Chicago
I returned to Chicago to meet up with some colleagues of mine from previous employers. I don't get to see everyone as often as I would like and was invited to a semi-reunion. For some reason, Chicago is really popular in July. Reasonable airfares were not easy to come by and I opted to fly out of Ontario Airport on this particular trip. Like any regional airport, it was quick and easy to navigate. I found a reasonable park and fly rate at the Sheraton Ontario Aiport and stayed the night. It was a nice hotel despite the negative reviews posted online. People were friendly and the shuttle service is on demand to and from the airport.
I don't believe I've ever flown out of Ontario Airport before this trip. I did find it interesting that there isn't much of a concession area inside the airport. It also seemed odd to me that half of them would be open on a Sunday, people fly in and out on Sundays too. I'm actually surprised it wasn't a busier airport given the population in the Inland Empire.
Took off on United Airlines flying through Denver. I was originally was booked through Houston so that I could grab an extra 500 miles for eqm purposes but got mixed up on the online check in. In the past, you could see flights that you can put yourself on a standby list for earlier flights. I originally thought to myself to grab an earlier flight into Chicago but I ended up confirming myself on the Denver route instead. It was cool that I was able to confirm a different flight immediately online but I would have preferred the same routing. At least the customer service folks still put me in first class even though I had lost it with the new routing.
So I was hoping that this time in Chicago I would avoid some thunderstorms. I don't fly into Chicago often but I'm now 3/3 for thunderstorms in the summer months. After some delays because of lightning, I was able to check into the Hampton Inn Chicago-O'Hare International Airport. I stayed here last time and I found the use of the Thrifty shuttles to get to the hotel a hit and miss. Sometimes it was fast, sometimes it was slow to catch. To be fair, I'm not sure if a hotel shuttle service would have been better. Bounced out to downtown after a friend landed at the airport. Earlier in the month, a Groupon deal came out with a CTA 3 day transit pass for 30% off. Of course, I bought it since I was coming to Chicago and knew I would be using the L to get around the city.
Grabbed dinner at Quartino since my friend was staying at the Marriott in the Magnificent Mile area. On a Friday night, even with thunderstorms, the downtown Chicago scene is bustling and many restaurants/bars are packed. We were able to find a spot at the bar to eat since the dining room was too full to accomodate walk-ins. I ordered the Pappardelle al Sugo di Manzo and Penne alla Vodka. Okay, I did not order two entrees. The waitress offered to split dishes of both entrees so that I could try after asking her which pasta entree I should order. I thought it was great that they would half the entrees. I'm not sure if it is the bar area only or not but I appreciated the effort. The papperdelle was really good (and it is house-made pasta) but I didn't care for the sauce. I had no complaints on the penne (imported pasta). My friend's calamari was ok but I wouldn't recommend ordering it unless you just really want to have some calamari. The pizza was good especially if you are looking for a non-deep dish pizza. I ordered dessert which ended up not tasting very good. The hot chocolate cake felt dry to me and I let the ice cream melt into it to make it more palatable. Here is where the waitress shined. She asked me if I liked it and I said not really but the ice cream was really good. She gave me an extra order of ice cream and took off the dessert charge on my bill! That's what I call great customer service. :D
Afterwards, made a pit stop at Garrett popcorn. I never understood why this was so popular, I find the popcorn overly buttery and sweet. After my friend got his popcorn fix, wandered over to the Palmer House to have drinks with friends before ending the night. The last time I walked into the Palmer House, the hotel was in the midst of renovations. It has been about 10 years since I last visited this particular hotel. It certainly has changed and their renovations have greatly enhanced the hotel. I had found it tired and never went back to this hotel again. This time around, the bars and restaurants in the hotel was very inviting. I particularly liked the afternoon tea service. It looked good from a distance. :D
The next day, I switched to the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport hotel. I found a decent prepaid rate and opted to stay inside the airport. It makes it easy to stumble to your gate if you have a 6 am flight.
I have a friend who lives out in Schaumberg and grabbed lunch with her at Sugar Bowl at 1494 N Miner St., Des Plaines, IL 60016. Not being familiar with the neighborhoods around O'hare, I found the restaurant via Yelp. Your typical town diner, the restaurant was homey and dated (in a good way). I think the restaurant owners are greek because I saw some gyro dishes on the menu. I ordered the Fiesta omelette and my friend enjoyed her Gyro omelette. I opted for the omelettes because you could get pancakes on the side and I wanted pancakes too. It wasn't super busy but it seemed a popular restaurant in this neighborhood.
Afterwards, refreshed a little in the hotel room before heading out to downtown. Grabbed a drink with a former colleague at Potter's Lounge inside the Palmer House. After drinks, headed to Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse with friends. Gibson's reputation for a steak house is well deserved after eating my rib eye. Our party was in a private dining room in the restaurant and the service was impeccable. The menu was calamari (this was really good in comparison to Quartino - ironic since both are owned by the same restaurant group), caesar salad, meat (a choice of filet, ribeye, tuna, tilapia, or sirloin), vegetable sides, and dessert (chocolate cake and turtle pie). Everything was delish. The only component I could have done without was the chocolate cake. I don't think they can do chocolate cake well given my experience here and Quartino.
After waddling out of the restaurant, had a quick nightcap at Sable Kitchen & Bar to meet up with more people. I was too full to order anything but everyone seemed to enjoy their drinks. It was a good trip as evidenced by my complete pass out on the plane on my return home. :)
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| Sheraton Ontario hotel room |
Took off on United Airlines flying through Denver. I was originally was booked through Houston so that I could grab an extra 500 miles for eqm purposes but got mixed up on the online check in. In the past, you could see flights that you can put yourself on a standby list for earlier flights. I originally thought to myself to grab an earlier flight into Chicago but I ended up confirming myself on the Denver route instead. It was cool that I was able to confirm a different flight immediately online but I would have preferred the same routing. At least the customer service folks still put me in first class even though I had lost it with the new routing.
So I was hoping that this time in Chicago I would avoid some thunderstorms. I don't fly into Chicago often but I'm now 3/3 for thunderstorms in the summer months. After some delays because of lightning, I was able to check into the Hampton Inn Chicago-O'Hare International Airport. I stayed here last time and I found the use of the Thrifty shuttles to get to the hotel a hit and miss. Sometimes it was fast, sometimes it was slow to catch. To be fair, I'm not sure if a hotel shuttle service would have been better. Bounced out to downtown after a friend landed at the airport. Earlier in the month, a Groupon deal came out with a CTA 3 day transit pass for 30% off. Of course, I bought it since I was coming to Chicago and knew I would be using the L to get around the city.
Grabbed dinner at Quartino since my friend was staying at the Marriott in the Magnificent Mile area. On a Friday night, even with thunderstorms, the downtown Chicago scene is bustling and many restaurants/bars are packed. We were able to find a spot at the bar to eat since the dining room was too full to accomodate walk-ins. I ordered the Pappardelle al Sugo di Manzo and Penne alla Vodka. Okay, I did not order two entrees. The waitress offered to split dishes of both entrees so that I could try after asking her which pasta entree I should order. I thought it was great that they would half the entrees. I'm not sure if it is the bar area only or not but I appreciated the effort. The papperdelle was really good (and it is house-made pasta) but I didn't care for the sauce. I had no complaints on the penne (imported pasta). My friend's calamari was ok but I wouldn't recommend ordering it unless you just really want to have some calamari. The pizza was good especially if you are looking for a non-deep dish pizza. I ordered dessert which ended up not tasting very good. The hot chocolate cake felt dry to me and I let the ice cream melt into it to make it more palatable. Here is where the waitress shined. She asked me if I liked it and I said not really but the ice cream was really good. She gave me an extra order of ice cream and took off the dessert charge on my bill! That's what I call great customer service. :D
Afterwards, made a pit stop at Garrett popcorn. I never understood why this was so popular, I find the popcorn overly buttery and sweet. After my friend got his popcorn fix, wandered over to the Palmer House to have drinks with friends before ending the night. The last time I walked into the Palmer House, the hotel was in the midst of renovations. It has been about 10 years since I last visited this particular hotel. It certainly has changed and their renovations have greatly enhanced the hotel. I had found it tired and never went back to this hotel again. This time around, the bars and restaurants in the hotel was very inviting. I particularly liked the afternoon tea service. It looked good from a distance. :D
The next day, I switched to the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport hotel. I found a decent prepaid rate and opted to stay inside the airport. It makes it easy to stumble to your gate if you have a 6 am flight.
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| Hilton O'Hare room |
Afterwards, refreshed a little in the hotel room before heading out to downtown. Grabbed a drink with a former colleague at Potter's Lounge inside the Palmer House. After drinks, headed to Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse with friends. Gibson's reputation for a steak house is well deserved after eating my rib eye. Our party was in a private dining room in the restaurant and the service was impeccable. The menu was calamari (this was really good in comparison to Quartino - ironic since both are owned by the same restaurant group), caesar salad, meat (a choice of filet, ribeye, tuna, tilapia, or sirloin), vegetable sides, and dessert (chocolate cake and turtle pie). Everything was delish. The only component I could have done without was the chocolate cake. I don't think they can do chocolate cake well given my experience here and Quartino.
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| W.R.'s Chicago Cut |
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| Turtle Pie |
After waddling out of the restaurant, had a quick nightcap at Sable Kitchen & Bar to meet up with more people. I was too full to order anything but everyone seemed to enjoy their drinks. It was a good trip as evidenced by my complete pass out on the plane on my return home. :)
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