Today I’m telling you all about where we stayed, what we ate, and what we thought about it all. To see pictures of people not just our food, check out this post from earlier.
Let’s start with our hotel. We stayed at the Omni on Michigan Ave in a double bed suite. I would definitely recommend this hotel if you’re going with a larger group. The couch in the living room pulls out to a queen size bed and you can also request a rollaway from the front desk. The location of the hotel was perfect and right in heart of everything. We were directly across from the Apple Store and next door to Zara on Michigan Ave. The hotel staff was extremely friendly and housekeeping put up with our multiple requests for more towels without so much as a sigh.
pictures from the hotel website
Another great thing about the Omni is their bar and restaurant, 676. Our plan was to eat lunch when we arrived in the city, but due to a later start and LOTS of traffic, we ended up checking into our hotel around 4:30pm. We didn’t want to eat a big meal since we had dinner reservations at 8:00pm, so we headed to the hotel’s restaurant where we tried different cocktails and shared some appetizers. Drinks at 676 run anywhere from $8-$15 dollars with beers being a little less expensive. This was about the typical price range for drinks at most places we went to. Appetizers were also pretty standard at $7-$15 dollars, but a lot of the dishes were shareable.
I got the Blood Orange Whiskey Sour and honestly, it wasn’t my favorite. It was super strong and I couldn’t taste any of the blood orange flavor. I happened to pick Alissa’s drink for her and of course it was delicious! I can’t remember the name, but it had champagne and strawberries in it.
We all shared the spinach dip which I can be pretty picky about. Most spinach dips are just so so but this one was delicious.
We also ordered the shrimp flatbread pizza. I’d never had shrimp on a pizza and I had all but convinced myself I wouldn’t like it. You guys. All of us were talking about this afterwards. It was at the top of the list of best things I’ve ever eaten.
Later in the evening we headed to RPM Italian, Giuliana and Bill Rancic’s new restaurant. Unless you want to wait a long time, I would highly suggest making reservations. We got there a little before our 8:00pm reservation and after checking in had a drink at the bar. We didn’t have to wait too long and when our table was ready they sent a text to my phone. I was really hoping this place would live up to the hype and it didn’t disappoint.
Sorry for the picture quality. It was pretty dark inside.
We all shared a couple of appetizers and these stuffed roasted peppers were the perfect lite bite.
We also ordered the garlic truffle bread. Truffle + bread, enough said.
One thing to note about RPM is that all of the portions are relatively small (or small compared to other US restaurants). I ordered the lobster ravioli and it was delicious. All of the pasta is homemade and you could definitely tell. The prices for the pasta dishes were comparable to what you would pay at an Olive Garden ($15-$20), but obviously way better quality.
Make sure to add RPM to your list of places to eat if you love Italian, however if you’re looking for large portions and shareable entrees, you may find yourself disappointed.
The bellman at our hotel hooked us up with the best cab and driver who took us and picked us up from RPM.
Saturday we ate breakfast at the Corner Bakery near our hotel. For a chain restaurant the breakfast was pretty standard, but good. Next time, I’d skip a chain and head to a more local place like Brunch.
After some serious shopping we headed to Gino’s East on Dearborn. If you’re heading to Ginos you’ll want to note that there are SEVERAL Gino’s locations. So many in fact that half of our party went to a completely different one than the other half of us. The Ginos on Dearborn is newer and has much more of a pub feel. If you want the Ginos where you can write on the wall, this is NOT that location. The weather was nice so we sat outside on their cute little patio. This location also seemed way less crowded and we didn’t have to wait for a table.
It’s not a bachelorette party without some blueberry flavored shots with lunch.
No trip to Chicago is complete without eating deep dish pizza. We got the vegetarian and as always, it didn’t disappoint. One piece per person is usually enough so order accordingly and remember the pizza’s often take 45 minutes to bake because they are so thick,
Before dinner on Saturday night a few of us headed back up to 676 to relax and grab a cocktail after a long day of walking around the city. I tried my first Moscow Mule and it was much better than I expected. It is the perfect refreshing drink and not too sweet. Plus, how cute are these coper mugs!
For dinner on Saturday night we ate at the Packing House. Looking at the menu you might be a little scared, but trust me, this is the place to try things you normally wouldn’t. We all got different dishes and tried each others and every single dish was fantastic. I highly recommend the lamb and crab spaghettini, and the roasted chicken. The restaurant is pretty pricey and dishes range from $18-$40. The restaurant’s also about a 10 minute car/taxi ride from the city so plan accordingly.
After dinner we took a taxi to Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar. This place was super packed and there was hardly any room to even move around. If we had to do it over again we would have reserved a table and gotten there earlier. There were several other bachelor/bachelorette parties that night as well. The concierge at our hotel had passes for free cover, which was $10 so if you stay at a hotel with a concierge, take advantage of this service. They usually have passes for free covers at bars and may even be able to make reservations that you couldn’t get.
And that’s it! Feel ready to conquer Chicago? Email me with any other questions or additional recommendations.
2 Comments
Aaliyah Smith
Amazing blog ! This place and foods are so nice. I appreciate, Really Everyone loves to enjoy good company with the Bachelorette Party. I also had gone to enjoy Bachelorette Party in club allure Chicago with my friends. This party was most enjoyable and entertaining.
Kelveen louis
Yeah Chicago restaurants are one the right and perfect place for our all occasions. My favorite thing about these restaurants is delicious food. I always visited there just because good food services.