Chicago: is it really a pit?

mattsavard

How is transport getting out of the United center? Taxi/Uber/subway?  Insane or pretty easy? 

Any cool bars nearby to wait for the crowds to die down? 

May be booking lodging downtown. 

mattcoz

mattsavard said:

How is transport getting out of the United center? Taxi/Uber/subway?  Insane or pretty easy? 

Any cool bars nearby to wait for the crowds to die down? 

May be booking lodging downtown. 

Busses line up along the north side of the stadium that go downtown. Lots of bars on Madison if you walk down that way, but they're not super close.

JBob87

mattsavard said:

How is transport getting out of the United center? Taxi/Uber/subway?  Insane or pretty easy? 

Any cool bars nearby to wait for the crowds to die down? 

May be booking lodging downtown. 

There’s several buses that run right there in Madison and the Uber situation is actually pretty decent and organized. Obviously when the entire crowd is leaving it can still be a wait.

If you walk east on Madison you have a bunch of bar options. I live about a 20 min walk east so I usually just walk after shows and games. The Billy Goat tavern is a <10 min walk. Ranalli’s West Loop is a little farther (12-15 min walk) but worth it to me, it’s a great approachable sports bar with good pizza and burgers and beer on draft. Ranalli’s and Crossroads are 2 bars on Madison that should be running free shuttles to the show. So I will probably be posting up for a few beers at one of them beforehand.

The heart of the West Loop is 2 blocks north on Randolph St. There are a lot of other great bars and restaurants on that street. Kaiser Tiger is a favorite in the summer, probably a 10-15 min walk from the United Center and has a great outdoor space with some yard games (in the winter they have curling set up). 

Randolph is also home to Au Cheval which is a famous burger spot but usually comes with a multi-hour wait. They just opened a Small Cheval on Lake and Ada which is the fast casual spin off of Au Cheval. So if you want to get 90% of the same burger for moderate prices and no wait I’d recommend heading there. 

Fulton Market is nearby (30 min walk from the United Center or a 5-10 min Uber) and is yet again home to many fun bars and restaurants. Emporium is an arcade bar with ski ball and vintage arcade games. Time Out Market is a great spot for a casual bite, it is a food hall with stands from around the city (as well as a full bar). Good place to go if you’re with a big group as the seating area is huge and first come first served. They also have a large number of picnic tables on the sidewalk. 

If you want to really do it up big can recommend many of the restaurants in the area but they can be pricey. Monteverde (Italian) is my favorite, Momotaro (Japanese), El Che (Argentinian Steak House), Loyalist (French), Aba (Mediterranean), Green Street Meats (BBQ) are my favorites. 

Will be posting more as we get closer if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

mattsavard

This is fantastic info, thank you!!