Wrigley Field: August 18th and 20th Roll Call

mca47

I'm there!

stateofloveandpj

How was it getting the red line post the shows in 2016?  If you waited it out a bit and not in a rush is it still crazy to head back to downtown area?  
How hard to grab an Uber again if you wait it out a bit?  
Was as there is ‘13 and it was late and crazy (but fun!)

iwasatpj20

stateofloveandpj said:

How was it getting the red line post the shows in 2016?  If you waited it out a bit and not in a rush is it still crazy to head back to downtown area?  
How hard to grab an Uber again if you wait it out a bit?  
Was as there is ‘13 and it was late and crazy (but fun!)

If you try for the red line after the show, it will be a wait to get on a train.  Uber's will have a surge in pricing if you try to leave since the streets around Wrigley will be closed for the shows.

Reelingiswhattheysay

darwinstheory said:

Just some various things to do in Chicago for those looking to kill time around the Wrigley shows:

Entertainment :

• Willis (Sears) Tower Skydeck (go early or late, but looks awesome with "the Ledge")
• Shedd Aquarium (be there by open for smaller crowd...Sunday is their slowest day)
• Field Museum 
• Museum of Science and Industry
• Adler Planetarium 
• Lincoln Park Zoo (free admission so it may get busy)
• Navy Pier (Ferris Wheel, botanical garden, etc...)
• Architecture Tour (in a boat through Chicago)
• Theater (there are plenty of them around if you want to watch a play)
• white sox game (cheap and could cross a ballpark of the list - with their weak ass fanbase, a good ticket will be easy to come by)

Food:

• Portillo's (lots of locations - Chicago Dog, Combo sandwich and chocolate cake are all fire!)
• Garrett Popcorn (lots of locations and worth a visit by all out of towners, trust me)
• Lou Malnattai's (if you feel the urge to try that Chicago style deep dish)
• Giordanno's (see above)
• Kumas Corner (it's like the 3 Floyd's of the burger world)
• Harry Caray's (downtown, it's kind of like a mini Cubs museum)
• Smoque BBQ
• Au Cheval
• Owen and Engine
• Gibsons Steakhouse 

Beer:

• Pipeworks (beer to go only, but it's good AF)
• Revolution
• Haymarket
• Half Acre
• Lagunitas
• Goose Island 
• 3 Floyd's (if you're a beer nerd with a car and willing to drive about 30 minutes south east of the city)

Hope some of this helps some people plan a little bit of extra stuff to do during your trips. I tried to keep everything within close proximity to where many out of towners will be staying. Ig you're going to be driving through NW Indiana and want some ideas for things to see/do there or SW Michigan, let me know.

Chris 

Thanks!!! Not privy to the beer scene in ChiTown- very helpful!

Ray J. T.

stateofloveandpj said:

How was it getting the red line post the shows in 2016?  If you waited it out a bit and not in a rush is it still crazy to head back to downtown area?  
How hard to grab an Uber again if you wait it out a bit?  
Was as there is ‘13 and it was late and crazy (but fun!)

We were able to get on the train back to downtown with absolutely no problems. Of course we never left directly after any of the shows either. After every show we hit up the bars for some drinks and some late night food. Uber was really easy to obtain as well. Never had any issues staying in Downtown and getting to any of the shows via train or uber. We will be staying in Downtown again this year. 

KC138045

Ray J. T. said:

stateofloveandpj said:

How was it getting the red line post the shows in 2016?  If you waited it out a bit and not in a rush is it still crazy to head back to downtown area?  
How hard to grab an Uber again if you wait it out a bit?  
Was as there is ‘13 and it was late and crazy (but fun!)

We were able to get on the train back to downtown with absolutely no problems. Of course we never left directly after any of the shows either. After every show we hit up the bars for some drinks and some late night food. Uber was really easy to obtain as well. Never had any issues staying in Downtown and getting to any of the shows via train or uber. We will be staying in Downtown again this year. 

Thanks for the info!  I was a little concerned about this as well.

KC138045

Question for the Chicago peeps.  I was thinking about going to Ditka's for dinner Sunday night.  As a Bears fan I've always wanted to go there.  Is it worth it or would you recommend we go somewhere else?

whoyouare72

KC138045 said:

Question for the Chicago peeps.  I was thinking about going to Ditka's for dinner Sunday night.  As a Bears fan I've always wanted to go there.  Is it worth it or would you recommend we go somewhere else?

Go to RPM Steak downtown

ryan_kellett

whoyouare72 said:

KC138045 said:

Question for the Chicago peeps.  I was thinking about going to Ditka's for dinner Sunday night.  As a Bears fan I've always wanted to go there.  Is it worth it or would you recommend we go somewhere else?

Go to RPM Steak downtown

Signed.  Or Gene and Georgeti's which is a historical, signature Chicago steak joint for a lesser price than Morton's or Gibson's.

Ditka's is pretty good grub too.  It wouldn't be a foolish decision, however there are better steaks, with a better ambience.

Indifference71

darwinstheory said:

Just some various things to do in Chicago for those looking to kill time around the Wrigley shows:

Entertainment :

• Willis (Sears) Tower Skydeck (go early or late, but looks awesome with "the Ledge")
• Shedd Aquarium (be there by open for smaller crowd...Sunday is their slowest day)
• Field Museum 
• Museum of Science and Industry
• Adler Planetarium 
• Lincoln Park Zoo (free admission so it may get busy)
• Navy Pier (Ferris Wheel, botanical garden, etc...)
• Architecture Tour (in a boat through Chicago)
• Theater (there are plenty of them around if you want to watch a play)
• white sox game (cheap and could cross a ballpark of the list - with their weak ass fanbase, a good ticket will be easy to come by)

Food:

• Portillo's (lots of locations - Chicago Dog, Combo sandwich and chocolate cake are all fire!)
• Garrett Popcorn (lots of locations and worth a visit by all out of towners, trust me)
• Lou Malnattai's (if you feel the urge to try that Chicago style deep dish)
• Giordanno's (see above)
• Kumas Corner (it's like the 3 Floyd's of the burger world)
• Harry Caray's (downtown, it's kind of like a mini Cubs museum)
• Smoque BBQ
• Au Cheval
• Owen and Engine
• Gibsons Steakhouse 

Beer:

• Pipeworks (beer to go only, but it's good AF)
• Revolution
• Haymarket
• Half Acre
• Lagunitas
• Goose Island 
• 3 Floyd's (if you're a beer nerd with a car and willing to drive about 30 minutes south east of the city)

Hope some of this helps some people plan a little bit of extra stuff to do during your trips. I tried to keep everything within close proximity to where many out of towners will be staying. Ig you're going to be driving through NW Indiana and want some ideas for things to see/do there or SW Michigan, let me know.

Chris 

Typical Cubs fan talking about attendance.  SMH.  Have fun paying $100 to sit on those metal benches in the bleachers as they continue to price out the average fans.  Being a Sox fan is great...can walk up the day of game and sit in the lower bowl for a reasonable price.  Although that may not last for much longer with the rebuild looking ahead of schedule here.

For beer, I'd add On Tour Brewing and Great Central Brewing to your list.  2 new spots that are right by Goose Island Fulton location.  Really good places.

KC138045

ryan_kellett said:

whoyouare72 said:

KC138045 said:

Question for the Chicago peeps.  I was thinking about going to Ditka's for dinner Sunday night.  As a Bears fan I've always wanted to go there.  Is it worth it or would you recommend we go somewhere else?

Go to RPM Steak downtown

Signed.  Or Gene and Georgeti's which is a historical, signature Chicago steak joint for a lesser price than Morton's or Gibson's.

Ditka's is pretty good grub too.  It wouldn't be a foolish decision, however there are better steaks, with a better ambience.

thanks for the insight

Indifference71

KC138045 said:

Question for the Chicago peeps.  I was thinking about going to Ditka's for dinner Sunday night.  As a Bears fan I've always wanted to go there.  Is it worth it or would you recommend we go somewhere else?

It's good, but there are so many other better places downtown.  RPM Steak that was mentioned above is awesome.  Bavette's is another really good steakhouse type.  There are so many downtown that it's hard to keep track of.

Jvollman

darwinstheory said:

Just some various things to do in Chicago for those looking to kill time around the Wrigley shows:

Entertainment :

• Willis (Sears) Tower Skydeck (go early or late, but looks awesome with "the Ledge")
• Shedd Aquarium (be there by open for smaller crowd...Sunday is their slowest day)
• Field Museum 
• Museum of Science and Industry
• Adler Planetarium 
• Lincoln Park Zoo (free admission so it may get busy)
• Navy Pier (Ferris Wheel, botanical garden, etc...)
• Architecture Tour (in a boat through Chicago)
• Theater (there are plenty of them around if you want to watch a play)
• white sox game (cheap and could cross a ballpark of the list - with their weak ass fanbase, a good ticket will be easy to come by)

Food:

• Portillo's (lots of locations - Chicago Dog, Combo sandwich and chocolate cake are all fire!)
• Garrett Popcorn (lots of locations and worth a visit by all out of towners, trust me)
• Lou Malnattai's (if you feel the urge to try that Chicago style deep dish)
• Giordanno's (see above)
• Kumas Corner (it's like the 3 Floyd's of the burger world)
• Harry Caray's (downtown, it's kind of like a mini Cubs museum)
• Smoque BBQ
• Au Cheval
• Owen and Engine
• Gibsons Steakhouse 

Beer:

• Pipeworks (beer to go only, but it's good AF)
• Revolution
• Haymarket
• Half Acre
• Lagunitas
• Goose Island 
• 3 Floyd's (if you're a beer nerd with a car and willing to drive about 30 minutes south east of the city)

Hope some of this helps some people plan a little bit of extra stuff to do during your trips. I tried to keep everything within close proximity to where many out of towners will be staying. Ig you're going to be driving through NW Indiana and want some ideas for things to see/do there or SW Michigan, let me know.

Chris 

No need to be so cold to us White Sox fans!!!!

Jvollman

Indifference71 said:

darwinstheory said:

Just some various things to do in Chicago for those looking to kill time around the Wrigley shows:

Entertainment :

• Willis (Sears) Tower Skydeck (go early or late, but looks awesome with "the Ledge")
• Shedd Aquarium (be there by open for smaller crowd...Sunday is their slowest day)
• Field Museum 
• Museum of Science and Industry
• Adler Planetarium 
• Lincoln Park Zoo (free admission so it may get busy)
• Navy Pier (Ferris Wheel, botanical garden, etc...)
• Architecture Tour (in a boat through Chicago)
• Theater (there are plenty of them around if you want to watch a play)
• white sox game (cheap and could cross a ballpark of the list - with their weak ass fanbase, a good ticket will be easy to come by)

Food:

• Portillo's (lots of locations - Chicago Dog, Combo sandwich and chocolate cake are all fire!)
• Garrett Popcorn (lots of locations and worth a visit by all out of towners, trust me)
• Lou Malnattai's (if you feel the urge to try that Chicago style deep dish)
• Giordanno's (see above)
• Kumas Corner (it's like the 3 Floyd's of the burger world)
• Harry Caray's (downtown, it's kind of like a mini Cubs museum)
• Smoque BBQ
• Au Cheval
• Owen and Engine
• Gibsons Steakhouse 

Beer:

• Pipeworks (beer to go only, but it's good AF)
• Revolution
• Haymarket
• Half Acre
• Lagunitas
• Goose Island 
• 3 Floyd's (if you're a beer nerd with a car and willing to drive about 30 minutes south east of the city)

Hope some of this helps some people plan a little bit of extra stuff to do during your trips. I tried to keep everything within close proximity to where many out of towners will be staying. Ig you're going to be driving through NW Indiana and want some ideas for things to see/do there or SW Michigan, let me know.

Chris 

Typical Cubs fan talking about attendance.  SMH.  Have fun paying $100 to sit on those metal benches in the bleachers as they continue to price out the average fans.  Being a Sox fan is great...can walk up the day of game and sit in the lower bowl for a reasonable price.  Although that may not last for much longer with the rebuild looking ahead of schedule here.

For beer, I'd add On Tour Brewing and Great Central Brewing to your list.  2 new spots that are right by Goose Island Fulton location.  Really good places.

+1 on Sox

darwinstheory

Jvollman said:

No need to be so cold to us White Sox fans!!!!

Hey, the shoe was on the other foot from 2005-2016 and I took it on the chin like a champ. I try to be fair about it. I despise the Sox, but I really enjoy when both teams are really good, just like at the start of 2016. We all got to bust each others chops and it was fun. Telling someone their team sucks, when their team in fact does suck, is kind of boring after the 1st time. 

100 Pacer

ryan_kellett said:

whoyouare72 said:

KC138045 said:

Question for the Chicago peeps.  I was thinking about going to Ditka's for dinner Sunday night.  As a Bears fan I've always wanted to go there.  Is it worth it or would you recommend we go somewhere else?

Go to RPM Steak downtown

Signed.  Or Gene and Georgeti's which is a historical, signature Chicago steak joint for a lesser price than Morton's or Gibson's.

Ditka's is pretty good grub too.  It wouldn't be a foolish decision, however there are better steaks, with a better ambience.

We love hitting up Gibsons but will also usually hit up Ditka's another night as it's next door to the hotel and I definitely agree that the ambiance isn't top notch but having said that it's actually far better than I expected and we were there with little ones and the staff was fantastic and the food we ordered was well-prepared and enjoyable. 

stateofloveandpj

Ray J. T. said:

stateofloveandpj said:

How was it getting the red line post the shows in 2016?  If you waited it out a bit and not in a rush is it still crazy to head back to downtown area?  
How hard to grab an Uber again if you wait it out a bit?  
Was as there is ‘13 and it was late and crazy (but fun!)

We were able to get on the train back to downtown with absolutely no problems. Of course we never left directly after any of the shows either. After every show we hit up the bars for some drinks and some late night food. Uber was really easy to obtain as well. Never had any issues staying in Downtown and getting to any of the shows via train or uber. We will be staying in Downtown again this year. 

Thanks for the info. Plan is to take our time leaving the show and grabbing a beer before we head back to the hotel. 

Ray J. T.

stateofloveandpj said:

Ray J. T. said:

stateofloveandpj said:

How was it getting the red line post the shows in 2016?  If you waited it out a bit and not in a rush is it still crazy to head back to downtown area?  
How hard to grab an Uber again if you wait it out a bit?  
Was as there is ‘13 and it was late and crazy (but fun!)

We were able to get on the train back to downtown with absolutely no problems. Of course we never left directly after any of the shows either. After every show we hit up the bars for some drinks and some late night food. Uber was really easy to obtain as well. Never had any issues staying in Downtown and getting to any of the shows via train or uber. We will be staying in Downtown again this year. 

Thanks for the info. Plan is to take our time leaving the show and grabbing a beer before we head back to the hotel. 

That's the way to do it. We will be doing the same. Maybe we will catch each other at one of the bars before or after the shows. 

mrohaus

When I saw PJ in Wrigley 2016 I got a room at the Hilton Ohare and took the train to the show. Planning on doing the same again.

mrohaus

I may have an extra ticket though cause I just broke up with the gf.......