Chicagoland

October 28, 2008 7:50 AM

What to do during a weekend in Chicago? What to do *this weekend* in Chicago?

My wife and I are heading to Chicago this weekend. I'll be at a conference for most the day, so I'm mostly looking for fun things to do this Friday and Saturday night. Delicious vegetarian cuisine is a plus. Thanks a million.

posted by gerryblog to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

Time Out: Chicago - Events this weekend
posted by nitsuj at 7:56 AM on October 28, 2008

I think the Art Institute has pay-what-you-wish or free hours at least one of those evenings. At least, they did last summer when I was there...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:19 AM on October 28, 2008

There's a lot of good vegetarian food in the city. If you have the money to spend and want a really nice meal, I recommend Green Zebra (you'll need to make reservations). Up on the far north side, there are several good Ethiopian restaurants with a great vegetarian selection; my two favorites are Ras Dashen and Ethiopian Diamond. Also on the far north side, mostly on Devon, are tons of good Indian restaurants. I would steer clear of Chicago Diner and Heartland Cafe—both have some good food, but it's very hit or miss, and most of their dishes are mediocre at best. There's also Handlebar in Wicker Park, which has reliably good food. Amitabul is pretty far north and west (in the 6200 block of Milwaukee Avenue); it's worth the trip, but you'll need a car to get there.
posted by smich at 8:43 AM on October 28, 2008

Klay Oven has some awesome vegetarian stuff (at least my veggie friends say so - I always have meat when I go there), and it being Halloween weekend means that there are a lot of haunted tours going on. You could have dinner at Klay Oven and stroll a few blocks northeast to Ohio and Clark and pick up Ursula Bielski's Ghost Tour Chicago.

You don't mention where you're staying. You might want to share that as that could affect recommendations...
posted by MeetMegan at 8:44 AM on October 28, 2008

Send your wife on one of the architecture walking tours during the day while you're at the conference. They are bar-none fantastic.
posted by notsnot at 9:08 AM on October 28, 2008

2nd the architecture thing, but I really liked the architecture boat tour on the Chicago River.

Also, Chicago is home to the country's best improv! Second City is more famous, but Improv Olympic has better improv, in my opinion. Almost none of it is like "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" It's more like the scenes and characters from Christopher Guest movies like "This Is Spinal Tap" and "Best in Show."
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 9:14 AM on October 28, 2008

Also along the lines of architecture, cast an eye toward the sky now and again, as this weekend the Trump Tower, the latest iconic building to join the famous Chicago skyline, will be crowned with its spire.
posted by Mr. Anthropomorphism at 9:44 AM on October 28, 2008

By helicopter, no less!
posted by Mr. Anthropomorphism at 9:45 AM on October 28, 2008

What to do in Chicago this weekend? Freeze

In all seriousness, I'll second the Ethiopian recommendation. Ethiopian Diamond is great, though it's kinda far (I am assuming you're staying downtown). You can take the Redline north (toward Howard) and experience our fabulous public trans (sarcasm over). It's about a 30 minute trip to the Granville stop. Ethiopian Diamond is less than a block from there.

Ras Dashen is closer to the Thorndale stop, but it's not a favorite of mine.

I would HIGHLY recommend Sultan's Market, which is in Wicker Park, rather close to the aforementioned Handlebar. If you can, get a few gallons of their lentil soup. Mmm. That would be a short walk from the Damen Blueline stop, if you're interested.

I am, of course, assuming you'll Google Maps these places, so my directions are rough.

Hmm, what else, what else?

As for non-food, there's tons of things to do, but it depends on what YOU like. Music fan? Heavy drinker? Acrobat? What do you like to do?

And, as always, take a peek at The Chicagoist if you need more ideas. It's usually worth it
posted by phrakture at 9:59 AM on October 28, 2008

As mentioned above, architecture boat tours are sweet. Specifically, the Chicago Architecture Foundation's boat tours are super-sweet. Very informative, but a whole lot of fun. Dress warm!
posted by SpiffyRob at 11:15 AM on October 28, 2008

*Really* enjoyed the CAF boat tour. We wound up going to Second City over Improv Olympic, but wound up relatively unimpressed -- maybe we should have listened to your wisdom.

Thanks, everyone! We were there too short a time to do it all, but good times.
posted by gerryblog at 3:35 PM on November 2, 2008