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.