Chicago has the lot: itinerant artists babbling Beat, Polish aunties stuffing sausage, African-American mothers organising the block, blue-collar guys bad-mouthing the Bears, a crooner singing the blues on the South Side. It's a city that wears its American heart proudly on its sleeve.
Chicago's diverse population has built a city with an unrivalled tradition of jazz and blues, an astonishing architecture, an appetite for hearty food, award-winning newspapers, universities full of Nobel laureates and some of the most die-hard sports fans you'll ever meet.
Points of Interest
Art Institute
111 S Michigan Ave | 10:30am-5pm Mon-Wed, to 9pm Thu & Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Jun-Aug, 10:30am-5pm Mon-Wed & Fri, to 8pm Thu, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Sep-May
The second-largest museum in the country, the Art Institute houses treasures and masterpieces from around the globe, including a fabulous selection of both Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings. Georges Seurat's pointillist A Sunday on La Grande Jatte is here, so is Grant Wood's American Gothic. The new Modern Wing, dazzling with natural light, hangs Picassos and Miros on its 3rd floor (added bonus: the mod, pedestrian Nichols Bridgeway arches from here into Millennium Park). Allow two hours to browse the museum's highlights; art buffs should allocate much longer. Ask at the front desk about free talks and tours once you're inside.
Navy Pier
600 E Grand Ave | from 10am, closing times vary seasonally from 7pm-midnight
Once the city's municipal wharf, Navy Pier, which is a half-mile long, is now covered with a Ferris wheel (per ride $6), an IMAX theater, numerous shops and gimmicky chain restaurants. Locals groan over its commercialization, but its lakefront view and cool breezes can't be beat. The fireworks displays on Wednesday (9:30pm) and Saturday (10:15pm) are a treat too.
Skydeck
233 S Wacker Dr | 9am-10pm Apr-Sep, 10am-8pm Oct-Mar
No matter what you call it, Skydeck is still the USA's tallest building, and its 103rd-floor puts visitors way up in the clouds.
12th Street Beach
1200 S Lake Shore Dr |
A path runs south from the planetarium to 12th St Beach, where you can climb the rocks to the breakwater for good views of the lake and the fishermen who are likely to be casting there. Despite the beach’s proximity to the Museum Campus and its zillions of visitors, the crescent-shaped sand sliver remains bizarrely (but happily) secluded. Beach bonus: if you can’t get tickets to see your favorite band at Charter One Pavilion, you can sit here and still hear the tunes.
Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven
2120 S Michigan Ave | 11am-4pm Mon-Fri, noon-2pm Sat
The main (if modest) attraction is a building on Michigan Ave, where the Chess brothers started a recording studio in 1957. Bluesmen Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddley cut tracks here first, and paved the way for rock 'n' roll with their sick licks and amped-up sound. Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones arrived soon after that. The studio is now called Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven, and it holds a collection of blues memorabilia. Dixon was the guy who wrote most of the label's hits and the one who summed up the genre best: 'Blues is the roots, and everything else is the fruits.'
Avec
615 W Randolph | closed lunch
Feeling social? This casual place gives diners a chance to rub elbows at eight-person communal tables. Dishes are meant for sharing (though you only have to share with people you know), and the food from Chef Koren Grieveson is exceptional.
Frontera Grill
445 N Clark St | 11:30am-2:30pm Tue-Fri, 10:30am-2:30pm Sat, 5:30-9:30pm Tue-Thu, to 10:30pm Fri & Sat
Perhaps you've seen chef Rick Bayless on TV, stirring up pepper sauces and other jump-off-the-tongue Mexican creations. His isn't your typical taco menu: Bayless uses seasonal, sustainable ingredients for flavor-packed fare. No wonder it's a fave of President Obama.
Borinquen Restaurant
1720 N California Ave |
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, an auspiciously popular dish that piles steak, lettuce, tomato and garlic mayo between two thick, crisply fried plantain slices. The remarkably delicious dish is all the rage within Chicago food circles and has since started popping up at other Puerto Rican eateries. It’s the marquee item at Borinquen, though more traditional Puerto Rican fare is also available at this homey family spot.
Violet Hour
1520 N Damen Ave | 8pm-2am Sun-Fri, to 3am on Sat
The unmarked, poster-covered edifice and sleek interior lend this newcomer the atmosphere of a highbrow speakeasy. So do elaborately-engineered cocktails that use homemade bitters applied with an eyedropper and come shaken or poured over six varieties of ice. After a few, turn to the menu of playfully haughty bar food by hot-handed Avec owner Justin Large.
Empty Bottle
1035 N Western Ave |
Empty Bottle epitomize the edgy Chicago rock scene. The Bottle hosts free shows on Mondays.
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