Wrigley is a must, tickets will be a bit pricey. The best way is to just go to wrigleyville and wait to buy tix 20 min or so before the game starts from one of the many tix brokers that have shops around wrigley. Logan's hardware is pretty close to wrigley and is an awesome barcade. AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT ORDER YOUR HOT DOG WITH KETCHUP!!

The architectural boat tours on the Chicago river are cool. You guys could rent a Divy bike and go up and down Lake Shore Drive and see a lot. There are free trolleys that have routes out to Navy pier and around the museums, so if you are into museums you can take advantage of those.

You are correct about tickets to a Cubs/Cards series going for a premium. Watch out for obstructed view tickets, or tickets farther up on the first level. You lose sight of fly balls the further back you go. While not the true Wrigley field experience, the rooftops are fun and food and drink are included. I think they are around $125, you can find them on Groupon for under $100 but not during Cubs/Cards series.

Millenium park is cool, go see Cloudgate (AKA the Bean) and the fountains with the faces on them, can't remember what that's called. Pritzker pavilion is right there too. Navy Pier....is "meh" to me. It's a tourist trap in my opinion. Buckingham fountain is not far away. If you post where you are staying people will give suggestion for dining I'm sure.

Logans Arcade is the ONLY pinball place worth visiting if you want quality playing games.

If you just want to get drunk then the others will do.

For other activities > the Shedd Aquarium is always a favorite for a half day.

Logan.

I live

What time does your plane land on Thursday? I live very close to O'Hare. You guys are welcome to come over, play some pinball, and then I'll take you out for some Italian Beef at Portillos.

It really isn't much of a risk, I've done it dozens of times, you'll either have to pay a bit more or you will have to hang out in wrigleyville where there are literally 100 bars within a 2 block radius. WIN, WIN!!

Don't listen to the Hot Dog Nazi's. They put tomatoes on hot dogs! What's that but raw ketchup?!

Ketchup tastes nothing like a nice ripe tomato, Hoosiers

You're right, tomatoes are gross.

But I thought ketchup and tomatoes were the same thing?

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No, I said tomatoes were raw ketchup. Everything is better processed, that's why McDonald's is so popular!

Lots of them HD Nazi's around here...

I think I'm going to have to send you a copy of this book, aobrien5 ....

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Another one of my favorite Vienna signs

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That may be correct on the Divy bikes, but they have the stations all over the place. I've never used them but they look like a cool option.

Sorry, had to go get lunch.

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It was delicious!

I'm a rebel. Or a child, whatever.

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lol, did your mommy cut it up for you?

Lol, nope, she says I'm a big boy!

It's a passionate topic around here, apparently so much so that they wrote a book about it!

Bob Schwartz, the guy who wrote that book, is actually the Senior VP of Vienna Beef.

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That's interesting. Now I kinda want to read it.

If you have a nostalgia for video games, you definitely have to check out Galloping Ghost. They have over 500 of the old-school games. It's pretty incredible ...

http://www.gallopingghostarcade.com/

The arcade is less than 10 minutes from Brookfield Zoo, so you could technically kill two birds with one stone. I'd also highly recommend The Museum of Science and Industry. In fact, you can't go wrong with any of the city's museums. The Planetarium, Aquarium, Art Institute and Field Museum are all awesome in their own way.

There's a Pizano's pizza not far from where you'll be staying, that would be my recommendation for Chicago style pizza that's close by.

I would have recommended either Uno or Due, which I consider to be the quintessential Chicago deep dish pizza. I'm personally not a huge fan of Pizano's, but I know it's popular. Either way, they certainly won't starve. There's a ton of amazing restaurants in that area.

True dat! Deep dish isn't my favorite, but you really can't go wrong, just don't do Giordano's. Rednight87 may come out of the Windy City 10 # heavier if he partakes in all of the food he's mentioned. I haven't had a good Italian sausage and beef combo in a while. My arteries are hardening just thinking about it!

For another take on pizza you probably can't get anywhere else, try Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company (note they're a cash only joint). Their Mediterranean bread is also amazing.

It's funny how everyone from outside of Chicago thinks that all we eat is deep dish, in reality I rarely eat deep dish, unless I'm eating with someone from out of town

I think Giordano's is technically considered "stuffed", which is a different animal from the traditional deep dish you get at places like Gino's East, Lou Malnati's, Uno/Due, etc ... I agree, Giordano's kind of sucks. I don't even know how they are still in business. I ate there for the first time in years recently, and I didn't like it at all. I'm generally not a huge fan of stuffed pizza, but I do like Bacino's.

My favorite deep dish/pan pizza is Pequod's in Morton Grove. The caramelized cheese around the edge gives it a flavor that is unlike any other pizza. Yummm!!! I grew up five minutes from there, so it's pretty much part of my DNA at this point.

Totally! I love a good deep dish pizza, but I eat thin crust way more often. Last night we ordered from Lou Malnati's, a place synonymous with deep dish, and we all had thin crust.

They just opened a Lous a block from our office, not sure if that's a good or bad thing

It's both. Good for your soul, but bad for your heart.

Speaking of bad for your heart, I think I'll have a gyro for lunch. Extra tomato in honor of aobrien

I had a gyro for lunch yesterday. The next time you are out this way, I'll take you to a place that has the best gryos in the city.

This thread is making me hungry and want to go to Chicago.

Hah, don't ruin your food on my account.

You already mentioned one of my go to beers, Goose Island. They make a nice variety besides their IPA. I'm a big Honker's Ale fan. Lagunitas has some good beers, uh...Two Brothers....those come to mind. Sounds like you are a hop head!

If you can find a place that has Three Floyd's Zombie Dust, get that. If you like IPAs, you'll love that. It's from my neck of the woods, so Jaybird won't like it, but he's really missing out.

Zombie dust is good stuff, as long as you don't ruin it with ketchup, or is it catsup

I drove and picked up a firepower a couple weekends ago in Chicago and happened upon a portillo's. I looked over the menu and thought ok I will give the Italian beef a try. Must be a Chicago thing. Guess I got to many NC taste buds.

Portillos can be hit or miss, there's much better Italian beef to be had. How'd you order it, dipped, moist, dry w/ giardenera or sweet peppers?

It was good just not something I was used too. I have never even heard the term Italian beef before that night. Would I order it again? Sure.

I saw the sign said they come wet so I just went "plain". When we see the word gravy, we think of either the brown or white stuff. We would call your "gravy" au jus. If you had some of our BBQ you would say WTF. Pork in vinegar.

Dipped with sweet for me!!!

It's a regional food. You rarely see it outside of this part of the country. For someone that's never had one before, I'd describe it as a zesty french dip sandwich. When you order it dipped, they take the entire sandwich and dunk it in the "gravy", infusing the entire thing with yumminess!

Exactly!!