Chicago, IL - Cubs Game Weekend - July 2011

We decided to head to Chicago for a long weekend with John and JoAnna to see a Cubs Game at Wrigley Field and to enjoy the city with them in warmer weather (we had visited Chicago with John and JoAnna a few years back for St Patrick's day).   

Accommodation:

We stayed in our usual spot, the Hyatt Regency, for free.  Our west tower room overlooked the river as well as the new Marlyn Monroe statue in Pioneer Court.  Keith arrived early Friday morning from Denver while Shawna/John/JoAnna flew together from Raleigh.

Marilyn Monroe Statue

Activities/Bars/Restaurants:

Keith, John, JoAnna
at Windy City Rib Fest

First stop Friday evening: Windy City Rib Fest and Cowboy Mouth!  As soon as we dumped off our luggage at the hotel, we hopped into a cab and headed to Uptown.  We bought our drink/food tickets, then a round of beer before we grabbed some ribs and brats.  It appears these are the same rib stands that we have seen at other festivals in NC.  The Cowboy Mouth show was great - though there was quite a crowd, we were able to get a few rows from the front.  We couldn't believe that we saw them there for the mere entry fee of $5!  After the show, we went to The Gage for a couple of beers, an awesome Irish restaurant/bar located right across from Millennium Park - they have the best curry fries.

On the bike tour

We started Saturday early with our freebie breakfast in the concierge lounge, then left the hotel at 8:00am for a bike tour.  The ride on cruiser bikes took us 7 miles down Lakeshore drive to Hyde Park, then around the University of Chicago and all the old Barack Obama haunts, including his current house.  We capped off the Hyde Park tour at the bakery Medici 57 where we split an amazing gooey chocolate chip cookie before heading back north on Lakeshore  to Chicago.  After the tour, we went to Ginos East for lunch, where the four of us shared a large deep-dish pizza with a few pitchers of beer.  Ginos is a total dive with graffiti all over the walls - but the pizza was delicious.  We then went back to the hotel for a nap.

Lunch at Ginos East

With Jodi
overlooking Millennium Park

We kicked off Saturday evening at Tim and Jodi's place - an apartment adjacent to Grant Park.  Their apartment looks north toward the river and has incredible views.  Grace was there, recently returned from four weeks in Africa and now taking a short summer art course at the University of Chicago.  After a quick drink at their place, we headed over to Millennium Park where we had a picnic dinner while listening to free symphony concert (Krzysztof Penderecki conduct his own music followed by Beethoven).  Jodi catered an amazing picnic spread while we supplied the wine - we relaxed under the stars and chatted. 

Keith and Shawna at Symphony
in Millennium Park

After the concert, we parted ways with Tim and Jodi and went to a few bars in the North River area.  We tried to go to the rooftop at the Wit but the line to get in was over an hour long!  We ended up at the Gilt Bar, where we had a bottle of champagne in the underground space Curio, a dark lounge with candles lit all over the room.  The drinks were very expensive but it was a cool setting.  We then stopped by the Bull and Bear which was totally packed (think meat market/clubby feel in an Irish pub) so we just a had one beer and then bolted.  Our last stop before heading back to the Hyatt was the original  Billy Goat Tavern, a dive bar/diner underneath one of the overpasses.  Back at the hotel, John, Joanna and Shawna decided to have a nightcap at the hotel bar where we found a slice of pizza left behind that we proceeded to share among the three of us.

At Cubs Game

On Sunday, we watched the Cubs game at one of the rooftops, the Skybox on Sheffield, which is a great way to see the Cubs.  The skybox includes all you can drink and all you can eat - and we desperately tried to get our moneys worth.  Jeff, an old friend of John's from high school and college, met us there to watch the game vs the Marlins (Cubs lost, surprisingly enough).  It was insanely hot and humid!  Following the game, we stopped for one beer at Murphy's Bleachers, a great sports bar right across from the ballpark.  Later that evening, we had dinner at Mercadito which was a cool, modern Mexican restaurant with very tasty food that can be easily shared.  Given that we had been drinking most of the day at the game, we retired early to the hotel.

On Monday, Keith got up super early to catch the 6am flight back to Denver.  John, JoAnna and Shawna got a late start to the day.  We intended to go to the aquarium and after briskly walking 40 minutes to get there, we realized that we would not have enough time.  Instead, we took a water taxi to Navy Pier, walked around a bit and grabbed a quick lunch in the food court.  We then went back to the hotel for a shower before we headed to the airport for our flight home to Raleigh.