Chicago Classics: Hanabusa Donuts, Stunning Thorne’s Miniatures, and Late Night Stand-Up

By Max Hartshorne
GoNOMAD Editor

Sometimes spur-of-the-moment travel can lead to unexpected fun. This was the case a few weeks ago when my partner asked me if I wanted to go to Chicago for the weekend…on a Wednesday. Sure!

Second City

Our three-day visit to the Second City turned out to be a fast-paced and exciting weekend. 

It felt like we did it all, from the highly recommended Chicago architecture boat tour to eating the legendary deep dish pizza, taking in art exhibits, and even late-night stand-up comedy. 

All of the kinds of things you just can’t do in little old Deerfield or Montague. 

Nope, it was time for a true city break, a 2 ½ hour flight from Boston and we were soon on the train that goes from busy O’Hare International Airport to the Chicago Loop. So many U.S. cities (except ones in New England) have made getting to the airport an easy peasy train ride instead of expensive car parking, shuttles, and hassles. 

In Chicago, the CTA’s blue line whisks you 17 stops from the middle of the city to the airport monorail, and then to the gate, for $5. Try that in Boston!

Deep-Dish at Lou Malnati’s

We found a centrally located inexpensive hotel, the Cambria, which had a lobby and decent-sized rooms in Chicago’s theater district.

This was a great home base for our explorations, which began with finding the famous deep-dish pizza that the city is famous for. 

While the famous joint, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, has a huge subterranean dining room that is always packed, and the wait was long, we managed to grab seats at the bar and soon the thick discs of pie were set in front of us. 

All of the toppings are buried inside the sauce in these pizzas and the crust is thin and buttery. Different and tasty.

One of the aspects of Chicago’s downtown that surprised us was the flower beds…carefully arranged hydrangeas, hostas, and so many other flowering plants, all taken care of, watered, and just out on the streets in row after row.

So Many Flower Beds

The prolific flower beds and the relative lack of litter made Chicago feel so welcoming…and the same is true with the lack of graffiti scars. Although it has to be the most touristic thing you can do in a city, we had a chorus of locals tell us that the Chicago Architecture boat tour was very interesting…and we found out that there are four different outfits that all offer the same tour, and the boats are all packed.

But the facts you learn about the buildings from the unique perspective of the Chicago River help you to understand what makes up the city…and you can even see the famous flag of Chicago with four stars and two bars.

There are so many things to see that this $50 tour is worth it.

Hanabusa Souffle Pancakes

The next morning we were in for a treat, an unusual kind of treat that could only be developed in Japan. Hanabusa souffle pancakes were on tap, but first, we had to wait outside in a long line for one of the few tables to free up. 

These very thick pancakes are as light as air…they are made with whipped egg whites and topped with savory and sweet toppings like custard and sugar that are melted with a torch. 

When you slice into one of these pillows, it’s like you’re taking a bite of air…so good and worth the long wait.  And no more than about 15 minutes to finish and leave. People are waiting!

It was a festive feeling the next Saturday morning in Chi-town and the sunny city was full of families of tourists checking out the river tours and the splash fountains at Millenium Park. I was surprised to see how many families were visiting the city as well as young adults, and college-age travelers with fun on their minds.

My hunch was confirmed when I read that Chicago is topping the charts this summer, with the city ranking as the #1 American city for meetings and events volume for April, May, and June.

We made our way to the famous Art Institute of Chicago, where one of the highlights was a new exhibit of paintings of New York City by Georgia O’Keefe.

The museum’s collection is vast, with room after room of stunning impressionist paintings as well as a very unique gallery called The Thorne Miniature Rooms.

This is a collection of more than 68 amazingly detailed interiors. The Art Institute’s rooms document European and American interiors from the late 13th century to the 1930s and the 17th century to the 1930s, respectively.

Constructed on a 1:12 scale, the rooms are largely made of the same materials as full-sized rooms, and some even include original works of art. Tiny windows into another time, these are remarkable to see!

Mr Beef on Orleans

After checking off these two famous Chicago activities the boat and the Art Institute, we set out to find another of the city’s most famous foods, the Chicago beef sandwich.  We got in line outside of Mr. Beef on Orleans to savor the meat for ourselves. This classic dive has been made famous by the hit TV show, ‘The Bear’. 

Every bit of wall space inside the cramped restaurant is filled with dusty photos of stars who had their photos taken enjoying the soggy beef sandwiches, none more recent than 2000, but it made the point.  This is one of the most no-bs joints you can imagine, it felt like we were getting soup from the Soup N—. 

“Cash only, no substitutions, no bathrooms, no trays, no questions, no slowing down the line”… all laid out in a tongue-in-cheek sign…you get it.  But take a bite of that roasted, thinly sliced, savory beef and peppers and prepare to swoon. It was damn good!!

Chicago is a great walking town, in all of the Loop and Downtown and Old Town areas we felt safe.

We found ourselves moving as we often do in a city, putting in thousands of steps as we stopped by other interesting sights like an empty area near the river and the future sight of a giant new development that the city is building.

One spectacle was a four-story Starbucks Reserve Roastery which was like four huge cafes all on top of one another.  We learned that there are 184 Starbucks in Chicago but this is the world’s largest! 

Saturday for Comedy

For our Saturday night in Second City, we took a city bus across town and visited Chicago’s Old Town, which was about 20 minutes away, and changed from skyscrapers to two and three-story buildings with lots of clubs, bars, and restaurants.  We found an inexpensive restaurant the Old Jerusalem Cafe where we enjoyed Middle Eastern specialties sitting out on the street. 

A few blocks away was Zanie’s where at 11:15 pm their stand-up comedy show would commence. We squeezed into our seats and enjoyed a slate of six comedians with only a few duds in the mix. Chicago for the weekend proved to be both invigorating and inspiring, and we didn’t break the bank.  City breaks are a great way to throw some excitement into your summer.

Find out more at Choose Chicago