Chicago

I headed out to Chicago for my comp exams. Unfortunately, I was not able to convince my work to fund the trip but I was able to work remotely for a day to avoid using vacation time. I flew out on United Airlines on a red eye flight. I checked into the Doubletree O'Hare Airport hotel. They were nice enough to let me check in even though it was 6 am. I grabbed a quick nap before heading into work for the day. I don't usually hang out in the merchandise mart area and found it interesting. It isn't a touristy area but lunch options aren't bad.

Switched hotels to the Hampton Inn Chicago O'Hare Airport hotel the next day. Interestingly, this Hampton Inn uses the Thrifty car rental shuttle to shuttle guests to and from the airport. I guess the arrangement must work well for them. I wonder if there is a Thrifty discount for guests??? In the evening, I went out for happy hour at Allstars Bar & Grill. I was told the burgers are great here. I was joshing for Portillo's but got voted out by the local. Even though the burgers were huge and "formed by hand," I was unimpressed and the service was slow. Overall, I still enjoyed the company and it was still a nice finish considering I was taking exams all day.
Crossing the bridge to get to bar
Said bridge

Wandered over to Macy's in the downtown Chicago area (on State Street) in search of a jacket. Unfortunately, it was not summertime in Chicago. I was prepared for the thunderstorms but not the 50 degree weather! I will say that the Macy's is impressive in Chicago. A throwback to when a department stores were destinations. It is on par with the NYC and SF locations.
Ceiling of the Macy's department store

Went back to the Doubletree O'hare Airport hotel the next day. On my last night in Chicago, I went out to Gino's East for Chicago deep dish pizza in the Magnificent Mile area. I'm not a fan of the cornmeal crust but the sausage drew the hard core sausage lovers in the group. As you can guess, Gino's is known for their sausage. I had the fire pizza and it had a nice flavor; not actually spicy though. Afterwards, went by Grand Lux Cafe to order dessert for take away. I opted for the dulce de leche cheesecake. Since most of downtown Chicago was packed with patrons, finished off the night at Pizzeria Ora which is part of the Best Western hotel. They were nice enough to let me eat my cheesecake; restaurant was mostly empty. Had some drinks with dessert before hitting the sack.

The next day, I went out to Gene and Jude's Red Hot Stand on 2720 River Rd, River Grove, IL 60171 which was an easy 10 minute drive from the airport. The place is known for its hot dogs. You can get single or double hot dogs topped with condiments and smothered with fries. I think this place was featured on a Food Network show but I can't remember. It is a popular place and I never saw the parking lot empty in the time I ordered and ate. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about but it was interesting to eat hot dogs the way they made it. Afterwards, headed back to the airport and mosied on home.

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