Don't know ages of your kids. Museum of science and industry is HANDS ON which kids love. You do not have to tell them to keep their hands off the exhibits because it is encouraged.

Listen to BULLDOG for your Pizza advice.
Lou's USED to be very good. Over the last few years they have become a glorified chain with restaurants all over the Chicago area and in other states, the quality is NOT what it was when Lou was around.Maybe if you went to the original restaurant in Lincolnwood you might get close to there old glory.

Cloud Gate ("The Bean") in Millennium Park. Eat lunch at Portillo's Hot Dogs. I rode the El with my cousin in 2005, but I don't think I'd do it now.

flashguy

[quote]I rode the El with my cousin in 2005, but I don't think I'd do it now.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Depends which Line. The Red Line has lots of bodily fluids all over the place and plenty of sketchy folks. The Blue Line to O'Hare is safe with lots of business types.

Anubismp-

Museum Campus is a beautiful place. Museum Campus is the area that has the Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium and the Feild Museum. Soldiers Feild is right there too, in case you're a Bears fan.

If you hit all 3, it might get a little $. I believe Chicago Park District may have a "day pass" which is cheaper.

Quick bite to eat? There's a Taco stand by the planetarium, right in front of the beach. Pretty good tacos! (Say Hi to Dave, the owner)


Pizza... Such a subjective subject.
EVERY neighborhood in Chicago has a bunch of "Pizza Joints". There's one or two in every neighborhood that stand out too.
Lou Malnottis, Girodanos, Aurillios- local chain restaurants.
Don't get me wrong, they all make a pretty damn good pizza! But there's sooo much better.

UNOs... Probably one of the best deep dish you can find.
1Kperday hit the nail on the head- Pequods!!! I'd put them right up at the top of the list!
If you do go to the Museum Campus area, I suggest "Flo and Santos" 13th and Wabash, west side of the street. Their Polish Sausage and Pierogis are excellent, as is the Pizza!

Museum Campus is 1200 South Lake Shore Drive.
The Museum of Science and Industry is about 5700 S Lake Shore Drive. About a 7 minute drive south.
Museum of Science and Industry is another excellent place! That's where the U-505 Submarine that Bulldog, Chris, 67 Goat et al are referring to. A lot if interactive stuff to keep the kids interested.

I'll post more later, I'm on my way out the door for work.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
Lou Malnati‘s or Gino’s east pizzerias.

Prefer Lou’s!

Can I get an AMEN! Those that say otherwise are just lying

I have to third...or fourth the U-boat is awesome.

I always liked Downtown Chicago, it's been 10+ years glad to hear it's still ok.

quote:

Originally posted by dewhorse:

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
Lou Malnati‘s or Gino’s east pizzerias.

Prefer Lou’s!

Can I get an AMEN! Those that say otherwise are just lying


I have to third...or fourth the U-boat is awesome.

I always liked Downtown Chicago, it's been 10+ years glad to hear it's still ok.

Amen!

1 800 Lou-toGo for those who need to FedEx it to their non-Chicago home.

I mean Uno’s piles way too much shit on top of the fucking pie. :P

No one makes the crust exactly right other than Lou Malnati’s (with the right amount of corn flour). Also the tomato sauce is critical as is the sausage and cheese.

The proper order from the bottom up is crust, sausage, cheese, and sauce.

I still love the museum of science and industry; big plus one on U505!

(I’m gonna have to order some pie now. Or go make one.)

You guys are awesome as per usual. I appreciate all of the suggestions and you have convinced me to stay a day or two. Quick question, is there anything wrong with staying at a hotel (Holiday inn Express) by OHare or should I stick to places near Soldiers Field (Best Western Grant park or Travelodge)? I'm looking at reasonable and brand name places hopefully with freaking parking.

I generally advise against a room that has direct entrance to outside rather than inner corridor. I would choose the Grant Park location rather than OHare. Remember a plane takes off every two minutes. The noise and vibration gets to you.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
Uno's is better than both. But just the one at Ontario and Wabash, not Ohio and Wabash.

I always preferred Uno, rather than Duo. I just don't remember the addresses, they are only about a block or two apart.

I used to take the kids twice a year, summer vacation time and at Christmas time. Of course the kids are all grown now. Even so we would still go but less frequently. The last few years were a no go due to the possibility of violence, even on Michigan ave. We always did the three shot stops with the Museum of Natural History, Shedd Aquarium, and Planetarium. Then we would walk down to Watertower Place. We would also stop at Krochs & Brentanos sometime during the day as well as Iwan Reis. Keep in mind K&B has been out of business for probably over 40 years. We would come from the South Shore line or park at the Monroe street garage. Before it was Millenium Park it was getting off on Van Buren, or Randolph street.

I forgot to add that we used to go on Tuesdays because that was free day at the Natural History museum, the Aquarium, and Planetarium. It's been awhile since it was free.

Everyone seems to love Portillos for Italian Beef, but I prefer Buona Beef. Better sandwich and more relaxed atmosphere.

quote:

Originally posted by Anubismp:
You guys are awesome as per usual. I appreciate all of the suggestions and you have convinced me to stay a day or two. Quick question, is there anything wrong with staying at a hotel (Holiday inn Express) by OHare or should I stick to places near Soldiers Field (Best Western Grant park or Travelodge)? I'm looking at reasonable and brand name places hopefully with freaking parking.

I've stayed at the Holiday Inn that you are thinking about near O'Hare. 5616 N Cumberland IIRC. It's very nice, clean and you will not have a problem with noise from the airplanes. Most of those homes, hotels etc. in that area were "soundproofed" years ago at the City's expense. It's easy on and off as it's right by I94. But traffic sometimes to the downtown area can be frustrating. It can at times take an hour or more to get to that hotel during rush hour. When I go downtown, I'm always gone by sunset. That seems to be when the walking dead arise although lately time has become less of a factor. I think if it were me, I'd choose the airport Holiday Inn. Much less crime or threat of it there. If you go that route, let me know, I can point you to some of the dining areas in the vicinity.

quote:

Originally posted by clang:
Everyone seems to love Portillos for Italian Beef, but I prefer Buona Beef. Better sandwich and more relaxed atmosphere.

I’ll toss in Hippo’s if they’re still around.

Anubimsp, running late right now, off to work but tomorrow I will give you some more info for your trip.

The museums are great...we really enjoyed the Shedd Aquarium and the Museum of Science and Industry. The The Art Institute is actually pretty cool, too, and I'm not really into art (went for my wife, and actually enjoyed it). We haven't done the Field Museum yet, but someday I'd like to. I've actually never had a problem with safety in Chicago, but we pretty much stick to the highways and the museum district, and get out before dark.

One thing I will say...you're not going to do anything "for a couple of hours" in Chicago. The freaking traffic is so bad it'll take a couple of hours just to get where you're going, and another couple of hours to get back out again (and they'll hammer you with tolls on top of that for your trouble). And it doesn't matter when you go...I've been stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-94 at 2:00am before. Also, look around at all the other cars on the road. They're all scuffed, dented, and banged up. Stay there long enough and yours will look like that too. My BIL lived in DC, and he didn't believe me that the traffic in Chicago is worse than the beltway. He went up there to visit a friend, and now he's a believer.

I would suggest if your driving your own car, don't stay Downtown unless you don't mind paying huge parking fees. Stay out by the Airport (O'Hare) and the parking is probably free to guests. There is a Marriott in Park Ridge at Cumberland and the Holiday Inn that BULLDOG suggested ( It's the same Hotel, as I remember, that OJ stayed in after killing his EX and her boyfriend. Maybe you could find the hidden bag with his bloody cloths $$$$$$$$)
Downtown would be a quick ride on the Blue Line train. Leave your car at the Hotel and Uber it around downtown. Even if you Uber from the Hotel to Downtown your only talking about a 10-15 minute ride ( traffic permitting) Lots of good restaurants in next door Rosemont,by the Convention center, Casino,and Outlet Mall. many with twins in downtown Chicago.
Rosemont is VERY safe, It's long been a Mob controlled/owned gated town, NO crime is allowed there!
I live very close, if you have a question email me.
ENJOY!

That Holiday Inn that Armored mentioned is in fact the one that OJ stayed at when hr tried to further his alibi after he murdered his wife and her friend. I know this because my former partner was one of the homicide dics that worked the Chicago side of that case. But back to the original post. The bottom line is that you have two choices. One is to stay at the Holiday Inn by the airport. The trip to the Museum Campus from there is kind of hit or miss. I've done it in one hour but it's also taken me longer. Don't worry about the tolls on the trip as someone else mentioned because there are none on that trip. It's a straight shot down I94 to Ohio street or I290 both of which are toll free and will get you to the Campus. I really don't know much about the downtown hotels other than the decent or good ones are expensive and parking is probably NOT free and expensive. CPDSIG or Klusk can give you a better idea about that because they both worked that area in the past. The up side to that is that there are far more family type places to eat and it's a much better place to be rather than the downtown area. I really don't like to stay after dark in the downtown area because of what I've mentioned before. So it's stay downtown and pay more and risk the possibility of encountering criminal activity or stay near the airport but spend a little more time on the road getting to the Campus. If you stay at the airport Holiday Inn, I or Armored can help you with places to eat near there etc.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
Uno's is better than both. But just the one at Ontario and Wabash, not Ohio and Wabash.

Hogwash. Unos is a distant 4th.

Lou‘s grows their tomatoes and makes their own cheese.

I’ll eat my eyetalian beef at hippos over Portillo’s.

I agree on all points. But Portillo's has done a great job maintaining quality through massive expansion. It was sold to an equity group, so we’ll see if quality is maintained.

Portillo's is my only option here in CA. We also have a Gino’s East. Not my personal favorite. But I’ll take what I can get.