I went to Chicago this past week for Neocon, which is a huge trade show for vendors to the commercial interiors community. The show takes place in the Merchandise Mart, which is a gigantic building on the Chicago River. Before the show starts, many people get into the city a little early to take advantage of the wonderful restaurants, sightseeing, art and architecture in the city. The last time I was in Chicago for Neocon was about 3 years ago.
This time I stayed at the JW Marriott. The hotel is beautiful, with comfy mattresses and a gorgeous bathroom (separate shower and gigantic tub). After our group settled in, a few of us headed to Ribfest which was located north of the downtown area. We didn't really know what to expect and the weather was overcast and chilly, plus we were starving, having had only airplane food. Turns out this is a fantastic food feast! Lots of rib cooking restaurants in the area had booths providing all kinds of ribs, both pig and cow, as well as related foods (sliders, cornbread, etc). The air was smoky with the smell of all the meat cooking. We tried 2 different spare ribs, corn bread, pork sliders and some maple bacon doughnut holes. The ribs were better than expected but the doughnuts were a little disappointing. After we had our fill and as the temperature continued to drop, we headed back downtown to meet the rest of the gang for deep dish pizza. I had no intention of eating any more but when the beautiful pies showed up, it was impossible not to at least take a few bites.
On Sunday, a large group of us had brunch on one of the lake cruise ships. The food is served buffet style in an indoor deck with access to the top deck for views of the skyline. The weather remained changeable so it was nice to have the protected deck to retreat to. Eventually the skies cleared and we were able to get some beautiful views of the city. After the boat came back to dock, a few of us headed to Michigan Ave to get mani/pedis and then do a little shopping. Some of us needed some warmer clothes, plus I wanted to bring the girls to Nakamol, which I was introduced to a few years ago by my friend Beth. The store has moved since then and is in a smaller location. Their sale tables were as wonderful as last time, and we all came away with unique jewelry pieces as souvenirs of the trip. For dinner, we tried to get into The Girl and the Goat, but it was packed and we were starving, so we had steaks at Rosebud Prime. Megan and I shared a giant ribeye, barely finishing half of it between us, along with mussels, chased down with a delicious Chateau Margaux. The wait staff in this city are like many you find in New York, they are professional service people and it shows. After dinner, we took a cab to the Hancock building to try and get into the bar for a view of the city at night. The skies were crisp and clear and you could see for miles.
During the trade show, the days are spent walking from showroom to showroom, taking tours and learning about new vendors, but a person has to eat, so I had lunches at Nick's Fishmarket (inside the Mart, which was nice) and Coco Pazzo, a delicious Italian place I'd been to a few years ago. On Monday night, many companies have cocktail parties both in the showroom and at outside venues. One of the best is the Interface party at ZED 451. They seem to have their event here every year and they always do it up right, taking over the whole place, providing a huge spread of noshes and a signature cocktail. This year's was Bourbon Lemonade. A nice treat was the wine tasting provided inside their wine closet, with paired cheeses. Delicious! From the Interface party, we hitched a ride to a warehouse district that is apparently becoming gentrified (like the meatpacking area in NYC or the warehouse area in downtown LA) where Coalesse had their party. I ran into someone I used to know in LA! What a coincidence. Dinner on Monday was at Red Canary, a small gastropub. We pretty much took over one side of the restaurant. The food was delicious, pot pies, fried chicken, mac and cheese, etc. It was a table full of interesting women of all ages. On Tuesday, dinner was at Socca, with a crowd of about 50. This time dinner was served family style, which was nice as it allowed for some measure of portion control after so many days of huge feasts. The food was fantastic and the company equally wonderful. A few of us headed to the bar at the W Hotel afterwards for drinks. The beauty of this location was that it was across the street from our own hotel, making for an easy stumble back to our rooms after.
On Wednesday, we were scheduled to leave on a 1p flight, but it was cancelled so after some finagling we were scheduled on a 7p flight to OC. That was not a pleasant thought, but it did allow for some time to go for a walk and to visit the Art Institute. They had some wonderful new things on display, but we concentrated on the masterpieces in their collection, including Edward Hopper's Blackhawk diner, Seurat's Sunday on the Grande Jatte, Monet's haystacks, etc.
By the time we all got home, everyone was pretty exhausted but I'd bet we'll all be looking forward to Neocon again when it rolls around next year!
Here are some of the photos I took.
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