Day 5
We bought a day pass for the Trains. Our first stop was Clybourn (where we inevitably went the wrong direction upon exiting the terminal) to go to Goose Island Brewpub for a tour.
This is the original location of the brewery which was founded in 1988 on Friday 13th.
The tour was restricted to 1 room because this location produces only small quantities of local craft beers and one-offs (large production is done at another facility for distribution globally – owned by Anheuser-Busch).
We tasted 6 of their different beers.
And we had lunch before leaving – we shared an order of beer-battered fish n chips.
Our next stop was Wrigley’s Field (even if we couldn’t get in). We had full intentions of doing a park tour while in Chicago (had a great time touring Fenway in Boston a few years back), but lo and behold, the park is closed to tours until the 18th due to concerts there.
We walked the block, peeking in where we could…
From Wrigley’s, we went to Revolution Brewery, hoping for the 5PM tour (arrived at 4:15), but it was filled and the only openings were for the 6PM tour. We decided to join the masses in the taproom while we waited. We read in a magazine that it has gained at strong following; the crowds here would support that.
Revolution Brewery opened its production brewery and taproom in 2012. The owner and many of the employees are former Goose Island employees.
We started the tour with a glass of their Oktoberfest made with 100% German malts. Revolution brews around 50 different beer styles a year.
The brewery is currently 50,000 sq ft and they are getting ready to expand into another 50,000 sq ft that adjoins their facility.
We decided to have a late dinner at a highly rated German restaurant, called Bohemian or BOHO. The place was fully packed, but we did get a seat at the bar when a couple left for their table. We shared an order of Beef Cheek Pierogis with roasted carrots and pickled onions. Then we shared an order of Pork Schnitzel with dill potatoes, bacon, and onions…Delicious AND filling!
Day 6
This was going to be a low-key day. We left the hotel after breakfast to go and buy tickets for the Architecture Boat Tour tomorrow. Upon leaving the hotel, we looked just up the street and noticed it was closed off. We went to see why, and stumbled on a Ferrari car show and annual fundraiser.
So many different styles, years, and colours (although red was the favourite).
Older Models
Todd’s cousin, Paul (he’s kind of a car-nut…), would have loved this car, especially because of the license plates LOL !
Just after buying the boat tickets, we heard a very loud roar of jet engines overhead and were surprised to see a stealth bomber turning away from town towards the lake. It all happened so fast we didn’t get a pic. Todd found this on Youtube the next morning !
We continued along Michigan Ave (aka The Magnificent Mile), wandering in and out of the shops, and admiring the buildings both old and new).
For lunch and to watch some of the local football game (Packers were in town to play the Bears), we headed to Ditka’s. For those that don’t know, he is a former coach of the Bears. We were surprised how many Packer fans were in the bar.
Dinner was at the oldest continuously operating Italian restaurant in Chicago, Italian Village (1927). This was headquarters for the Ferrari show earlier in the day. We had a nice table in a cubbyhole.
Todd had the Lake Superior Whitefish with veggies, and I had the Chicken Marsala with linguini. The food was delicious, but so filling (I only ate about half – maybe dinner tomorrow…).
