and misc. bands, good selection at the bar too.

If you are into micro brews check out the hopleaf or map room

If you go to john hancock there is the bar on the 95th floor call signature lounge/room you can sit at the bar instead of getting a reservation or waiting forever for a table. It is a good view from up there as long as it isn't cloudy you pay for expensive drinks beer is about $5-7 and mixed drinks about $10 and up, but it is free to get in.

 

I love giving visitors ideas of what to check out around town ;D
I've lived close to the City all my life (out in the burbs now)...but I love it - and find myself going into the city all the time.

If you know where to look - you can have a great time on the cheap.
There are a lot of "traps" downtown tho - so it is easy to spend away your cash if you're not careful.

As far as clubs, dancing and music.
The best touristy places are generally Excalibur and Soundbar.
Excalibur is huge - a bit pricey...but there is something for everyone. Pool tables, dancing with a cheesy show and even a paranormal show upstairs (extra fee) on Fridays...which includes 2 drinks.

Soundbar you can get into for free if you jump on their website and add your names to the guestlist. It's a cute bar - 3 levels with different music styles - to do on the cheap, we always hit this place after we've had a few drinks or even bring our own bottle (stashed away of course ;D and buy cranberry juice all night)...
There is a dive bar across the street (have no idea what the name is), but we generally end up here after if we go - cheaper drinks and no cover. The people who go here are more local...so you can meet some interesting people.

You can also hit up Rush and Division - it's a small strip of bars, usually a decent sized crowd in this area when the weather's nice.
Or if you like Reggae, there's the Wild Hare over by Wriggly.
There is also Reggie's on the South Side for Metal - Exit is metal too (haven't been there in a while, but there is generally no cover) and US Beer Company on the North Side generally has it's run of Metal/Rock bands on the weekend.

If you're venturing out and have a car....Bourbon Street out in Marrinette Park (115th & Kedzie) - HUGE bar...generally a $5 cover with reasonable drinks. Something for everyone here - dancing, 2 live bands, cornhole (bag toss), games, pool tables, etc....

If you're sticking to downtown area, House of Blues is a great place to catch a show, not a bad place in the house, but they can get pricey - stick to beers tho, watered down drinks...
We also love Buddy Guy's for some blues. You can generally catch Buddy just sitting at the bar - and make sure to eat here too if you like some good authentic food - they have some of the best cornbread and pecan pie in the area

You can generally find more places out of the general downtown area for music and events by checking out Illinoisentertainer.com or Nightlife.org.
You can also check out Metromix.com - for listings of almost everything downtown...or there is a new site - brokehipster.com - that has free deals for each day of the week in the city (beer tastings, wine, etc)...


Most of these websites cover the burbs too - which you can jump on the Metra...but be sure to check the RTA site if there is additional transportation if you're not driving...some of the burbs do not believe in buses!

Most of the better eateries are out of the downtown area.
We generally do not eat downtown too often - it'll kill your budget for sure.
But if you must, there is Heaven on 7 (on Wabash) if you like New Orleans style food, Giordonos for pizza (get the stuffed!), Portillos if you're in the mood for a hot dog, beef or burger...


You won't go wrong with either Zoo.
Lincoln is across from the lake - so it's like making a day of checking out the beautiful lake front - the zoo is free and you can do almost everything in the zoo within a couple of hours.
Brookfield is a great zoo too - but it does get a bit pricey. You can spend all day in this zoo if you want to check out everything.

I don't do much shopping downtown....I generally hit up small boutiques I find (on the cheap) or stay out in the burbs - Naperville has some cute places to shop too.
If you guys do venture out in the burbs...Oakbrook has a nice mall - the general mall area is outside...so you're not cooped up in a stuffy mall all day.
Or Woodfield in Schaumburg is a megacomplex - restaurants galore, gameworks, etc.

As far as Sears Tower (Big Willie) and Hancock - I recommend the Hancock...it's cheaper and the view is much better, and now they have their new skydeck - where you can stand out on the glass above the city.

There are also ghost tours, Gangster tours and dinner show (Al Capone days) and a bunch of things always going on...Most of the Museums have free days - just check out their websites - and you can always check out the Cultural Center downtown for more ideas and even free shows/events.
The city also has a website that lists free events during the year.
Millennium Park is nice - be sure to walk down the street a little to Buckingham Fountain as well

Hope this helps - have a great time!
And If you need some more ideas...let me know ;D

 

Forgot about the signature Lounge - definately follow 75TonyA's advice and do that instead of going all the way up for the tour.
No cover and for your $10.00 you'll also get a drink with some amazing views

 

What do you want to eat, and what kinda budget for dinner?

 

Wow thanks a bunch Tony and Jeanie!! That will give me a lot to look into doing.

We're not picky on what we want to eat. Italian, chinese, mexican, etc it's all good. Something thats unique to chicago would be good too (for example if any of you have been to cincinnati, cincinnati chili (skyline) is unique to cincy). For most of the meals probably say around 30-40 but would step it up to a nice place for one of the meals so wouldnt mind spending 30ish on a nice entree per person. Sucks being on a college budget but you gotta deal w/ what you got for now.

Something like Giordonos or Portillos sounds amazing for lunch on saturday or sunday (I'm pretty sure I've seen portillos on the food channel but I may be mistaken)

 

Portillos has good food and is reasonably priced. Als italian beef if your into it. Also pretty cheap.

A little more pricey- Heaven on seven. place is not open late so I would go for lunch. Good cajun food.

If the lady friend wants to go shopping, michigan ave is practically a must.

 

Lunch: Portillos very good, Al Beef very good, Mr. Beef is just okay. Hot Dougs has very long lines, as does Kuma's Corner due to be on the Food Channel.

Dinner: My ideas might strain the budget, but maybe Wildfire. I'm thinking their entrees might be around $15-18 each. I think they are on Ontario or Superior.

What's that burger place on Rush, Hamburger Hamlet? I haven't been there in a while.

I'll keep thinking...

I like to eat German, Japanese, Korean, and French and then American Chicago style stuff and also BBQ. Most of Chicago BBQ is pretty bad and I only like Smoque BBQ on Pulaski but it can get crowded on weekends.

 

They pretty much covered everything. Same things I would suggest.

Just wanted to clear up it's Willis tower that has the Skydeck with the "Ledge" where you stand on the glass.

 

I sent you a PM.

 

I currently live in Chicago, and would not recommend the L unless you like waiting for trains and buses for a while. The only time where it is remotely on time is during rush hour, which they run more trains and buses to accommodate the extra load of people.

There is Ginos East on Wells and Ontario that has great deep dish Chicago pizza. Also Gibsons steakhouse is right there. The signature lounge if you buy a drink is cheaper than going to the top of the Hancock and you still get the same views.

Everything else that has been said is great. I usually hang out with friends at Rush and Division, usually okay priced drinks, and great atmosphere.

 

Portillos ftw!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks hot rod and all you guys...definitely looks like portillos is somewhere we will definitely go also cafe iberico looks awesome (as mentioned by hotrod) and i love deep dish pizza so gio's sounds like a given...used to have uno's around us and loved their deep dish pizza

so if we go to the signature lounge we wont have to pay to go up vs having to pay to go to the observation deck? but we will have to get drinks obviously

 

Darren,

I would definitely go to the signature room! I took a date there once and it was nice. Don't make the same mistake I did, though...don't get dinner there. If you want dinner there, expect to at least carry $150, and if you're going to have drinks along with dinner, might want to bring closer to $200. I'd definitely just go up for a drink though...it really is awesome, and the lady that runs it just graduated from Purdue like 3 years ago.

Also, you might want to dress fairly nice (nice pants and a dress shirt) to be up there. It was a pretty classy place.

Ed

 

Cafe Iberico is good. LOL or go to Fogo de Chao a block away and have a few lbs of meat over there.

 

I was actually planning on taking my girl up there for dinner for our three year coming up soon. I'm glad it's nice and classy. The cost really doesn't bother me. As long as it's not like a grand to eat there lol.

 

any suggestions for parking? I keep reading about parking at the hotels being pretty bad