Chicago 2007

Chi-Town!  Chi-Town!  Chicagoland.  Cubbies!

 Chicago is such a great town.  From the moment I entered the city, I noticed their city skyline spreads out and is not concentrated in one area.  The two tallest towers, the John Hancock and Sears Tower, are at different ends of the city.

I came to Chicago for a job interview for a position within my current company.  The position would be a substantial upgrade from where I am now.  However, I feel so much obligation to stay in Portland that it was hard for me to focus on this interview.  At the very least, I wanted to meet the team and understand the job.

Nikki and I flew into Chicago on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 11am.  My interview was set for Oct 3rd.  The hotel was about 27 miles away from metro Chicago.  We decided to wait out afternoon traffic as we plan out where to have dinner.

Nikki got me to like the Moon Metro series of travel books.  These books partitions the city into manageable day ventures and has a pull out map of each partition with labelled attractions, must-eat restaurants, shops, and museums.  Each attraction, restaurants, etc. have a description at the end of the book.  I’ve used this book in NYC, Boston, and now Chicago.

For dinner, Nikki and I decided to try a place called Japonais (Japanese in French).  The book raved about this place and told us to order “The Rock.” 

Inside Japonais, we met a the nicest waiter I could ever remember.  He asked if this was our first time and showed us the ropes on how to order, what he recommends, etc.  We even got talking about what to do in Chicago and he wished me good luck on my interview with a sturdy handshake.  Very sincere. 

Overall, the restaurant was great!  The Rock was basically a dish with raw thin slices of beef and a sizzling black rock on another dish.  To have medium rare quality, we only have to cook the meat 4 seconds on each side.  It was a fun experience.  For dessert, we had doughnuts with green tea ice cream.  And the best part of that dessert was not just the dessert but the fact that we went downstairs to the lounge that was a terrace overlooking the Chicago River.  Truly beautiful.  They had wicker-set chairs and beds all over the place.  Very romantic.  Very recommended.

The next day was my interview.  I got to meet some top level people and I believe I did very well.  My company is probably one of the few companies in country who likes to put all the candidates in the same room before beginning the interviews separately.  I’m use to it by now and I enjoy seeing my competition.  I am awaiting the day when they make their decision as it will be a tough decision for me as well.

Meanwhile, Nikki was busy catching the hotel shuttle towards the 12th largest mall in the country, the Woodfield Mall.   Now she can add some serious credentials to her shopping resume.

After a the interview and Nikki’s shopping escapade, we decided to have dinner on the 95th floor of the second tallest building in the city, the John Hancock.  The place was called the Signature Lounge.  The view was amazing and the travel book indicated that the women’s restroom had one of the best views of the city in the entire city.  The women’s restroom!  In fact, there were some ladies sneaking their guy into the restroom to showcase the view.

After talking to the manager, Nikki and I got a coveted window seat.  That experience alone made our trip to Chicago worth it.  As we were eating, we each pointed out which building we liked best.  It was a great evening.

The last day of our trip was Thursday, Oct. 4.  We leave at 8:30pm so we had an entire day to explore the city during the day time.  We planned on going to the Magnificant Mile, one of the greatest avenues of the World.  Shops of large and small stature line the streets of Michigan Ave for about mile.  Artwork and flowerbeds line the outside edge of the sidewalks.  

Chicago is notorious for overcharging for parking in downtown.  The rule after 9-11 was that there would be no more free parking.  However, Nikki and I were lucky to have only paid less than $1 in parking during our whole trip to Chicago.  Chicago does not give out tickets.  They tow on the spot.  On this day, the last day, we attempted to find a cheap parking garage with an early bird special; in and out by a certain time frame.  To make a long story short, we found a spot that allowed us to park from 9am-4pm for free.  This spot was right in the city.  According to Google and a few friends from Chicago, this was a monumental feat in itself. 

After parking, we went to visit the Buckingham Fountain in Grant’s Park.  The fountain was showcased on the intro to the “Married with Children” sitcom.  “Love and marriage, love and marriage…,” you know what I’m talking about.  The Buckingham Fountain is a Versailles-inspired structure and it was big!  In fact, Grant’s Park use to be a landfill.  However, the city restored the grounds in time for the 1994 World Cup and now it’s a famous park.  Go figure!

 

After that, we went went up north to the more famous park, Millennium Park.  This park is the butt of many jokes.  The city tried to finish the park before the year 2000 but it was completed in 2004.  The locals say it was built 996 years too early.  Forbes Magazine named the park’s zipcode 60602 as the hottest zipcode in the country a few years back.  It’s still pretty swanky.  Lots of art structures and new condo high rises are finding its way into that zipcode. 

The most impressive art structure I thought was Cloud Gate; a gigantic chrome kidney bean that captures the city skyline really well.  It’s a fantastic structure that’s simple and fun!  Nikki and I had lots of fun taking pics around there.

After some more walking and more photo ops, we got hungry.  It’s time for a Chicago deep dish pizza!  The book suggested we try out Pizza Uno, the founder of the deep dish pizza during WWII.  The pizza, as some you food network addicts already know, had tomato sauce on the top, then toppings, then cheese, then crust.  It was a good meal but I thought it could have been better.  I understand that other places like Gino’s and Giordano’s have better pies but that will have to wait for another trip. 

After some shopping, it was time to collect the car and make our way to the airport.  The Magnificent Mile was really a magnificent walk…so long.  I was so happy to come back and see the car still there!

While we were leaving the Mag Mile, we still had plenty of time left.  Nikki and I decided to try out a popular hot dog spot: Wiener Circle.  When I got there, it was such a hole in the wall.  Concrete floors and wall.  No artwork. Cracked folding chairs.  I was taken back for a minute before I could focus on the menu.  I ordered two char-dogs with the works: celery salt, mustard, real relish, grilled onions, and half a pickle.  You don’t ask for ketchup on your Chicago dogs!  The only thing that was missing on the dogs were hot peppers; that would have made it the Chicago Red Hot.  I noticed they grilled the hot dog until it’s almost completely black.  Crazy but it was good.  I’m not a big fan of hot dogs in general.  I’m a yuppie at heart; I like Costco polish dogs!

You can find the pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/vinhdnguyen/Chicago2007?authkey=8iPU9u4oL5w

Nikki and I both enjoyed the culture and landscape of Chicago and we certainly won’t forget this city anytime soon.