Things to do in Illinois
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Art Institute of Chicago
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute of Chicago has the kind of celebrity-heavy collection that routinely draws gasps from patrons. Grant Wood’s stern American Gothic ? Check. Edward Hopper’s lonely Nighthawks ? Yep. Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on La Grand Jatte ? Here. The museum’s collection of impressionist and postimpressionist paintings is second only to those in France, and the number of surrealist works – especially boxes by Joseph Cornell – is tremendous.
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Billy Goat Tavern
Literally beneath the pie-eyed mobs on the Magnificent Mile, the subterranean Billy Goat, which enjoyed the fame of John Belushi’s SNL skit (‘Cheezborger! Cheezborger! No fries! Cheeps!’), remains a deserving tourist magnet. Skip the franchise locations for the original: a windowless haunt with an entire wall dedicated to former Tribune columnist Mike Royko, famously cantankerous Greeks at the grill and scads of old-Chicago charm. Greasy-spoon fare is the only option, and you’ll have to order a double cheeseburger if you’re interested in tasting meat within the substantial bun. Schlitz on tap helps wash it down.
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Hot Doug’s
Doug’s the man to fulfill all your hot-dog fantasies. He serves multiple dog styles (Polish, bratwursts, Chicago) cooked multiple dog ways (char grilled, deep fried, steamed). Confused? He’ll explain it all. The chatty Cubs lover also makes gourmet ‘haute dogs’ – say blue-cheese pork with cherry cream sauce or sesame-ginger duck – that have reviewers dragging out their superlatives. On Friday and Saturday, Doug offers fries cooked in duck fat; be sure to ask for them. The line is lengthy but good natured (it’s even been known to burst into a group sing-along). Cash only.
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Lula Café
Funky, arty Lula led the way for Logan Square’s dining scene, and appreciative neighborhoodies still crowd in for the seasonal, locally sourced menu. Even the muffins here are something to drool over, and that goes double for lunch items like pasta yiayia (bucatini pasta with Moroccan cinnamon, feta and garlic) and dinners such as striped bass with pine-nut-peppered orzo. Mondays offer a prix fixe three-course Farm Dinner.
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Parthenon
This veteran has anchored Greektown for three decades, hearing countless yells of ‘Opa’ to accompany the flaming saganaki (sharp, hard cheese cut into wedges or squares and fried). Greeks returning to the city from their suburban retreats have made the Parthenon a favorite. Vegetarians and gluten-free eaters will find lots of options, all marked on the extensive menu. A plus for drivers: there’s free valet service.
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University of Chicago
Some universities collect football championships. The University of Chicago collects Nobel Prizes – 80-plus so far and counting. In particular, the economics department has been a regular winner. Merton Miller, a U of C economics faculty member and a prize winner himself, explained the string of wins to the Sun-Times: ‘It must be the water; it certainly can’t be the coffee.’
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Pizzeria Uno
Ike Sewell supposedly invented Chicago-style pizza here on December 3, 1943, although his claim to fame is hotly disputed. A light, flaky crust holds piles of cheese and an herb-laced tomato sauce. The pizzas take a while, but stick to the pitchers of beer and cheap red wine to kill time, and avoid the salad and other distractions to save room for the main event.
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Cafe Iberico
Iberico’s creative tapas burst with flavor. Among the standouts: salpicon de marisco (seafood salad with shrimp, octopus and squid), croquetas de pollo (chicken and ham puffs with garlic sauce) and vieiras a la plancha (grilled scallops with saffron). The cafe’s heady sangria draws wearied Loop workers by the dozen in the summer.
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Chicago Diner
The gold standard for Chicago vegetarians, this place has been serving barbecue seitan, wheat meat and tofu stroganoff for decades. The tattooed staff will guide you to the best stuff, including the peanut butter vegan ‘supershakes’ and the ‘Radical Ruben.’ Vegans take note: even the pesto for the pasta can be had without a lick of cheese.
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Ann Sather
The cinnamon rolls are the marquee item at the flagship of this small, friendly local chain that offers Swedish standards in a pleasant café environment. Filling, familiar Nordic offerings like meatballs and potato sausage join selections of American comfort food on the dinner menu.
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Soul Vegetarian East
Finding soul food that meets the tenets of the vegan diet is such a rarity that the creative barbecue sandwiches and dinner plates at this comfy South Side place have earned a national reputation.
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John Hancock Center
Chicago’s third-tallest skyscraper (at 1127ft) is our favorite place to get high. In many ways the view here surpasses the one at Willis Tower, as the Hancock is closer to the lake and a little further north. Plus, you have a couple of options for taking in the view – one of which saves money and provides liquid refreshment.
So here’s the deal: you can pay the admission price and ascend to the 94th-floor observatory. Recently revamped, it provides visitors with an edifying audio tour that gives a city history overview (good anecdotes from local newspaper journalists). There’s the ‘skywalk’, a sort of screened-in porch that lets you feel the wind and hear the city soun…
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Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
Consider it the Art Institute’s brash, rebellious sibling, with especially strong minimalist and surrealist collections and permanent works by Franz Kline, René Magritte, Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol. Covering art from 1945 forward, the MCA’s collection spans the gamut, from Jenny Holzer’s LED Truisms to Joseph Beuys’ austere Felt Suit, with displays arranged to blur the boundaries between painting, photography, sculpture, video and other media. The museum also regularly hosts dance, film and speaking events from an international array of contemporary artists, and the traveling exhibits it pulls in are A-list. The museum’s shop wins big points for its jewelry pi…
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Nelson Algren House
You can’t go inside, but on the third floor of this apartment building writer Nelson Algren created some of his greatest works about life in the once down-and-out neighborhood. He won the 1950 National Book Award for his novel The Man with the Golden Arm, set on Division St near Milwaukee Ave (about a half-mile southeast). A Walk on the Wild Side contains the classic advice: ‘Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.’ And his short Chicago: City on the Make summarizes 120 years of thorny local history and is the definitive read on the city’s character.
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Borinquen Restaurant
The story goes that Borinquen owner Juan ‘Peter’ Figueroa created his signature dish after reading an article in a Puerto Rican newspaper about a sandwich that subbed plantains for bread – a flash of inspiration that birthed the jibarito, a popular dish that piles steak, lettuce, tomato and garlic mayo between two thick, crisply fried plantain slices. The idea caught on, and the jibarito is all the rage at local Puerto Rican eateries. It’s the marquee item at Borinquen, though more traditional Puerto Rican fare is also available at this homey family spot.
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Jin Ju
One of only a handful of nouveau Korean restaurants in town, Jin Ju throws a culinary curveball by tempering Korean food to Western tastes. The minimalist candlelit interior of Jin Ju echoes softly with downbeat techno, and the stylish 30-something clientele enjoys mains like haemul pajon (a fried pancake stuffed with seafood) and kalbi (beef short ribs). The drinks menu must is the ‘soju- tini’, a cocktail made with soju, a Korean spirit distilled from sweet potatoes.
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Green Mill
You can sit in Al Capone’s favorite spot at the timeless Green Mill, a true cocktail lounge that comes complete with curved leather booths and colorful tales about mob henchmen who owned shares in the place (a trap door behind the bar leads to tunnels where they hid their bootlegged booze). Little has changed in over 70 years – the club still books top local and national jazz acts. On Sunday night it hosts a nationally known poetry slam, where would-be poets try out their best work on the openly skeptical crowd.
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David & Alfred Smart Museum of Art
Named after the founders of Esquire magazine, who contributed the money to get it started, this fine arts museum opened in 1974 and expanded in 1999. The 8000 items in the collection include some excellent works from ancient China and Japan, and a colorful and detailed Syrian mosaic from about AD 600. The strength of the collection lies in the paintings and sculpture contemporary to the university’s existence, including works by Arthur Davies, Jean Arp, Henry Moore and many others.
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Robie House
This masterpiece is the ultimate expression of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School style, and it’s often listed among the most important structures in American architecture. The low horizontal planes and dramatic cantilevers were meant to mirror the Midwestern landscape, and they’re ornamented solely by the exquisite stained- and leaded-glass doors and windows. At the time of research the house was undergoing extensive restoration, which had disrupted the tour schedule, so call ahead.
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Hot Chocolate
‘Come for dessert, stay for dinner’ might be the motto at this cocoa-walled Bucktown restaurant. Run by renowned pastry chef Mindy Segal, the cute place feels exactly like the irresistible, upscale chocolate desserts it peddles. With six rich kinds of hot chocolate available (they’re like dipping your mug into Willy Wonka’s chocolate river), along with mini brioche doughnuts, you may forget to order the other food on offer, such as Kobe beef flank steak and beer-soaked mussels.
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Schwa
Exceedingly popular – reservations for chef Michael Carlson’s masterful restaurant should be booked around the same time as your airline ticket. The fact that Carlson worked at Alinea is apparent in an avant-garde, three- or nine-course menu (go for the nine) that redefines American comfort food via such dishes as apple-pie soup. The setup is progressive, too, with chefs also acting as servers. The intimate room is bookended by black wood floors and has a mirrored ceiling.
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Margie’s
Margie’s has held court at Bucktown’s edge for over 80 years, dipping ice-cream sundaes for everyone from Al Capone to the Beatles (check the wall photos). Sure, you can admire the old-fashioned Tiffany lamps, the marble soda fountain and the booths with minijukeboxes. But the star is the hot fudge, unbelievably thick, rich and bountiful, served in its own silver pot. Burgers and sandwiches are just clumsy foreplay to the 50 massive sundaes on offer.
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Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum has over 70 PhD-wielding scientists and 20 million artifacts, so you know things are going to be hopping. The big attraction is the Tyrannosaurus rex named Sue, a 13ft-tall, 41ft-long beast who menaces the grand space with ferocious aplomb. Sue, the most complete T rex ever discovered, takes its name from Sue Hendrickson, the fossil hunter who found the 90%-complete skeleton in South Dakota in 1990.
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Strange Cargo
One of the coolest stores in Chicago for retro T-shirts and thrift-store-esque hipster wear, Strange Cargo also sells wigs, clunky shoes and leather jackets. Buy a vintage-style T-shirt, then use the iron-on machine to enliven it with a message or decal of your choice. There’s an excellent selection of kitschy ones featuring Mike Ditka, Harry Caray, the Picasso statue, the Hancock Center and other local icons – all supreme souvenirs.
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Lou Mitchell’s
A relic of old Route 66 (it’s located a few blocks west of the road’s starting point), Lou’s coffee shop brings in elbow-to-elbow tourists for breakfast. The omelets hang off the plates, and the fluffy flapjacks and crisp waffles are prepared with practiced perfection. Cups of coffee are bottomless, just like the charm of the old-school waiters, who hand out free treats (doughnut holes, ice cream, Milk Duds) to young and old alike.
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