Bon Appetit

Chicago has a huge selection of restaurants. It would be impossible for me to cover the whole range of possibilities. Since I am working on a weekend trip to see the Phantom with some girlfriends, I will mention a few that we are going to try.



We are taking the Amtrak train from Indianapolis to Chicago. It arrives, hopefully, around 10:00 a.m. From there we will check into the hotel, or at least leave our luggage there for a later check in, and go do lunch. We have decided to go to The World Famous Billy Goat Tavern and Grill. Ordering from the Billy Goat may go something like this:

"Cheezborger! Cheezborger! You want doublecheez?!? Who's next!?! WHO'S NEXT!?!"
If you take more than one second to answer: "Don't look at the menu, look at ME!
I order for you - DOUBLECHEEZ!" If you only feel like a single: "No.
DOUBLECHEEZ!!!" If it's the end of the week: "It's Friday, doublecheez for
everybody! It's payday! Triplecheez for the big guy!" Want French fries with
that? "No fries - CHEEPS!" Thirsty? "No Pepsi - COKE!" To drink: "Coke or
Diet?!"

This was made famous on Saturday Night live by Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Bill Murray and Lorraine Newman.

Another interesting note in history, when the Republican convention came to town in 1944, the owner, William "Billy Goat" Sianis put a sign in the window saying, "No Republicans Allowed". This caused the restaurant to be filled with Republicans demanding to be served and was a great publicity stunt that led to fame for the owner. The restaurant was originally across from Chicago Stadium but moved to its current sight in 1964.

After we do a little shopping on the Magnificent Mile, we plan on going to dinner at the Italian Village Restaurant. This restaurant is the oldest Italian restaurant in Chicago. Opened in 1927 by Italian immigrant Alfredo Capitanini and is located upstairs at 71 W. Monroe. They offer "good, simple food in ample portions" and a 45,000 bottle wine list, the largest in the Midwest. It has been YEARS since I last visited this restaurant but it left such an impression on me that I searched for it on the Internet and half expected not to find it. When I was a teen and involved in Job's Daughters, one of my club member's Dad took us here after he picked us up at the hotel. I remember walking up stairs and entering a room that looked like an Italian Village. We sat in a booth and had the most delicious spaghetti I had ever eaten. This was a far cry from the Chef Boy R Dee spaghetti in a box that Mom served on nights her and Dad went out for dinner. In fact, it was the only pasta or Italian type food I had ever eaten up to this point. I cannot wait to visit here again in November.

On Sunday morning our plans are to have brunch at The Signature Room at the 95th. This brunch has a large array of offerings but the best part is location, location, location. Located on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building, the views of Lake Michigan and the city will be well worth the hefty price we are paying for the meal.

As I mentioned before, the array of restaurants can be overwhelming. A fantastic website that list by cuisine is http://www.chicagorestaurants.com/. Here you can find the restaurant, if it caters, if it delivers, links to individual websites and it even has links for night life and hotels.

Another great website is the Menu Pages. It lists by cuisine or location and has a map showing the different neighborhoods. Once you click on a restaurant, you get reviews, maps, printable menu, etc. This website has 6231 menus for 2935 restaurants. http://chicago.menupages.com/

I am really looking forward to this weekend with friends. Chicago holds so many images in my mind. There is so much history here. I read a book called "The Devil in the White City". This book was written to describe the time of the World's Fair in 1893. This was Chicago's chance to prove that it was a major city in growing world. Daniel Burnham was the chief architect on this project and was given the daunting task of turning an abandoned area of Chicago known as the Black City into something magical and profound. With help from Fedrick Olmsted, who designed Central Park, he created a city of alabaster buildings, lagoons, and the Ferris wheel. One of the two buildings still standing today houses the Museum of Science and Industry. The book also details the escapades of one Dr. H. H. Holmes who lured victims to his World's Fair Hotel and murdered them. He is considered to be one of the first serial killers in Chicago. His hotel was located at 63rd and Wallace.

We will be leaving Chicago after we visit the Field Museum and returning to Indianapolis by train. The cost for a round trip ticket is only $36 and with gas and parking, this is the best option for us. We do not arrive into Indy until almost midnight but we can rest on the way home.

My son and I are planning a typical American vacation for next year. We are looking into a cabin in Michigan and some of the sights to see. My next entry will feature this trip and the info I find. How about a ferry trip across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin?