Things to Do in Chicago.xlsx

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
1	Name	Activity Type	Location	Description	Cost	Link

2	Lake Shore Trail	Park	All the neighborhoods ~	Walk along the lake!	Free
3	Ranallis of Andersonville	Food	Andersonville	Favorite pizza in the city. Order thin crust, peperoni + roasted peppers + extra sauce + extra crispy.	$$	http://www.ranallisofandersonville.com/
4	Little Bad Wolf	Food	Andersonville	Favorite burger in the city. This place can get busy in the evening but if you find your way up north, you gotta try the burger and mac (they also have lumpia!)	$$	https://www.littlebadwolfchicago.com/
5	Clark St Andersonville	Shopping	Andersonville	Main strip has so many cute shops and knick knack stores. Literally a perfect day when I lived there was just walking the strip and hopping in and out of shops.	$-$$
6	Margies Candies	Dessert	Bucktown	Really cute 1950s diner style place! It was in the bear. Back in the day, Victor's grandparents used to go there and be cute.	$	https://www.margiescandies.com/
7	Chef's Special	Food	Bucktown	3 min. from my house. Award winning Asian fusion served family style.	$$	https://chefsspecialbar.com/menu/
8	Leavitt Street Tavern	Food/ Drinks	Bucktown	We waited an ungodly amount of time for food on a Friday so I rec. a reservation, but they have a really good smash burger and aioli for fries.10 min. walk from my apartment.	$-$$	https://www.theleavittstreet.com/
9	Maplewood Brewery	Drinks	Bucktown	Chill industrial vibes	$ - $$	https://maplewoodbrew.com/verify?redirect=https://maplewoodbrew.com/
10	Italian Ice	Dessert	Bucktown/ Little Italy	Very Chicago dessert - cool and refreshing in the summer. Two location recs, one is Ava's in Bucktown (12 min from my apt.) and Mario's Italian Lemonade on Taylor Street.	$	https://avasitalianice.com/	http://marioslemonade.com/
11	MCCB (Modern Chinese Cookbook)	Food	Chinatown	Honorable mention - if you're downtown, have fun, take the water taxi to Chinatown! It's not as big as SF's but it's cute to walk around. Award winning. I had a steak and bell pepper dish here and those were some of the best bell peppers I've ever had.	$$	https://www.mccbchicago.com/
12	Ponce Restaurant	Food	Hermosa	Puerto Rican Restaurant - tried their food at Puerto Rican fest and it was good!	$$	https://www.poncerestaurant.com/menu
13	Eris Brewery and Cidery	Food/ Drinks	Irving Park	Bomb food (Victor's fav is the mac and cheese and briskey) + drinks.	$$	https://www.erischicago.com/
14	Replay Barcade	Drinks	Lincoln Park	Arcade Bar. It will be Pirates of the Caribbean themed when you're here.	$$	https://www.replaylincolnpark.com/
15	Linzoln Park Zoo	Museum	Lincoln Park	Free zoo that's really nice!	Free	https://www.lpzoo.org/
16	Lincoln Park Conservatory	Museum	Lincoln Park	Close to the zoo, it's an indoor greenhouse with a butterfly room I believe	Free	https://www.lincolnparkconservancy.org/projects/conservatory-garden/
17	Pasta Bowl	Food	Lincoln Park/ Wicker Park	Yummy pasta, huge portions.	$$	https://www.pastabowl.com/
18	The Lincoln Lodge	Comedy	Logan Square	Longest running stand up comedy nonprofit in the US. Affordable tickets/ drinks. Like always, some comedians can be hit or miss lol but we love the vibes.	$-$$	https://www.thelincolnlodge.com/
19	Revolution Brew	Drinks	Irving Park	One of the more popular breweries.	$ - $$	https://revbrew.com/visit/brewery
20	Jibaritos y Mas	Food	Logan Square	The jibarito is a sandwich that uses fried plantains instead of buns. It's a Puerto Rican dish founded in Chicago!	$	https://www.jibaritoschicago.com/
21	Saba Italian Bar and Kitchen	Food	Logan Square	Italian food, we went there during restaurant week. Nice portions. Close to a bar I love called the Old Plank.	$$	https://sabaitalian.com/
24	Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago	Drinks	Loop (Downtown)	Okay - hear me out. I also don't like coffee, but this is the largest Starbucks and it's cool to walk through! It's four floors with a bar at the top floor.	$ - $$	https://www.choosechicago.com/blog/worlds-largest-starbucks-chicago/
25	Cindy's Rooftop	Food	Loop (Downtown)	I've finally went earlier this year! Nice apps/ drinks and is truly one of the most beautiful views of Millenium Park. Reservations highly recommended.	$$-$$$	https://www.cindysrooftop.com/
26	Wildberry Cafe	Food	Loop (Downtown)	Brunch. I've been to the one in the Suburbs. It's good. Standard brunch.	$$	https://wildberrycafe.com/locations/chicago-prudential-plaza
27	London House	Food/ Drinks	Loop (Downtown)	I've never been but it's a hotel with a sick rooftop bar right off the Riverwalk with a beautiful view of the city.	$$- $$$	https://londonhousechicago.com/rooftop/
28	Chicago City Pass	Make your own adventure	Loop (Downtown)	If you want to do several things while you're here, check out the Chicago City Pass. Essentially it gets you admission to up to 5 attractions (including the Sky Deck where you can stand on the glass floor).	$$$	https://www.citypass.com/chicago-comparison
29	Art Museum	Museum	Loop (Downtown)	Beautiful art museum with cool art! Ranges from ancient cultural, photography, and modern art. Let me know if this is something you're interested in and I can get a guest pass through my work.	Free - $$	https://www.artic.edu/
30	Millenium Park	Park	Loop (Downtown)	See the bean! Dip your toes in a public water sculpture. See different outdoor art installations and the beautiful Buckingham fountain. Right by it is South President's Court if you're curious to see where Victor proposed lol.	Free	https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park.html
31	Art on the Mart	Park	Loop (Downtown)	9 PM. Cool projected art show on the Merchandise Mart building. There are benches along the riverwalk where you can sit and watch. There's also an audio component playing on speakers.	Free	https://artonthemart.com/
32	Riverwalk	Park/ Drinks/ Food	Loop (Downtown)	1.25 miles of sidewalk along the River with bars and restaurants along the way! Perfect for eating or enjoying a nice cool drink outside by the water. Great spot to people watch. Tacorio is at the beginning of the Riverwalk closest to the lake.	Free	https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/chicagoriverwalk/home.html
33	Architecture Boat Tour	River	Loop (Downtown)	Hands down one of the things I recommend everyone who visits should do. It's a great way to learn about the city's history, appreciate the skyline, and just see the city from a new perspective out on the water. Listed are two options	$$	https://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-chicago-architecture-boat-tours-2024	https://www.architecture.org/tours/detail/chicago-architecture-center-river-cruise-aboard-chicago-s-first-lady/#tickets
34	Magnificent Mile	Shopping	Loop (Downtown)	This street has a lot of stores.	$ - $$$	https://www.themagnificentmile.com/shopping/
35	Second City	Comedy	Old Town	Big historical comedy place. I've never been but big names like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler got their start there.	$$	https://www.secondcity.com/
36	Frontera Mexican Grill	Food	River North (Downtown)	Restaurant owned by Rick Bayless. Victor went to during restaurant week - he said it was good.	$$	https://www.fronteragrill.com/
37	Piccolo Sogno	Food/ Drinks	River West (Downtown)	Fancy Italian restaurant Victor went to for restaurant week. He said they had good wine.	$$-$$$	https://www.piccolosognorestaurant.com/
38	Lou Malnatis/ Giordanos/ Pequods	Food	Various	Find yourself some deep dish		-
39	Boka	Food	West Loop	Never been but people say it's good - Michillen star restaurant. Rec. reservation.	$$$	https://www.bokachicago.com/
40	National Museum of Mexican American Art		Pilsen	Amazing free museum - largest collection of Mexican American art.	Free	https://nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org/
41	Rubi's	Food	Pilsen	Award winning large portion tacos	$-$$	https://rubischicago.square.site/
42	Luna Cafe Restaurant	Food	Pilsen	Bomb Chillaquiles	$$
43	La Celia	Food	Avondale	Casual Cuban food with fun wall art/ paintings	$-$$	https://laceliachicago.com/chicago-avondale-la-celia-latin-kitchen-food-menu
44	Panaderia Nueva Leon	Dessert	Pilsen	Bakery - they have ice cream filled conchas	$	http://panaderianuevoleonpilsen.com/
45	J Parker Hotel Rooftop Bar	Drinks	Lincoln Park	Had a holiday party here - pretty lake views and good drinks.	$$	https://www.jparkerchicago.com/
46	Cafe Tola	Food	Logan Square	I've only been to #4 but they have my fav. empanadas. Limited seating.	$	https://www.cafetola.com/
47	Cafe con Leche	Food	Logan Square	2nd favorite chillaquiles in the city	$$	https://cafeconlechels.com/
48	Cozy Corner	Food	Logan Square	Traditional brunch spot with surprisingly deliecious chilaquiles.	$-$$	https://www.cozycornerrestaurant.com/
49	Carnivale	Food	West Loop	Came here for my first restaurant week - delicious food with a colorful and fun interior.	$$-$$$	https://www.carnivalechicago.com/
50	Small Cheval	Food	Loop, Wicker Park	Au Cheval is the parent restaurant and is said to have the best burgers in Chicago - also doesn't accept reservations and heard it can take hoursto be seated so we go here! Classic burger place (think in n out but dif.)	$-$$	https://smallcheval.com/
51	Lincoln Lodge	Comedy	Logan Square	Nation's longest running independent comedy club - fun, low key vibes, with affordable drinks.	$	https://www.thelincolnlodge.com/
52	Garfield Park Conservatory	Museum	West Garfield	Beautiful garden conservatory with a fern room that will take you back to prehistoric times. Free for Chicago residents, $10 for non-resident adults	Free - $	https://garfieldconservatory.org/
53	Asian Cuisine Express	Food	Little Village	Featured on Netflix's Taco Chronicles, this place has the best al pastor!	$-$$
54	Tacotlan	Food	Belmont Craigan	Best quesabirrias in Chicago!	$-$$	https://www.tacotlan.com/
55	Manchamanteles	Food	Bucktown	Upscale Mexican restaurant that specializes in mole - Chef Geno is so sweet and food is amazing!	$$ - $$$	https://www.manchamantelesrestaurant.com/
56	Sazon Cubano	Food	Bucktown	Cuban restaurant - great sandwiches!	$ - $$	https://www.sazoncubanocafe.com/
57	Pastores and Brunch	Food	Lincoln square	Cozy brunch spot serving American/ Mexican Food	$ - $$	https://pastoresbrunchchicago.com/
58	Rice N Bread	Food	Wrigleyville	Really good Korean food and decent American diner food.	$ - $$	https://ricenbread.com/
59	Skydeck	Attraction	Loop (Downtown)	Check out the Chicago Museum before taking an elevator to the 103rd floor of the Willis (SEARS!) Tower for unmatched views of the city. Step onto the ledge and look down onto the street 1,353 ft below you!	$$-$$$	https://theskydeck.com/
60	Nakama Toys	Shopping	Logan Square	A must see for all things anime, gundam, and more!	$-$$$	https://www.nakamatoys.com/
61	Wrigley Field	Attraction	Wrigleyville	Home of the Chicago Cubs. Catch a game at this iconic stadium if you get a chance. Or stop by the many bars and restuarants nearby!	$$-$$$	https://www.mlb.com/cubs/ballpark
62	Jr.'s Red Hots	Food	Bucktown	Greasy spoon hut that's always there for you. Try an Italian Beef, Pizza Puff, Char Dog. or Lemon Pepper Tenders	$	https://share.google/dEgXjJks1Y8VsJSjw
63	Alleycat Comics	Shopping	Andersonville	Our favorite comic book store hidden in the Alley. Comics, figures, stickers, and more nerdy things	$-$$$	https://www.alleycatcomics.com/
64	Navigator Taproom	Drinks	Logan Square	For the beer cconnoisseur. Pour your own drink by the ounce and get adventurous without commiting to a full glass. Free chips and bpardgames too.	$-$$$	https://navigatortaproom.com/
65	Sushi Taku	Food	Various	All You Can Eat Sushi. Come hungry. A Japanese man on reddit said it's his favorite sushi in Chicago, and Victor feels the same way about the Wicker Park location.	$$	https://www.sushitaku.com/menu-locations/
66	Maggie Daley Park	Park	Loop (Downtown)	Giant park in downtown that's great for families.	Free	https://maggiedaleypark.com/things-to-do-see/play-garden/
67	The 606	Park	Various	An abandoned rail line turned recreational trail and park named after Chicago's zip codes. Take a walk above the city while dodging runners, cyclists, and skateboarders.	Free	https://www.the606.org/
68	Stay and Play Game Cafe	Food/Drinks/Attraction	Irving Park	Board games, Puerto Rican Food, and Drinks. Have fun! Famalies welcome.	$-$$	https://stayandplaygamecafe.com/
69	Stan's Donuts	Dessert	Various	Famous Chicago donuts.	$-$$	https://www.stansdonuts.com/
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