I went to Chicago for the weekend to hang out with my boyfriend and see the Cubs play. This was my third time to Chicago, but by far the most educational trip I have had there. Chicago, aka the Windy City, is a beautiful place. Here’s a fun fact – Did you know why Chicago is called The Windy City? It’s actually not because of the windy weather; it was dubbed this becauseof the hot air bellowing from politicians. The weather in September there is amazing.
We stayed at the Marriott Hotel downtown inside the loop. We picked this hotel because of the great location and vicinity to the Magnificent Mile, which is a section of Michigan Avenue with a ton of upscale shops.
The Magnificent Mile
Historic Water Tower
The main reason for going to Chicago was to attend the Cubs vs. Brewers game. I will tell you more about that later…
The other reason we went was to grub. Chicago has no shortage of great restaurants. One tip, book your reservations as soon as you plan your trip to ensure an opportune reservation time. If not, you might be eating at 11 p.m. or not getting into the restaurants you really want. On our first night, we stopped at Harry Caray’s for cocktails. I actually didn’t know about his tie to the Cubs, I just knew him as one of the popular personalities Will Ferrell played on SNL. I got to see the infamous Bartman baseball that the restauarnt bought for over $100,000 and blew up while we were there. It is now on display in his restaurant. They normally have a cow on display, because he always said “Holy Cow” but it was in the shop for repairs. Apparently a drunken customer tried to ride it (SMH). After drinks we walked to Benny’s Chop House. Benny’s is an upscale steak house, with great service and great food. They make a stiff drink and their lobster mac and cheese was delicious. We didn’t get dessert. Instead we took a quick Uber ride to Navy Pier and rode the Ferris Wheel and ate ice cream.
The missing cow looks like this in case you were wondering 🙂
The second day we stopped before the game at Glazed and Infused to get coffee and taste their gourmet donuts. We then did some shopping on the Miracle Mile, then caught the Red Line to the Addison stop which is where Wrigley Field is located. This was my first time at Wrigley Field. Seeing a game at Wrigley is one of those bucket list items, and now I know why they call it “The Friendly Confines”. We ended up attending a Saturday game so the stadium was packed. The Cubs had just clinched their division the day before, so some of their starters weren’t playing so they could rest or recover from their celebration from the night before. I had nachos as well as a hot dog to top off my Cub’s game experience. Unfortunately the Cubs ended up losing to the Brewers, but the game was still a memorable time.
Game day donut!
First stop in Wrigleyville was Murphy’s
Obligatory pic in front of Wrigley Field
Game Day Selfie
Ballpark Nachos…
and then a Hot Dog!
It was a great day for some baseball!
After the game, we went back to Navy Pier to catch the nighttime architectural boat tour. This tour was a great way to see the city at night from the Chicago River, and learn about the city’s history from a very eccentric tour guide. I highly recommend doing this if you decide to visit Chicago. After our boat tour we went to dinner at RPM Italian, which ended up being my favorite restaurant that we tried. If you go there definitely split meals so you can try multiple things. We had meatballs, pasta, and chicken Parmesan. All of it was suburb; I wish we had saved room for dessert.
Chicago is beautiful at night.
Navy Pier Ferris Wheel
On Sunday, our last day in Chicago, we walked to Uno Pizzeria and Grill, to get authentic Chicago deep-dish pizza. We got a small one and couldn’t even eat it all! After our pizza we went to a local bar to watch the Saints play, and of course I had to wear my Saints jersey. We ended up meeting some fellow Louisiana natives who went there to do the same thing. Our last stop before we left was to go to Hugo’s Frog Bar and Fish House on North Rush Street. Sunday-Thursday from 3-6 pm they have a Happy Hour special that includes $1 oysters. We ended up eating THREE DOZEN of them!!! It apparently is a hot spot because there were a lot of patrons there that had the same idea.
I even managed to find an LSU flag in Chicago!
The trip was short and sweet and I probably ate too much, but I had a wonderful trip to Chi town. Now… Where to next?
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