First Time in Windy City
Hi, friends! Over Labor Day weekend, Rex and I visited Chicago for the first time (for the both of us besides having a layover at the O’Hare Airport)! We went with very loose plans which we came up with the week of our trip (a lot has been happening, okay!!!) but still had a lovely time!
One of the main motivators for this trip was the Oasis concert, which was the first night of our trip (Thursday). I hadn’t thought about getting Oasis gear to wear to the concert until the night before our trip. After an unsuccessful last-minute trip to Southpoint Mall, we were hoping we’ll get a chance to get our hands on some Oasis gear in Chicago, and we did thanks to our flexible itinerary (lol)! There was an Oasis pop-up store in Wicker Park and we might’ve waited a couple of hours to spend too much money on t-shirts….
I will spare you my rants on how awful of a venue Soldier Field is (that thing needs to be torn down!!!) but the concert itself was so fun, so magical!!! We did not get back to our hotel until around 1pm Central Time (aka way past my bed time) but it was worth it.
We spent most of the next morning recovering from the concert (I think I slept in until 10am local time which again is so late for me but barely 8 hours of sleep really!) but ventured out of our hotel room for the Chicago Architecture Boat Tour, which seemed to be a universal recommendation from both locals and visitors alike. As the name suggests, the focus of the tour is the architecture of the many riverfront buildings though you do learn a little about Chicago history too.
Not pictured but we also checked out the McDonald’s location with a few Global Menu offerings, a rooftop bar with downtown view, and the most extra cocktail bar before ending the night at a late-night Korean food spot!
Most of Saturday was spent eating with a couple of excursions throw in. Pictured above is the breakfast sandwich at Kasama featuring longanisa, hashbrown, and egg, and cheese. It totally lived up to the hype, and I dare say it is the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever consumed. We did an online order pickup so we didn’t have to wait outside (though it did take 2 hours so we grabbed breakfast #1 prior to this haha) and that was definitely the right move!
You know I love visiting independent bookstores and needlepoint stores while traveling so naturally I had to visit the newly relocated Third Coast Stitches! It’s a cute store with a ton of natural light and two bench corner areas. Of course, I had to document this trip with a souvenir needlepoint canvas and left with Safira Stitches‘s Chicago hot dog though I was very tempted by the Ventra Card canvas haha.
Besides the Architecture River Cruise, Chicago Original Gangster Tour was another activity we had booked in advance (though just earlier in the week). Somehow, I took zero photos and videos during the entire bus tour but it was a fun and informative way to wonder around the city and learn about Chicago history! Thanks to Hanny for sharing this recommendation with us based on her trip to Chicago almost 20 years ago!!
Rex and I both love the TV show Bear so we knew of Mr. Beef! The Gangster Tour ended not too far from Mr. Beef so we decided to get in line and hope for the best. It was around 3pm and Google says they close at 4pm but I will say we didn’t get inside the store (still several people deep in line) until 4pm and they got to us and maybe everyone behind us too?? Mr. Beef’s was the second Italian Beef Sandwich we had during the trip and certainly the superior one. Our only regret was only getting one…
The reason we decided to share one sandwich at Mr. Beef was because we planned to head right next door for The Drifter, one of the original speakeasies, which we had learned about while on the Gangster Tour. We ended up snacking on Chicago-style poutine at The Green Door Tavern upstairs until The Drifter opened at 5pm (but more like 5:15pm). They have live entertainment starting at 7pm so next time, I’d get there around 6pm.
We reserved early Sunday to explore Hyde Park, starting with University of Chicago campus. Harper Memorial Library is closed on weekends which was a bummer but The Institute or itfor the Study of Ancient Cultures (free admission!) sort of made up for it. I can only imagine how stunning the campus would be during foliage season!
I had been following Courtney @busyblackbookworm since my bookstagram days, and I’m so happy I finally made it to her bookstore Call & Response on this trip! It’s in Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, and they focus on books by people of color and host a lot of author and community events both on and off site. You know I had to bring a book home from Call & Response and what better book than R. F. Kuang’s latest novel Katabasis (I am reading this right now)!
Avec was the only restaurant reservation we had made, and it didn’t disappoint. We only shared a handful of dishes (besides we might or might not have Doordashed Chicago dogs to our hotel mid-afternoon…. we had skipped lunch!) but every single dish was simply amazing. Pictured above is the short rib hummus which was a recommendation from Rex’s friend Anna as was the restaurant itself.
While there are a lot of things we didn’t get around to on this trip, it was a lovely visit. Until next time, Chicago!
