farmer fred

I'm taking mrs fred to chicago in a months time...3 nights there before we get a train to st louis for a mates wedding.

where might be the best place to spark up a conversation on the merits of smoking gods goodness...anyone?

i'd also like to know what i should whilst in Chicago, together with any good bar recomendations. same for st louis.

I'm planning on going to Pappy's smoke house for some fine ribbage of pig in st louis and up the john hancock observatory in chicago, but thats about it so far.

talk to me...

Mikey

apparently chicago has like the best hot dogs in the world
and putting ketchup on a hot dog is sacrilegious

and it's really windy
and i think i read somewhere how there's these cool tunnels tubes connecting them, i think they're called skyways so it'd be cool to see shit from up there

but i've never been and these are just things i read or heard

google google google

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Kompressor

Hit up Uno's, the original and not the shitty franchises, for what made Chicago the known for its Deep Dish Pizza. No reservations, expect at least a 40 min wait for a table and about an hour of cooking time. Damn worth it though.

The 'L' [for elevated train] is Chicago's main public transport system. Old and rickety but can get you reasonably close and fairly easy to navigate.

Pretty much every block has a hole-in-the-wall bar.

Belmont & Clark is where you'll find most of the smoke/sex shops and other novelties.

Sears Skydeck is better than the Hancock Observatory.

Michigan Ave is good for a little upscale shopping.

The Lakeshore is good for a day, includes the following:

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the most distinguished art museums in the States.

Millennium Park, little overrated but the Bean is cool.

Buckingham Fountain is good for a Photo Op.

The Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium are two other world-class facilities.

You could go to Navy Pier for more shopping and a shittier version of the London Eye.

If you're in town on Aug 14 & 15 for the Chicago Air and Water Show the entire city shoreline essentially turns into a million+ person stadium for aero/nautical acrobatics.

Let me know when you're rolling in Fred, maybe meet up for lunch or dinner one day.

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Waves

Komp's post is good i'll just add

A good place to pick up weed would be all the college campuses in the city

Hang out around the University Center ( http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&sa...ed=0CBYQnwIwAA )its a hub for a bunch of different unis where all the students are and you will probably hear some dude walking by openly selling pretty decent chronic. Just find students really.

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John F. Kerry

chicago is tight as fuck , been there a few times.


go down by wrigley field and walk those blocks down there its a beauitful place


,,,, when i used to go chill at my friends condo there we would always order dinners from this place

Welcome to D'Agostino's Pizza - W. Addison


it was fucking delicious, and a good value too.


also check out the magnificent mile, its a strip of high end stores and ish, kinda like broadway in nyc.


chi is fun, its kinda loud noisy and parking is a pain in the ass, but thats pretty much any city.


also , there is an anthony bourdain episode about chicago and a globe trekker (pilot guides to u limeys) episode about it too. id recomend downloading them from a torrent site if u want some more good ideas....


theres this mcdonalds near wrigley field that has a little alcove thats open 24 hours and me and my buddys would get wasted and then go down and get that shit, and there were like dozens of people standing in this little alcove acting rowdy as shit, but it was cool.


chicago, good times.


so fred, what makes a european want to go to chicago of all places? why not nyc ?


or washington dc ?


anyway, have fun , send us some pics and let us know how it was and if u got any other questions

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farmer fred

komp, wonderful info, thanks very much..you too waves and Mr Kerry.

if you read the opening post, you would have seen that i'm going to a mates wedding in St Louis, but as one can't get a direct flight from the UK, and that i'm not a fan of flying (being 6'5" tall), we thought we'd get a direct flight nearish and get the Amtrak...Chicago won, as i thought it would be a cool place to visit, and its only 5 hours and $40 each to go business class on the train...

fyi, i've previously been to the following places tother side of the pond..

NY - 3 times
Vegas - 2 times
New Orleans - once...fav place..

really looking forward to coming now...

K10

Don't eat any of that shitty ass St. Louis barbecue. If you want to the good stuff you have to go to Kansas City. Also, if you like find yourself in trouble with the law or something I live 2 hours west of St. Louis so you can totally live in my garage or something.

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Oberst

As a resident and frequent trekker of this American Midwest, I can safely say that Komp is spot on. You're in for a good time and can only hope you'll come back, it was so good. If you're bored in St. Louis (yeah, right) and lookin' for something a little different then head on over to the City Museum for a bit. You're height will make it a bit difficult to fully enjoy the place, but I still recommend popping in and marveling at the place. Extremely trippy.


CITY MUSEUM- Home

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Peace through superior firepower.

R.I.P.s for Gov bongsmilie !

farmer fred

to be honest with you, i'm not really a tourist.

I've only been to two galleries..

one in Barcelona, when it was raining, which was shite.

and the one in Paris where they have the Mona Lisa - how fucking small is that rubbish?!!

From what Komp posted, i reckon the sky deck is a defo. and who don't like a pizza after an afternoon on the piss?

Belmont and Clarke? thats an area right? a bit like Soho in London per chance..? If so, thats the sort of place worth going on a pub crawl round.

I can't take her anywhere without being dragged around some shops before we get pissed, so the magnificent mile (i'm guessing thats where Michigan Ave is) looks also fairly certain.

Other than that, my time will be spent in nice bars with beautiful people and in restaurants with as many michelin stars as possible.

however, i'm gonna do some research on this wrigley field place now...

thanks again for the info guys...better than any poxy lonely planet guide...

Being

gino's east, have the pizza with the disc of sausage on it. the take the thing that you use to make regular pizza crust and put meat in it and flatten it out to make a big ass meat disc the size of a small tire

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R.I.P. Gov

Waves

hit up state street for some shopping/pubbing

the city itself isnt huge like new york so you can walk around and make a night of it and see alot of stuff

__________________
On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

Waves

state street AND michigan ave are both good for shopping actually

__________________
On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

Xil

Here's a hunt that has worked well for me in stl, probably would work in chicago too.

If you see a black (or occasionally white) guy dressed in all black sitting on a stoop for hours on end and he asks for a cigarette...give him one. chances are the next question he'll ask is: you smoke good weed?

i dunno, in my experience someone asking to bum a cig is like 1/3 times just a segway into trying to sell you shit.

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Kompressor

Uno's beats Gino's East and D'Agostino's.

Michigan Ave = Mag Mile, and State street is good too.

Yes, Belmont & Clark is an area, near Wrigley Field.


Chicago is also known for its summertime city-sponsored public art, most famously for the random decorated cow statues and the wandering red ball. This year's project has been late in coming, but it is finally revealed today. Now Chicago has it's own Eye.

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farmer fred

we have about 400 elephants dotted about London, each done by a different artist.

Home - Elephant Parade London 2010 - Elephant Family

Waves

we already did that with cows, 10 years ago

Chicago Cows on Parade Art Exhibit


biiiiitch

rip off our ideas some more, bloody wankers

__________________
On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow