Events We're Checking Out (March 27 - April 2)
In addition to our guides, here are a few events we find interesting this week....
We’re traveling to Fullerton Avenue in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood to visit a bowling alley with a rich history as the center of Chicago's pun...
We’re going music and book shopping in Andersonville today. The great thing about record stores and bookstores is that you don’t have to buy anything...
We've planned a whole night, all within a one-block radius right off the Damen Blue Line Station. It starts with New Haven-style pizza at a brewery wi...
Ask any group of Chicagoans about their favorite taqueria and you'll get different answer from each. For this guide, you're going to eat at a place th...
No matter the weather, it's worth venturing Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood and making several stops on Southport Avenue, a thoroughfare bustling with...
No matter how long you've lived in Chicago, there will always be those frigid winter days where you just can't shake the cold. I'm talking about the t...
If you're part of the work-from-home crowd, I'm guessing that at some point, you may have gone days without stepping foot outside. It's a disconcertin...
10 pieces of Korean chicken, 30 plays, and 68 draft lines. That's the setup for this evening excursion in Andersonville. It starts with a late din...
When the cold weather strikes, this guide has you cooking up some eats to keep warm -- or should I say hot -- hot pot that is. To get started, you'l...
This itinerary is part of our "Known/Unknown" series, where we pair a Chicago landmark with overlooked places nearby. For fans of literature and archi...
This guide has all the necessary ingredients for a terrific Sunday Funday outing. It starts in Wicker Park at a comic-book themed burger joint that pa...
While the rest of the city sleeps, this guide has you going on a midnight escapade through Logan Square and Bucktown. You'll start at a late-night...
We're hanging out in the Near North neighborhood to shop, eat pancakes and Croatian sausages, and visit places that blur the line between dining and r...
We're taking advantage of living next to a giant freshwater lake and have you going on a fishing 101 expedition. You'll get outfitted with fishing gea...
We're hopping on the Brown line for this guide to see what we'll find if we take it all the way to the last stop (Kimball). Once you get off the trai...
We've got a relaxing picnic planned inside a garden, that in the words of Alfred Caldwell, was "planned as a sanctuary of the native landscape, a plac...
We're taking you on nighttime adventure in Chinatown where you'll grab drinks in a backroom cocktail bar and then you'll have a family style Cantonese...
This guide has you travelling 30 miles from the city and spending the day jumping off 90 foot climbing walls, ziplining across a lake, and traversing...
How far are you willing to travel for a hot dog? We’re here to figure that out. You’ll grab your bike and take it on the Metra all the way to Libertyv...
We've got a wholesome Sunday morning planned in Rogers Park. It starts at a small Korean-American breakfast diner run by Susie, the Korean grandma you...
For this guide, we're combing good food, music, and board games all into one wonderful evening. You start at a 40+ year old French bistro for crepes,...
Pilsen is a mecca for vintage shoppers and the plan for this guide is to bounce around to four different shops, each with a different era of fashion a...
This guide has you going deep inside a forest preserve where you'll camp along the shores of a small lake, do a bit of hiking, and hang by a campfire....
We've got a lazy Sunday in West Loop on the books. The day starts a local non-profit bookstore to dig through their collection of new and used books....
There's a large residential section of Bucktown with an eclectic mix of historic greystones, two-flats, and multi-million dollar modern homes. It's th...
We're taking the Red Line to go on a food expedition that starts in Chinatown and ends on the far North side in Little Saigon. We'll make a few stops...
This guide has you exploring Chicago by train. You'll be visiting five different places off five different Brown Line stations. You'll start with pie,...
About an hour outside of Chicago, there are thousands of scientists from all over the world working to answer fundamental questions about space, life,...
This is part of our “Known / Unknown” series. For each guide in this series, we pair a classic, essential landmark with an overlooked place nearby. To...
When the weather finally turns for the better, a long walk through the city might just be what you need to shake off the winter blues. This guide take...
This week's guide takes you to Garfield Park in search of a bit of inspiration. The first stop is to one of the oldest and largest conservatories in t...
Chicago's history has been shaped by different waves of immigrants from all over the world, and we're celebrating part of that history with a visit to...
This guide has you going on a classic neighborhood walkabout around Humboldt Park. It starts with a Coney Island hot dog at a corner hot dog shack. Yo...
This guide takes you on a mini Swedish adventure in Andersonville that works great as a chill Sunday afternoon outing. This is a historically Swedish...
In Rogers Park, there's a narrow cobblestone street full of shops and bars that feels more like old world Europe than it does Chicago. This guide has...
We're headed to Lakeview for a low key date night of comfort food, libations, and live music. You'll start at a neighborhood cocktail bar for pre-dinn...
If you're looking to avoid the crowds at Christkindlmarket at all costs but still want some German festive cheer, then this is the guide for you. We'r...
This guide starts with drinks at an exclusive basement speakeasy in Lakeview. Afterwards we have two live shows to choose from depending on your mood....
We're headed to Logan Square and visiting a stretch of Armitage Avenue with everything you need for good times. It starts with burritos at a mom-and-p...
This guide has us venturing out into the deep dark abyss, a terrifying hellscape for 20-somethings living in the city. That's right, we're headed to t...
We visit the past and peer into the future all in one guide. You'll make your way to Evanston to visit Northwestern University. It starts with a tour...
This guide is part of our "Known/Unknown" series where we pair an essential Chicago landmark with some more obscure spots nearby. It starts with a lei...
We’re going on a night time adventure in Roscoe Village for burgers, cocktails, live jazz, and a comedy show in the back of a bar. This isn’t any come...
Friday and Saturday nights tend to get all the glory, so we’re going to show Thursday night some love and paint the Uptown drinks, and dancing. Why Th...
This guide has you strolling through fields of wild flowers and exploring an island nature preserve on the South Side. But before that, you'll grab br...
Chicago's improv and comedy scene is unrivaled. You can find a show nearly every night of the week, but more often than not, that means hanging out so...
Walking through Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood is the like the real life version of scrolling through Zillow and daydreaming about the type of plac...
This guide takes us to Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood, where we'll spend the afternoon doing a reverse progressive lunch. We start with dessert and...
Puck rock culture in the 1970s ushered in Chicago's DIY (do-it-yourself) scene. It was a movement led by artists and musicians who wanted to circumven...
During the summer, Rogers Park can feel like a mini-beach town if you know the right spots to visit. For this guide, we've got an afternoon beach trip...
This guide has us visiting Chinatown but we won't be getting there by car, train, bus, or bike. In fact, for our mode of transportation, we won't need...
This guide has you spending your afternoon in Logan Square and Avondale. It starts with you feasting on elevated bar food in a quiet residential corne...
There's been a big flurry of development along the Chicago River over the past few years. A lot of the attention has been on downtown's river walk and...
This night is about good eats and good drinks. You'll start things off with a dining extravaganza brought to you by a Michelin starred chef on a quiet...
There's a misconception out there that you're either a dog person or a cat person, and you've got to date someone with a matching preference. For this...
Every neighborhood has that one classic Chicago corner bar that everyone loves. For this guide, we're visiting three neighborhoods and their corner di...
There are no shortage of outdoor markets when summer rolls around, and for today's guide we'll be visiting two staples on the the South Side. You'll f...
When most folks think of Japanese cuisine, they think of either sushi or hibachi. This guide features neither. Instead, we start this guide with Osaka...
We’ve got a full night of paranormal haunts and magic. It starts at a classic English pub in the heart of Lakeview, where the ghost of a young woman i...
Twenty-five years ago, on the southern end of the Roscoe Village neighborhood, an eight-block stretch of Belmont Avenue was home to 'Antiques Row.' At...
If you take a look at a Chicago neighborhood map, you'll find a tiny triangle shaped neighborhood sandwiched between Andersonville and Ravenswood. Thi...
For this guide, we're combining good food, board games, and cupcakes all into one wonderful evening in Lakeview. We start at a family-owned Mexican re...
We're hitting the road for a weekend trip to Wisconsin. It starts with a 2.5-hour drive to Madison, Wisconsin, our home base for the weekend. After ge...
The night starts and ends in Logan Square. We kick things off with a 3-hour wheel throwing workshop at pottery studio . We then decompress with your c...
We're hanging out in Bridgeport and going on a classic neighborhood walkabout. It starts off with coffee at a beloved neighborhood cafe, and then you'...
This guide requires you to start with an empty stomach, because you'll be merrily strolling through South Loop and the Near South Side, eating and dri...
We've got a classic daytime date on the docket. We're hanging out in Uptown and ease into things at a rustic coffee shop for some good conversation ov...
If there was a word to describe this guide, it would be "appreciation." We're spending the afternoon at a museum that, for the past three decades, has...
We're headed to West Town and to a part of the neighborhood that lots of us have probably passed by without giving it a second thought. But if you loo...
Being in the middle of the city doesn't mean we have to give up on enjoying green space. We're spending the day at Northerly Island, a former airplane...
This week's guide get's us out of the house for a quick mental health recharge. We're headed to Lincoln Park where we start the day munching on crepes...
For many of us Chicagoans, wintertime means hibernating inside, curled under a heavy blanket, and waiting for the worst of winter to pass. Well for t...
We're taking a trip to Chicago's South Shore where we'll be visiting a monstrous relic from an abandoned steel complex. This once busy industrial comp...
This week’s socially distanced guide will let you enjoy that classic dinner and a movie date all from the comfort of your car. We will be driving down...
Put on your hiking shoes because you're visiting a former toboggan hill converted into an outdoor fitness center in the woods. Afterward, you'll set o...
Pack the car because you're going on a day trip to Southwest Michigan. It's close to a 2-hour drive, and if you're going during the right time of year...
Put on a comfy pair of walking shoes and bring your appetite because you're venturing out on a day trip to Lockport, Illinois. You'll start the day wi...
This guide takes us to Chicago’s Southwest side. We’ll be exploring Little Village, or La Villita as the locals know it. Considered to be one of the c...
This guide takes us to Chicago's Northwest side. We're going to spend the morning hiking through a beautifully preserved nature center with trails cov...
Get your walking shoes ready, because we're going on an old fashioned neighborhood walkabout. The plan for the day is a one mile jaunt through Lincoln...
For this guide, we're keeping it low-key and spending the afternoon in Ukrainian Village for a Sunday Funday. You'll start the afternoon at a tiny, ba...
Travel south along the Lakefront Trail and you'll eventually reach the entrance to a South Side palace. Sitting on over 70 acres, this public space, d...
For this guide you'll be grubbing at the back of a Korean grocery store, and afterwards, you'll take some to-go dumplings and head down the street to...
As we spend more time in our homes, the humble houseplant is something that doesn't go unnoticed. A little greenery can brighten up a room, it can pur...
We're headed about 45 minutes from Chicago to visit that other nationally recognized zoo in the Greater Chicago area. This is a particularly good guid...
Imagine Chicago with mountains in the distance. Nobody would ever leave. While we don't have mountains, there are still places to hike to get a little...
For this guide we’re off to Illinois State Beach Park where we’ll be camping right off the coast of Lake Michigan. Here are the highlights in this gui...
We're headed to Chatham on Chicago's South Side. For this guide, we met up with Jahmal Cole, founder of My Block, My Hood, My City, a Chicago non-prof...
About 18,000 years ago, Illinois and Wisconsin were covered under a big sheet of glacial ice. Eventually, these massive glaciers began to retreat, bu...
For this guide, we head to the Southwest Chicago neighborhood of Bridgeport to get some donuts and take a stroll through what once was a 27 acre rock...
While stay at home orders are in full force, one thing we're still allowed to do is visit the surrounding forest preserves while practicing physical d...
This guide takes us to the heart of Hyde Park where we'll start the day with breakfast at President Obama's favorite diner. We'll then take a short st...
On a wet and dreary day, you might find the urge to cancel plans and just hole up inside your house. Well, we've got something better in mind to cure...
No matter how long you've been in Chicago, the city's skyline and its architecture will always find a way to stop you in your tracks in a daze of wond...
For this guide we're headed all the way to 112th street on Chicago's South side where we'll tour a historic neighborhood and learn a little bit about...
We're doing a bit of exploring on the far Northwest side and doing some neighborhood hopping in Chicago's Old Irving Park, Avondale, and Portage Park...
Late night brews and eats are the focus of this guide. We’re headed to Avondale, a diverse working class neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest side that...
The truth is that there are a million and one ways to have a classic Chicago outing. It’s the blessing and curse of living in a city with as many beau...
Cemeteries aren’t all headstones and hauntings… okay, so there are a lot of headstones. But many of them are incredible works of art. So today, you'll...
On the first Saturday of every month, there's a former church, turned circus training and performance center, that opens up its doors for a show. For...
We're going to head to Oak Park to visit the home of the greatest American architect to have ever lived. From downtown, we're hopping on the CTA Green...
For this week's guide, we're headed to Little Italy on Chicago's Southwest side, and exploring it two different ways. It's kind of like a 'pick-your-a...
We're headed on an adventure to small town America just 40 miles west of Chicago. On this guide we're hopping on the Metra to Geneva, IL and starting...
For this guide, grab the fishing pole and tackle box from storage, because we'll be relaxing by a lagoon and doing some fishing in Humboldt Park. Afte...
Here's a fun fact for this guide. About 425 million years ago, Chicago was actually located south of the equator in a tropical sea. You can see eviden...
For all you dog owners, you know that sinking feeling you get as you hear your dog whimpering while you walk out of the house. Well, for this guide,...
There's something about pitching a tent and sitting around a campfire to make us forget about our worries. For Chicagoans, a camping trip normally mea...
We're headed to Chicago's Southwest side, and spending the evening feasting on a mashup menu of Korean-inspired Polish food. We'll then walk down the...
This guide is all about to getting cultured. We start in the Loop at a Russian tea house to talk current events while sipping tea and snacking on a li...
A while back we took advantage of the Metra train's $8 all-you-can ride weekend pass and visited a forest preserve on Chicago's far North side. We're...
This guide is for the whisky connoisseurs out there. We're visiting a back room bar to peruse a list of over 400 whiskys and afterwards we head five m...
Andersonville is, without a doubt, one of Chicago’s most personality-filled neighborhoods. From its Swedish heritage to its catering towards the LGBTQ...
This guide has us in Lakeview and starts off with a nice wholesome evening of Korean fried chicken and cupcakes. Our wholesome night starts to take a...
We're taking a short trip outside the city to hike through a 2,500 acre forest preserve. We start by grabbing coffee at a quirky and retro coffee hous...
There's probably nothing more universal than sharing a good meal with family and friends. That's why we're hanging out around Edgewater and Uptown for...
If you're on Fulton Market Street in the West Loop neighborhood and you start walking west, the crowds get smaller and smaller, the trendy bars and re...
For this guide, we're taking out the bikes and doing some heavy duty pedaling across Chicago. We're headed to the North Branch Trail, and we'll go 21...
For this guide, we're headed about an hour away and crossing over to Indiana where we we'll be hiking through sand dunes and some of the most beautifu...
For this guide we’re heading 1.5 hours out of Chicago for an easy day trip exploring canyons, waterfalls, and indulging in cajun cuisine. Here are th...
The subject of this guide: chicken wings. The neighborhood: West Town. There is an above average amount of wonderful wings west of the river, and beca...
When life gets busy and stressful, sometimes we just need to take a moment to swing and hit stuff really hard. Well, that's what we'll be doing with t...
A good neighborhood is one that can offer entertainment and good hangs at any time of day. We love West Town for that. Its nightlife scene continues t...
We're headed to Pilsen for this guide and doing a neighborhood walkabout to catch some of the sights and sounds of the area. The neighborhood is const...
Sometimes the gray and wet Chicago winters can put us in a funk. We don't want to go anywhere, and weekend plans consist of bundling up at home with s...
For this week's guide we're adding another edition to our Known/Unknown series where we pair a classic, essential landmark with an overlooked place ne...
We're spending the day getting cultured on a museum crawl on the South Side. We'll be visiting a fine arts museum on the University of Chicago's campu...
Welcome to Part II of our Michigan Road Trip guide. Last week we stopped by Saugatuck, Michigan for some boating, hiking, and beach time. For Part II,...
We're hitting the road with this guide and heading east to visit our neighbors and friends in Michigan. There are a number of summer vacation towns al...
For this week’s guide, we’re taking you on an overnight trip to that other big city on Lake Michigan. I’m talking about Milwaukee, which is a real eas...
We've got another guide to add to our Known/Unknown series where we pair an essential Chicago landmark with overlooked places nearby. Today we're on a...
This is a guide when the weather is warm you're in the mood to grill food by the lake, throw the old pig skin around, and picnic in the grass. To sta...
This guide is part of our Good Eats series where we find food spots around the city that we think are worthy of going out of your way to visit. We hav...
It's the third Friday of the month and that means hundreds of artists in Bridgeport open up their studios to the public. Tonight we're headed to a few...
Follow along with our shenanigans and embark on this 3-stop cocktail tour in West Town that ends with deliciously juicy burgers and whatever self-resp...
Hidden amongst factories and warehouses in Chicago’s Elston Industrial Corridor, we will eat, drink, and jam to live music. Here are the highlights....
This guide targets a very specific demographic of people who love Japanese food and culture and are willing to travel to the Northwest Chicago suburbs...
