Chicago Escapades | Pre-NEOCON Playtime

As an interior designer, it is always exciting to attend the NEOCON Trade Show in Chicago and I have always planned a weekend excursion prior to the trade show to be the infamous tourist to discover what’s new or relive some of my fond memories of Chicago’s finest.  Here are some of my finds from this year’s pre-NEOCON escapade!

My colleague Robin and I arrived a little late in the day on Saturday, and we’re of course starving by the time we checked in to our hotel, so we went on a quick jaunt around our hotel and found Pizzeria DUE.

PD is part of the family of restaurants from the famous Pizzeria UNO.  In fact, UNO is cattycorner across the street, but the charm of PD drew us in first and we enjoyed a Birdseye view from the outdoor balcony seating.  I have had Giordano’s before and by far, I like the crust and cheese of PD’s better.

Tips:

1. If the wait for a table inside is too long, consider sitting upstairs/outside. They have both café curb seating and covered portico seating available.
2. Do not order any appetizers because you won’t be able to finish your pizza.
3. Prepare to wait about 45 minutes for your deep-dish pizza.
4. A small pizza is a perfect size for 2 people who don’t have a huge appetite (comes with HUGE 4 slices).

Later that night we met up with friends at Siena Tavern. Kudos to the Dine|Amic Group’s vision for this fine addition to Chicago.

What a fabulously designed space! It has that modern, hip atmosphere that most urban foodies will enjoy.  The interior is layered in textures with a mixed use of leathers, woods and forged repurposed metal detailing in the furniture, bar and wall ornamentation. One could only speculate that the metal was salvaged from an airplane and the wall art is from a bank depository.  Unfortunately since we were already pretty stuffed with pizza, we weren’t able to partake in the wonderful pasta they make from scratch but we can definitely speak to their beverage menu.

Tips:

1. If you are rediscovering gin again, try their No. 4 plymouth, lavender honey, lemon, crème de violette
2. If bourbon is your thing, then try No. 10 woodford double oaked, luxardo bitters & maraschino, apricot
3. Just a beer please, then don’t overlook Unibroue La Fin du Monde!
4. Of course there is wine and plenty to ponder about. Mostly hand selected from Italy.
5. Don’t partake? Tap water and lemon.  Chicago’s water is actually very good.

Our Sunday started out pretty early with a walk that ended up turning into an 8 mile hike. Chicago is such a walkable city and so beautiful at daybreak along the Riverwalk and Lakefront Trail which skim around the waterfront. It is very easy to lose oneself exploring.

After a quick brunch, we decided on the spur of the moment to experience a Cubs game so we flagged a taxi and headed to Wrigley Field where there are no megatron’s and they still change the scoreboard by hand.  What a wonderful old school style baseball field.  Check out these last minute seats.  Not bad, huh? Well, ok –we did cheat a little by occupying some empty seats.  What a view!  And I am not speaking only about the ballgame –the people watching is fantastic.  Blue hair, mullets and beer from cans make for an interesting conversation.  In case you were wondering: Cubs won 4-1 against the Pirates.

Tips:

1. You must try an authentic Chicago hotdog here with a side of tots!
2. If going on the spur of the moment like we did, make sure to ask for home seats under the Terrace otherwise you may end up in the outfield in the Budwieser Bleachers.  Not cool.
3. If Sports is not your thing, you will still enjoy your time if you visit between May-September.  Chicago is a festival town. There’s always something going on in some neighborhood as well as for outdoor concerts and special exhibits at the museums.

To conclude our Pre-NEOCON festivities, we rounded out our Sunday with a little networking by attending the annual IIDA COOL Black Tie Gala celebration at the Ritz Carlton.  Many thanks go to our gracious hosts and friends at The Mohawk Group for treating us to a delightful evening.  The award ceremonies, chapter awards and the winning design firm’s entries were really jaw dropper’s this year.  I have to give a special shout out to my Georgia Chapter for receiving the 2013 Largest Chapter Award.  Check out the IIDA website for all the winners for the 40^th Annual Interior Design Competition and the 21^st Annual Will Ching Design Competition. Receiving the highest honors, and duly so, was the project submitted by HGA Architects and Engineers, MN, US for the Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum, MN, US.  You could hear the room gasp in awe when the presenter announced that the photo slides we were viewing were of a mausoleum. Their design was so stunning and so inspiring.  It takes designs such as these to keep us architects and designers pushing the limits and we thank you for that!

Check back soon for Part II -The Best of NEOCON

by: Brenda Dietz, RID, IIDA, LEED AP ID+C