Taste Of Chicago starts in a week, nom nom nom. Always an enjoyable experience with just a few setbacks:

1. Sometimes it can get really hot. All you're thinking about is sweating/dying, not about all the great food.

2. Most of the time the festival is ridiculously packed (especially true on Saturday/Sunday).

3. Tickets are just a tad overpriced. Stuff can get expensive.

I'll for sure be going. People should list there favorite thing to get at the festival. I'll start: Robinson's Rib Sandwich.

I was just at http://www.smoquebbq.com/ last night and it's well worth checking out. THere'll be a decent sized line there, but it moves quickly.

Good quality BBQ, though I wouldn't put it up against any major Memphis or Texas joint. I enjoyed the ribs the most, though the pulled pork was really good too.

You can also bring wine there, and a bunch of friends and I brought zinfandels to go with the BBQ.

A really affordable place too as there was seven of us and the final bill came out to under 20 a head and there ended up being more food then we could eat

a bit of an understatement. A $21 roll of tickets can go really fast, but I do agree that it's worth going to

I have always like ...

Blue Chicago (Blues Bar)
Second City Comedy Club
Chicago Pizza
Chicago Hotdog
Baseball!

hi,
I'm in chicago right now for 3weeks, awesome city (it's my first time)
I went wednesday night to Kincaid, it's a pretty cool bar (i'm 22).

If some people are in holidays in Chicago and want to go drink a beer pm me.


(btw I'm french so sorry for my grammar mistakes)

I'll second this. Another one of my favorite places for BBQ in the city is Fat Willy's. Parking is tough to get on the weekends, but that's pretty much expected anyway. It's not BYOB like Smoque, so some of my friends prefer Smoque just for that reason.

Their sliced beef brisket dinner is very good - it's available after 5 every day, but if you get there after 7, it's usually gone. Everything else I've had here was tasty, but I definitely prefer the brisket.

Bump...since I'm moving to Naperville on Monday.
I was going to live in the city and commute to my workplace just west of naperville but I came to my senses.
Any locals wanna pm me or share some insight?

It really depends on how your tolerance for a commute is.

If you want to be a little outside the city, but still have good access to everything, Oak Park might be a good choice. With traffic though, you're probably looking at an hour commute to aurora which could be rough.

Unfortunately most of the western cities are just more suburb-y.

Off the top of my head you have oak park, oak brook, downers grove, lisle, naperville, then aurora.

Naperville has the most stuff to do you if want to stay out west.

Just south of there is Woodbridge / Darien, but outside of Q's billiards I can't think of much there in terms of restaurants and bars.

Posting here and in SE:

Going to Chicago this summer with the primary objective of going to two of the Twins@Cubs games. Any suggestions on seating?

We (group of 4 probably) were hoping to maybe watch one of the games from a rooftop. Any thoughts/experiences/suggestions on that?

sl,

i've never done the whole rooftop thing. so i can't really comment on that.

as for in the stadium, depends what you're looking for. if you want to have the bleachers experience, obviously you have to sit in the bleachers. me, i don't really want the bleachers experience. basically every seat in the XX or the 1XXs are very good. in the 200s, you have to be careful as the 200s are in general broken in to 3 subsections, with subsection 3 (and possibly a chunk of 2) being far enough under the deck that you lose a lot of fly balls and stuff. also, much of the 200s section has at least partially obstructed view, because wrigley actually has columns.

i don't know when the twins games are, but keep in mind that in the summer it can get very hot, and depending on the time of the game only one side of the stadium is going to get shade. personally i don't mind getting hot, but some do.

personally i prefer 26-34, 126-134, and the mirrored seats on the 3rd base side. the view from the deck is fantastic though, pretty much wherever you sit. many people feel that the front rows of the upper decks either behind the plate, or the corner bases, are the best seats in the house. all personal preference.

I've lived in Chicago for about 18 months so far and love it.

Lincoln Park is the best neighborhood to live in if you're under 30 imo. I don't consider it all that expensive like some others posted earlier. Parking is a little difficult but I happen to live just off a street that is entirely free so I caught a break.

If you're visiting, you have to attend a Cubs game. It's the single best thing to do in this city. I hate baseball and hate hate hate the Cubs and their fans but I just spent about $1000 on single game Cubs tickets yesterday so what does that tell you about the experience? Try to get bleacher seats if you can. Rooftop parties are fun but only if you make a conscious effort to eat and drink as much as you can because otherwise you are not getting your money's worth and would be much better served in the bleachers. Tickets for Rooftops will range from $100-$300 each depending on which one you look at and what portion of the season you're in.

I hate clubs so I won't get into that. I read somewhere that Chicago has more bars per square mile than any other place in the U.S. It's definitely true. Out of towners should check out Wrigleyville before and after a Cubs game. It's a little expensive but the most fun. Lincoln Park is a good week in and week out option, a little less expensive (college area). Then definitely check out State and Division. I recommend The Hange Uppe which stays open till like 5 am on Saturdays. It's a complete s***show and the place smells like stale beer but it'll be packed after 2 am because that's where everyone goes (hot chicks especially) to just have a good time and dance.

Go anywhere you want for pizza. It'll all be the same to you if you're just visiting for a weekend.

During the day, check out North Beach....bring some towels, a football, sneak in some beer, and just people watch. Tremendous relaxation.

Lincoln Park Zoo is nice. It's free as people mentioned. Do not try to park there. Hit it up right before you go to North Beach.

If you're coming during the Fall and you attended a major university with a strong football following, try to find the official _______ (insert Nebraska, Ohio State, Alabama) bar in the city. I'm from Nebraska and watch every single game at Kirkwood Bar & Grill. It's basically tailgating for 10 hours with just people who attended the same school as you or are from your homestate. Some of my best memories ever in Chicago will be from this. We usually roll 20-30 deep each Saturday and constantly run into people we hadn't seen in years who were either just visiting Chicago or recently moved to the city. Great times for all ages 21+.

I'm running out of steam here....PM me if you have questions. I love talking about Chicago.

haha I've had lots of fun nightcaps at Hange Uppe...I also go to Kirkwood lots for IU basketball games. However there are pros and cons to running into certain people from college.

I've never met a single person who disliked The Hange Uppe. Every time I mention the name of the bar they get the certain smirk on their face like, "Ah, I know exactly what you're talking about".

lol I just got that smirk Must go back soon.

The only reason I dislike the HangUppe is because I wore it out.

Definitely a fun late-night place.

Anyone frequent The Lodge or Butch McGuire's?