Accommodations
We will be staying with our families at The Hotel Palomar, and have arranged for discounted rooms for guests on Saturday and Sunday nights. The Hotel is two blocks from The Ivy Room.
The Hotel Palomar
505 North State Street (at Illinois)
(877) 731-0505
Online booking
If you are unable to complete your reservation online (e.g., preferred dates or room date not available), please email Tayler and the group manager to book.
Flights & Ground Transportation
Both O’Hare and Midway Airports are about equally accessible. We recommend using public transit (CTA ‘L’) or taxi/rideshare to travel to and from the airport. For those who do plan on renting a car or driving from the suburbs, nearby garages and ParkWhiz are significantly less expensive than the hotel valet.
Discounted parking is available at 33 W. Ontario, both for the day-of and for overnight.
For travel within the city, Uber and Lyft are both ubiquitous. The CTA buses are also surprisingly clean and usually less crowded than the trains. Passes (Ventra cards) can be purchased at any train station.
Chicago Restaurants & Activities
There is a good reason we can’t stay away from Chicago for more than a few weeks at a time, and it isn’t the weather. Check out some of the restaurants below and see for yourself:
- Fat Rice
- Giant
- Roister
- Mott Street (controversial opinion from Tayler: potentially the best burger in Chicago)
- Pequod’s Pizza
- Leña Brava
- Milt’s BBQ (kosher)
- Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba
- Green Street Smoked Meats
- Au Cheval (arrive early, and pass the 3 hr. wait at Haymarket or the terrace at RM Champagne)
- Star of Siam
- Beatrix
- Tango Sur (BYOB)
- Rickshaw Republic (BYOB)
- Quartino
- Sunny Side Up (brunch)
Eating is the number one activity in Chicago (no really, we are serious), but if you need to work off the calories, you might consider:
- Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruises (some departures include an open bar)
- The Art Institute of Chicago
- Wrigley Field (the Cubs play the Twins at home on June 30)
- The Chicago Museum Campus, home of the Aquarium, Planetarium, and Field (Natural History) Museums
- Museum of Science and Industry
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- MCA Store (does not require museum admittance)
- Lincoln Park Zoo (free admittance)
- International Museum of Surgical Science
- The Signature Lounge (a boozy, no-wait alternative to the Hancock or Sears Tower observation decks)