Weekend in the Windy City: A Hungry Traveler's Guide

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It took my suitemates and I all of 15 minutes one random school night to decide on a weekend trip to Chicago. In the spirit of spontaneity, 30 minutes after the first words dropped from my mouth, we had tickets and hotels booked. Guess that's how senior year of college works. I love that we just say stuff and then act on it with abandon. The trip was an amazing time, with good company and food adventures galore. Read on to find out how we maxed out the experience in just a little over three days.

 Day/Night 1: Our trip plans were unabashedly centered on eateries that we wanted to try. Our first stop after checking in to our hotel that evening was to hit up Lou Malnati's for some tasty authentic deep dish pizza. I loved this place and it also comes with glowing reviews from our Chicagoan friends.
There was quite a wait for a table and then for the pizza to cook, so we started with dessert, because we are adults and we make all of the rules. We had samplers of key lime pie and tiramisu. The one covered in whipped cream is a Lou Malnati's special chocolate chip pizza, and it was by far our favorite. There was the combination of warm melty chocolate and gooey cookie dough, and then, to top it off, there's a rich vanilla ice cream that holds the hole thing together. That is some delectable fare in every spoonful.
The pizza was glorious! By the time it came we were so hangry we radiated hostility towards all of the other diners who had already gotten their food. Needless to mention that I inhaled my portion, but not before a photo-op. In the last couple of years I've had the chance to try other well known deep dish places like Gino's East, but Lou's is by far my favorite. The ingredients are fresh, there's a really wide variety on the menu, the crust is beautifully toasted, and the cook time was pretty fast, even if my hunger-clouded judgement would have told you otherwise.
We got a half and half of the Malnati Chicago Classic and the "Lou"

 Day 2: Millennium Park was packed when we arrived, despite the frigid temperatures. Obviously, reflection selfies in The Bean needed to happen because otherwise were you even there.
It's basically impossible for people not to walk in and out of your frame. I did my best.
It was a nice and crisp morning and everything was beautiful! Although one gripe I have about tall buildings is that it totally messes up your GPS, and basically turn by turn navigation inside the city is a nightmare because your location jumps around at least 3 blocks from where you think you are. It's better to learn to look at maps and figure things out that way.

We hung around the park for a good 45 minutes, but the cold drove us inside. No complaints though because the Art Institute of Chicago is actually one of my favorite things about this city. If you've got lots of time, this place, the Chicago Field Museum, and the Shedd Aquarium are basically the holy trinity of Chicago indoor amusement worth checking out.We skipped the aquarium entirely, but between the Art Institute and the Field Museum, we could probably have spent the entire trip just gawking at amazing displays. So if you're pressed on time like we were, I suggest planning out the specific exhibits you want to see and just head straight to those. 
A student ID will get you a discount at the door, and cameras were allowed everywhere except the Medieval Byzantine art, which might not be a part of the Chicago permanent collection. This is my fourth time at the Art Institute, so there were a few things my friend and I were determined to see such as Hopper's Nighthawks, which was sadly out on loan the last time I visited. Tastes and interest will differ between individuals, but below are pieces/exhibits I highly recommend seeing, in no particular order.
-Asian Art featuring ancient to contemporary pottery, prints, and the Ando Gallery installation (pictured below)
-American Art featuring works by Wood, Hopper, and my favorite: Georgia O'Keefe (check out her elegant Sky Above Clouds IV hanging in the stairwell outside of European Art)
-Contemporary Art featuring paintings by Shiraga Kazuo, Pollock, and Warhol, plus cool installations that I don't remember the names of. There was apparently a Rothko but we missed this.
-French impressionist paintings including works from Monet, Degas, Renior, Cezanne, and the famous La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat
-Renaissance, romantic and neoclassical paintings also in European art
The Ando Gallery
An artist at work

Fellow patrons

We found an early dinner in Chinatown. I've always been very intrigued by American Chinatowns because in all honesty what Chinese city even remotely resembles this? They're sort of perpetually stuck in the 80's for the sake of that commodified "Chineseness." But there's always tons of great bubble tea and yummy food so I'm not gonna complain (I mean, my social media handle says everything).

MingHin was packed to the brim when we arrived. I consulted Chinese bloggers for good food in Chinatown and this was on a lot of people's lists. They specialize in Cantonese food, but also have a big dim sum menu. I'm don't eat Canto food very often and don't really know what's considered good, but I think it was fine. The service was so-so as well. Although, being a northerner I would have probably preferred something more heavily seasoned.
Dim sum and Canto food at MingHin
Boba, my one true love. I asked around in the stores and a bunch of people recommended Kung Fu Tea. It's a pretty well known chain in the North and around the California area, I think. Anyway, the boba was a really great consistency, it's chewy but not lumpy and hard. The tea is on the sweeter side, so next time I would ask for half sugar.
Boba = Bae
Industrious duck place
Midnight snack time! We had plans to go out that night for drinks so what better way to pre-game than with pure carbohydrates? W had to order ahead for what is apparently the world's most hyped churros from Xoco on the corner of N Clark and Illinois. Our Uber driver was totally confused about where we were though because again, his navigation was super off inside the concrete jungle. But I tell you it was so worth the hassle. This stuff is melt-in-your-mouth delectable, especially with the chocolate, and is a must try.
OMG
We ended Day 2 with some drinks at the hotel bar and then a night out on the town at one of the clubs that was suggested to us by our favorite Yelp socialite friend. No pictures though because I wanted to save myself the trouble of toting around a camera and being socially awkward. But just because I didn't think bringing a camera was appropriate that didn't mean other people didn't. Somehow we got stopped for photos by these people who ran another venue and so yeah, there's a photo of us out there somewhere. I hope we looked really hot.

 Day 3: It's an unexpected late start for the travel party, but brunch makes all things better. After a long wait we finally got a table at The Bongo Room on Wabash and E Roosevelt. The food was just stellar. The atmosphere was great too, if a little crowded. I recommend getting an egg dish, it seems like the main attraction there. Some items, like the terderloin benny, are weekend only specials so be sure to look at the menu before you go.
The brunch bunch
Beef tenderloin eggs benedict
Chorizo avocado omelette
After brunch we headed over to the Chicago Field Museum for some fun times with Sue the T-Rex, my spirit animal (seriously I think every time there's a boba or tea or t-rex reference I should honk a horn or something).

The Field Museum is pretty much an anthropology major's colorful wet dream. Sadly, in our exhausted state I forgot to charge my camera, so it died shortly after we entered the premises. Again, a student ID gets you a discount ticket so don't forget. Also, museum closes at 5PM with final admission at 4PM, so your dreams of Night at the Museum will sadly never come true. If you're looking for a quick and dirty museum hack, below are may favorite exhibits.
-The entire west side of main level, featuring taxidermized animal specimens from all around the world. Enter from Nature Walk on the north side, right next to Sue, and work your way towards Ancient Egypt
-I recommend the Americas if you have a bit more time. I say this because the exhibits are rather reading heavy and less directly visual. There are also lots of videos if you need a break from walking.
-The Evolving Planet on the east side of the upper level. If you have time, also make your way through Plants of the World. It's a surprisingly fun area featuring plants that have a lot of significance to human cultures.
-The Hall of Jades and Hall of Gems, for you lovers of glitzy things

Post museum we headed north of town for some amazing Japanese food at Wasabi. I had the vegan Hot Yogi roll, which came served with the most wonderful fried lotus chips. 
Hot Yogi Roll
We were sitting at the bar and some guys next to us were handing out beers from a giant 24 pack. Goose Island 312 is very appropriate for the occasion and tastes pretty good, so thanks, random strangers!
Enter the main course, the most exquisite, creamy tonkostu ramen. The noodle has the right amount of spring, and the egg is perfectly cooked. As I got to the bottom of the bowl I was struck by this deep sadness because I don't live in a city with access to such great Asian food. Just you wait Chicago, there is still grad school left for me yet.

 There's no stopping the hungry tourist party. Only a few hours after dinner we headed to W Ontario for Chicago style hot dogs at Portillo's. The hot dogs were super cheap and very scrumptious, a great midnight snack.
Yummy
Day 4: Our last day in Chicago was a lot more relaxing. In the morning we went to the Willis Tower Skydeck because neither of my friends had been before. It was a bad day to go since the normal express elevators were being serviced, and we had to take three different elevators and an escalator, while being stared down by people who were actually in the building to work or whatever they do there. We're not great with heights, but we felt that it was a matter of pride. We didn't want to lose to young children.
Afterwards we went strolled through town and eventually made our way to the Magnificent Mile for a bit of shopping. 

Lunch was at The Purple Pig on Michigan Ave. The seating was communal and the food is served small plate style. Everything was excellent, but very rich so go on an empty stomach. This also turned out to be one of the most expensive meals we had in the City, since we had to order quite a lot. My favorite dishes were the Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes and the Octopus with Green Beans, Fingerling Potatoes & Salsa Verde. The Sicilian Iris we had for dessert served with vanilla soft serve was the crown jewel though. It's fried, it's warm, it's stuffed with ricotta, oh my.
Another packed house
Octopus with Green Beans, Fingerling Potatoes & Salsa Verde
Sicilian Iris
In the evening we had a couple hours before our returning ride, so we made our way on the Magnificent Mile to More for some cupcakes. The place is super minimalist, no seating, no drinks menu, just a big display case full of cupcakes. We got Chocolate Hazelnut and Chocolate Chocolate to take home. They were delicious, even two days later.

 We crossed the street for dinner at Le Pain Quotidien, where a suave French man in a chic gray turtleneck served us our food. This was right after we got rung out at Topshop by a girl who sounded like she might be Irish. Chicago, do all your import businesses come with import employees? In any case, I love it. The tartines were excellent, so was the momosa.

So yeah, we had a great time in the city being total tourists and devouring everything in sight. If you're ever in Chicago and get a sudden hankering for good food and fun, I hope you find this brief tour helpful.

 Thanks for reading! Hug puppies and drink tea.


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About me

This blog belongs to Jane. On most days, she's an existential crisis. Her many occupations include foodie, shopaholic, surfer (of the internet variety), and cat lady. She enjoys obscure music, procrastination, subjunctivising tactics, npr, and tea.