Chicago: June 2003

June 2003 for Lauren's Graduation:

Omni Chicago Link to my review
Goose Island Brewing Company Link to my review
Cubs Game
Navy Pier
Second City Link to my review
Chicago Theatre
Spiaggia Link to my review
Bennetts

Holiday Inn St Charles Link to my review

Chicago: Holiday Inn St. Charles (June 2003)

Coming Soon!

Chicago: Omni Chicago (June 2003)

My spouse and I stayed at the Omni Chicago for three nights in early-June 2003 to attend a family member’s graduation from medical school. (We stayed at this property for the first time in mid-August 2001.) The Omni Chicago Hotel is located at the center of Chicago’s most prestigious neighborhood, 3 blocks from the shores of Lake Michigan and around the corner from St. James Cathedral. The Museum of Contemporary Art is a 5-minute walk, and the "L" train stop is at Chicago and State, 4 blocks away. This property claims to be the only all-suite luxury accommodations on Michigan Avenue. The hotel features 347 all-suite guest rooms, an indoor swimming pool, two outdoor sundecks on the fifth floor, a spa, and a rooftop garden. Private suites are approximately 400 square feet and include an elegant parlor separated by classic French doors, two telephones, two televisions. The 676 Restaurant and Bar is an American bistro overlooking Michigan Avenue that serves comfort food.

Chicago: Spiaggia (June 2003)

My spouse and I dined for lunch at Spiaggia in mid-June 2003 with several family members as part of a graduation luncheon celebration. With sweeping views of Lake Michigan, Spiaggia ushers in the next era of dining. Spirited Italian cuisine, prized wines, imaginative cocktails and a world-class model of hospitality define the next generation of this iconic restaurant experience. Spiaggia celebrates Sprezzatura, the Italian term for nonchalant elegance. Spiaggia sets the standard for creative Italian cuisine, earning four-star reviews, international praise and numerous awards, including a 2014 nomination for Outstanding Restaurant from the James Beard Foundation. With Chef-partner Tony Mantuano and Executive Chef Chris Marchino at the helm, Spiaggia takes guests on a culinary journey. It begins with a sense of Italy’s heritage and its finest ingredients, which then guide menus crafted with verve and imagination. Each visit is an occasion, marking a milestone or simply celebrating the everyday. The experience is always an evening to be remembered. As the only four-star Italian restaurant in Chicago, Spiaggia has become synonymous with celebrations. It was a vision realized 30 years ago when owner Larry Levy founded Spiaggia to be the crown jewel at 980 N. Michigan Ave. Over the years, Spiaggia has become a “must dine” destination for locals and visitors alike. The Hollywood elite, the biggest marquee musicians and the most renowned luminaries, from presidents to international leaders, have dined at Spiaggia. But it’s most indelible mark has been the founding premise—honoring the craft of modern Italian dining. The cuisine, innovative yet mindful of tradition, an equally splendid wine list and precise service have paved the way for numerous accolades and a dedicated following from one generation to the next. Celebrating its third decade, Spiaggia continues to evolve and modernize. The views of Lake Michigan still provide a setting unlike any other. In 2014, a complete redesign of the dining room and bar and the addition of the Spiaggia lounge united Spiaggia’s storied past with its modern present. James Beard Award winner Tony Mantuano is an influential culinary force, a chef who has been on the ground floor of defining true Italian cuisine in the United States. In addition to his role as chef-partner at Spiaggia, Mantuano is the chef-partner at River Roast, situated on the Chicago River; Bar Toma, an Italian neighborhood pizzeria and bar; Terzo Piano, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant at The Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago; and he is the owner of Mangia Trattoria, a classic Italian restaurant in his hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mantuano is a recipient of the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Midwest and the Chicago Tribune’s Good Eating Award, which honors achievement in the food and restaurant industry. Outside of the kitchen, Mantuano is often recognized for his participation on Season Two of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters. His other projects include cookbook collaborations with Cathy Mantuano, a wine expert and former manager of Spiaggia. The husband and wife team authored “The Spiaggia Cookbook” and “Wine Bar Food.”

Chicago: Goose Island Brewing Company (June 2003)

My spouse and I dined for lunch at Goose Island Brewing Company with several family members prior to attending a Chicago Cubs game. Goose Island Brewery began as a single brewpub known as Clybourn, which was opened in May 1988 by John Hall in Lincoln Park. The larger brewery (as we know it today) was opened in 1995, while the second brewpub, Wrigleyville, was opened in 1999. Goose Island has two brewpubs that both serve brunch, lunch, and dinner. The Clybourn location has specialty food items, such as duck, rabbit, and truffle aioli served with French fries. They serve anything from a burger and fries to homemade sausages and PEI mussels. The Wrigleyville location serves mostly pub food like burgers and chicken. The brewpubs are supplied by local farmers who raise natural meats; many of the animals are fed the same wheat and grain that was previously used to make the beer, as one sign reads "Beer Fed Pork Served Here."

Theatre: Second City in Chicago (June 2003)

The Second City is best known as the first ever on-going improvisational theater troupe based in Chicago, but it also has programs that run out of Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre opened in 1959, and has since become one of the most influential and prolific comedy theatres in the world.

The Second City has produced television programs in both Canada and the United States, including SCTV, Saturday Night Live, Second City Presents, and Next Comedy Legend. Since its debut, the Second City has consistently been a starting point for comedians, award-winning actors, directors, and others in show business such as Bill Murray, John Candy, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Cecily Strong among many others.

The Second City chose its self-mocking name from the title of an article about Chicago that appeared in The New Yorker in 1952. In 1959, the first Second City revue show premiered at 1842 North Wells Street, and the company moved a few blocks south, to 1616 North Wells, in 1967. The theater was founded as a place where scenes and story were created improvisationally, using techniques that grew out of the innovative techniques developed and taught there, later known as Theater Games. The cabaret theater comedy style of the Second City tended towards satire and commentary of current social norms and political figures and events.

Eventually, the theater expanded to include three touring companies and a second resident company, and now fosters a company devoted to outreach and diversity. The style of comedy has changed with time, but the format has remained constant. Second City revues feature a mix of semi-improvised and scripted scenes with new material developed during unscripted improv sessions after the second act, where scenes are created based on audience suggestions.