Chicago - Off the beaten Track
 

We'll be in Chicago for a long weekend in April with kids (7-12). We've been there several times before so we're looking for family activities that are 'off the beaten track' or unusual. any ideas? We're staying in Evanston and will have a car! Also, any new interesting restaurants for families?

Oops - did I mean "Off the Beaten Path?"

What type of things do you like to do? The Garfield Park Conservatory currently has an exhbit with dinosaurs amid the plants that is supposed to be good.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is quite an attraction.

Have dinner at the Parthenon in Greektown! Flaming Cheese!

Hi! Last summer my then 11-year-old son and I flew from Las Vegas to Chicago, for four days before heading to the Wisconsin Dells, then on up to Lake Superior. Prior to our trip, I found a terrific little book at a Border's Bookstore, (like Barnes&Noble)called something like "101 Things to do with Children in Chicago". I remember they had a Junior's Cheescake Factory Tour in there, and just a ton of good ideas to do with children of all ages. I honestly think we would've done a couple dozen of them, if we would've had a week or so. I love to look in the Travel Section of a bookstore for ideas like that. good luck and have fun! Wish we were going!

You've gotten some great suggestions so far-Garfield Conservatory, LPZ and the Eli's Cheesecake Factory tour are all excellent ideas. There was just an article on this subject in Chicago Magazine, here's some of their ideas:

dining-Ambria 2300 N. Lincoln Park West, kids can help make a souffle for dessert, Mity Nice Grill 835 N. Michigan (mac & cheese), Ina's 1235 W. Randolph for brunch, Walker Bros. Pancake House 153 Green Bay Road in Wilmette (near Evanston), they have the most awesome apple pancakes! and also silver dollar pancakes for the kids, Wishbone 1001 W. Washington, very kid friendly.

Some of my other ideas Fondue Stube 2717 W. Peterson (Peterson exit is before you hit the city), I loved fondue when I was a kid, anyplace in Greektown, Boston Blackie's for burgers, Big Bowl for Thai, and for a real ethnic experience you might try Paprikash 5210 W. Diversey, an excellent Hungarian place that we have taken our similarly aged niece and nephew that they loved.

You might also look into the Jelly Belly factory tour, just over the Wisconsin border, that and the Eli's tour are two of the very few remaining factory tours in the Chicago area.

Other ideas-spend some time in Chinatown, go have some dim sum for lunch, get a Chicago Greeter for the day and have them take you to a neighborhood you haven't seen (Hyde Park, Beverly, Pullman, Prairie Avenue are all interesting), go visit the Nature Museum up in Lincoln Park (can be combined with the zoo and a trip to My Pie for pizza).

If your kids haven't had the chance to ride the El, include that in your plans (even though you'll have a car).

The Architecture Foundation has many great tours (www.architecture.org). The boat tour might be the most well-known of theirs, but there are many good walking tours as well.

Whether or not you take one of those tours, make sure to visit the big downtown (Loop) sculptures (the Picasso, the Calder, etc.).

The Chicago Board of Trade can be exciting, and your kids should be old enough to kind of understand what's going on.

Not new, but definitely interesting, would be a trip to the Indian part of Devon St. (do a search for Indian restaurants in Chicago, and you'll get the feel for the addresses on Devon St.). There are many Indian stores and restaurants, all of them family-friendly. It's especially lively on Saturdays. My kids loved their trip to Devon St.

Walker Bros. is a North Shore institution. If you plan to go there for breakfast on the weekend, plan to wait for HOURS. If you can, schedule a trip there for during the week.

Walker Bros. is a great suggestion - if you go for an early or late lunch during the week it shouldn't be too crowded. It is almost next door to the Kohl Children's museum, which would be great for the 7-10 year age range, but not so great for pre-teens.

Trattoria Demi in downtown Evanston is a good place for families. Take a day to walk around Evanston - they have a great library with free films, etc., and you'll find a chocolate shop and lots of other interesting stores within a few blocks of Church and Sherman Streets. You can always visit the lakefront just to watch the powerful waves we have in April.

Very good point about Walker Bros., try to go on a weekday.

You might also visit the Bahai Temple in Wilmette, I have actually never been there but it's on my list for this summer.

A friend of mine who lives in Evanston suggests Gigio's for pizza, 1001 Davis (corner of Maple)and a stop by Belgian Chocolatier Piron at 509 Main St.

Check out this link to an article on Chicago neighborhood tours as well...
http://www.midwestliving.com/mwl/sto...;ordersrc=nwbm