Chicago: towers, parks and Italian Beef

Chicago was eye-opening if not mind-blowing. I’d been there several times but the last time 10 years ago and only for an Amtrak day trip basically to the Art Institute, which hugs the northeast corner of the Loop, and not much further. This time it was a full blown, by foot, exploration of the central district, or a lot of it anyway. I had in mind a relatively small downtown and eviscerated post-pandemic office district. Yet Michigan Avenue, the main retail thoroughfare, was bubbling with pedestrians and retail including most of the main US department stores from Macy’s to Neiman Marcus to Bloomingdale’s, and a couple of swanky malls to boot. Slicing diagonally through the core is the Chicago River, with its newer Riverwalk, full of bars and eateries. Huge officer towers border both sides including one with the name of the current resident of the White House and those circular Marina Towers that used to be featured on Bob Newhart. Further north is a more placid district known as Streeterville yet still an attractive downtown-adjacent hood of towers, parks and the contemporary art museum. Not only is the core walkable but the architecture absolutely stunning. I had no idea just how many skyscrapers the city has, with novel and some iconoclastic designs. You certainly can get a sore neck looking up. And to the immediate west of the Loop is the up-and-coming Fulton Market, a hybrid of street level trendy bars and restos with former warehouse conversions into new offices including Google and Coca-Cola. People often think of Navy Pier but Millennium Park on the West Loop adds to the city greening on what used to be a rail yard. In effect the city’s lakeside parks run for mile upon mile, making for excellent cycling. I stayed in the far south end, South Holland, at yes a Super 8 (much cheaper than staying in the core) and took public transit downtown. There were a couple of alternatives: Bus 352 to the 95th St./Dan Ryan Expy Red Line “L” terminus. Or the 352 to Harvey and Metra, Chicago’s suburban commuter train system. The 352 is much slower and cuts through the city’s south side, notorious in folklore – and, ahem, - crime. But the neighbourhoods look a lot better than many in Detroit. The problem is it takes a good hour. Hopping off at the Metra in Harvey, so long as you make the  hourly schedule, is faster. I also discovered the signature dish of the Windy City. Just as Detroit has Coney Dogs and Montreal has smoked meat Chicago has Italian Beef, shredded dipped beef topped with peppers. Wonderful. 

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller