Traveling to Chi Town!

Evening Gents!

In August, my family will be traveling to Chicago for 2 days. We plan to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo and to attend a Cubs Vs Dodgers game. We're still not sure in what part of town we'll be staying, as we're only stopping by for those 2 days, then driving to the bustling metropolis of Bettendorf, IA to attend a wedding (my 3 year old is the "Ring Bear") . As is the case any time I travel though, I wonder what and where the best shops are for shaving gear and fountain pens. I can only seem to find reference to Mertz Apothecary and an Art of Shaving. Are there any other places? Any FP shops?

Merz is really the only place I've heard of apart from resale shops in my recent searching, though I haven't been at wet shaving that long. Good luck finding other places and let us know if you've found somewhere!

jzuzphreek said:

Are there any other places? Any FP shops?

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900 N. Michigan has both a Truefitt & Hill shop (the only one in the US) and Mont Blanc store. It could be a very expensive visit for you.

I'm a Chicago native, so please feel free to PM if you want recommendations of restaurants, places to stay or anything else.

Nick

Wow that place seems nice, thanks for pointing that out (I am in Chi-town fairly often). It's too bad it isn't within my budget you were right about that.

Merz is definitely a nice spot and not out of the way for you as you'll already be on the North Side. The Lincoln Square area it's in is pretty nice to walk around as well.

Kailand09 said:

Wow that place seems nice, thanks for pointing that out (I am in Chi-town fairly often). It's too bad it isn't within my budget you were right about that.

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They are quite generous with samples at the T&H store, so it's always worth a visit just for window shopping. They have lots of stuff other that T&H products, too. I bought a really nice flask there for $22. Not everything they carry is pricey.

Nick

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to stop in next time I'm around.

What about Cafes? Any of certain note?

Terrible web site, wonderful store: http://www.centurypenschicago.com/

All of my friends' favorite restaurant at the moment; not too far from Wrigley Field: http://revolucionsteakhouse.com/

jzuzphreek said:

What about Cafes? Any of certain note?

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Cafes for dinner or just for coffee or dessert? Any kind of food in particular that you enjoy?

I can offer plenty of suggestions, but I want to point you in the right direction.

Nick

Well, I got a list of specialty coffee shops from home-barista. These should be plenty for 2 days!! At least, one would hope!

Bow Truss Coffee Roasters
http://gaslightcoffeeroasters.com/
http://ipsento.com/
http://www.thewormhole.us/
http://caffestreets.com/
https://counterculturecoffee.com/
http://www.buzzkillerespresso.com/

jzuzphreek said:

Well, I got a list of specialty coffee shops from home-barista. These should be plenty for 2 days!! At least, one would hope!

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That list didn't include my favorite roaster in town. Their cafe is nothing special and the neighborhood isn't glamorous, but their coffee is superb:

http://www.metropoliscoffee.com/

Nick

That does look good... completely out of the way from where we'll be though.

jzuzphreek said:

That does look good... completely out of the way from where we'll be though.

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Yeah, it's pretty far north in the city. Do you know where you'll be staying?

Of the places on your list, I've only been to Wormhole and Caffestreets. Both are good, but Wormhole is probably better and is in a more interesting neighborhood.

Nick

Nick Danger said:

Yeah, it's pretty far north in the city. Do you know where you'll be staying?

Of the places on your list, I've only been to Wormhole and Caffestreets. Both are good, but Wormhole is probably better and is in a more interesting neighborhood.

Nick

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Not sure yet. Recommendations? Anything less than $200 a night would be a good start! lol

Here's a map of our POI. Navy Pier, Wrigley Field, Lincoln Park Zoo, The 2 Mertz Locations, Century Pens, Sears (What you talkin' 'bout Willis?) Tower, and the list of cafes I posted earlier.

Jessy:

The selection at the two Merz locations isn't that different, so it's not necessary to visit both. There is more at the one on Lincoln Avenue, but I'm not sure if it's enough to be worth going out of your way to visit.

As far as reasonably-priced hotels, one my friends was very pleased with the Hotel Indigo: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelindigo/hotels/us/en/chicago/chigc/hoteldetail

It's not a posh hotel, but it's in a excellent neighborhood that is walking distance from the Michigan Avenue shopping distract. It's just a few blocks from where I live, and it's a lovely part of Chicago.

Nick

Yeah, I wasn't intending on visiting both, just which ever one we ended up being closer to.

If you need cigars for the wedding, check out Iwan Ries on Wabash between Monroe and Madison. Great selection.

When I visited Chicago for some training I really enjoyed the Berghoff.