Sweetness

Michigan Avenue is a world renowned shopping district but what many don’t realize is that it also holds some of the most interesting chocolate shops in the city. Since I have a very large sweet tooth – which has seen the dentist numerous times – I thought I would share some insight and background to some of my favorite chocolatiers in Chicago.

If you start from the hotel, at the northern end of the mile, a half block from us is the 900 North Michigan shopping mall. Within the mall there is Teuscher, a Swiss chocolatier, located on the 5th floor. They first started over 70 years ago in a small town in the Swiss Alps and have branched out all over the world. Their most notable chocolates are their truffles, which come in many varieties and flavors. The Teuscher's signature Truffle, a Dom Perignon cream center surrounded by a dark chocolate ganache, coated in milk chocolate and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar, is the best one. Not to mention that after about 15 of them, you’ll be quite happy and very energetic.

Two blocks south of the hotel is the Magnificent Mile’s largest mall, Water Tower Place. Located on the 4th floor of the mall is Godiva Chocolatier. It was founded 80 years ago in Brussels, Belgium when master chocolatier Joseph Draps founded a chocolate company that was named in honor of the legend of Lady Godiva. This small shop features all of Godiva’s signature treats, biscuits, caramels, fruit and nuts, ganaches, pralines, solids and mints, and truffles. For us guys, they also have assorted boxes if you have to quickly pickup a gift for that someone special. Whenever I’m in the Water Tower I have to stop by and pick up one of their jumbo chocolate covered strawberries – they’re so good. On a side note, the Martini Bar in the lobby does offer and White/Dark Chocolate Godiva martini…

Also located within Water Tower Place is Macy’s department store which sells the ever addicting Frango Mint. Since 1918, Frango has been cooking up batches of savory, yet refreshingly melt-in-your-mouth mint chocolate. Frango’s were popularized by Marshall Fields Department Store in 1929 and have become a staple associated with that name; even though it is now Macy’s. You can find them in a few different flavors, caramel and toffee, plus the original Frango - a delectable combination of smooth milk chocolate and refreshing mint that comes together to dazzle your taste buds.

At the Water Tower Park, located off Pearson Street and Michigan Avenue, there are two places to choose from: Ghiradelli and Hershey. Ghiradelli is one of the oldest names in the chocolate business; they were incorporated in 1852 and have been in continuous production since then. They have an excellent selection of squares, bars, fruits and nuts, hot cocoa, and baking supplies. Not to mention one of the best hot fudge sundaes in the city. The Hershey store is fun for everyone; they have kisses, treats and chocolate galore. You can buy a 10 lb. chocolate bar to gnaw on, mix your own bucket of treats in their giant machine, and try out the meanest brownie on Michigan Ave.

Lastly, my personal favorite is Vosges: Haut Chocolate at the North Bridge Shopping Mall on the second floor. Owner/Chocolatier, Katrina Markoff, personally chooses every spice, flower and chocolate that is flown into their Chicago kitchen. Inspired by her global apprenticeships, Vosges truffles have exotic influences of an "East meets West" theme. The infusions of rare spices and flowers combined with premium chocolate give a delicate balance of flavor. Two excellent examples of this fusion are Mo’s Bacon Bar and Naga truffles. Mo’s Bacon Bar is just as it sounds, a mixture of applewood smoked bacon, Adler smoked salt and milk chocolate. This salty sweet bacon combo sounds terrible, but tastes so good. The Naga truffles are my favorite – they are a blend of milk chocolate, coconut and rolled in sweet Indian curry powder. They also offer exotic truffles from around the world including India, South America and Italy.

So, as you venture through the shops along Michigan Avenue, try to work in a little tasty treat. There are chocolates everywhere you turn, so don’t be shy. Consider it as a power snack in a long day of shopping.

Diagram of My Brain - Part 2 of 2

Chicago is a great town for foodies. There are simply too many restaurants to choose from; in fact there are over 6,000. For any occasion, ethnicity, award-winning chef, view of the city, and the strange and unusual you’ll find it here. The area directly around hotel holds many options for dining – steak, seafood, hotdogs, pizza, sushi, Chinese, Italian, French, Vietnamese, Indian, Armenian, and Mexican are all within a reasonable walk. Instead of wading through the sea of restaurant choices, menu’s and reviews, consult your Concierge. They have done the voyage before and will be able to match you to the restaurant that best fits – sort of like a dating service but without the awkward conversation.

New York might be the city that never sleeps, but Chicago comes very close. The hotel is situated two blocks from Rush Street which holds numerous options for nightlife. There are piano bars, jazz clubs, Irish pubs, sports bars, lounges, karaoke, and plenty of dance clubs that go all night long every day. Not to mention it is close enough to stumble back to the hotel if need be. If you don’t mind traveling a short distance, there are over 20 clubs within 5 minutes of the hotel. Chicago is well known for its Blues scene and there are a few places near the hotel to consider. The legendary Buddy Guy has a club just two miles south of the hotel that has live music and great southern style cuisine. Since 1968, Kingston Mines in the Lincoln Park neighborhood has boasted two stages of music and serves up plenty of food and drink every night of the week. For a more trendy experience, check out the House of Blues, just a short taxi from the hotel. Their Back Porch Grill features live music plus a full restaurant menu of food and drink. On Sundays they hold their famous Gospel Brunch with inspiring gospel music and an amazing buffet. Reservations are highly recommended. Many of the bars and clubs in the city stay open late, between 3 and 4 a.m. If you’re planning to be out that late, stop by the desk and we’ll show you a great place for pancakes afterwards.

Chicago is fortunate to have two large museums and two neighborhoods focused on the development and expression of art. The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the cultural gems of Chicago and has been a must-see for every citizen and visitor since 1893. They have one of the world's most notable collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in its permanent collection. Its diverse holdings also include significant Old Master works, American art, European and American decorative arts, and Asian art. They recently added a modern wing to the museum which has increased their collection even further. The Museum of Contemporary Art opened in 1967, it has only been in its current location, which is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues, since 1996. The museum's collection is composed of 1000's of objects of Post-World War II visual art. Besides museums, there are also the River North and Wicker Park neighborhoods that hold individual art galleries. The River North art district hosts the largest concentration of art galleries in the United States outside of Manhattan. The Flat Iron building in Wicker Park is the historic centerpiece of the annual Around the Coyote arts festival held each summer and holds many visual artists and musician of every discipline. Both are easily accessible from the hotel – no more than 10 minutes via taxi.

Chicago is such a large city with so many sights, history and architecture that one of the best things to do when you arrive is to take a tour of it all. Not only will you be educated on the city, but it will also add things to your itinerary that might not have made the list otherwise. During the spring, summer, and fall there are architectural boat tours that run along the river and lake. These tours are a great way to see all the world renowned architecture along the waterway that was the direct result of the Chicago fire. Another great option is the hop on hop off Double Decker and trolley tours. They give a great tour and also make regular stops at all the area attractions, which allow you to venture out and continue the tour at your leisure. There are also mini coach and coach bus tours that take you all around downtown as well as the northern and southern neighborhoods. For the more active individual, there are seasonal bike tours of downtown and kayaking tours of the Chicago River. But, there are even more tours to choice from. There are tours focused on Chicago during the Al Capone era, ghost tours, stretch jeep tours, food tours, chocolate tours, ballpark tours, segway tours, Frank Lloyd Wright tours, cemetery tours, walking tours and if that it’s enough, stop by and I’ll give you a tour of the hotel.

Part of being a Concierge is arranging any sort of amenity a guest may want during their stay. This ranges from champagne and strawberries, chocolates or truffles, wine, cheese, fruit baskets, gift certificates, flowers, balloons, and even gold fish. Even if you would like to airmail pizza, burgers, hotdogs, and barbeque to your friends and family, we can arrange that as well. Pretty much anything that someone needs we can find and arrange – the more creative the better.

The last part of my brain is dedicated to being Houdini. Now this does not mean I do magic tricks or saw people in half, although if you have a credit card with a high balance I can make that happen. This actually refers to a Concierge’s ability to make magic happen and do the impossible. Filling a room to the top with pink balloons, finding the actual Easter Bunny to entertain some children, locating a hard to find Italian pastry that no one seems to know about, and flying to Vegas for the day to get married are all examples of magic that has happened during my time at the Knickerbocker. My favorite example came from a short conversation a few years ago with a gentleman arriving to party with his friends. He stated, “I need my tub filled with chocolate syrup.” After a short pause, my response was, “Sure. Hershey, Godiva, or Ghirardelli?” I encourage everyone to ask their Concierge what kind of magic they can provide, because you never know unless you ask.

My hope is that this lengthy posting gives you insight to what services the hotel Concierge provides as well as information about Chicago that will make your stay that much better. Feel free to call or write me if you have any questions at all or would like to pick my brain.

Diagram of My Brain - Part 1 of 2

The hotel Concierge is a very useful tool to use when you visit a new city. They hold information that “normal” people do not and will surprise you with their knowledge of the city, attractions, culture, and much more. To help demonstrate how a Concierge thinks and why they are so useful, I have created the following diagram of my brain.

Starting with Shopping, this section of my brain focuses on knowing the best places in the city to shop and how I can save my guests money while doing it. The hotel is at the top of the Michigan Avenue shopping district, “The Magnificent Mile”. There are hundreds of stores and several shopping malls that hold ever kind of store imaginable. We are also one block away from Oak Street, Chicago’s answer to Rodeo Drive. There are designer boutiques such as Prada, Juicy and Barney’s plus many more. A short taxi ride will take you to Wicker Park/Bucktown, which is the more eclectic area of Chicago. There are plenty of off the wall local boutiques that you won’t find on Michigan Avenue. If you rather have someone else shop for you, arrangements can be made for a personal shopper and delivery right to your guest room. We can also arrange private shopping excursion and tours upon request. On occasion we keep discount coupons for some of the stores on Michigan Avenue, but you’ll have to ask.

The Diversity area concerns the different neighborhoods Chicago has to offer. There are numerous areas of the city that hold different cultural experiences. Places such as Chinatown, Little Italy, Pilsen, Greek Town, Bucktown, and the Ukraine Village all are within reach of the hotel. The great thing about this city is that you get to experience the world and all it has to offer without actually traveling throughout it. Where else can you get dim sum for breakfast, visit an authentic Greek bakery, speak Sicilian to your waiter during lunch, see Eastern European artwork, and have burritos for dinner?

Chicago is full of theatre options, both local and Broadway. Theatres such as the Oriental Theatre, Cadillac Palace, Bank of America Theatre, and Auditorium Theatre hold the best traveling Broadway shows. Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, Legally Blonde, Young Frankenstein, and Spamalot have all found their way to the Windy City. For a more local feel, check out the Steppenwolf and Goodman for drama, Shakespeare and Royal George for comedy, and the Lookingglass theatre for family oriented shows. Don’t forget to see Second City comedy troupe – they’ll make you laugh with their outrageous sketch comedy shows. Stop by Hot Tix at the Visitors Center on Pearson and Michigan, three blocks from the hotel, for same day half price tickets. Here in Chicago there is something for everyone: from jailhouse inmates to catholic nuns to strange nannies floating away - it’s all here.

A larger section is dedicated to the over 40 museums Chicago has to offer. The museum campus, which consists of The Field Museum, John J. Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium, is a short bus ride from the hotel. The Museum of Contemporary Art is only 3 blocks from the hotel and it has free admission on Tuesday’s – plus in the summer months they have a wonderful farmers market in front, incase you want some flowers or cookies for the room. The Art Institute of Chicago is a short bus ride away and is large enough to spend an entire day inside. It recently opened a modern wing which expanded their collection even further. It is free from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday. The Museum of Science and Industry is a little over 8 miles from the hotel, but you can take a bus directly there. The U-505 submarine, coal mine, “Smart Home”, and Harry Potter exhibit are more than enough to keep the busiest individual occupied and educated. Otherwise, there are many more museums to chose from – the Bridgehouse Museum which gives a closer look on how the bridges of Chicago were engineered and operate; the Museum of Surgical Science gives insight to the development of the medical field, from iron lungs to wild west medicine to the old bone crusher; the DuSable Museum is the best in the area for African American art and history; the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and Children’s Museum are perfect for little ones to release all their energy while learning something new; and if that’s not enough there are still many more to choose from.

Chicago is full of different attractions to see and experience. Chicago holds five of the top ten tallest buildings in the United States. The observatory on the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower, tallest building in America, has a view unsurpassed by any other building. They recently added a glass ledge that allows one to look straight down onto the city. The John Hancock building is multi-functional with an observatory on the 94th floor, restaurant on the 95th floor, and lounge on the 96th floor. Besides the tall buildings, Millennium Park has become an essential park of a Chicago visit. The Crown Fountain, Cloud Gate (aka “The Bean”), Prtizer Pavilion, and the Lurie Garden make it a great place to visit year round. For more information about construction and art of the park, take the audio tour narrated by none other than Chicago native David Schwimmer. Just passed the park is Buckingham Fountain, the largest fountain in Chicago. The fountain was built in 1927, the same years as the Knickerbocker. Every hour on the hour for 20 minutes the fountain produces a major water display with the main jet shooting water 150 feet in the air. Just north of the park is Navy Pier, a large indoor/outdoor complex with boat tours, IMAX theatre, two museums, a funhouse, carousel, restaurants, gift shops – including one that sells Obama hot sauce, and a Ferris Wheel which has the best shoreline view of Chicago.

The interesting part of a being a Concierge is the miscellaneous knowledge of people, places and things that you acquire over time. “Can you teach me how to juggle?” – Sure can, watch me. “Why is it called the Knickerbocker?” – In 1931 Alan Hurst purchased the hotel and renamed it the Knickerbocker to honor his Dutch heritage. “What does the plaque say outside of the old Playboy mansion on State Street?” – It is written in Latin and if you are over 18 I will tell you. “What does the Y mean on all the bridges and manhole covers?” – It stands for the three branches of the Chicago River, a symbol of the Chicago Water Department. “Can you show me where they filmed Adventures in Babysitting, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, all the Batman movies, the Untouchables, and the new Public Enemies movie?” – Absolutely, but you’re going to need a big map. “I need a priest, can you help?” – Yes I can help, I got ordained online. “What does Chicago mean?” – Chicago means land of stinky onions, from a local Native American tribe.

That concludes Part 1 – Part 2 will be posted shortly.