(To be) in Chicago for a conference ... any suggestions?

Was in Chicago working a few weeks ago. Stayed at the Residence Inn on Dearborn near Kinzie for a fairly reasonable price. Can't remember exactly but I think it was $120 the first two nights and then $175 Friday. But the location was great. Right near the river, close to Michigan Ave., across the street from the House of Blues and Harry Caray's. And the rooms are all suites so if you want to try and save some money you can cook in your room. We ordered a giant $30 pizza and ate leftovers for a couple days although we did eat out too. Had a burger at Ed Debevic's. That was fun.

 

When I went to Chi-town a couple years ago, my buddy and I had a fantastic time hitting up Wrigley (Friendliest ballpark I've ever been to) and visiting downtown.

If you've got some time, just walk around and soak in the architecture. It's truly one of the most beautiful cities I've visited and I couldn't stop marveling at some of the buildings both from a design and an execution standpoint. Breathtaking.

I'll also second (or fourth?) the recommendation for the sky room at the Willis Tower. It's scary as hell at first but you'll be glad you did it. Also, if you're going with someone, have them go into the main corridor area and take a photo of you through the window with the glass encasement across from them. It's one of the coolest pictures I've taken and really adds to the idea of you hovering above the city.

Other than that, I'd recommend renting a car but that was only because I don't like to rely on public transportation unless I'm not planning on going very far (Vegas if it's a strip-only kind of trip and New York because the subways are awesome). Beware, though, that parking is not cheap, especially in downtown.

Most of all, have fun. I love Chicago. One of my favorite places to go.

 

Digging this one up because, well, because the wife and I are going to Chicago in a couple weeks.
Been digging around and finding some good places to eat (Rosebud Steakhouse and Ditka's are at the top of the list). Anyone have any good recommendations on pizza places? I'd like to get a good deep dish and have at least one fairly cheap meal.
We're also going to a Cubs game on Memorial Day, and will have a free day to wander and take in the sights. So are there any "must-dos" that can be done in an afternoon?

Also, the transportation thing has me wondering. Between parking and the price of a car itself, a rental car would cost us an extra $400 for three days, pretty easily. So we're not renting one. I'm not too worried about getting around town, except for the trip from Midway to the hotel on Chestnut Street. The hotel is literally across the street from the Hancock building (the Seneca; $152 a night for a suite).
Would it be easier -- and safer, which is my main concern -- to cab it from the airport? Public transportation is way cheaper, but will involve a transfer of trains followed by a six-block walk to the hotel whilst towing a bag. I'm afraid I might as well put a flashing neon "Tourist! Mug me!" sign on my head. Plus it'll probably take two hours.
So is it worth the $30 or $40 a cab ride will probably cost?

 

e-bowker: If your hotel is across the street from the Hancock building, take a cab from Midway and you should be fine with public transportation the rest of the way. Look online for "el" schedules. (the elevated trains around the Loop).

As far as pizza goes, everyone has a favorite ... while I'm not a huge deep dish fan, my wife always loved Giordano's, a local chain with plenty of locations in the city.

I was always a Home Run Inn guy, but that's near the other big league stadium ...

 

You're going to a Cubs game? How many billions are you worth? [/Starman]

 

I think Gino's East is the best (Giordano's is good too). I don't know if deep dish pizza is necessarily a "cheap" meal just to warn you. Cheaper than say a steakhouse but not exactly "Two for $20" at Chili's.

I would definitely cab it to Midway. It is worth it, especially if you chose the Wanna Get Away fare from Southwest because you'll want to get to the airport as soon as you can. I took the WGA fare at around Christmas and waited in the line for security for 45 minutes to an hour with thousands of my closest friends at around 6 a.m. So the experience might be different in May or June. However, I believe there's only one security checkpoint for the whole airport as opposed to O'Hare, which has multiple ones.
Just be ready to get a driver who will likely scare you out of your wits at some point(s) during the trip.

I will second the Exchequer as a good option for an inexpensive but good meal. It's an underrated place and you usually don't have to worry about it being crowded (except for the bar up front). There's usually plenty of room in the restaurant area because it's a big place. It's a little bit of a walk from Chestnut Street, though.

That's one tip for visiting Chicago: bring some comfortable shoes. Cabs can make a dent in your wallet and public transit is so-so (compared with New York, London and D.C., which I thought were all superior). If you want to get from Chestnut to, say, the River, that's about a mile. Then it's probably another half mile to Millennium Park/Grant Park.
I pass that tip along because the amount of walking is something that people who would visit me often wouldn't be ready for.

Another tip is if you're willing to wait outside Wrigley or at one of the nearby bars for an inning or two, you can get really, really cheap Cubs tickets. Last two times I tried this, I got one for $5 from one of the ballhawks and another for free from a scalper.

Avoid Navy Pier, unless you're going on an architecture tour (which I would recommend). It's a tourist trap, but there are nice views. The fireworks show is decent.

Speaking of views, if you want a restaurant with a good one, try the Signature Room at the Hancock Building for lunch (most of the entries are less than $20 according to the menu I just looked up.). They also have a buffet on Fridays and Saturdays that's pretty good ($20 per adult, $11 per child).

Q on the near North side (1160 N. Dearborn) is a really good barbecue place that the wife and I just tried (a little expensive but they give you a ton of food for the money.) It's also a close walk from there over to Rush Street.
Zocalo (358 W. Ontario St.) is a really good Mexican place in the West Loop (try the trio of gucamole).

Sorry, this post quickly got out of hand.

 

Chicago pizza = Malnati's. There is no other option.

If you're thinking about Ditka's, I would skip that and go to Gibson's or Hugo's or Mastro's instead. Fewer tourists, better people watching, WAY better food. So many other places that are much better than Ditka's.

Don't get a car.

 

Kuma's. Order the Plague Bringer.

 

Not worried at all about waiting on airport security, FishHack. My wife is a paraplegic. We get to go in the wheelchair lines and skip past all that mess. I love traveling with her.
That's another reason I'm thinking cab, the more I think about it. She said she can manage on her own as much as I need her to on the walk to the hotel. But crossing streets, keeping tabs on our surroundings and her (I go into super protective mode when we're walking around a city), and not having my hands free because of the luggage might be a bit much.

 

Is Malnati's a chain or a single place?
Was thinking about Ditka's mainly because it's close to the hotel and I didn't see anything negative about it on Yelp. It's also casual dress, which is a big deal. I don't want to have to pack extra shoes and dress clothes if at all possible.

Anyone had a burger at Rosebud? I read in several places it's the best in the city. And it's reasonably priced for a nice sit-down meal ($11-$16, depending on what you get on it). Really looking forward to that one.

 

Lou Malnati's is a chain. I'd agree with 21 that it's the best for deep dish. I believe there's a location in the Gold Coast, at State and Rush, that's maybe half a mile from the Hancock building.

I haven't had a burger at Rosebud. I did try Kuma's Corner and was underwhelmed -- a nice burger, but hardly exceptional, in my opinion, and not worth the trek to get there. If you're into hot dogs, go to Hot Doug's; if you can't make it out there, Franks 'n Dawgs is an acceptable alternative.

The architecture tour on the river is very good. (Make sure it's the one given by the Chicago Architecture Foundation.) Avoid Navy Pier, as someone said. Millennium Park is fun to check out and walk around. If you like improv/sketch comedy, see a show at Second City, and pass the time before the show marveling at all of the big names in comedy who went through there.

Ordinarily I wouldn't think twice about recommending public transportation from the airport to the hotel, but the fact that your wife is in a wheelchair gives me pause. I don't know the specific stops you'd be using, but I know that a lot of L stops in Chicago are not disabled-friendly. (I'm not sure how the city gets away with that, legally.) Maybe someone with more experience taking the L from Midway can chime in.

 

I never thought of Malnati's as a chain, but they do have a few locations. I know they exist in the suburbs because my mother sends us mail-order Malnati's for Boom in this pizza-deprived state that THINKS it has great pizza but does NOT.

I was thinking of the original location on Wells. Didn't know they had a place in the Gold Coast.

You want a great great restaurant near your hotel? Spiaggia. It's in the 950 Michigan building, I think the president and Michelle went there for Valentines Day a few years ago. Wonderful place, probably same prices as Ditka's.