Chicago – A Tale of Two Cities

I flew into Chicago on Wednesday evening and the cold actually wasn’t too bad. Thursday, though, was basically [Californian] winter, with a high of 50 degrees and intermittent rain. I spent the majority of the day alternating between walking around when it wasn’t raining, taking an Uber taxi, and ducking into a Starbucks to wait for my Uber driver to show up. It was miserable and once again I swore to myself that I would never live outside California. 

Saturday, on the other hand, was amazing. It was in the 60s, the sun was shining, and all was well. 

I complained about the cold to everyone I met, and their responses were all the same: “Yes, but it’s beautiful here during the summer.” 

Call me crazy, but I can’t live in bad weather (basically, anything under 60 degrees) for 9 months out of the year just to experience 3 months of good weather. And yes, I have been spoiled by California.

Nonetheless, I loved visiting and I can’t wait to go back in October. I didn’t get to do half as much as I wanted (most of it due to weather…next time I’m bringing an umbrella, scarf, gloves, and a beanie), so I’m looking forward to more sightseeing and eating. 

Highlights (credit: Greg and his friend Ken for many of these):

• Lou Malnati’s Pizza. I was highly skeptical that anything could be better than Blue Line in the bay area, but I was wrong. The Lou (vegetarian) was amazing. For me, the crust is what makes the pizza, and the crust was fantastic and better than Blue Line’s.
• Little Goat, located a short cab or subway ride from downtown on what the locals apparently call Restaurant Row. My Lyft driver Sean also said that Au Cheval (a few doors down from Little Goat) was really good. Little Goat is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while The Girl and the Goat is a fancier version of Little Goat (same chef) that’s only open for dinner. I had a cuban sandwich topped with sunny-side eggs that was pretty epic. 
• The Bean at Millennium Park (official name: Cloud Gate). I absolutely loved this sculpture. I specifically went to see it on two separate days since the first day I went to see it the weather was miserable, and on the third day it was beautiful. 
• The Skydeck at Willis Tower. I enjoyed it since the instagram picture turned out well and the visibility wasn’t bad. (Truth be told, the only reason I came here was because it was rainy and cold outside.) Also, there was no line. I don’t think I would bother if there was any kind of line to get in. 
• Transportation. In terms of mass transit, the L was awesome, and the Ventra card for buses / subways was super convenient. It was great to not have to drive anywhere. And if I didn’t feel like taking mass transit, there were plenty of Uber and Lyft taxis. 
• French Market. We stumbled into this market since we were looking for a bakery – Vanille Patisserie got the job done. It wasn’t cheap but I enjoyed the Royal cake pastry for breakfast the next day. There were also many other vendors in the market that looked good.

Low-lights:

• Portillo’s Hot Dogs (Ontario and Clark). The standard hot dog there was a bit small ($2.75) so I’d probably get the jumbo if you’re hungry…but I’d sooner avoid this place altogether, even though I did like the tira misu here ($3.99). I think Top Dog from Berkeley is way tastier. Supposedly the street vendors are better. 
• Gino’s North, not to be confused with Gino’s East. I happened upon Gino’s North since I was looking for a place to eat around midnight near Loyola University, Gino’s North was both close-by and open. Unfortunately, only thin crust was available, and I didn’t like it that much. 

Next time:

• Architecture Boat Tour. I really wanted to take the tour this time, but unfortunately the weather and my schedule didn’t cooperate. 
• Stuffing my face with more Lou Malnati’s Pizza.
• Trying out more Chicago restaurants. 
• Second City Comedy Club. I’ve been wanting to come here for forever.