where we've been and where we're going

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A Conference and Sports Weekend in Chicago

I visited Chicago this past weekend for a professional conference, but I still tried to enjoy the city as much as I could with little spare time and even less spare money. As soon as we arrived, five friends and I made our way out the red line to Wrigley for a Cubs/Astros day game! It started cool, so I wore like four layers of clothing, but sitting in the sun and drinking a hot chocolate made it much better after a while. Being a Cards fan, I did not wear Cubs gear, though I did wear blue so as not to be beaten in the bleachers. We sat in the lower bleachers in center field. Being someone who has been to more than a few baseball games in her life, I must say that there's nothing quite like being in the bleachers in Wrigley Field. I personally feel St. Louis fans are the best fans in baseball, but Cubs fans are of a whole different breed. Great knowledge of the players and the game, and more heckling than makes me feel comfortable. Whenever the Cubs get a run, all of the fans in the bleachers pass around high-fives like they're all neighbors. It's something. Cubs lost (which I'll admit was fine with me, though a win would have been fun, too).

We then set off to celebrate the post-game in the bars of Wrigleyville. After trying to get into the Cubby Bear and finding it packed to the brim with young folks, we made our way to Goose Island, a micro-brewery nearby. As you might guess, they brew their own beer. Of course, I think beer is disgusting, so I had a rootbeer float with Goose Island root beer--made with real sugar! It was delicious. Successful rootbeer...check.

We then went back to the hotel to pick up Andrew and Terry and find deep-dish pizza. To refer again to my St. Louis roots, I like my pizza made with provel cheese and cracker-thin crust. But one has to eat deep-dish in Chicago! So we went to Giordano's, where not only is it deep dish, but it's stuffed with all the toppings in the middle of the pizza. Such a concept is madness. But oh so delicious.

The next morning, S and I presented our paper and then went to another panel. Then I went shopping. Our hotel was in the loop district, and that's where I shopped. I bought a new suit! I'm sure to get a job in this getup. That afternoon we walked across the river to Mother Hubbard's, a sports pub with tons of screens and a great local feel to watch the NCAA semifinal games. The drinks were expensive, but the food was okay. In particular, the onion rings were rockin'. I had picked UCLA to win the whole shebang, so I found the first game disappointing, but at least Kansas won. Root root for the midwest! It was a really great place to watch the games...dark, yummy, and loud with sports cheers.

I attended one more panel the next morning, and then we had to check out of the hotel and wander until we had to leave for the airport. So we had coffee and tea at Ada's--we didn't eat, but we'd had brunch there before and really enjoyed it. Not much to look at, but breakfast is yummy. We then dropped Andrew off to head to the airport, shopped a little, and moved on to lunch. We tried this new chain called Wow Bao in the Renaissance Hotel. In Asia, bao are stuffed yeast buns that are common fast food items....just buns stuffed with meat and vegetables. Wow Bao is the first American chain to offer these. They're delicious! I also had yummy hibiscus tea, and they offer handmade ginger ale (which I didn't try but sounds awesome). It feels very trendy and California-yuppy, but that doesn't change the deliciousness or the novelty. I recommend it.

Then boring homework in the hotel, a ride to MDW, and a ridiculously difficult crossword puzzle later (still unfinished!), we returned to Atlanta. Successful weekend, though severely lacking in tourism. Next time.

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