Hi - planning a two day trip to Chicago this month with our 17 year old goddaughter - have reviewed this site and others and would appreciate comments on the following itinerary, particularly as it relates to timing (which is looking very ambitious). Regarding transportation - we'll have a car but will likely take cabs once we're in the city.

Friday AM - Field Museum to see Sue - how long should we plan (my husband is a dinosaur nut so seeing Sue is a must-see)

Friday PM - either the Art Institute (we're big Seurat fans) or Museum of Science and Technology (our goddaughter is planning a Science major in university)

Friday Evening - 11pm show at Second City

Saturday AM or PM - shopping - Magnificent Mile area - but is there another area of particular interest to teens?

Saturday AM or PM - considering Navy Pier (depending upon weather), possibly the architectural boat tour (again depending upon weather) and/or driving around Oak Park/Frank Lloyd Wright tour.

Other attractions of interest are the Lincoln Park Zoo and Hancock Observatory. Other suggestions?

Restaurants:

We're like an army - we move on our stomachs! (Our goddaughter is an excellent cook in her own right and is very interested in food/fine dining). Following are our restaurants ideas - haven't had a chance to do as much research as I would like so would appreciate suggestions:

Thursday evening - have a reservation at Charlie Trotters.

Friday/Saturday dinner possibilities:

- Tru (sounds great)
- Frontier Grill or Topolobampo (Frontier Grill sounds more interesting but the inability to make a reservation is a problem) - have also read good things about Adobo, which would be very handy to our Second City plans
- MK
- Everest (too formal?)
- Spiaggia

Hotel:

Have reservations at Lenox Suites Hotel as we need a suite - reviews are somewhat mixed on the board but we got a fairly decent rate ($175/night) and the location is great.

Any and all comments are appreciated - thanks in advance.

The Sue exhibit at the Field Museum is wonderful. (If you get a chance, purchase the book on the discovery and sale of Sue. It is a fascinating story.)

There are several other great, interactive exhibits, including one on the origin of the universe. There is also an excellent Egypt exhibit that takes you into a pyramid and through an Egyptian village. I'd plan on at least 3 or 4 hours in the Field Museum. You might consider the Shedd Acquarium or the Planetarium immediately thereafter. The Acquarium has a wonderful "Amazon Rising" exhibit and Pacific NW exhibit. Plus, you can watch divers feed the sharks and other interesting marine animals in a large tank. At the planetarium is an interactive trip to the planet Mars, where the audience chooses its route. It's the only one like it in the world. I'd check into those as well. These three museums are all on the same campus, so you only have to park once. They are truly extraordinary.

That said, the Museum of Science and Industry, on the south side, is also really fun, but, perhaps not as academic as the Field Museum in many ways. It has a very good space exhibit where you can go on a mission on the space shuttle, and an IMAX theater. There's a lot else there, as well. Again, could easily spend a day there.

Also, this museum is near the University of Chicago campus, so you could go visit that, and see the Oriental Institute, if your goddaughter is interested in Middle East archaeology.

Of course the Art Institute is just amazing. Navy pier is a must see. Very cool. They have a fun boat trip on the lake that kicks up water - the Red Dog, or something like that.

I'll just close here, as my expertise on the rest is limited and I've got to run.

Sounds like you'll have a super trip!

Oops - meant Frontera Grill - fingers moving faster than brain.

Also - the great Chicago debate - the best deep dish pizza is............????

I can highly recommend the Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise (web site is:http://www.metromix.com/top/1,1419,M...l-6614,00.html). Be careful not to make the same mistake as I did - this does not leave from Navy Pier as some boats do - note the address, it's at Michigan at Wacker down the stairs to the river. When you get back from the cruise, if you walk east along the river in the direction of the lake, you will stumble across a delightful little French outdoor bistro (Cyrano's Bistro and Wine Bar) with red umbrella tables and Parisian music piped in. You can get a great vichyssoise, or ratatouille, and bagette and sit and watch the pleasure craft cruise by. The Blue Man Group is a hip show and would appeal to a young person. I personally did not think Navy Pier was especially interesting. The House of Blues Hotel is cool and a really different place to stay. Renting bikes and riding along the lakeshore is wonderful. Museums are great if you have a lot of time to do them justice, but there is so much to do outdoors in nice weather, I would save the indoor things in case of bad weather.

How about this, to spread out the walking, riding and museums-
Thursday - Charlie Trotters (takes hours, as I'm sure you know)
Friday A.M. - Field Museum/Sue (get there at opening to avoid summer crowds) (not that easy with a 17 year old, I know!)
Friday P.M. - shopping Michigan Avenue (have a fun dinner at Topolobampo, Heaven on Seven or Cafe Iberico. Or, Spiaggia has a less formal sister restaurant, Cafe Spiaggia, that would be super convenient)
Friday late: Second City
Saturday A.M.: Art Institute
Saturday P.M.: CAF River Cruise (get tickets in advance; CAF headquarters is right across from Art Inst. Check on-line at chicagoarchitecture.org)
Saturday late: Either a walk on Navy Pier (touristy, but nice in the evening with the Sculpture show and beautiful weather, plus they have fireworks at 9:30 P.M. Or aim to be in the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock having a drink then)

Just a few restaurant comments: After Charlie Trotter's on Thursday, you might want to dial down a notch or two to avoid sensory overload. I know many would disagree, but I find Tru sort of precious and the portions are pretty miniscule. Everest is not any more formal than most of the others on your list--certainly far less stuffy than Tru. The view is wonderful, but the menu just might be too much to fit in with the many other things you are trying to do.

My suggestion would be somewhere more convenient to the hotel or Second City for Friday. There is a hip Mexican restaurant down Wells Street from Second City called Salpicon--you could stroll to the theater after dinner. Or maybe Brasserie Jo, Jean Joho's (the chef at Everest) bustling brasserie, which you could walk to from your hotel and then cab to Second City. I'm with you when it comes to going to restaurants that don't take reservations, especially on the weekend--I just can't stand it!

A favorite of my 19-year-old daughter is Marche, at 833 W Randolph, a hip, loud place with an industrial feel, maybe on Saturday? Your hotel is in a great location, and I think the rooms are OK. I think Navy Pier is overrated, but I would definitely recommend the Chicago Architecture Boat tours--see their website--especially for people considering driving around Oak Park!

I think you've already done a great job of planning.

I personnaly think the Art Institute is not to be missed.

I didn't find Tru stuffy at all, just the opposite. I suspect a 17 year old might be more wowed with Tru than Trotter, although Trotter would be my number 1 choice for dining. (BTW, Tru is just as $$$$ as Trotter) Smart of you to reserve well in advance.

I always enjoy the Halstead stread neighborhood if I get tired of Mag Mile shopping.

2 other restaurant ideas, just to confuse things...

Blackbird very trendy.

Le Bouchon bistro-ish French

Have fun!

Regarding your question regarding deep dish pizza - I have alway found Pizzaria Uno or Pizzaria Due to be excellent. FYI - they have the same management and are located within a block of each other near Mag Mile. Be warned, however, that it gets extremely busy weekend nights - people packed in like sardines with a 2 hour wait. Best to go during lunch or late afternoon.

Pizzaria Uno
29 E Ohio

Pizzaria Due
619 N Wabash

Another very good alternative is:
Lou Malnati's
39 N Wells
(make sure you order your pizza with buttercrust).

Enjoy.

Elizabeth: I'd be exhausted with your Friday schedule! I don't know why, but going to museums wipes me out. If it were me, I'd take in the Field Museum in the morning, get pizza for lunch, then head over to Lincon Park Zoo in the afternoon, head back to the hotel to freshen up, go to Adobo for dinner - (they take reservations - make sure you get the guacamole as an appetizer & chocolate taco for dessert), then next door to Second City. (Sorry for the run-on sentence.)
Saturday: Art Institute in AM, then the architectural tour afterwards. After that some light shopping on Michigan Avenue, followed by dinner in Greek Town. Opa.

Ditto on the Pizzeria Uno...the best pizza I've ever had. Definitely long lines and long waits, so if you can stick it out, it's worth it. Yum.

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions.

The suggestions to split the Field Museum and Art Institute to Friday and Saturday morning are great - both Pats are right (thanks!) - two museums in one day is too much. That gives us Friday and Saturday afternoon to be flexible to shop and/or take the boat cruise/wander around based on weather.

The restaurant suggestions were great - will get my map out and plot locations. We're leaning towards Mexican for Friday before Second City - probably Topolobampo or Adobo (we're Canadian so don't get great Mexican food) although Heaven on Seven sounds great too, and the brasseries/bistros sound good for Saturday night. Pizza will definitely be lunch to avoid the crowds. As some pointed out Tru and Everest are somewhat similar experience to Trotters (not to mention the same $$$$) Having said that, though, I've just read some interesting reviews of Trio on chowhound.com and it sounds good Apparently the (new?) chef is from The French Laundry - another restaurant we would love to visit. Any comments?

Finally - any comments on driving around Oak Park on the Frank Lloyd Wright tour would be appreciated - could we do that on Sunday morning on our way out - for approx 90 minutes?

Thanks again for all your help.

If it's on your way, 90 minutes is an appropriate length of time. But you don't want to just drive by - stop and walk around. You may not be able to tour Unity Temple, although I think you can go in during services. See
http://www.wrightplus.org/
for walking tours.

Trio is very nice, but it is in southeast Evanston, 30-40 minutes from your hotel, so unless you have some other reason for heading to the north suburbs I wouldn't personally venture that far on a short weekend.