This page updated regularly. Our personal notes on where to eat, what to see and do, and where to stay; plus some additional reference material and historical information. Everything you need to know about Chicago!
You wake up in Chicago, pull back the curtain, and you KNOW where you are. You are in a big, brash, muscular, broad-shouldered motherf***in’ city. A metropolis, completely non-neurotic, ever moving. A big-hearted but cold-blooded machine with millions of moving parts. A beast that will, if disrespected or not taken seriously, roll over you without remorse. It is also one of America’s last great NO BULLSHIT zones. Pomposity, pretentiousness, putting on airs of any kind, douchery, and lack of a sense of humor will not get you far in Chicago. From Anthony Bourdain’s Field Notes
RESTAURANTS/DINING (If on this list, we vouch for it!)
THE LOOP
Cindy’s Rooftop
The Berghoff
Remington’s
Miller’s Pub
Eastman Egg Company
Latinicity
Atwood (Reliance Building)
The Gage
Rosebud Prime
The Dearborn
Cochon Volant
Revival Food Hall
Roanoke
Boleo (Kimpton Gray rooftop)
Heaven on Seven (Cajun)
WEST LOOP
Little Goat Diner
The Girl & the Goat
Federales
Bar Siena
The Allis
Nosh + Booze
Grange Hall Burger Bar
Parlor Pizza Bar
Palace Grill
Cruz Blanca
RIVER NORTH
RPM Steak
RPM Italian
Il Porcellino
Hub 51
Bottlefork
Siena Tavern
Frontera Grill
THE GOLD COAST
Luxbar
Tavern on Rush
Gibsons Bar/Steakhouse
Maple + Ash
Eight Bar and Patio
The Little Beet Table
Torali Chicago
RIVERWALK
Tiny Tapp & Cafe
City Winery Riverwalk
O’Briens Riverwalk Cafe
LINCOLN PARK
Summer House Santa Monica
Stella Barra Pizzeria
OLD TOWN
Benchmark
Ironside Bar + Galley
RIVER WEST
Roost Carolina Kitchen
Gibsons Italia
FULTON MARKET
Duck Duck Goat
Swift & Sons
Fulton Market Kitchen
Cemitas Puebla
WICKER PARK/BUCKTOWN
The Violet Hour
The Bristol
WRIGLEYVILLE
Rockit Burger Bar
SOUTH LOOP
11 City Diner
Buddy Guy’s Legends
Bar Louie Printers Row
LOGAN SQUARE
Lula Cafe
CATERING
Goddess and Grocer
Portillo’s
Blackwood BBQ
ATTRACTIONS/THINGS TO DO
Chicago History Museum
Free Galleries
Museum of Contemporary Photography
Chicago Cultural Center
Field Museum (Natural History)
Chicago’s First Lady Architecture River Tours
Taste of Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art
Garfield Park Conservatory
Lincoln Park Zoo
Bike/Walk the 606
Chess Records
Museum of Science and Industry
Chicago Marathon
Lincoln Park Conservatory
Cowshed Spa Chicago (West Loop)
Hamilton / Chicago
REFERENCE LINKS/GENERAL INFORMATION
Chicago Name Etymologies
Divvy Bike Sharing Program
Chicago Transit Authority
Mariano’s Grocery
Stephanie Schnick’s Chicago Pinterest page
The Chicago Flag, Explained
After-words Bookstore (River North)
Chicago Food Truck Tracker
FAVORITE HOTELS
Hotel Allegro (Loop) Note: This is the Official Schnick hotel for friends and family – located one block north of our building.
The Palmer House (Loop)
Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel (Loop)
Hotel Monaco (Loop)
The Gray (Loop)
Soho House Chicago (West Loop)
Virgin Hotel Chicago (Loop)
The Langham Chicago
FAVORITE BUILDINGS (year opened)
Randolph Tower (1929)
The John Hancock Center (1969)
Marina City (1964)
Trump International Hotel + Tower (2009)
Union Station (1925)
Sears Tower (1973)
The Rookery (1886)
The Reliance Building (1895)
35 East Wacker – The Jewelers’ Building (1927)
Ogilvie Station (1912)
Chicago Board of Trade Building (1930)
Oriental Theatre (1926)
BOOKS
1. City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America (2014)
2. Chicago: A Biography (2009)
HISTORY
The Wigwam (now 191 North Wacker)
Chicago Is… (promotional video, 1977)
This is Marina City (Part 1 of 2)
This is Marina City (Part 2 of 2)
History of Sears Tower
The Bob Newhart Show (opening)
Chicago Blues (Documentary, 1972)
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