The Chicago Bucket List
03.28
1. Eat at the Holy Trinity of chicken wings: Wings Around the World (03/28/10), Crisp, and Great Seas Chinese Restaurant
2. Throw an event with over 100 attendees.
3. Go on an Architectural Boat Tour.
4. Ride every stop of every El and subway line in one day.
5. Go sailing on Lake Michigan
6. Get in the RedEye (Page 14 – 04/06/10)
7. Visit Garfield Conservatory
8. Go to a Wrigley Field for a Cubs game and U.S. Cellular Field for a Sox game on the same day (need a rainout!)
9. Check out the Skydeck at Sears Tower
10. Attend 10 Chicago street festivals (Belmont/Sheffield Music Festival, Do Division, Mayfest, Ribfest, Andersonville Midsommerfest, West Fest, Chicago Pride Parade, Taste of Lincoln Avenue, Taste of Polonia, Octoberfest tbd)
12. Slam poetry at the Green Mill
13. Throw a BBQ at the Chicago lakefront (05/31/10)
14. Hit up Docks and AP Deli in the same day for eats
15. Tour the Board of Trade and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
16. Tour all of the breweries in Chicago for Craft Beer (Three Floyd’s, Half Acre, Goose Island, Two Brothers Brewing Company, Haymarket, Piece, Revolution)
17. Check out the Chicago History Museum
19. Improv Circuit (Second City, Improv Olympic, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, Comedysportz)
20. Take a dance lesson and dance at Summerfest
21. Try 5 different beers from a) Hopleaf b) Map Room c) Quenchers d) The Globe Pub
22. Tailgate at Soldier Field
23. Catch a night of music at Buddy Guy’s Legends
24. Attend Veggie Bingo Night and a Dance Party at the Hideout
25. Eat smoked salmon at Calumet Fisheries (05/15/10)
26. Eat a piece of the Pyramid of Meat at the Fiesta del Sol
27. Purchase fireworks from Indiana and blow them up
28. Walk the entire Lower Wacker Drive
29. Visit Graceland Cemetery and find all of the famous Chicagoans
30. Eat at the Vienna Beef Factory Store (06/22/10)
31. Visit the Virgin Mary stain at Fullerton and 90/94 (06/22/10)
32. First Fridays at the MCA
33. Second Fridays in Pilsen Art District
34. Play a blind draw dart tournament at Di’s Den
35. Visit the Chicago Data Center, hub of the internet.
36. Eat at Smoque, Fat Willy’s Rib Shack, Smoke Daddy
37. Witness the Chicago Full Moon Fire Jam (05/27/10)
38. Watch Too Much Light Makes the Baby Goes Blind
39. Dim Sum Brunch and Shopping in Chinatown
40. Mario’s Italian Ice
41. Attending a Man-B-Que Beer & Burger Tasting, and MEATING
42. Eat a sundae at Margie’s Candies (06/22/10)
43. Watch a Cubs game from a company suite (07/03/10)
44. Eat at Girl & the Goat (07/07/10)
45. Sushi at Lawrence Fish Market (07/25/10)
46. Attend Yelp Summerfest (08/06/10)
47. Experience the Chicago Fire (08/08/10)
48. Italian Beef Crawl 2010 (09/25/10)
49. Spend an Afternoon at the Racetrack
50. Eat brunch at The Bristol
51. Catch a show at the Kingston Mines
52. Eat Harold’s Chicken Shack
53. Have dinner at Alinea
54. Eat blowfish at Ai Sushi
55. Take a tour of Wrigley Field
56. Win the Windy City Darters Championship
57. Check out the Berghoff
58. Go for the Maxwell Street Polish Sausage
59. Catch DJ Colette, DJ Heather, and DJ John Simmons at Smartbar
60. Gourmet Dim Sum at Shanghai Terrace at the Peninsula Hotel (01/25/11)
61. Try a Chicago Food Truck (05/18/11)
62. Chief O’Neill’s Sunday Brunch
63. Attend a Show at The Old Town School of Folk Music
64. Fried Chicken at The Southern (05/14/11)
65. Deep Dish at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria (05/23/11)
67. The Doughnut Vault
70. Banh Mi at Saigon Sisters
72. Get Cuts at Peoria Meat Packing
73. Monster Truck JAM!
74. Ribs at Gale Street Inn
75. Crawfish Boil at Toon’s
76. Sunrise at the Lake
DJ one of the Hotel Lockdown Swingers Events at the (can not publish) Hotel near O’Hare
Thanks for selecting Calumet Fisheries for your Bucket List. Your article and pictures were awesome.
Mark Kotlick
Owner
Thanks for stopping by my blog, that was the best seafood I’ve had in Chicago. Who knew deep fried shrimp could be so fresh! I’m now a salmon convert thanks to you guys
The Chicago History Museum has some cool tours of Chicago neighborhoods and of Graceland cemetary. One of my goals before I leave Chicago is to do all of them. Crisp is totally a good choice – love that place. I want to eat a hot dog at the Weiner Circle too.
Two events you should definitely add to the list:
–Annual Green City Market Chef BBQ
–Annual Frontera Farmers Foundation Dinner Like No Other
Couple other things:
–Swing dancing at the Green Mill on Thursday nights
–Tour of Koval Distillery
–Ride on the Speed Dog boat along the lakefront
–Corned beef sandwich at Manny’s
–Eat your weight in oysters at Oyster Fest
–Take Devil In the White City tour, and Sex in the Second City tour.
–Attend annual Strawberry Fest in Long Grove
–Take Haunted Chicago tour on Halloween
–Ride a segway on the lakefront
–Dance polka at the Brauhaus
You only have 49.
You’ve got the Italian Beff Crawl on there twice.
sweet list.
I would DEFINITELY insist on adding this:
Kingston Mines for the best real Chicago blues. period. If you have a college ID, no cover sunday through thursday nights (go thursday and see Joanna Conner, will blow your mind)
Kingston Mines? You got it!
Hi.
I have a friend how owns a fireworks store in Indiana. Yes, Yes. I always have fireworks, a little low right now. I need to restock. When I have some extra cash, you can come with if you’d like
You should try more of the Chicago ethnic ‘hoods. Get Lebanese food on Kedzie south of Lawrence, walk Devon on Indian or Pakistani Independence Day, get Korean food in Albany Park (Maybe go to the Korean Festival there, compete in wrestling), and eat perogies at the Red Apple. Also, bike the lakeshore trail from Hollywood beach to Indiana.
But most important, attend/race the Chiditarod. http://www.chiditarod.org
Cześć!
If and when I make my return to Chicago, we should go eat Polish food and see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind!
Damn still have not seen too much light
take smartbar off of your list. place sucks
Hey yo you left Metropolitan off your brewery list. Well peace out aight
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