Chicago help! What can the guys do while we're shopping?
 

Aw geez :( We're going to ChiTown next week, and according to weather.com, we'll have overcast, cold days plus snow.

We have our evenings covered, but this pretty much blows my plans out of the water for the days, which were to have the guys go to the Hancock obs. and Sears Tower while us gals shopped.

Now I have to find something indoors for them to do. The only museums they're interested in are Science and Industry and *maybe* Art museum.

I just figured out that none of the bus or boat tours operating yet, either -- I'm beginning to think a spring break trip to chicago wasn't such a great idea after all.

Does anyone have any other sugeestions for indoor activities to keep them busy?

Chicago Cultural Center- much more than it sounds. Harold Washington Library- each floor slightly different marble until you go to the top. This is interesting- you end up in an open atrium type room. ESPN Zone, for game play etc. Art Institute is the best in the world for the Impressionists, IMHO and in others opinion, as well. They can still do the observatory to those buildings regardless of the weather. Sears is quite a bit away from State and Michigan Ave. shopping, you know. And they can do an architectural tour /walk regardless of the weather. You just need a coat. It isn't going to be that cold next week. Cold is below ten/15 and real cold is below zero. You can see movies in Water Tower and bowl at Marina, I believe. But I do think the guys would like the Shedd or Field Museum. Field has a big mix and isn't "stuffy" history museum, as it may sound. Chicago Architectural Society has its own web page that could detail all. You can take tours on the various subway etc. also- if you don't want to be outside.

Navy Pier has IMAX which is terrific regardless of the weather. But I believe they will not be bored. Saying all that, guys still might want to walk over by Soldier Field, Grant Park just to check them out. There are joggers regardless of the weather.

How about giving us the ages and interests of "the guys"?

I think the guys would love to stay at Science & Industry Museum for days!! My guys 5 to 7 to 20 to 50 yrs couldn't get enough of it. The 50 yr. old spent most of his time watching the toy trains--the boys loved the mine. We ended up staying an extra day just to spend all of the day there.
Minette

The Museum of Science and Industry can be an all day affair, there is a new exhibit recently opened called Body Worlds that opened to rave reviews (it may be popular since it's just opened so you might think about advance tickets or calling ahead to see what demand is like), all of the regular exhibits and an Omnimax theater.

If the weather is just a bit overcast but not too cold for walking around, the Architecture Foundation has walking tours all year round and also a bus trip and a tour to Oak Park to see the Frank Lloyd Wright houses if the boys like architecture. www.architecture.org

The Cultural Center, Field Museum and Shedd suggested above are also fine ideas for inclement days. The Cultural Center is beautiful inside (also houses a tourist info center), be sure to have them go up to see the two beautiful Tiffany Glass domes. And if that appeals to them and they don't break out in hives at the thought of entering into a dept. store, send them over a block to the flagship Marshall Field's on State and find the Clinque counter and look up to see the other Tiffany ceiling in that area. From there they can also stop by Garrett's on Randolph to get some of the delicious caramel or cheese popcorn and go visit four of the public sculptures in Chicago-the Picasso, the Miro, the Chagall mosaic and Calder's Flamingo, all within walking distance.

If they want to head up to the Lincoln Park area, the Chicago Historical Society is an interesting place to stop and if the weather is nice they can also visit the Lincoln Park Zoo which is free and plenty of the exhibits are inside or the Lincoln Park Conservatory which is also free.

And to avoid being sexist, I'll also suggest the Chicago Flower and Garden Show over at Navy Pier running through the 20th, I know plenty of men who enjoy gardening.

My husband headed to the acquarium and raved about it. They had some exhibit that he thought was great. (about a year ago)...

ESPNZone

JJ5 -- excuse me -- but down here in sunny Tulsa, it's 80 degrees -- to us, 41 and windy is brutal! :) But my son is pretty adventurous, so he may want to explore on foot a bit.

patg -- the guys are 46 and 21. It's only fair to mention that my husband has been dragging his heels about the whole trip! Pretty typical behavior for him, although he usually shakes it off and has good time while we're there.

I know the MSI will be enjoyable for both of them -- but that's only for 1 day! Navy Pier may keep them interested for a bit, and I know they will enjoy ESPN Zone.

I thought of the Architecture tour, but most of them start at 930 am -- not my son's idea of a good time on vac!

thanks again for the replies -- keep them coming!

-They can kill time in Virgin Records which is great for people watching
-They can walk indoors (underground) over much of downtown Chicago in the pedway. This same pedway connects to to public transportation if they wanted to take a train and sightsee
-They could also arrange in advance to tour the United Center or the Chicago Board of Trade

Chicago has many great bars where they could watch "March Madness"; that is, if they are in to college basketball.

I see Cubs are playing afternoon games next Friday and Saturday. They could head over to Wrigleyville and pub crawl with the rest of the fans without tickets.

Hi Brookside, as a lifelong Chicago resident I can safely say spring does not exist, at least not what you were probably anticipating. There's an old saying here: there are only two seasons - Winter and Construction. As far as activities for guys, they should enjoy the Museum of Science and Industry. They really should reconsider the Shedd Aquarium, Art Institute or Field Museum. These are usually considered "must sees" for tourists. Even if it's partly cloudy, but not snowing or foggy, they should be able to enjoy the view from Sears or Hancock. Navy Pier, Dave and Busters, ESPN zone and Soldier Field are also safe bets.

I don't know what kind of a wardrobe you have (considering you're from AZ), but it will seem much colder to you than the temps suggest. This past week it's been cold, wet and VERY windy. Just be prepared, and layer as much as you can if you don't have a good winter coat.

For your entire party I would highly recommend the Garfield Park Conservatory. It is an oasis of beauty even on the dreariest day. Plus it's technically free, but I would recommend you contribute a few bucks. It's well worth it.

You mentioned you have evenings covered, I hope you're planning on eating out every night. Chicago is famous for it's food. If you're open to suggestions let me know.

Hey annahead, I'm not the original poster but I'd like a suggestion for dinner with my 17 yr old son in Chicago. Price isn't a consideration and we like interesting food- not looking for Chicago style pizza rather an interesting atmosphere and unique food.

Hi Amwosu, For an off the beaten track place I recommend Las Tablas. It's Columbian food and very tasty, but not very pricey. For upscale Italian (not pizza) with major scenery and major $$$ try Spiaggia. Well worth the cost, a cheaper option is Cafe Spiaggia. For Seafood I recommend Roy's, although it's a chain, it's about the best seafood you can get in Chicago. For Persian food I recommend Reza's, they boast the largest vegetarian menu, but also have excellent lamb, shrimp, quail etc. For greek, well take your pick, but I prefer The Psistaria. For Sushi, try Sushi Wabi and order the fresh ginger soda. For breakfast try Ann Sather's, and get the cinnamon rolls! If you want more specifics you can email me [email protected]. Enjoy!

Brookside wrote:
"I'm beginning to think a spring break trip to chicago wasn't such a great idea after all."

Can't argue with you there ;-)

Seriously, your original plans, Hancoock observatory or Sears, weren't going to entertain two guys for more than an hour. Navy Pier will be full of garden show exhibits and attendees, except for the Children's Museum. Yes, there's an IMAX, but there's also a similar theater at the Museum of Science and Industry. Send them there for the first day. It takes many hours to see, plus a 20 minute ride there and back. Don't let your son sleep all morning, though, because the museum closes at 4:00 except for the OmniMax and Body World, a new exhibit. It helps to have a plan of attack, because the museum is laid out with all kinds of wings, like an octopus. Go to http://www.msichicago.org/ for a map and information.

The second day could be a lot more relaxing - maybe a workout at the hotel to justify their trip to a local sports bar. ESPN Zone or Dave and Buster's are popular franchises; my sports-loving friend recommends the Field House on Clark Street. Get directions from metromix.com

Patg -- by the time I decided we were going on a spring break trip, all the warm place were booked! :) But I love Chicago -- kids have never been and they're really excited, although it would have been much better in the summer. Another reason we're going *now* is because dh is shipping out to the middle east next month -- wanted to take a family trip before he departs.

Funny you should mention Dave and Busters - dd and I are going to Joffrey Ballet on Sat night, so guys have already planned an evening out there.

They both really love watching basketball, so ESPN Zone a good idea.

Is Soldier Field open for tours? That would be cool. I wish I'd know the Cubs were playing -- I thought b'all was still a few weeks away. Can they tour Wrigley Field?

DS will be very into Virgin megastore, and dh wants to explore the jazz record store. I think getting around in the cold is sort of putting him off, though --

I also would appreciate some restaurant tips -- we're definitely casual -- I can't get the college student out of jeans! DH and DS are strictly meat and potatoes, although they do like traditional italian.

Thanks again everyone!

I've already been to Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia and have been to Roy's in several other cities. DS likes Thai food and I was thinking of going to Vong's Thai Kitchen. I don't want to do Arun's because I don't want to do the obligatory 12 course meal. Anyone been to Vong's?

amwosu, I can't comment on Vong's, but, Fogo de Chao is a fun Brazillian all you can eat steak place. It's very good meat despite the "all-you-can-eat" title. I think dinner is about $45 per person.

Hi amwosu, I've been to Vong's it was acceptable but not very authentic. IMHO it's overrated. I prefer Thai Classic or Amarind's Thai. It's casual and not expensive.

Fogo de Chao is excellent, it costs $50 a person, but the salad bar alone is worth the money. It's an excellent option for South Beach dieters, although I don't know how anyone in Chicago could ever commit to a diet!

Brookside, a place the boys might want to try is Harry Carey's, it's a casual Italian/steakhouse chock full of sports stuff. For big hearty Italian meals, you might have them check out Carmine's or Rosebud on Rush (I like the Taylor St. one better but it's a little harder to get to). A good casual steakhouse that won't break the budget is Wildfire, very popular so be sure to get reservations. For burgers, send them to Boston Blackie's, much better than the overrated Ed Debevic's. For ribs/pork chops try Carson's.

amwosu, for casual Thai you might check out Big Bowl, there are a couple of locations in downtown Chicago. A friend of mine said that Vong's was overrated so I haven't tried it.

A few more suggestions:

Cafe Iberico on LaSalle for Spanish tapas (easy to get to from the Mich. Ave. area), very busy on weekend nights but you can get it right away on weekdays/weekend lunch

Any place in Greektown, Greek Islands in my favorite but I've had good meals at several others

Chinatown for dim sum, afterwards you can take a look around at all the little giftstores

Tango Sur, Argentinian steakhouse. This one is a distance from downtown, very close to the Music Box theater if you like classic films/art films.

Heaven on Seven for cajun food, the original location on Wabash is only open for lunch but there's another one on Michigan Avenue

A la Turka for Turkish, if you go on the weekends there are belly dancers and it's close enough to Comedy Sportz (comedy improv) that you can take a cab between the two

Joe's Stone Crab for seafood (I haven't tried Roy's yet but I hear it's quite good), Joe's is also very popular so reserve in advance

And this one will only work if you have a car, there's a terrific Hungarian place on Diversey and Laramie called Paprikash, I've taken people from age 7-80 and everyone has loved it. Great food, great atmosphere.

Kristi thanks for the rest. recommendations.

Is WilDfire one of the Lettuce Entertain you rest.? I've heard the wait at Carmines can be awful -- even with ressies! Is that true?

Yes, Wildfire is a LEYE restaurant. you should be able to make a reservation through www.opentable.com for Wildfire and many of the other popular restaurants. I use it all the time and it works really well.

I've heard the same thing about Carmine's but we didn't have a problem. It's a little off season right now so you may find it a little less crowded in Chicago than in the summer and reservations a little more likely to be honored on time. A note about the portions at both Carmine's and Rosebud, they are huge and I've never gone home without leftovers. And if they like calamari, this is the place that is my favorite for that and the portion size is huge.

We went to the Flower and Garden show yesterday and my husband, who loves to garden, was a bit disappointed. But we also popped into ESPN zone and it looked like a lot of fun, in addition to having a restaurant and lots of TVs playing sports, there are lots of video games and interactive games (basketball hoops, virtual boxing, air hockey) so that's an excellent place if the boys are into that sort of thing.

Cubs are not playing, opening day isn't until April. Wrigleyville would be a fun place for the guys to hang out anyway...lots of bars to watch basketball games and perhaps Cubs spring training games (don't know their schedule). There is also some cute shopping for you a couple blocks west of Wrigley Field, on Southport.

sorry for the wrong advice - I guess I read the schedule incorrectly online

That's OK! :)

Thanks to everyone here, I've got enough ideas to keep 'em busy for awhile. My ds even said that he wouldn't mind a little shopping too -- just not a whole day of it. IF Dh doesn't like it, he can go sit in the hotel room and pout! :)

BTW -- what's going on in Chicago next week? Hotels are completely booked, and the rates are outrageous. Fortunately I reserved a room last month, but we certainly didn't get a bargain.

There's a big convention at McCormick Place Mar 20-22, International Home and Housewares, 60,000 delegates.

Make sure you make dinner reservations if there's any place you have your heart set on, that's a lot of extra people wandering around.

Followed you advice, Kristi --

Ressies for Wildfire on the 18th
Signature Room on the 19th (after-ballet desert!)
Carmines on the 20th (may change --I'm a little nervouse becuse we're going to a show at 8!)

thanks again for all of your help!

Hi there,

I'm a Chicago native and foodie...I do like Wildfire. Signature Room is nice for drinks and the view, but their food isn't all that great. Carmine's isn't bad, but you are coming to a city filled with great Italian restaurants.

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods...it's a shame for tourists not to check some of them out on their trip (Wicker Park, Lincoln Park, etc.). If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out Metromix, which is a great resource for entertainment, restaurants, etc. (The url is http://www.metromix.com.)

amwosu - here's a list of great places to check out:

Adobo Grill
(location in Old Town on Wells St., just opened up another one on West Division St. area, best margaritas made from scratch you'll find anywhere and high-end/authentic Mexican cuisine, the chocolate tamal is amazing)

Le Coloniel
(awesome French-Vietnamese food and decor, the upstairs lounge is great place to have drinks and tasty apps after a day of shopping on the Mag Mile)
Osteria via Stato (recently opened reasonably priced prix-fixe Italian, we went the first week they were open, outstanding antipasto, pasta course, meat course, when they found out it was my bday...they brought the table 3 different desserts on the house - I can't wait to go back)

Avec
(Mediterranean tapas/wine bar - This tiny hot spot, which is a sister restaurant to the famous Blackbird next door, is in my neighborhood, West Loop, and is probably my favorite restaurant...it fills up fast and they don't take reservations, but the rustic, inventive food is phenomenal along with the wine list. You can seriously get a great bottle of wine here for $18. The truffle-tallegio cheese foccaccia is out of this world!)

Japonais
Lots of hype over this destination restaurant, but it's worth it. This should be on one of your "going out" nights. Very theatrical space and elegant creative Japanese menu. The lounge downstairs is usually hopping. Great specialty drinks.

Bongo Room
This is easily the top spot for brunch in Chicago. Locations in Wicker Park and South Loop.

That should keep you pretty busy!

I've always wanted to go to Le Coloniel but the girlfriends I usually go with aren't adventurous- they like to stick to safe Italian restaurants. But my son will be game to try it.

Brookside- male shopping mecca, Nike Town on Mich. ave.

Great restaurant recommendations. I live a few blocks south of the Adobo on Division and know first hand about those margaritas, they'll make the coldest winter day feel like a day at the beach ... and Bongo room has the best pancakes, not too sweet and wonderful.

Brookside, if you like filet mignon, the horseradish crusted filet at Wildfire is excellent.

I've been trying a lot of Italian restaurants lately (Tuscany, Bacchanalia, La Fontanella, Cafe Luciano, Cocco Pazzo) and the Rosebud restaurants including Carmine's are still my favorite. They aren't trendy places (Osteria Via Stato is the hot Italian place of the moment) but they serve up good traditional Italian classics if that is what you are looking for. If you have definite plans afterward, give yourself at least 2 1/2 hours to get out of Carmine's and to whatever you are going to see and make sure they know when you have to leave(5:30 res. for an 8 pm show).

Hi Kristi --

Again, good advice! Classic Italian is what we're after.

TD --I've read the reports re the Signature Room -- it's just something my dd wants to do to "cap off" our night at the ballet. We're going for dessert and atmosphere - nothing more!

Leaving in two days -- can't wait!

In addition to Nike Town on Mich. Ave. are Brookstone and Sharper Image, both fun stores for guys. And the more widespread clothing stores have nice stores there as well - Gap, Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer, etc.