So far on our Chicago itinerary we’ve had dinner at Revival Food Hall and saw Hamilton, snagged donuts at Do-Rite, explored the Art Institute, found Shake Shack, visited a nature museum, and more. You can read about it in part one and part two.
Now we pick up after exploring the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum next to the Lincoln Park Zoo. (Columbus friends, your COSI membership gets you into the Nature Museum for free!) It was dinner time, and we wanted something easy, but interesting. Fortunately, close by on Clark Street we found Chopo Chicken, a fast casual spot with a menu built around Peruvian grilled chicken. We enjoyed it thoroughly, and would love to see something like this in Columbus.
And what do you know… across the street was a Firecakes Donuts location.
Firecakes is another one of those names that popped up any time I asked for Chicago donut recommendations. The Lincoln Park stop is a cute little corner cafe, with bright turquoise branding. We enjoyed a mix of glazed yeast pastries, sprinkled cake donuts, and…
…their signature ice cream sandwiches: a glazed yeast donut stuffed with ice cream and chocolate sauce.
The next morning we had breakfast at the Bongo Room in Wicker Park. I miscalculated the time, so we actually arrived 45 minutes early. No matter! We walked a couple doors down to Wormhole Coffee instead. Wormhole is a wonderful 80s throwback. How about a cortado with a Teddy Graham?
The coffee is great – I loved the Koopa Troopa latte – and if you’re the right age, you’ll enjoy all the 80s knick-knacks and bits of technology, including a full Back to the Future 2-era DeLorean.
After coffee and breakfast, we drove south to the main attraction of the day: the Museum of Science & Industry. (Columbus friends: it’s also free with a COSI membership!) The Museum is one of those giant complexes that you can spend multiple days exploring. We started in the transportation wing, packed with planes and trains.
It was heaven for our train-loving six-year-old. There were mid-century passenger trains like the Pioneer Zephyr…
…to older steam locomotives.
One whole wing is dedicated to weather and other natural phenomena. You can see tornado and avalanche simulations, a working Tesla coil, wave simulators, and so much more.
Seriously, I can’t really capture it in photos. We spent hours there, and still left more to explore (including the U-boat!). One of the best things about the museum is that the building itself is one of the only remaining structures from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Even that warrants some exploration.
After the museum, we snagged lunch at Noodles, Etc., a Pan Asian restaurant nearby, then went to Maggie Daley Park for some completely non-dramatic play time.
That evening, Beth and the boys got pizza and donuts in Wicker Park while I headed to the Garfield Park Conservatory for my cousin’s wedding. It’s a stunning venue. (And congrats, Marty and Eli!)
There’s so much to love about Chicago, especially for the young ones. If your kids are like our boys, they may be content with just riding the train for an hour or two.
Another wonderful Chicago trip in the books. We’re looking forward to going back already.
If you haven’t already, check out part one and part two of the trip!
