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Posted on 6/29/23 at 7:46 pm
Posted by brightside878
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
1563 posts
Posted on 6/29/23 at 7:46 pm
Planning a buddy’s bachelor party, and we’re going to the Packers/Saints game in September.

Plan is to get to Chicago on Friday, hang out a couple nights there then go up to Green Bay on a bus from Chicago Sunday morning early.

For those of you who know, what’s the best place to stay in the city for a couple nights of dinner and going out?

I’ve been several times, but only wife and I. Is there an area with a good concentration of bars? The Cubs will be in town. Is wrigleyville the play on Saturday?

All insight much appreciated
Posted by surprisewitness
Littleton, CO
Member since Apr 2013
556 posts
Posted on 6/29/23 at 9:58 pm to
I don't want to be responsible for you dying but my the company I work for has an office at the edge of the loop in the old post office. Lots of great restaurants and bars in the area. I highly recommend Bereket Turkish restaurant. The Turkish pizza was amazing. If you want a top notch bar, I suggest Kumiko, it's a little bit out of the loop.
Posted by The Boat
Member since Oct 2008
164116 posts
Posted on 6/29/23 at 10:02 pm to
Might need to work on that schedule. Noon game and it's a 3.25 hour drive from Chicago to Green Bay. Add some time for a bus. Don't plan on drinking a lot Saturday night.
Posted by CHiPs25
ATL
Member since Apr 2014
2897 posts
Posted on 6/30/23 at 5:47 am to
You can stay anywhere in the downtown area and be fine. Just make sure you’re near a train stop which will help you navigate some of the neighborhoods. A lot of the bars in downtown are stale and for tourists or high-end. If you head up to Lincoln Park there are some more relaxed bars, but for a bachelor party may not be ideal. Cubs game would be cool on Saturday, try and get bleacher tickets. You may want to check to see if there is a train that goes to Green Bay. If you’re on a bus for a reason, then that’s fine, but amtrack or Metra may get you up there faster and more comfortable.
Posted by longhorn22
Nicholls St. Fan
Member since Jan 2007
42291 posts
Posted on 6/30/23 at 6:02 am to
@hoops will come in and help you to the fullest.

I would use the search bar in the meantime for this page as Chicago has been laid out perfectly in the past.

Summertime Chi will be a great time.

We’ve flirted with doing our fantasy football draft weekend out there in late August… get a boat and go play in the playpen
Posted by hoopsgalore
Chicago, IL
Member since Nov 2013
8640 posts
Posted on 6/30/23 at 7:29 am to
quote:

For those of you who know, what’s the best place to stay in the city for a couple nights of dinner and going out?


Grab a hotel in River North, The Loop, or along Magnificent Miles. Greatest concentration of hotels, across all price ranges, in the city. There are some hotels in West Loop (i.e. The Hoxton and Nobu) and the neighborhoods (i.e. The Robey + Hyatt Place in Wicker, Hotel Zachary in Wrigley, etc.), but you won't find the cheapest prices.

quote:

For those of you who know, what’s the best place to stay in the city for a couple nights of dinner and going out?


Getting a hotel in any of the three I mentioned above gives you flexibility. You can go to some of the clubs in River North, if bottle service is your thing, or easy to get on the train and go to other neighborhoods for your standard bar crawl.

quote:

Is there an area with a good concentration of bars? The Cubs will be in town. Is wrigleyville the play on Saturday?


Obviously, River North is pretty popular because it's where most of the clubs are. Know that's not for everyone, so will just give you a quick run of a couple neighborhoods for doing a bar crawl:

Depending on your age, Old Town gets pretty wild at night - big stretch of Wells is loaded with recent college grads. There's also a piece of Division, on the border of Old Town / Gold Coast, that has a concentration of 4-5 bars that are all pretty fun. Similar vibes to Wells.

Wicker is a mix of young professionals and recent college grads. Can get a bit ratchet at night, but Lottie's is a great bar, at all hours, and Paradise Park is one of the better day drinking spots in the city for larger groups. There's always a few bachelorette parties there.

Logan Square is close to Wicker - slightly more put together because there are more families than Wicker, but still a generous mix with young professionals. IMO, best overall neighborhood in Chicago - fantastic restaurants, concentration of breweries, good cocktail bars, and a few bars that will offer a good night out for younger groups. Estereo and Welcome Back get pretty damn crowded at night, and I'd imagine Logan gets even more crowded once Federales opens their second Chicago location there (should be open by the time you visit).

Whether or not the Cubs are in town, Wrigley tends to be a wild place. Overrun by recent college grads on weekend nights, but can't go wrong with day drinking on a Cubs game day, either. Think you'd be totally fine making this your Saturday play, and you can just hit the Red Line to Addison or take Brown Line (Red, too) to Belmont and walk. If you take the Brown, can also get off at Diversey or Wellington and hit a few bars on your walk to Wrigley - Kirkwood and Will's have great patios. Kirkwood is definitely on the younger side, but a lot of fun on a warm day. It's an Indiana bar, but I don't hold it against them As you move closer to Wrigley, make a quick stop at Sheffield's for a beer. Again, nice patio and very solid beer selection. They throw a great Bourbon County release party on Black Wednesday (night before Thanksgiving).

There are other neighborhoods worth checking out, too, but since you're here for a bachelor party, just giving you some options for going out and getting drunk
This post was edited on 6/30/23 at 7:38 am
Posted by Buckeye Fan 19
Member since Dec 2007
36159 posts
Posted on 6/30/23 at 3:44 pm to
Really good stuff from hoopsgalore, only very minor thing I’d add is Kirkwood is (in addition to Indiana) a Nebraska bar (yes, two B1G teams in the same bar) and Wills is Wisconsin, so you might have to be careful on a September Saturday that you don’t turn into simply a game watch depending on the times of those respective games, but as he mentioned, they’re both great neighborhood/chill bars (nicer/more crowded than typical dive, but not extremely high-energy/sloppy/can’t-hear-yourselves either) with nice patios.
Posted by hoopsgalore
Chicago, IL
Member since Nov 2013
8640 posts
Posted on 7/1/23 at 8:30 am to
I sort of kept Nebraska out of it since Kirkwood is more known as the big Indiana bar, but you are correct - Nebraska bar, too.

Will's gets sloppy for Wisconsin games. Definitely the younger side of Wisconsin alums in the city will be there. Friends and I just hit our early 30s, so I think we've graduated from Wills Now, mostly go to Ranalli's and Lottie's for Wisconsin games.

Good call on a CFB Saturday for both bars, but could be a fun way for a bachelor party to get drunk before/after Cubs game?
Posted by brightside878
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2009
1563 posts
Posted on 7/2/23 at 8:00 am to
These responses have been tremendously helpful. Appreciate it much!

One other question:
Is Wrigleyville still a good Saturday for a Cubs game that late in the season?
Posted by Raoul Stimulato
Hale Bopp Comet
Member since Sep 2022
1223 posts
Posted on 7/2/23 at 12:17 pm to
Man, reading thru this has me wanting to get back to Chicago. Such a fun city.

Good stuff.
Posted by The Boat
Member since Oct 2008
164116 posts
Posted on 7/2/23 at 6:39 pm to
Going to Chicago a couple of days before the LSU game at Lambeau Field was awesome. Went to a couple of Cubs games, hit the bars with a ton of LSU fans, started a huge GEAUX TIGERS cheer in a Wrigley Field bathroom during the Cubs game on Friday afternoon.
Posted by cuyahoga tiger
NE Ohio via Tangipahoa
Member since Nov 2011
5835 posts
Posted on 7/2/23 at 8:25 pm to
Best cash only dive bar in America.. Richard’s near Milwaukee and Grand Ave’s…. Feels like Goodfella’s in there
Posted by ChiGator
Member since Nov 2020
3276 posts
Posted on 7/2/23 at 8:56 pm to
And you can smoke cigs inside
Posted by Knocksville
Remote
Member since Jul 2014
818 posts
Posted on 7/2/23 at 11:58 pm to
If you like bourbon, Big Star in Hotel Zachary has incredible prices on PVW, Buffalo Trace antique, etc. based on what I typically see in major cities or even here in Tennessee.

A couple months back the house cocktail was a Pappy 10 Old Fashioned for $12.

Spent $150 including a $30 tip and had Pappy 12, Weller Full Proof, William LaRue Weller, George T Stagg plus some tacos. Would have cost me $300 here in East Tennessee on 1 oz bourbon pours alone.

Edit: Drink Menu - Big Star Wrigleyville
This post was edited on 7/3/23 at 12:03 am
Posted by SpartyGator
Detroit Lions fan
Member since Oct 2011
75413 posts
Posted on 7/3/23 at 5:18 am to
quote:

Grab a hotel in River North, The Loop, or along Magnificent Miles. Greatest concentration of hotels, across all price ranges, in the city. There are some hotels in West Loop (i.e. The Hoxton and Nobu) and the neighborhoods (i.e. The Robey + Hyatt Place in Wicker, Hotel Zachary in Wrigley, etc.), but you won't find the cheapest prices.


The LondonHouse is my favorite near that area. Rooftop is cool even if you are just standing there without a drink
Posted by Chucktown_Badger
The banks of the Ashley River
Member since May 2013
31107 posts
Posted on 7/5/23 at 9:31 pm to
quote:

Really good stuff from hoopsgalore, only very minor thing I’d add is Kirkwood is (in addition to Indiana) a Nebraska bar (yes, two B1G teams in the same bar) and Wills is Wisconsin, so you might have to be careful on a September Saturday that you don’t turn into simply a game watch depending on the times of those respective games


Most of the popular bars claim a team and have tons of fans and alum in on Saturdays. If you plan it out you can hit 5-6 really fun gamewatches in the Wrigley/Southport areas with B1G and SEC teams never having to get in an Uber.

Get up to GB as early as you can on Sunday. Lambeau is a scene and the vibe is great. The bars on Holmgren are tons of fun (Stadium View, Anduzzi’s, etc). And as someone said there will be a ton of traffic coming north on gameday.
This post was edited on 7/5/23 at 9:36 pm
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