Looking for a hotel that's relatively close to Rotofugi. It's tough when you don't know how the hoods are

Bert--what is your budget? Rotofugi is in a really cool location (Wicker Park / Ukranian Village). However, to my recollection, there isn't an abundant selection of hotels in that immediate area.

If you are looking for a semi-pricey boutique hotel, Dana Hotel just opened not too long ago. It is at 660 N. State Street, and while it is not necessarily in walking distance, it would be a 7 minute, straight-shot cab ride right down Chicago Avenue to Rotofugi. Right around the block from Dana is the Amalfi (also a boutique, but a little more affordable). It is at 20 W. Kinzie St., and would also be about the same cab ride.

A bit closer, and definitely more of a 'local' experience is the House of Two Urns B&B (at 1239 N. Greenview Ave.) Originally a Polish bakery located inside a traditional Wicker Park brownstone, it is decorated with original art, antiques and other vintage touches, it's a throwback to the days when Chicago's Ukrainian Village and Wicker Park were full of family-owned mansions.

That's what I'm seeing in my searches. There really isn't anything near by. I'm also trying to figure out if I should fly into Midway Intl or O'Hare. I've ran searches for flight + hotel on expedia and the prices are about the same. Some websites have pull-down menus for hotel's by location. That's where I get lost. Sure I can see where the hotels are, but are there neighborhoods that I should stay away from?

It doesn't matter which airport you fly into, the CTA train system is fairly easy to use. If you fly into Midway, you can take the Orange line to downtown. From O'Hare, you take the Blue line downtown. If you need directions to get anywhere in the city, I can get you to where you need to go using public transportion.

I would recommend staying near the Loop area or on the northside, it is a lot easier to get around. The southside can be a real eyeopener for people who are not used to that area.

Yeah, of all of the cities in the US, Chicago certainly can boast the BEST public transit system--IMO. The "El" will get you anywhere. If you fly an airline like Southwest (which tend to have cheap rates into CHI), they only service Midway, so you'd have no choice. But truly, you can't go wrong with either--plan for a 30-45 minute "El" ride into the City.

Also, SmilingIdiot is right, the Loop or Northside areas are effortless choices if you don't want to play guessing games. You may also want to avoid places like Roger's Park (near Loyola University)--itz rough and no point staying there.

Since you now know Rotofugi is in the Wicker Park-area, just cut/paste addresses into a map search engine. You'll find a place in no time.

Here is an overview of some hotels nearby: http://www.hotelplanner.com/Hotels/2796 ... icker-Park

Don't think I'd stay at the one in Branson (see second search result).

i would definitely stay in the loop. we were in the touristy-ish area and i think a cab to the rotofugi store was around $7-10, wasnt bad at all.

i'll see if i can find the place we stayed at, i think we got it for $130 a night and it had a nice restaurant in the lobby

searching travelzoo i found this deal too, i don't know how the place is though

http://hotels.travelzoo.com/chicago-hotels/585920

this was the place we stayed at

http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi ... cn=CHIDNGI

I work down in the loop, so if you have a hotel down here and want to meet up for lunch, let me know. I can also let you know where everything is

Staying downtown in The Loop might be your best bet. That way you can get pretty much anywhere you want to go by train.

I'm driving in...how bad is driving around Chicago on the weekend? I'm ashamed to admit I've never been to Chicago and only live 6 hours away...

I'll have my wife and 6 year old with me so we plan on hitting either the modern art museum or the natural history museum...

The Shedd Aquarium should also be on your list (near the Natural History Museum)...

http://www.sheddaquarium.org/

Oh yeah. Driving around Chicago always sucks... Construction is neverending... Slowdowns on the highways just a fact of life.

the traffic near and in downtown is usually jammed on the weekends except for early mornings. state st and michigan ave are always packed in the loop, and the construction bottlenecks have only made the problem worse.

if you're in the mood for modern art, i recommend the new modern wing at the art institute. the building itself is a marvel. and if you don't want to pay the overpriced parking fees downtown, park in the south loop area for free (or really cheap) and walk north on michigan ave to the museum. it's not a bad hike. that way you'll get to explore all the nice parks along the way and pass by a great sushi joint, oysy. a little further down past the museum is the new millennium park. it's fantastic, especially for young kids.

if you'd rather not walk all the way up, the museum campus is right at the edge of south loop. like geo said, shedd is great — but expect to wait in a very long line unless you're there at the crack of dawn.

good luck!

thanks guys, I think we're gonna do the art institute...I like the modern stuff and my wife likes the old smelly stuff.

Appreciate the tips! Sounds like I should plan on plenty of extra driving time around town...

I was watching Man VS Food and he went to some place called Al's. He had some kind of Italian Beef sandwich that was dipped. Tell me this is someplace near Rotofugi...

Al's is a franchise with 20 or so locations all over the city and suburbs. If you're going to go out of your way I much prefer Portillo's.

You can get a good Italian Beef at about a thousand places in Chicago. Closest would be right around the corner at Odge's, though I can't remember if they're dipped or not. I actually had an italian at Cleo's for dinner tonight...mmmmmm.

I'll try it at Cleo's
It just sounds so tasty. I'm wondering what else I should try while there.

Unfortunately, Italian Beef at Cleo's is a Wednesday-only special. The pain!

If you go to a place with an Itallian Beef in Chicago and they don't ASK if you want it dipped, WALK THE HELL OUT!!!!!!!!!!! They ALLL should do it.

Haha, yeah. Or if they offer you ketchup on a hot dog and you're over 12 years old.

As for the beef, I prefer dry with dip on the side, extra hot peppers.

Don't worry Bert, I can take you to Portillo's for some Italian Beef when you get here.

Man, what? NO! Going to Portillo's while in Chicago is like going to Popeyes in New Orleans or Panda Exress in China. It's ok, I'm not gonna totally rip it, but it's WAY over priced and it's just a big chain and a lot of the crap is watered down, no soul. It's not hard to find good street food in Chicago. If it's kind of seedy looking, smells good, and there's no uniform for the employees it's probably good.

then the two original maxwell street vendors, jim's original and maxwell st express grill at UIC would qualify. their polish sausage is killer. talk about great, cheap food -- free fries and grilled onions with every order. you know it's good when the place gets crowded with everyone from homeless people to folks driving up in lamborghinis.

regardless, italian beef or not, we should all head over to cleo's after the show anyway. it's the best place within a block of rotofugi.

This is going to be a great show, and a great time, no doubt about it!

True, but most of the seedy places that I go to are on the far North side, so probably won't have time to make it up there.