We’ve visited the Windy City several times over the past few years and returned this weekend, coincidentally during the Cubs run at the World Series. While the Cubs run isn’t quite on the track Chicagoans and this Red Sox fan rooting for the National League for the first time since the Yankees weren’t in the World Series, our trip provided returns to some of our favorite spots.
One of our favorite traditions when we come is a lunch stop at The Gage on South Michigan Avenue across from Millenium Park. The web site calls the food “rustic American” and they serve great sandwiches, brunch, salads, etc. This time we started with vindaloo mussels and split the scallop salad and turkey club, but in our experience you can’t go wrong. We followed up lunch with a stop at the Art Institute of Chicago. Famous for its American Art (American Gothic and several Georgia O’Keefe’s) and its impressionist exhibit including Monet’s haystacks and several great paintings of London in different lights, Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (Ferris Buehler anyone?), Van Goghs, and Lautrec’s paintings of the Moulin Rouge we also love the photography exhibit downstairs and discovered the miniature houses exhibit this time around. All worth checking out.
Leaving the museum, one of our favorite walks home is through Millenium Park, past the Bean and back to our hotel in Streeterville along the Chicago River and up Michigan or a less crazy parallel route.
A few other tips: check out Blue Chicago for authentic Chicago blues, the views from the Signature Lounge at the top of the John Hancock tower and a red tablecloth and celebrity photos on the walls Italian experience at La Scarola. We also like brunch at RL in the Ralph Lauren store.
Another favorite walk of ours is up through Lincoln Park. We have most often been here the weekend before Halloween and when we’ve come, and the Lincoln Park Zoo and the neighborhoods host many trick-or-treaters on Saturday and we enjoy watching the scene of each year’s parade of miniature super-heroes, princesses and witches as we march around. This year we walked all the way to Wrigleyville to check out the scene. While we didn’t go into any of the packed bars charging crazy covers, it was worth checking out to help get into Word Series spirit. While a comeback seems unlikely for the hometown team we’ll be rooting.
Editor’s note: for all you baseball fans out there, our time sensitive comments about the Cubbies lives on in this post. Congrats Cubs for your World Series championship!
The Traveling Ridleys 
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