10 Ways to Occupy Your Time in Chicago

I took a very quick, very lazy trip to Chicago a couple weeks ago. What was supposed to be spent looking at wedding dresses (not for me, but for my BFF) and that sort of thing ended up being more like 48 hours spent flip flopping between the apartment and a select few restaurants and bars. Also, it was Super Bowl Weekend and everyone seems to close up shop that Sunday in the Midwest. No one was on the streets and it was so easy to get a car. But it was nearly impossible to get a meal. I know because we Ubered to three places before we found one that was open, and all the restaurants we called didn't answer the phone. 

1. Green Street Smoked Meats- big, warm space that serves up Texas BBQ. Also, the decor is cool. 

2. Sawada Coffee- inside Green Street

3. High Five Ramen- below Green Street 

4. Afternoon tea at the Allis (inside Soho House)- make reservations!

5. Van Gogh's Bedrooms at the Art Institute

6. Or, even better, you can stay in Van Gogh's Airbnb bedroom for $10 a night (I would have if I'd known about it while I was there) 

7. Whiskey at Chicago Athletic Association- it's the most beautiful athletic association turned hotel I've ever seen 

8. Wine and dessert at Maude's Liquor Bar- owned, apparently, by the same people as (you guessed it!) Green Street 

9. Craft cocktails at the Broken Shaker inside the Freehand Hotel (my Miami peeps know about this)

10. The Skydeck (because I still haven't had the patience to wait in line for it) 

There are lots of other things I think you should do in Chicago, and I wrote about them after my previous/first trip. Read those suggestions here.