Chicago, Illinois – Loop Posts

Exceptional cafes scattered throughout the Loop. Serving coffee and substantial foods for breakfast and lunch, all done a little differently. Well designed spaces and presentation.

Ride Chicago’s finest attendant-operated elevator to the second floor of the landmark Fine Arts Building and prepared to be dazzled. Superbly designed space, fill of natural light, views and high ceilings housing well edited and presented selection of new and used books and literature. This is a book shop that needs your love and support. Named after a literary magazine founded in 1840.

Cozy spot for a light supper, after work cocktails or late night drinking. Atop the Kimpton Gray Hotel in the center of the Loop is Boleo, South America spot, complete with retractable roof and splendid views. 

Massive food hall set in vintage office building in the heart of Chicago’s Loop. Vendors at opening include: Brown Bag Seafood, Smoque BBQ, The Budlong, Aloha Poke, Harvest Juicery, Antique Taco, Black Dog Gelato, Union Squared, Fat Shallot, Graze Kitchenette, Furious Spoon, Farmer’s Fridge, Danke. Also featured coffee and pastry bar, cocktails. Be sure to visit Curbside Splendor for you literature and vinyl needs.

Classic cocktail lounge located on the outskirts of the Loop under the el. Expertly crafted cocktails and spirits served along side delicious food.

Craving da funky monkey fries, duck gumbo, panang curry, phozole or picadillo in the Loop and don’t know where to go? Head over to Spotted Monkey during the week on the outskirts of the financial district.

Coffeebars located throughout the city serving freshly roasted coffee blends. All of the cafes feature striking design and light snacks.

Coffeebars located throughout the city serving freshly roasted coffee blends. All of the cafes feature striking design and light snacks.

Lovely shop specializing in cheese and wines. Pastoral bakes their own bread and carries an edited selection of groceries and sandwiches to takeaway. Ask for a taste and raid the counter filled with tapenades, meats and spreads. The adjacent Bar Pastoral serves house-made charcuterie, cured meats and cheeses along with craft cocktails and entrees.

Personal care products with an emphasis on natural and European imports. Extensive selection of soaps, fragrances, homeopathic remedies, oils, shaving supplies and ointments. Branch store located in the Palmer House Arcade.

Tiny unassuming space to pick up some of Chicago’ s most interesting roasts or a cup; down the alley.

Ever-changing selection of previously CDs, DVDs and Records. Witty t-shirts as well. Always buying. Small outpost.

Bright and happy spot in the Loop for design your own stir-fry. Everything is sourced and prepared with attention and care.

Venetian Gothic landmark designed in 1890 by Henry Ives Cobb has been given a new life and spirit as a hotel. Public spaces are dramatically designed and feature commanding views of Millennium Park and Lake Michigan. Light lunch, dinner, snacks, exceptional cocktails, bocce and billiards served day and night in the Game Room. Intimate Milk Room serves rare spirits. Cherry Circle Room, with all its deco splendor, serves three meals daily. Cindy’s offers spectacular views atop the club indoors and out. Food and drink served late.

Delectable breakfast, lunch and bakery items served in bright and cheerful cafe. Homemade baked goods, ever-changing coffee roasters, Zarlengo’s gelato and even Zzang bars. Well-curated gourmet snacks to take away. Stop in for a breakfast sandwich, pastry, sandwich or salad. Top quality coffees served.

Spiffy donuts shops where classic and new-age treats are created in small batches, right before your eyes. Locally roasted top-notch coffee served.

Wander into the former Continental Bank Building and you will find a lovely pen shop with an extensive selection and knowledgable service. All price points represented; sure to please a first time fountain pen user as well as the most experienced collector.

Mooncakes, sponge cakes, dim sum, honey noodles, walnut cookies, butterfly cookies, lotus root cakes, winter melon tarts, baked and steamed buns of all kinds including custard, bbq pork, ham and egg, coconut… and much more. Order your special occasion cakes here.

Descend the historic office building stairway and you will enter Whimsical. Indulge on “made in front of you” La-Dee-Dahs, Nifty Nougats and Just Caramels.

There are hat stores and then there is Optimo. If you are serious about hats then this Chicago secret is a must see. Specializing in men’s felt and straw hats. Discover exquisite attention to detail in this lost art.

Yes, you might be lucky enough to capture this event, or better yet, participate in it. It moves all over town so the chances you will see it are slim… and only once a month! Celebrate your bike and explore neighborhoods of Chicago you never knew existed. Grab some Dew&JD and your favorite candy to share with this vibrant community. Plan to attend the last Friday of every month at Daley Plaza for an energy-charged ride. “Happy Friday!”

Reliable good vibe cafes, lots of natural woods, hipsters galore and local coffee roasts. Many locations; conveniently located.

Inside the friendly hostel confines is cheerful Cafecito. Order the Cubano or Chimichurri pressed sandwich with a homemade side salad. Save room for cortadito and guava pastry. Second location on Wells Street.

Buy tickets to catch exceptional jazz within intimate 170-set venue; matinees and nights. Since 1947, the Jazz Showcase has enjoyed several homes. “Where jazz lives in Chicago.”

If you want a super inexpensive place to stay in downtown Chicago and very close to the major museums and Millennium Park, choose Chicago’s downtown hostel. Large hostel with several places to eat in the building, overlooking the el.

Mini tour of some of Chicago’s outdoor sculpture:
Dearborn@Jackson/Adams (Federal Plaza); “Flamingo” by Alexander Calder (American); Painted in “Calder red”; 50 tons; commissioned by General Services Administration; unveiled 1974.

Dearborn@Monroe/Madison (First National Bank of Chicago Plaza; now Chase); “Four Seasons” by Marc Chagall (Russian Empire); Mosaic; gift to city of Chicago; dedicated 1974.

Dearborn@ Washington: (Brunswick Plaza; now Cook County/Chicago Temple Building Plaza); “Miro’s Chicago” (originally “The Sun, the Moon and One Star)” by Joan Miro (Spanish); unveiled 1981.

Dearborn@ Washington/Randolph: (Civic Center; now Richard J. Daley Center); “The Picasso” (untitled); by Pablo Picasso (Spanish); 160 tons; Cor-Ten steel; unveiled 1967.

The Marshall Field & Company flagship store on State Street was a social and cultural experience… “give the lady what she wants.” Occupying the entire city block, 1,339,000 square feet of firsts: first bridal registry, bargain basement, personal shopping and delivery service. Two great clocks on State Street: Norman Rockwell cover (1945) of Saturday Evening Post; “meet me under the clock.” Frango mints used to be produced on the upper floors of the store: Marshall Field purchased the secret recipe for “Franco” mint chocolates from Fredrick and Nelson Department Store; changed to Frango when Franco came to power in Spain.

Visit the 6-story rotunda (South State Street) with dome faced with Louis Comfort Tiffany mosaic: 6,000 SF, 1.6 million pieces; 12-story light well (North State Street).

Wabash/Washington Annex designed by Daniel Burnham & Charles Atwood in 1892; Main Store designed by D.H. Burnham and Company in 1902, 1906 and 1907. The (former) Men’s Store, 25 East Washington St, located across the street and was designed by Graham, Burnham and Company in 1914. Ignore the red star and the current occupant.

Daniel Burnham and John Root built the base in 1890; then Burnham and Charles Atwood built the upper floors in 1894. Arguably world’s first glass skyscraper; two-thirds of the facade comprised of glass; facade boldly expresses its underlying steel frame. If you spend the night, be sure to request a guestroom on an upper-floor/State Street side as those corridors are intact and provide amazing views of the surronding architecture. Presently operated by Kimpton.

The Blackstone, “Hotel of the Presidents” was built from 1908 to 1910 and was designed by Marshall and Fox, same architect as The Drake up the street. Amazing neoclassical Beaux-Art architecture with distinctive mansard roof. Lots of nooks to explore. Request a room facing Grant Park and Lake Michigan and grab a drink and apps at Mercat a la Planxa off the lobby. Chicago Landmark and listed on National Register of Historic Places. Part of Marriott’s Renaissance brand of hotels.

Potter Palmer was a dry goods merchant who moved to Chicago in 1852; envisioned State Street as the new commercial center supplanting Lake Street. The present Palmer House was built in 1925 and 1927 and is the third such hotel. Be sure to view the (former) C.D. Peacock jewelry store, Empire Room and magnificant lobby. Typical 1920s convention hotel organization, with shopping arcade at street level, lobby above, several floors of function space then guestrooms starting on floor seven. Rooms range from spacious to miniscule, renovated to untouched in many years. Presently operated by Hilton.

The north portion was built in 1892; Architects: Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root. It is of masonry construction; developer wanted solidity and strength without the use or ornamentation. Walls 6’4″ at base; tapers as building rises; tallest load bearing commercial building ever built.

The south portion was built in 1893; Architects: Holabird and Roche. Uses a modern steel framing system; classical organization with base, shaft, capital.

Visit the interiors and see hand painted gold leaf lettering; dimly lit corridors and much more authenticity.

Designed by Solon S. Bemen in 1886, with top three floors added in 1898, as a showroom and factory for the Studebaker Carriage Company. Converted to studios for artists, musicians and architects and renamed the Fine Arts Building in 1898. Romanesque style of architecture, made popular by Henry Hobson Richardson. Bemen also designed the town of Pullman, now part of Chicago’s South side, a model company town. Ride the manually operated lifts to the top floor and walk down. Prepare to be amazed.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) is a leading organization committed to architecture and design and is considered a model for similar institutions around the world. The CAF offers tours by foot, bus, boat and bike. Over one-quarter million people take its 90 different tours annually given by over 450 volunteer docents. Core tours include Historic Loop. Rise of the Skyscraper, Modern Skyscrapers, Loop by L and the River Cruise  Lectures, children’s learning, exhibitions and tour shop round the mix of  programs.

Look for the distinctive green neon sign under the el tracks and enter Central Camera, “photographic headquarters since 1899.”  Third generation of same ownership.

Vintage inspired women’s fashions and accessories in charming space off the lobby of the Monadnock Building. Shoe boutique down the hall.

Modern cafes where almost everything served is organic. Freshly baked breads and rolls filled with ingredients such as French ham, Italian Parma ham, Swiss Gruyere, Spanish Manchego, mango chutney and sliced jalapeños. Several locations Downtown and River North.

Among downtown’s only gastro-pubs. Bustling dining rooms featuring fondue, bone marrow, scottish eggs,  poutine, house crafted sausages and elk, with an extensive craft beer and whiskey selection.

Warm and inviting dining room to enjoy dishes from the regions of the former Soviet Union Republics. Meat dumplings, borscht, blinis, wild game, caviar and loads of vegetarian options. Stop by for afternoon tea service.

Head to the second floor to dine on Northern Italian cuisine in a room reminiscent of a twinkling Italian Village.. Old time service and wait staff; popular among Theatre District crowd, loop workers and tourists. Other options include Vivre on the ground level and La Cantina in the cellar.

Enjoy modern Italian cuisine at this lovely and spacious dining room atop the Renzo Piano-designed Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. Enter from the Millennium Park bridge for extra drama

Reliable diner fare served early until late with full bar service located in the Solon Bemen designed Fine Arts Building. “Favored gathering place for many local and international celebrities such as Balanchine, Baryshnikov, Gerald Arpino, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Dimitri Hvorostovsky, Studs Terkel, Joe Mantegna, Jean Claude Van Damme, Cisley Tyson, Billy Zane, John Kapellos, Blythe Danner, Jean Reno, Lauren Hutton, John Cusack, Jim Belushi and many others who might surprise.” Family owned and operated since 1961; think about it… and go.

Reliable Loop spot located in the lobby of the Art Deco and Gothic Pittsfield Building serving typical diner fare, all day breakfast with happy-service. Diners in the Loop are disappearing quickly so visit this one.

Only health food shop in the Loop, climb the stairs to discover the hidden mezzanine cafe catering to vegans and vegertarians. The daily special, which includes entree, soup and fresh juice, is top-notch and is a tremendous value. Full juice bar with loads of fruits and veggies as well.

Visit the quirky original outpost on located on the seventh floor of the Garland Building. Grab a seat by the windows and watch the els go by as you enjoy gumbo, Hoppin’ John,  fried shrimp salad with honey jalapeno dressing and po boys of all varieties. Check out the enormous selection of hot sauces and use them!

Downtown outpost of this Hindsdale-based bakery. Beautifully renovated vaguely art deco space to enjoy French sandwiches, charcuterie, Le Breton, pate, croque-monsieur and salads.  From scratch cakes, croissants, cookies and pastries. One of the most refined spots to dine or stop for an espresso or tea in the Loop.

Snack on the Chicago Mix: CaramelCrisp + CheeseCorn and bring loads of napkins. The perfect combination of textures, sweet, salty and savory. You won’t stop until your belly tells you to.

Traditional Italian cuisine. Winners include thin crust pizza, tomato bread with sausage and veal en casserole. Have a discreet Campari & Soda with an orange slice and the bar in the rear.

Traditional cafeteria set-up but everything is made from scratch. The salad bar goes on forever and is the star of the show; composed salads are also winners. From scratch soups, delicious hot entrees and full breakfast service. Even the donuts are made from scratch. Open weekdays on the lower level. Be sure to wander the corridors and admire the terrazzo floor designs.

Sneak out the back door of The Palmer House and grab a meal or drinks at Miller’s. Kitchcn open very late and bar very very late. Menu ranges from omelettes, reubens and ribs to whitefish and corned beef and cabbage.  Great mix of tourists and locals. Drinking a Tom and Jerry at the holidays is a tradition not to be missed. Fine Food and Spirits.