Hey yall! It’s good to finally be able to say I took a trip this year! I have been in the house SICK(not home sick but travel sick lol). I was so afraid to travel because of the current pandemic, but after seeing all of my friends and Black Travel Movement posts I finally said I just have to go!
When deciding your first covidtrip, what do you consider? I tried to think of a place that I could get to quickly (no layovers!) and somewhere that would allow me to experience something new. So I looked at the map of non-stop flights from Memphis(look in my travel tips section) and finally decided on Chicago! I hadn’t been there as an adult and it’s only about 1.5hr flight from Memphis. I set up my Hopper tracker and waited until the tickets dropped (snagged round trip for $97 via United!). I packed a carry-on suitcase and personal bag(my Louis Vuitton Neverfull-DEFINITELY recommend! I literally packed 2 pair of shoes, 2 outfits, 2 swimming suits and a cross-body purse in it!) WHICH MEANT MY BAGS ROUND TRIP WERE ALSO FREE!!! Saved that $70 for drinks!
Our flight left Memphis Thursday at 8am landing in Chicago at 10am and left Chicago Monday at 8pm landing in Memphis at 10pm- which meant we got to spend both travel days in Chicago instead of traveling all day! (Hello 5 day vacay! It was important to me to be able to take advantage of every day away!) We stayed downtown, but not on the end by the River Walk. I plan to go back next Summer and will DEFINITELY stay in a hotel by the River Walk! Our hotel, Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown South Loop- ($409 for 5 days). I originally booked because they are downtown, had a pool, FREE hot breakfast and FREE “happy hour” 5-7pm, had a microwave and full refrigerator with freezer(for leftovers lol) and let out couch(just in case our cousins wanted to crash with us). Well, our hotel didn’t have A LOT (no hot breakfast, pool closed, patio closed, no food or drinks in mini store) and they blamed EVERYTHING on covid! The hotels near River Walk didn’t have the covid closings or covid supply shortage so I would recommend staying on that end.
Ok now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to the FOOD, the FABULOUS, the FUN!
Thursday, we had brunch at Chicago’s Home of Chicken&Waffles(Black owned restaurant) I had Evelyn’s Eggstasy with a waffle-it was delicious! Ashely and Nick had Tonya’s Choice- 3 wings and a waffle and added mac&cheese, yams, cheese grits and greens. The food was pretty good and actually reminded us of something we would’ve gotten in the South! We had dinner at Old Town Pour House Thursday night. Chicken tacos(needed lime, but good), Salmon(beautiful presentation-but taste didn’t match), Chicken sandwhich(ok..) and Jalepeno burger(good but SPICY!)
We also visited SandBox VR Thursday and had a BLAST! It is a virtual game- we played Deadwood Mansion Thursday (and went back Monday to play Amber Skye lol)
Friday we went to Yolk for brunch- Ashely tried the Mexican hot chocolate and she loved it. I usually wouldn’t try anything like that because I don’t care for spices, but it was actually good! We both had scramblers (which were DELICIOUS) and I had red velvet french toast–which was good, but a little weird but it wasn’t like regular french toast would be. Ashely had the nutella banana crepes, but she said she wouldn’t recommend them.
We walked around the park in front of Yolk for a while and people watched–the park is very active! People exercising, walking their dogs, skating/skateboarding, riding bikes, etc. We planned to ride bikes, but never got around to it, but I definitely recommend it! After the park we decided to buy a Chicago City Pass on Groupon which allowed us to pick 3 attractions for $75. We decided to do 360Chicago, SkyDeck and 10PinBowling. We only made it to 360Chicago, but the pass doesn’t expire until 2022 so we will go back.
We did Tilt and took shots and had margaritas at 360Chicago-awesome view!
THE FABULOUS! Dinner Friday night was at Offshore Rooftop&Bar. This would be A VIBE on a Friday night in the summer with your friends! They have good drinks, good food and a good view AND they didn’t close until 11pm even with covid! (NOTHING stays open in Memphis until 11! More like 8 or not open at all!)
Saturday morning we went to Waffles Chicago and tried their waffle flight. If you like trying different things- go for it! Ashely says she had the best Earl Grey tea of her life there-so try that as well.
After brunch we tried iFLY Chicago..
Dinner Saturday was also FABULOUS! We ate at BLVD Steakhouse. From the moment I walked in, I KNEW this was my vibe! I live for a fine dining experience! The hostess checked us into our reservation and sat us at the champagne bar (which was FABULOUS!) I started with a French75 and Ashely had a Moscow Mule- both were tasty and strong! ($15 each though(and we had 4 each throughout dinner)..be prepared to spend your money if you go here!) After our first drink at the champagne bar we were seated in the dining room for dinner. The ambiance was everything! Beautiful colored walls and furniture, velvet, candles lit everywhere. We had the crab cake and lobster bisque for a starter and both were delicious! I have tried SEVERAL crab cakes and this was definitely one of the best that I’ve had AND it was a good size! Many fine dining places I’ve gone to give you a small sized crab cake(which I don’t like).
I had the lambchops, Ashely had the short rib, Nick had a steak and Voydra had the salmon. I LOVED my lamchops and Nick LOVED his steak. Ashely said her short rib needed more seasoning and was tempted to ask for hot sauce lol. Voydra didn’t finish her salmon so I’m not sure if she liked it. When at a steakhouse-order steak! or lambchops!
Sunday- We had brunch at another black owned restaurant (Truth Italian Restaurant) and it was DELICOUS! They also had great mimosas! We ordered several things- strawberry french toast, steak&eggs, LAMBCHOPS!, blueberry waffle, chicken alfredo omelette, chicken philly omelette and several mimosas with grand manier on the side.
We walked around Magnificent Mile and the River Walk. (It’s beautiful!) I wanted to go to the Starbucks Reserve but never made it. (I recommend you go! It’s like 3/4 levels with a rooftop patio and everything. You can get real food and alcoholic beverages! Not your typical Starbucks at all!) GO! For dinner we had Giordano’s.
BACK TO THE FABULOUS! AIRE ANCIENT BATHS CHICAGO! Best part, they stay open until 11pm so you can have a full day and then go to the spa at night! Please make reservations ahead of time because they book like weeks in advance. They have different spa packages and the different baths that are all different temps. I loved it!
Our last day, we asked for a late check out and slept in(definitely recommended!) We went to Siena Tavern for lunch and had the Sienna chopped salad, spaghetti (not your typical spaghetti-jumbo lump crab, charred tomato, red chili & lemon cream sauce) and squid ink linguine (grilled lobster tail, spicy lobster cream) and all were delicious!
We have already planned to go back next Summer (probably multiple times a month to visit cousins). Here are a few things we didn’t get to do, but plan on doing when we return.
-Rent a yacht -jetski -bike ride -Pinstripes brunch and bowling -Batter&Berries -LondonHouse Rooftop -hotdogs! -shopping! -pizza at Dino’s -SUMMERTIME CHI
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