Our second day in Chicago started slowly. We took our time getting up, then I hit the hotel gym. By the time we were ready to get breakfast, it was 10:30 AM. We planned on eating at the hotel, but they stopped serving at 10 AM. The hostess suggested a place a few blocks away and off we went…
[Eggsperience Cafe]
Location: 35 W. Ontario
Website: EggsperienceCafe.com
About 5 blocks from our hotel, Eggspereince Cafe was a great way to start our morning. Even though it was light and open, Eggsperience was packed with people. Since I knew I was going to be eating terrible the rest of the day, I decided oatmeal and egg whites were in order. Even with the less-than-exciting ingredients, my meal was delicious. Allison’s vegetable crapes were too much for her to handle. Our service was extremely quick and we were in and out in 30 minutes.
[Tickets Again]
After our breakfast, we walked over to the tourism office to see if they had tickets for Second City again. They didn’t. They girl gave us a phone number to call and Allison managed to snag tickets to the 11 PM show (I was going to have so much fun trying to stay up). We headed back to the hotel area and I run into a used book store to get something to read on the flight home.
After buy a few books, we freshened up at the hotel and headed back to the “Red Line” to take us to Wrigley Field.
[Cubs vs. Pirates]
Like our last trip, Wrigley Field is always an interesting experience. IT WAS PACKED. PACKED doesn’t do it justice. After navigating our way through the sea of people, we managed to get to our seats, and I was pleased with our location: right behind home plate. The people around us were great, the weather was awesome. We decided to leave a little early to enjoy the weather/city and the Cubs were in the lead.
I checked the score later and they lost 10-7. Busted.
[Weber Grill]
Location: 539 N. State St.
Website: Weber’s Grill
After walking around the city and enjoying a wine reception at our hotel, we headed over to the Weber Grill for dinner. Since the weather was mild (and they had outdoor heaters) my wife requested outdoor seating. While the weather was nice, the seats were TERRIBLE. They really impacted my enjoyment of the meal.
Seating aside, the food was very good. It wasn’t mind blowing. I don’t know if red meat at a restaurant will ever blow my mind since my old man is the king of steak. My brisket was cooked well, but I think it should have been taken off the grill a little sooner (and that would make sense since it took a long time for the main course to come out).
Overall, it was a good experience, not great.
[Second City]
Location: 1616 N Wells St.
Website: SecondCity.com
Show: The Taming of the Flu
After a “itis”-induced rest thanks to Webers, we headed over to Wells Street. Second City is one of the few places there isn’t easy public transportation to, but a $7 dollar cab right isn’t going to break the bank. Earlier in the day, the teller recommended getting there early since our general admission tickets could put us anywhere. We arrived at 10:20 PM and ended up getting great seats a few rows back from the stage.
The show was very much in the same template as the Stud Turkel show we saw last May. I was pleased to recognize some of the same cast as well. The show was funny, took shots at the city of Chicago, the nation, the state of the economy, education and whatever else they came up with.
The cast seemed to be having a lot of fun as they “broke character” a few times and actually laughed during the skits. I always like when that happens on SNL. My wife hoped there were more interactive parts like the Turkel Show, but I can see how that’s a gamble if you pick a lame duck in the audience. I had a great time and managed to stay awake during the show.
We got back to the hotel around 1:30 AM and I was exhausted. I am curious what tomorrow (actually today) brings since we don’t have tickets, plans, or an agenda. Free form vacation day in Chicago, tune in tomorrow to find out what happens.
Click on the link to read: Day 3