Hog butcher for the world,
Tool maker, stacker of wheat,
Player with railroads and the nation's freight handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of big shoulders.

Carl Sandburg, "Chicago," 1916

Chicago has been defined at various times by its industrial might, its lawlessness under the clutches of mobster Al Capone in the 1920s Prohibition era, and its rough-and-tumble politics. Its reputation has not always been flattering.

Today, however, the city is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. Trendy, award-winning restaurants occupy addresses that once fronted dingy warehouses. A major renovation to Soldier Field was completed in 2003, and Millennium Park, an ambitious lakefront showcase that opened in July, 2004, left us dazzled. Downtown is cleaner and safer than it’s been in decades.

Grant Park’s Buckingham Fountain.

Chicago boasts some of the finest museums anywhere. The Museum of Science and Industry, Art Institute, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium are worthy additions to any itinerary. And there are many more.

Its architecture has long been one of Chicago’s hallmarks. Architecture river cruises affiliated with the Chicago Architecture Foundation are a great way to see landmark structures such as The Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, and Marina City.

Pedestrians stroll across BP Bridge.

Chicago has left an indelible mark on the world of music. Louis Armstrong arrived from New Orleans in 1922 and jazz’s popularity soared. Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf electrified blues music in the 1950s, inspiring the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and others, and, by 1964, the British Invasion was underway. Today, this music lives on. The Green Mill, where Capone was once a regular, is a local treasure and a mecca for jazz lovers. Kingston Mines is a great venue for live Chicago blues.

Crown Fountain in Millennium Park.

Everyone knows about the shopping along The Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue. For art galleries, antiques, and furniture, the River North Gallery District is the nation’s second largest (behind Manhattan’s SoHo). The district’s epicenter is at the corner of Superior and Wells. The Zygman Voss Gallery, where we chatted with the owners and saw works by Picasso, Matisse, and Chagall, and the Andrew Bae Gallery, are two that stand apart from the rest.

Quick Tips:

Chicago is a city of festivals. There are literally hundreds of events each year. Some, such as the Chicago Blues Festival (June), Taste of Chicago (late June through early July), and the Chicago Jazz Festival (September) draw hundreds of thousands of visitors. In addition, summer neighborhood festivals run from May through September. This is a great way to experience local cuisine, music, and art in one of Chicago’s many neighborhoods. Check out the festival calendar on the City of Chicago web site to find out what’s taking place during your stay.

OpenTable.com can be a useful site for visitors to Chicago. It’s an online restaurant reservation network that allows you to book reservations at one of their participating restaurants. It’s free, fast, and easy to use, and you can earn rewards for using their site. We used it to book our reservation at Blackbird, and it worked flawlessly. It’s especially handy for landing reservations at very popular restaurants that are booked days, if not weeks, in advance.

Check out these links for activities and events in Chicago:

metromix.chicagotribune.com
CityofChicago.org-Exploring Chicago
ChicagoEvents.com
Chicago Office of Tourism

Best Way To Get Around:

Public Transportation

The Chicago Transit Authority operates the city’s extensive public transportation system. Buses operate over 150 lines and serve more than 12,000 stops. The rail system has seven lines, differentiated by colors. For a single fare (.75), the Blue line will get you downtown from O’Hare International Airport in about 45 minutes. The CTA web site has route maps, schedules, and all the information you need.

Wheels

A car is great to have, but there’s a price that comes with all that freedom. Garage parking is widely available downtown, but it’s not cheap. Expect to pay about /day to park in your hotel’s garage. Once you get away from downtown, parking near bars, restaurants, and other attractions can be difficult to come by. Many Chicago neighborhoods are zoned and require parking permits in order to park on the street in an effort to free up parking for residents. Vehicles lacking the appropriate residential permit are subject to ticketing. Let’s not even discuss the traffic.

On Foot

With many lakefront attractions in relatively close proximity, walking is a viable option. Knowing we were going to spend most of our time downtown, we walked and, occasionally, used cabs, which are readily available.

The lobby is fun and funky, with an eclectic mix of furnishings and fabrics that will have you wondering if the Fab 5 has been by to whip the décor into shape. The lobby hosts complimentary coffee service every morning and free wine tastings in the evening.

The funkiness (is that a word?) continues in the guest rooms. Our room was very comfortable and larger than we’d expected, and featured wall treatment of bold green and while vertical stripes, a red headboard, red window coverings, a table, and two chairs upholstered in a vibrant gold pattern. A large armoire hid the TV, a CD player, fax machine, and a fully stocked honor bar from view. While I wouldn’t want to decorate my house in such a bold scheme (the Better Half loved it, however), I give the hotel credit for being creative and trying to distinguish itself from its competition.

The bathroom was small, but featured an elegant vanity and luxurious bath products. The other fixtures were more or less generic looking.

The hotel has an exercise room with free weights and aerobic machines.

Our only complaints were very minor ones. The Better Half would like to see the complimentary morning coffee service extended beyond 9:00am (on weekends, anyway). And when we checked in, the thermostat in our room was set to a chilly 64˚F. We adjusted it to a more tolerable 72˚F, but the next day we returned to find that it had been reset again to a frigid 61˚F. Is that really necessary? Are all their other guests from the Arctic Circle? I probably sound like Andy Rooney, but c’mon people, once your guests have set the thermostat to their liking, leave it alone.

The Hotel Monaco is pet-friendly, and the word is out. We saw numerous four-legged "guests" in the lobby during our stay. They offer special packages for those traveling with cats or dogs, including pet walking and sitting services, day care, and grooming. And 10% of the proceeds benefit PAWS (Pets Are Worth Saving) Chicago, a non-profit organization working to help homeless animals.

While this hotel’s best asset may be its location, there’s plenty of comfort and value here to keep me coming back. I wouldn’t hesitate in the least to book another stay at the Hotel Monaco.

The hotel is situated on Superior Street, just west of Michigan Avenue and south of the old Water Tower. With Rush Street around the corner, the River North Gallery District a few blocks to the west, and Magnificent Mile shopping just footsteps away in the opposite direction, the Peninsula has the prime location one would expect from such a highly regarded hotel.

Our room featured a comfy king-size bed, desk, chairs, an armoire housing a television, DVD player, and snack bar, and a small couch. The bathroom featured a large shower and lavatory with privacy glass, a luxurious vanity and matching dressing table, and a full-sized tub with a TV built into the wall, for those who believe viewing and soaking go hand-in-hand.

The Peninsula boasts a state-of-the-art electronic system that enables guests to control room features with the touch of a button. Located on the bedside table next to the telephone, a small console allows you to adjust the thermostat, lighting, radio (speakers are concealed in the wall), and television. Want privacy? Don’t bother getting up to slide that Do not disturb sign over the knob: just press the Privacy Please button. Likewise, just hit Make up room to summon maid services.

But no matter how slick the in-room gadgetry, how big and comfy the towels, nor how luxurious the bedding, eventually a hotel must do something more than provide nice amenities in order to elevate it above its peers to that lofty upper echelon. And this is where the Peninsula really shines. The service is second to none: the staff is exceptionally well-trained, and every single employee seems intent on doing everything possible to cater to their guests’ needs.

Upon arrival, the doorman spun the revolving doors for us and asked if we needed assistance. At check-in, we were asked if they could help us make arrangements for ground transportation upon our departure, and they offered to print our boarding passes for us so they’d be ready and waiting when we’d check out. "Can I do anything else for you?" are probably the most frequently used words at the Peninsula.

Starting at better than $400/night, a room at the Peninsula doesn’t come cheap. But if you’re willing to splurge in order to stay at one of the finest hotels in the United States, this is as good a place as any to start. An enthusiastic two thumbs up.

The Park Terrace occupies Millennium Park’s ice-skating rink.

The restaurant has a custom-built outdoor kitchen set up adjacent to the bar and dining area, which can accommodate up to 350 guests. The menu diverges significantly from that of the Park Grill, offering what executive chef Bernie Laskowski calls "ethnic barbecue" cuisine.

We were seated after about a 20-minute wait, not bad considering it was lunch hour on a holiday weekend. On this occasion, I decided to be a culinary thrill seeker, opting for one of our waiter’s recommendations. Bad move. I ordered the duck tacos, a risky selection to be sure. He made it sound good enough: duck with black beans, mango salsa, and cilantro on flour tortillas. The flour tortillas were rubbery and tasteless, and had this weird, almost translucent appearance. Aren’t flour tortillas white? Which brings us to the duck, which tasted like boiled chicken, bland and completely void of any appeal whatsoever, other than the fact that it didn’t give me food poisoning. Thank God for the mango salsa and black beans, or I’d have been really desperate.

The Better Half hit the nail right on the head when I asked her what she thought of her seafood tacos. Her one word reply: "Flavorless."

The service was good enough; nothing special mind you, but pleasant enough and efficient, especially given the huge volume the restaurant was doing that day. Whatever bonus points our server may have garnered, however, were revoked by recommending the yuck tacos.

Whenever you dine in the shadows of a tourist mecca like Millennium Park, it doesn’t take a genius to conclude that you’re probably not going to get great value for your hard-earned cash. That being said, I’d like to think that I’m going to get something edible for my nine bucks. Such was not the case on this day, anyway, as duck rhymed with yuck.

The popular Millennium Park sculpture Chicagoans have dubbed "The Bean" looms above Park Terrace.

If you’re at Millennium Park and you just have to eat nearby, I’d venture to guess that you’ll do better at one of the two Michigan Avenue Bennigan’s locations. One is just two blocks south, across the street from the Art Institute; the other is just a couple of blocks north. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not much of a fan of chain restaurant cuisine, but I’ve been to the Bennigan’s across from the Art Institute before, and I’ll happily walk across the street before I sit down at Park Terrace again.

My 1 – 10 ratings:
Food: 2; Service: 5; Atmosphere: 6.5

The Redhead Piano Bar is one of Chicago’s premiere piano bars. It caters to an upscale, 30-something through 50-something crowd, although younger patrons will filter in on the weekends. Most are probably from the nearby River North, Lincoln Park, and Gold Coast neighborhoods, and a smattering of out-of-towners probably find their way here as well.

We descended a half-flight of stairs and stepped into the dimly lit lounge to find that the place was absolutely packed. Dark red walls covered in a sheet music motif provide the backdrop for black and white photos of old Hollywood stars including Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Marilyn Monroe. The piano is situated just inside the front door, near the window. There are two large rooms. The bar and smaller tables are in the front; the back room is more for those favoring conversation over music. Once we realized that every table was occupied, we found a place to stand near the front window, out of the way and behind the people sitting around the piano.

The music was enjoyable enough, although we were expecting more loungy, Sinatra-type stuff. The play list consisted mostly of 70’s and 80’s rock, with songs from artists such as Billy Joel, Eagles, Elton John, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, and Phil Collins getting the nod more often than not. A few more current selections from the likes of John Mayer, Five for Fighting, and Diana Krall were sprinkled in. This resulted in an impromptu game of Name That Tune with The Better Half, and you’d better be on your toes to match wits with her. Our rule is that the first person to correctly name the title and artist gets a point. Currently, she leads our ongoing game by a shade over two million points.

The Redhead features an extensive martini list of perhaps two dozen concoctions. The beer list is pretty standard, and they offer about ten selections each of red and white wine by the glass.

If second-hand smoke is an issue, you might want to reconsider an evening at The Readhead. After about an hour and a half, I felt like I’d smoked two packs myself.

I’m not sure I’d want to make an entire evening of The Redhead, but for a visit after dinner or as a last stop before calling it a night, this well-known establishment is as good an option as any. And judging by the size of the crowd, The Redhead Piano Bar has plenty of followers.

* * *

About the dress code: The Redhead Piano Bar’s web site uses the term proper attire required. I’d describe their clientele as wearing business casual or better. The doorman seemed to pay particular attention to our shoes as we walked in, giving me the distinct impression he’d put the kibosh on anyone trying to pass through his door wearing sneakers or flip flops. Anything but the nicest looking pair of jeans might leave you ripe for rejection as well.

First conceived in 1997 and completed in July, 2004, this wondrous combination of architecture, art, and landscape design occupies 24.5 acres in the northwest corner of Grant Park. It features an outdoor concert venue, a theatre for performing arts, a sweeping pedestrian bridge, numerous walkways, promenades, outdoor sculptures, and a garden.

Chicagoans enjoy the Great Lawn and Frank Gehry’s stunning Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

Anchoring the park is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a stunningly beautiful outdoor concert venue designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. Ribbons of stainless steel envelop the band shell, twisting and twirling 120 feet in the air, then connect to an overhead trellis made of intersecting steel pipes that stretch over the lawn seating area. More than 100 speakers suspended from the trellis insure that those seated on the 95,000 square foot lawn enjoy the same sound quality as those occupying the pavilion’s 4,000 fixed seats. Even the lawn incorporates high tech measures, and is designed to drain within 10 to 15 minutes after a hard rain.

The pavilion is truly a sight to behold in person. A photograph, even a great one, can’t do this architectural achievement the justice it deserves. We were content to just stand there and look at it for several minutes, never mind being fortunate enough to see a performance here. Time and time again we'd start to walk away, only to turn around to look at it again.

Crown Fountain’s watery light and video show is a big hit.

Designed by sculptor Jaume Plensa, Crown Fountain combines glass, water, light, and video to put on a spectacular show. The two 50-foot glass block towers change colors and video images as water cascades in torrents from their tops. The facing panel of each block shows a close-up video of one of 1,000 faces. The faces, all Chicagoans, change at roughly thirteen minute intervals. Dozens of kids (and some adults) splash around in the shallow reflecting pool between the two blocks. The fountain draws large crowds, especially at night.

Millennium Park visitors and the Chicago skyline are captured in the reflective sculpture by Anish Kapoor.

Cloud Gate, an elliptical sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor, located on SBC Plaza, has probably become the most photographed spot in the city. The 110-ton sculpture, which has been dubbed The Bean by locals, is formed from highly polished, stainless-steel plates. The curved surface of the plates reflects people, nearby buildings, and the sky and in mirror-like detail. Visitors numbering in the hundreds gather around and underneath the sculpture, which measures 66 feet long, 33 feet high, and 42 feet wide, staring, waving at their reflection, and snapping photos.

Curved lines of the stainless steel-clad BP Bridge.

BP Bridge, a 925-foot pedestrian bridge clad in stainless steel panels, is the first bridge designed by Gehry. Its slithery shape acts as a sound buffer to protect the Pritzker Pavilion from traffic noise. Its gentle slope and hardwood deck makes for an enjoyable, lazy stroll over Columbus Drive between Millennium Park and the eastern edge of Grant Park.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of all was discovering Family Album, the outdoor exhibit by German-born, Paris-based photographer Ewe Ommer on display in Wrigley Square. Over the course of four years beginning in 1996, Ommer traveled the world photographing families, from laborers to teachers to heads of state. Every corner of the globe you can imagine is represented, and each oversized photograph is accompanied by a brief text. In it, Ommer describes how he met the family, and perhaps what each person does for a living, or what the children study in school. Often the family will talk about their dreams and aspirations, or what keeps them together.

Ewe Ommer’s internationally acclaimed outdoor exhibition Family Album at Wrigley Square.

This thought provoking exhibit sucks you in. We looked at a few photos and read the accompanying text. Before we knew it we’d read at least fifty or sixty of the 103 placards on display. If Ommer’s objective was to remind everyone of the strong bonds of family, and that all of us perhaps have more in common with each other than less, then he accomplished what he set out to achieve.

From the moment it opened, Millennium Park instantly emerged as one of the premiere outdoor creations in the world, and one that should be the envy of every city. Unless it’s the absolute dead of winter (and maybe even then), it should be at the very top of your list of must-see Chicago attractions.

Blackbird’s stylish décor favors a minimalist approach. Four paintings in the rear dining area and a large flower arrangement on the bar represent the lone departures from otherwise clean architectural lines. The brilliant white exterior matches the stark white interior walls that seem to take on a pale greenish hue with the recessed lighting and dark hardwood floors of the dining room. A high-backed banquette spans the left side of the small, narrow dining room, which seats only 58 guests. Even so, the tables are set closely together, but somehow it works: the close quarters and the din from neighboring tables are just one of the things that make Blackbird what it is. I’m sure there are some, however, who’d prefer more breathing room between themselves and other patrons.

We arrived about 25 minutes early for our reservation, so we seated ourselves at the bar and ordered cocktails. As we chatted with two neighbors, a waiter swept past us with a matched pair of piping hot plates. We watched as he served what looked like salads in cylindrical "baskets" to two customers at the opposite end of the bar. He placed a plate in front of each guest, and then used a knife and fork to crush each basket. We asked our new friends if they knew what menu item this was, and one of them told us it was the endive salad. Note to self: I’m intrigued, order the endive salad.

The bar at Blackbird.

After awhile we were seated at a table along the banquette that spans the left side of the dining room. We ordered a bottle of sauvignon blanc, and each of us ordered the endive salad ($8), which sounded almost nondescript on the menu. It turns out that the aforementioned "basket" is made of shredded potatoes that are deep fried to hold the cylindrical shape. The salad is served with a poached egg on top, which explains the plume of steam rising from the plates we saw served at the bar. For entrees, I ordered the bobwhite quail breasts, and The Better Half ordered the Alaskan halibut. I would have guessed she’d have selected the wood-grilled California sturgeon, which is one of Blackbird’s signature dishes, but to each his own.

Four paintings are about the only departure from the minimalist architectural lines.

Our bottle of wine and bread was served, and we eagerly anticipated the endive salads. As if on cue, our waiter arrived, a small plume of steam rising from each plate. As we’d witnessed earlier at the bar, he used a knife and fork to crush the baskets of shredded potatoes and mixed everything together. The poached egg mellowed the slightly bitter taste of the endive, and the crushed potato basket served as croutons for the salad. A truly ingenious combination of ingredients, and the presentation was simply spectacular.

The bobwhite quail breasts ($25) were served stuffed with peas and grilled Michigan apricots, and topped with crispy strips of prosciutto. Once again, this dish featured a very unique combination of ingredients, but the concept was executed perfectly. Not only did it taste fantastic, but the different colors and textures made for a terrific presentation. I was so smitten with my quail that I never got around to sampling The Better Half’s halibut, although I can report a resounding thumbs-up from across the table.

We thought the service was just right: our waiter was friendly, conversational, attentive, and unobtrusive, never overbearing or stuffy.

As one might expect, dining at Blackbird is not a frugal venture. Our two salads, entrees, a modestly priced bottle of wine, tax and tip ran $150. I guess the best endorsement I can offer is that it was worth every penny. If you’re in Chicago and you can fit a fine dining experience into your budget, Blackbird should be near the top of your list. We’ll be back, that’s for sure.

My 1- 10 ratings:
Food - 10; Service – 8.5; Atmosphere – 8.5

Fact Sheet

Blackbird Restaurant
619 W. Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60606
Tel: 312.715.0708
Fax: 312.715.0774
Attire: Dressy
Reservations: You’ll need one
Web site: www.blackbirdrestaurant.com

Accolades