After creating an Ultimate Guide for NeoCon East we got a lot of good feedback about the list of where to eat and what to do during visitors’ time in Philadelphia. Now, it only seems fair for us to create an Ultimate Chicago Guide for NeoCon 2016. We know everyone will have an easy time keeping busy at NeoCon, but wanted to make sure that you could also keep busy and have fun outside of NeoCon. So, we created this complete Chicago guide. In it you can find the best food in town, the best places to go sight seeing, and the best places to shop, relax, see some art, and hear some great music. We tried to cover as much as we could in this Chicago guide, but the city is truly amazing and full of a vast number of awesome spots. Let us know if you have any favorite places in Chicago that we missed and we’ll be sure to add it to our guide next year! Now, get to planning your Chicago trip!
Millenium Park
Millennium Park is just a few blocks south of the convention center and is famously the home of the Cloud Gate sculpture, or more popularly known as The Bean. Though it has only been installed for 10 years, the Bean is one of the most iconic structures in all of Chicago and it provides an awesome reflection for warped skyline photography (and shameless selfies).
If The Bean isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry, the park is full of tons of other art installations and interesting architecture. It also houses the Lurie Garden, which is a colorful nature-filled cubby of the city, perfect for relaxing. You can walk through the beautiful gardens to see the variety of plants or hang out on the boardwalk and dip your toes in the fresh-flowing canal.
Jay Pritzker Pavilion is also a hub for activity in Millennium Park, but we’ll tell you more about that in the Activities section of this blog post.
Grant Park
Millennium Park flows almost seamlessly into Grant Park, another huge pedestrian space that offers beautiful views of the skyline and Lake Michigan. Grant Park also boasts a lot of places to see like Buckingham Fountain, one of the largest fountains in the world, The Field Museum, one of the largest natural history museums in the world, The Adler Planetarium, America’s first planetarium, Shedd Acquarium, housing over 32,000 animals, and Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears.
Willis Tower
If you like living on the edge and enjoy beautiful views of clustered skyscrapers, Willis Tower (still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower) has just the spot for you: The Skydeck. The Skydeck is a completely glass balcony located on the 103rd floor of the tower, 1,353 feet above ground. On a clear day, Skydeck visitors can see far over the plains of Illinois and across Lake Michigan to Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. From here you can really get an amazing look around the city and its surroundings, just don’t look down (unless you’re into that).
Navy Pier
Navy Pier makes the sightseeing list, despite really being an area full of activities, because it offers an incredible view of the skyline from an awesome angle — practically in Lake Michigan. From Navy Pier, you can see the beautiful juxtaposition of the lake, beach, and luscious greenery against miles of towering and glittering sky scrapers. The best view comes from on top of the Ferris Wheel.
Chicago Riverwalk
The Chicago Riverwalk is another beautiful juxtaposition of natural beauty and man made masterpieces. The Riverwalk winds, you guessed it, around the river that runs through the middle of Chicago. It provides easy access to shops and restaurants and endlessly beautiful views.
Saucy Porka | 400 S. Financial Place Chicago IL, 60605
Saucy Porka is one of the greatest hole-in-the-wall restaurants we’ve ever found. Started by two former food truck chefs, Saucy Porka blends each chef’s family recipes to create a menu of unique Asian-Latin fusion foods like Pork Carnitas Pho Soup and Arroz con Edamame. The food is phenomenal and the service is so genuine, quick, and friendly. Unfortunately, Saucy Porka is only open Monday to Friday, 8am-4pm, so you might have to plan ahead if you want to make it for lunch!
Portillo’s | 100 W. Ontario Chicago, IL 60610 | 312-587-8910
Chicago is famous for a lot of things, one of them being hotdogs. The official Chicago Style hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt. It’s commonly explained as a hot dog “dragged through the garden”. While Portillo’s isn’t a strictly Chicago restaurant, you can get a classic Chicago Style hot dog and plenty of other great food here while enjoying their interesting decor.
Lou Malnati’s | multiple locations, find them all here
Everyone has to get some classic deep dish Chicago pizza while they’re in town, and Lou Malnati’s is a great place to do it. The pizza’s are made with love and take some time (about 30 minutes) to prepare once ordered, so make sure you have a good amount of time allotted for lunch. There are over 40 Lou Malnati’s in the chicago area, so you’ll never be far. The one closest to the convention center is just a couple blocks away at 439 North Wells Street Chicago, IL 60654 (phone: 312-828-9800).
Homeslice | 938 W. Webster Ave Chicago, IL 60614 | 312-789-4600
If you love pizza, but deep dish really isn’t your thing, Homeslice serves up a huge variety of delicious thin-crust pizza. Between great food and a super cozy environment with indoor and outdoor seating, Homeslice is a great place to grab a delicious pie.
Ron of Japan | 230 E. Ontario St. Chicago, Illinois 60611 | 312-644-6500
Like your meals with a little more flair? Ron of Japan is a premier teppenyaki restaurant where the chefs cook your food on a large flat grille at the table. The showmanship is engaging and the food is great, not to mention, their signature egg yolk sauce is to die for.
Taco Joint | 158 W Ontario Street Chicago, IL 60654 | 312-337-8226
An urban taqueria and cantina with some personality, Taco Joint serves a flavorful blend of traditional and modern food in an environment that perfectly matches that vibe. It doesn’t hurt that they have a large margarita menu, too.
Doc B’s | 55 E Grand Ave Chicago, IL 60611 | 312-999-9300
More of a burger and sandwich person? Don’t worry, we’ve got some restaurants for you, too. Doc B’s boasts a long menu with sandwiches, steaks, and burgers ranging from classic to eccentric. The desserts are rich and interesting including a Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cheesecake.
Revolution Brewing | 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave Chicago, IL 60647 | 773-227-BREW
You can’t go wrong with a brewery that serves awesome beer and puts bacon and parmesan on popcorn. They have a pretty extensive brewpub menu with great choices for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Revolution is also the brewery that the movie Drinking Buddies was filmed in. Olivia Wilde’s character is based on one of the real female brewers, named Kate.
Yolk | 747 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60654 | 312-787-2277
Voted “Best Breakfast in Chicago,” Yolk is the perfect place to grab breakfast before heading over to NeoCon or to grab brunch on your days away from the convention. Benedicts, skillets, crepes, and more fill their breakfast menu, with sandwiches, wraps, soups, and salads on the lunch menu. Each and every item on the menu is well worth the trip, so you won’t be disappointed.
Music
Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion hosts free music concerts every Monday and Thursday at 6:30pm. The free music concerts are a great way to get some sun and discover new music (it’s also unofficially BYOB)! If you’re an early riser and in town for the weekend, you can also take advantage of the free exercise classes at the Pavilion. The classes start at 7am every Saturday morning.
If you love yourself some soulful blues music, make sure to visit Kingston Mines or Buddy Guy’s Legends (Kingston Mines is our favorite, but Buddy Guy’s is a little closer to the convention site). Both clubs are a great place to enjoy some southern & cajun style food, beautiful blues music, and an engaging crowd. Kingston Mines also sells buckets of beer and stays open until 4 or 5 in the morning, for those living on the wild side.
Art
Art lovers visiting Chicago definitely came to the right place. Apart from the 700+ public art installations throughout the city, Chicago is also home to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Art Institute of Chicago holds over 300,000 works of art within its 10 curatorial departments, while the Museum of Contemporary Art‘s permanent collection includes over 2,500 artworks and artists’ books spanning media and movement from the 1920’s to the present day.
Film & Theater
Music Box Theater is a premier venue for independent and foreign films. The theater shows 5 or 6 films every day with showings ranging from 2:00pm-10:00pm and shows two films at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The full list of showings can be found here.
If you prefer stage theater to films, check out Steppenwolf Theater Company. Steppenwolf is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company that will be featuring three productions on stage during the week of NeoCon: The Wolves (music), Constellations (play), and Science Night (interactive game).
Outdoor Fun
While Chicago is far from any ocean, Lake Michigan provides an awesome shore that comes pretty close. If you’re looking to soak up the sun and feel your toes in the sand, visit Oak Street Beach. It also provides some pretty beautiful skyline views (which, if you haven’t noticed already, are pretty abundant in Chicago).
For a more active outdoor activity, visit Navy Pier. Here you can enjoy some classic fair rides, play games, take short cruises on the lake, and relax in the beer garden.
Shopping
Magnificent Mile and State Street are the best and easiest locations for quality shopping. Both areas provide a large assortment of shops from big international stores to smaller mom and pop shops. The Magnificent Mile is more scenic, but State Street more than satisfies the retail therapy need.
Sports (+ Bonus Bars)
Wrigley Field is home to the Chicago Cubs and is a popular tourist spot with half a dozen great bars within walking distance for an added bonus. If you like sports and beer, Wrigley Field is the place for you.
We hope this Chicago guide helps you enjoy your NeoCon 2016 trip to the fullest next week! If you see our VP, Erik there make sure to say hi and tell him your favorite spot on the list!