Andrea & Shane
Things To Do
2D Restaurant
An eye-popping Lakeview restaurant designed to make visitors feel as though they've entered the two-dimensional world of a comic book. These highly Instagrammable black-and-white café concepts originated in Malaysia before spreading to countries like Japan, South Korea and beyond. Currently, there are just a handful of 2-D joints in the United States. Grab an order of the restaurant's pon de ring mochi doughnuts, which are irresistibly fluffy, and just a little bit chewy.
Adler Planetarium
Explore the origins of the universe, peer through ancient telescopes, and view the stars at this lakefront planetarium and museum, part of Chicago’s Museum Campus alongside the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium. This is, in fact, the Western Hemisphere’s oldest planetarium. Not that you’d be able to tell from the state-of-the-art exhibits you’ll see here. Pop-up programs, an after-dark series for grown-ups, and amazing planetarium shows are just part of what makes the Adler a major Chicago attraction.
Al's #1 Italian Beef
Al’s #1 Italian Beef has been keeping Chicagoans stuffed since 1938. While there are now several Al’s Beef locations around the city and suburbs, the original beef stand on Taylor Street is where you should visit this iconic Chicago restaurant. Here you can tangle with one of Chicago’s most classic foods, the Italian beef sandwich, in a cash-only neighborhood joint. You can order yours several ways, although dipped in juice with sweet peppers and giardiniera is the way to go. Just make sure to eat yours utilizing the "Italian stance" (standing backed up with your feet spread apart and elbows over the counter) unless you want yours to end up all over your shirt.
Chicago Cultural Center
Located just around the corner from Millennium Park, this gorgeous specimen of a building is the country's first free municipal cultural center; inside, you'll find tons of programming, exhibitions, and stunning architectural flourishes to explore, as well as a gift shop stocked with goods from local artists. Anyone spending time in the Loop should make a point to check out any ongoing programming happening at the Cultural Center, which can run the gamut from art exhibitions to massive architectural expos. Once you've toured the 38-foot Tiffany glass dome in Preston Bradley Hall, head to the Landmark Gallery on the first floor to see "The Great Chicago Fire in Focus," an ongoing exhibition showcasing glass plate negatives depicting the ravages of the Chicago Fire.
Chinatown
A neighborhood that serves as one of the primary hubs of Chicago's Chinese community, filled with restaurants, shops, and incredible nods to East Asian architecture.Chinatown is a great place to mosey from shop to shop and spend some time outdoors, whether you're walking through Chinatown Square or admiring the sweeping skyline views from Ping Tom Memorial Park. Don't miss dumplings from QYX, bubble tea from the walk-up window at Joy Yee, Peking duck from BBQ King House... the list goes on. Start at Chinatown Square and work your way south down Wentworth, passing under the street's famous gate, and into its central commercial strip.
Cloud Gate
The Cloud Gate is one public sculpture you can’t walk past without noticing. The one hundred ton, shiny stainless steel “bean” which was inspired by a droplet of mercury, is eye-boggling. The Cloud Gate is in the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park. Walk underneath the Gate’s arch and look up to see a distorted version of yourself and those around you. It’s an unusual experience. Stand at a distance from the Cloud Gate to capture a photo of the Loop’s twisted skyscrapers reflected on the sculpture’s curved surface. Amazing.
Museum of Illusions Chicago
The Chicago outpost of a chain of trippy "edutainment" destinations, packed with mind-bending photo-ops. You'll be able to take a ton of cool Instagram photos at the Museum of Illusions, but you'll also have a chance to learn a thing or two along the way. Staff is present to explain the psychology and science behind each of the mind-bending displays. Don't miss the museum's infinity room, which surrounds guests with mirrors and shimmering lights.
The Art Institute of Chicago
Guarded by an iconic pair of bronze lions, the Art Institute of Chicago houses a permanent collection of more than 300,000 artworks. Its collections include masterpieces from every era, from Georges Seurat’s iconic painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (notable for its appearance in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) to Andy Warhol's print of actress Elizabeth Taylor. Tucked away in the lower level of the Art Institute, the Thorne Miniature Room contains 68 recreations of American, European and Asian architecture and furniture, represented at 1:12 scale. It’s like a hyper-detailed, ultra-realistic doll house that you wish you had when you were a kid.
The Second City
This is where Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Gilda Radner, Chris Farley and Steve Carell cut their comedic teeth. Before they joined the cast of Saturday Night Live or became big-screen stars, those folks above practiced their craft on the mainstage at the Second City. The venue's premiere revue features some of the institution's most talented performers in a series of loosely-connected, topical comedy sketches. Currently, Second City is currently featuring Do The Right Thing, No Worries If Not, a two-hour comedy extravaganza on its mainstage revue. The show is often laugh-out-loud funny, all while making fun of the U.S. Senate, the experience of pregnancy and its medical routines, time-travel movies, uncontrollably hormonal tween-age boys, fat shaming, Irishness and old-school gay stereotypes.
The Wiener's Circle
If you’ve ever gone to a hot dog stand and thought, “This experience would be so much better if only the person taking my order would viciously berate me while serving my food,” then the Wieners Circle in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago is for you. One of Chicago's truly classic joints, you'll not only get to experience an authentic Chicago experience, but enjoy a true Chicago hot dog while you're at it. Just don't forget to order a chocolate shake.
Winter's Jazz Club
Overlooking the Ogden Slip, Winter's Jazz Club is in the heart of Chicago. The club seats 100 in the performance space and 25 in the bar/lounge and you can expect straight-ahead jazz most days, but you can be surprised with a bout of live Gypsy-jazz, swing, a Bourbon Street quartet, and some other riffs on the genre. This is a "listening room" so save the chatter for after the show. Sets run 75 minutes at 7:30 and 9:30 pm Tuesday-Saturday and 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. There's a one-drink minimum of $10/person/set. Cover charge varies, but sit in the bar and enjoy half-off of the standard listening room cover charge. Enjoy 25-percent of drinks during Happy Hour Tues.-Sat. 5:30-7 p.m. and Sun, 4-5 p.m.