I'm glad you straighten him out about the hot dogs🤣 Kids put ketchup on hot dogs up til a certain age *then* they're expected to ditch it. The Dibs in the winter is no joke. Hipsters think they can buck the trend. *Umm* *Nope*. I lived in Wicker Park for 20 yrs. I seen a few hipsters with egged cars or cars immersed in ice-cause they parked in a shoveled spot l also learned- if I got home late. I better prepare to hunt for a parking spot-perhaps blocks away. Chgo is 1-of the *Realest* *Cities* in the u.s. It's the real city (Where) if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere (No Disrespect to N.Y.)
I was born and raised in the Midwest but did not visit Chicago until after I had moved away. What a fabulous city! We LOVED the Museum of Science and Industry and taking a harbor tour - fun to see the city from the water.
How do you mention the cost of parking and “multi-lane switches” without once mentioning that Chicago has arguably the nation’s best transit system outside NYC? Much of the city is not best explored by car.
I’ve lived here(Chicago) my entire life, and I love it. We don’t have the best transit system. I guess it’s better than LA, and some others, but it is nowhere near the best.
Another shock of Chicago is its inconsistent weather especially in the spring time. For example one day it will be 82 degrees and a few days later it’s only 55. Witnessing three or all seasons in one week isn’t uncommon. Wait a minute that’s what is happening now. Saturday felt like summer, Sunday was like spring today feels like fall and in a few days it’s going to be in the low 40s so winter like weather. You got to be prepared for it all when it comes to weather here.
I live very close to Chicago too, about an hour away in Indiana by the lake It's been super weird weather this year and a few weeks ago it was snowing and a couple days before that it was in the 70s or maybe 80s The past few weeks in general have been weird. Fluctuating between basically summer weather and 40 degree weather. So happy it's balanced out for the next week or so in the 50s and 60s, though I wish it was a bit warmer
@@juliasings6131 I live close to the Indiana border so I am in Indy all of the time as Indy has better sales tax and gas prices. 😁 Yes, you guys basically get the same weather!
Was on the L as a cubs games was coming out, some Jamaican guy was on it drinking Hennessy and a cubs fan, clearly already drunk, shouts “yo let me get a shot” and he hands the bottle over, tells him to keep going, then later offers him more. Then as the Jamaican guy gets off the L he does a flip on the bars from the top of the train. Love Chicago!
I left the Southside back in 1972. Have not been back, I am still a Chicagoan. The video shows how things have changed but the core of the City has not changed. Reason for leaving was two fold. 1) got excepted to Grad. School at San Jose State U. In Recreation, this was after I grad. From S.I.U back in 1972 in Outdoor Rec. & Education. 2) was the arthritis that I grew up with, if I did not leave I would have ended up in a wheel chair. I worked as a Park Ranger for four different Fed.Agencies. Been retired for over 17 yrs. What I learned growing up on the Southside help me to deal with people, when I was a Park Ranger.
Mark, I'm starting to think that you are from Chicago. As somebody that spent the first 30 years of my life on the west side, you pronounce 'Chicago' just the way that many Irish people that I know used to say it. There's one major thing that you need to talk about with regard to Chicago. That's Italian beef sandwiches!!!! The first thing that I do when I get into town from Ireland is go straight to Portillos. Not quite as good as the old-time neighborhood Italian beef stands, but those beef sandwiches are to die for!!! Thinking about the au juice is making my mouth water as I write these words. In fact, when I was a kid I used to mow the McCarthy's grass next door. First thing after I got paid was ride my bike up to Connie's Beef to get 2 beef sandwiches. Pizza and hot dogs are fine, but Italian beef is truly Chicagoan! Great job as always!
Yes! Jocelyn and I mentioned the Italian Beef sandwiches in the "Eats of Chicago" video that went up on her channel this morning! So true, it's a must-try!
I've watched a few of these Chicago video tours and I'm very surprised that nobody talks about how many unbelievable music venues Chicago has. All the big-time bands come through but you can attend some excellent live music event for relatively little money. And Chicago has every kind of music you can imagine with festivals every week. Pre-covid-19 there was not one single weekend all summer long where some neighborhood was having a festival of some sort.
2:25 I had a job where I commuted on the blue line from River North to Logan Square and then back in the afternoon. And I always sat in the last car because it was closest to the exit at the station I got off at. I would often literally be the only non-tourist in the car. They all had their suitcases with the airline stickers and would be reading through brochures or trying to look stuff up on their phone, or confused on where to go...the amount of time I spent helping them...I kinda felt like the board of tourism should've been giving me a stipend or something. But when you hear people having a conversation thats like "I think its (incorrect statement)." "no, I think its (also wrong). "You're both off, its (wrong again)." and you know the correct answer, its hard not to chime in. I guess thats the teacher in me. There were times it felt like I was doing a Q&A session or something.
What shocks me is, barring I-94, Chicago is really easy to get around. I don't think the traffic approaches the soul-deadening levels of an city like Atlanta. Also, I love me some Italian Beef, specifically Johnnie's Beef. Finally, not once have I felt unsafe in Chicago. A great American city.
1st thing @running4kabob *Hardly* *ANYONE* uses interstate designations. Dan Ryan, Kennedy, Ike, Bishop Ford, Edens etc,. We have to *think* when you say *I-94* 🤣 Good Lord. I used to live off North Ave for many years. Now I live South in Beverly. Whenever, I go up North, I gotta get Johnny's or Al's for Italian Beef/Lemonade. Jimnys for hot dogs & a trip to Roeser's Bakery. *Good* *Times* 😋
Not according to the department of transportation! LA, Chicago, Boston, DC are constantly the worst cities for traffic so I certainly wouldn’t say it’s easy to get around! Not gonna argue with you about the crime statistics, but you obviously didn’t drive much in Chicago ha ha…..
@@FrankRizzo7080 I mean, I've been to Chicago every year for the past decade. Still, I can't deny the statistics. Maybe there is just something exciting about the city that prevents me from getting riled up while sitting in traffic.
It gets real bad for the commute with Suburb to City or vice versa workers. So the Edens, Dan Ryan etc. are pretty bad around 7-10am and 3-8pm. But the rest of the time, it sorta moves, there are zones of speed and people will pass slow cars to get ahead. Just make sure your breaks work and don't leave too much room between you and the car in front of you or you will just infuriate people behind and around you.
Giordano's isn't really Chicago Style pizza, it is made in a pan and looks similar to Uno (the original Chicago deep dish pizza) or Lou Malnati's (my personal favorite), but Giordano's is a stuffed pizza and really is its own thing. Also, Chicago has two styles of pizza, not just one. In addition to the deep dish is pub style, which is a thin crust pizza cut into squares. For many of us who grew up in and around Chicago, pub style is the pizza we grew up eating and deep dish was something special you got when you made a trip downtown or if you were lucky enough to live in the northern suburbs where Malnati's originated.
Lifelong Chicagoan here. I came in to say something clever like "Chicago, come for the food and museums and stay because you got shot" or "if you don't like the weather in Chicago, just wait a few minutes......it will change"......but you guys did a good job with this video. Cheers.
Assuming there would be any "shocks" it would be for first time visitors-rookies. So it's a big miss to not include the miles and miles of beautiful lakefront, including perfect white sand beaches walking distance from Michigan Ave/downtown. That's very rare in the heart of big cities.
When I went to Chicago the first time, I was in shock that there was a drive thru McDonalds right downtown. I thought that part of Chicago would be kinda like Manhattan and wouldn't have drive thrus.
As someone who lived in NYC for eight years before moving back to Chicago, I can say that it's really nice how much easier it is to drive downtown! I guess there's more room for things like drive-throughs when the city isn't built on a small island!
@@MeansToTravel Except of course for the fact that the entirety of the Loop is an island! I think the thing that confused me a bit when I started working in River North was how hazy the concept of "Downtown" is here.
@@CourageToLiveTrue Hello, are you from Chicago? I would like to visit one day. I am from Scotland, and mainly live in the countryside. I want to see a big American city.
I used to live in Chicago, one thing I hear people mention all the time is the violence. This is only in a couple neighborhoods in the south and west. It’s not nearly as bad as the media makes it out to be. Love Chicago
Same way where I'm from. I had an in law say I was from a "ghetto area". There are two parks in the town next to mine where there are drugs and shootings. His neighborhood has a hooker trailer park and a know drug abuser on his street.
Individuals are robbed at gun point in front of their condo bldg at N Michigan and Walton at mid day. Or carjacked down town during daytime, or downtown looting, shooting and robbing 24/7 and visitors think that's only in a few neighborhoods. Or just look at places like Water Tower Place....Empty.!!! Go ahead and risk your life; not me. The CPD won't be there for you either.
I'm glad you mentioned the "right kind of Chicago style pizza." People don't realize that there's a difference between Chicago deep dish pizza & Chicago style pizza. 🍕 🍕
I live in Chicago and my style of pizza is the one that is thin crusted, full of stuff on top, you hold a slice with one hand, fold it until the oil drips out, then put it in your mouth and eat it, in one smooth move, get it?
@@johnplampin7274 Ah, ah, ah, I learned this "folding " thing from a guy in Queens and also some people in Brooklyn, decades ago, I tried it and it was OK, but only on " thin crust ", don't knock it till you try it!
@@dc10fomin65 another example of New Yorkers trying to impose their ideas on the rest of us. Of course true Chicago thin pizza is in squares not foldable wedges.
@@johnplampin7274 I am 73 years old, there used to be a time when all pizzas were " pie cut ", I don't really even remember when they started cutting pizzas in "squares", so, if I want to " fold " I ask the pizza to be pie cut, very simple. I don't mind being influenced by others, that;s how we " learn " things! best regards to you !see you later, alligator!
Best Chicago memory: the Field Museum Worst Chicago memory: coming home from a different vacation and having our first plane get so delayed that we couldn’t make our connection so we had to get a hotel at midnight.
Haha My worst Chicago memory was a time we visited a friend for a shopping trip in the winter. I got sick in the middle of the day walking around and had to deal with it for a long part of the day before we went back to our friend's apartment (obviously, all before covid haha)
Only thing missing from this fun and informative clip....is the "soul" food. Doesn't get any better than that....than in Chicago. Yeah, I'm a Chicagoan!
I live in California now but lived in Chicago for 25 yrs and it's always gonna be my second home as my siblings still lives there. Love your shocking list. Laughing so hard at the amount of potholes in Chicago. There's hardly any here in California. But the worse drivers in my opinion are not from Chicago, California wins that! And everyone who lives outside of Chicago, lives in the suburbs. Chicago is a top notch town. So pretty especially in the summer. People are so friendly.
What will shock you, Chicago style pizza is NOT thick, deep dish. It is super thin, called tavern style pizza. What he showed is often known as “tourist pizza”, natives know it is NOT thick pizza. Sure, locals occasionally eat it, but tavern style is what Chicago style pizza is all about, cut in small squares. The farther away from downtown, the better the pizza. She must not really be a native if she doesn’t know Chicago pizza is super thin.
I guess that depends on the Chicagoan. I've lived in Chicago all my life and I definitely mean Deep Dish when I'm talking about Chicago-style. The other kind I have had, but honestly it's the opposite over here, that kind is only popular at schools or events to feed a lot of people. Usually Deep-Dish is way more popular, not counting the cheap pizza places like Dominos, Pizza Hut, etc.
@@IreneShardaForever perhaps, and never said not eaten, but without question deep dish less frequently eaten by majority of locals, with exponentially more pizza places (locals, not chains) serving thin crust pizza.
Heading up for a day trip today! Spot hero is a must for parking. Love parking at millennium park garage for half price. Plus EV charging in the garage.
Chicago's best trick on tourists is traffic reports. No one will give interstate numbers, every highway has a name that only the locals know. Truckers hate Chicago because of this.
I always watch your ‘don’t’ videos before going to anyyy place.. ❤️❤️😀we went to chicago and felt few things as well.. 😊😊😊Thanks for putting everything together 🔥🔥🔥 for ‘chicago baby’
Interesting thing about our culture is we’re attached to the original names on what we call certain places. Most notably, residents refer to Willis Tower as Sears Tower. Culturally, when someone is known for a long time and names change. We stick to it because it’s what we think is familiar. My advice from a Chicago area resident, it’s best to call places by their originals respectively because it’s what most people call it!
Another addendum to the parking problem is that lots of tourists get towed because they don't see the "temporary parking notices" that are posted on the utility poles on many streets in Chicago. These are limited date and time notices that state you cannot park in a particular place on certain dates at certain times. We once saw more than twenty cars get towed on Milwaukee Avenue in a single night. Many were tourists visiting Nick's to hear blues. If you don't want to add $200-$300 to your rental bill, take Uber or Lyft - and NEVER take an "independent" cab.
If you have out of state tags, you can park in a suburb city and take the trains in! No one visiting in my family ever got ticketed parking in Batavia, La Grange, Hinsdale, or Oak Park; you just can't park overnight most places, so if you plan on doing that double check the signage or ask a beat cop. It's also half the price to stay in a hotel outside and take the train into the city and walk or taxi around.
5:50 a buddy of mine is the cultural ambassador for Malort. He actually loves it. Last time I took a shot of it, I ran to the bathroom and puked my brains out.
So interesting to learn that square cut was invented on the South Side, since I always associated it with STL and not Chicago! I just looked into the history a little and it sounds like square cut was invented by bars on the south side in order to easily give pizza away for free to customers so they'd keep drinking! Too funny. I've personally never paid for square cut pies, because I like to be able to hold it by the crust as part of the eating experience. :)
Lolol Wolter is absolutely right. I live in Chicago. Pequod's Pizza!!!! Also Chicago pizza is deep dish, but locals eat tavern style so please try that too. Deep dish is only for when people visits us! Malort sucks. But you can’t visit Chicago and not try malort. Might as well not come. Try a polish dog. Maxwells. And lastly…… NO KETCHUP. Lol
The Chicago Cultural Center is really good. I can also recommend the free Chicago Greeter tours (unfortunately cannot post a link), which are really free and individual tours. My son and I did a tour of Polish Chicago (my great-grandparents married at St. John Cantius, a Polish parish at the time) and the downtown (including the former Iroquois theater, site of one of the worst fires in US history). Chicago is a wonderful destination, except in the summer (too humid) and winter (possible polar vortex).
I had a good laugh about the potholes in Chicago. In college there was a guy from Chicago who said that his street didn't have any potholes one year, so the city came and jack hammered them one so they wouldn't be left out.
If you can drive in Chicago, you can drive anywhere. I’m bias but I think Chicago has the best drivers out of all the major cities in the US. We love driving fast with awareness as much as we can
Malort kinda seems to be how we see Akvavit in Scandinavia. It's disgusting on it's own, but on the other hand the after-taste of Akvavit fits well with a lot of dinners, especially at Christmas. Great video!
I moved out of chicago and my biggest shocks. 1. No blinkers ,people weaving in and out of lanes like maniacs. 2. Weight gain- the food is pure heaven. You cant resist. 3. Prices of anything in downtown. Or tourist hotspots. Complete ripoff. Bring a backpack with essentials. Umbrella/pack of tissue-toilet/ water bottle you can fill up free at spots at the beach/ snacks/flip flops(highly reccomend running shoes /croc sandals if you walking downtown -switch out when going to beach)/towel/meds like tylenol. 4. If your going downtown for the day-your gonna walk. Alot. Thats why i love eating and walking there. Burn it off. The weather changes. Layer up. Dress comfortably with comfortable shoes. 5. Shock for me - alot of traveling. You can just go 2 places and there goes the whole day. 6. To me the variety of people in chicago rivals new york. I joke chicago is the lil brother of new york. Chicagoans are earthy and love to have fun. Quick to dance if the beat is good. 7. One on my favorite memories was driving in june and my block had music blasting and barebecues from 3 different houses. 1. played old school house music 2 .played mexican music 3 . played 90s r and b. Of course the smell is amazing. The vibe that day was so great in the hood. My mom and i sat on the front steps guessing songs and catching up. I put it as a shock because i live far up north and i forget how "cool" my city is. Just stay out of the sketchy hoods at night and you will be fine. Nobody goes there anyway. Its far from downtown. Chicago IS HUGE!!
There's a parking problem here. Get a "transit pass", travel this way is very easy and affordable. If in a car you might have to park blocks away, or go around to find a parking spot - locals never use parking garages, too expensive - taxi cabs are also too expensive.
@@1Skorpia the busses are better now but in the summer there's crowding and they do two busses in a row, the train is easy, rides are expensive. I would just rent a car and search for parking, but I learned to drive here, so I can fit the small spaces. There's parking eventually
We don't park top, we always take someone with us to sit in the car while we run in to take care of business. In a pinch there's an alley that runs between Wells and LaSalle right in front of City Hall.
@@charlesandrews2360I'm talking overall at the end of the day residential when they all come home. It got much worse from when I was a kid, not every neighborhood but most, especially in winter. I wouldn't park in alleys, good way to get towed. Been there.
@@charlesandrews2360 yeah if you have someone to drive that's how we do business downtown sometimes. The Northside is creeping south to eat up the parking spots.
Lol I love this, Greeting from Chicago. Weirdly I've never heard of Malort until this video and I've lived here my whole life! Maybe it's only popular in some parts of the city? One thing you will find out about Chicago is that because of the neighborhoods, one section of the city might be completely different from another side. The south side is not like the north side, the east side is not like the west side, etc. Some of the rules also don't always apply. Parking is pretty easy and pretty much always free on my side of town, but north side is a nightmare to find parking lol. Also, from what most of what they're showing on here is mostly north side stuff. There is a whole lot more to Chicago than that.
It's been around but it's gotten trendy the last maybe 5 or 10 years. I used to visit the city in college with friends from Chicago and no one ever offered me malort. Now it seems to be a thing
I am half Swedish and did not know "malort" outside of Sweden, if it is the same thing! In Sweden its called malört and it is a snapps that is not a common shot. Normally consumed together with crayfish in august or with herring during easter or Christmas.
One should distinguish between "Chicago style" and "Chicago style deep dish." Many stubborn folk will argue that Chicago-style pizza is basically New York style but cut in rows and columns. (And these people somehow call those "squares," despite them not having parallel and perpendicular congruent lines.) These snobs will call "deep dish" "tourist food," despite that one of the major deep dish players actually started in the suburbs. (Last I heard, there wasn't exactly a hot tourist market in Lincolnwood.) My wife and I went to Pizzeria Due some years ago. We knew to order the individual size. Meanwhile, a couple of tables over was a couple from NYC (via England) who, being used to New York pizza, ordered a LARGE. The look of horror on their faces when the behemoth was plunked down in front of them was priceless! Regardless of what you say about deep dish, as a fourth-generation Chicagoan, I love the stuff! It's not my favorite pizza, but I love it nonetheless. The no-ketchup-on-hot-dogs thing is NOT a Chicago thing - it's a UNIVERSAL thing. Go to Coney Island and try to get ketchup on your Nathan's and see what happens. And remember what Dirty Harry said? Well...remember: that took place in San Francisco. The thing about ketchup is that Chicagoans are probably the LOUDEST about it. I would like to argue that the rule only applies to *beef*-based hot dogs; the ketchup has too much sugar on it, kills the flavor of the beef. I would say that if you're eating a pork-based hotdog, the condiment rules are gone, because, frankly, pork-based hot dogs suck and need whatever enhancements they can get.
A bartender once bought me a shot of Malort. I'll describe it. Picture a weed choked vacant lot in a hot August. Mow down the weeds,flood the lot, and let it fester in the sun for two weeks. THEN, DRINK IT. That's the taste of Malort which Altoids won't help.
We are visitors of Chicago. Daughter lives their and it is different than it was 2 years ago. The police would keep the dangerous people out of tourist areas the best they could but now you are really rolling the dice on Michigan Ave.If you go stay in one of the neighbor hoods North or West. They are their own city and use Uber for travel and get advise from locals on Michigan ave that weekend.
I could actually drink that drink and I'm not from Chicago. I drink a Lebanese drink called arak which is 50% alcohol and it tastes like black licorice and I love it
Local people born in Chicago are very pleasant but had to grow up with street smarts, so being too familiar with someone is a bit strange here. But everyone will stop to help you, just ask and they will take time to help (friendly people). Chicago didn't used to be such a nice place, so this did two things - made us be kind and help one another and made us a bit tough. Nowadays the transportation is better and there are more people from other places.
People were pissed that chicago was being seen in a negative light from the shootings. Thats not what the city is. Thats a small part of a VERY huge city. Chicagoans came out of their shell. Once they scan ya and see your not a threat they are quick to help. Street smarts made em not to trust at first glance. There are pickpockets and thugs -like any large city.
@@1Skorpia I'm in Chicago and was born here. More than half of it is quite dangerous. We have always been friendly, but there are alot less locals here now. It's pretty tame on the north side. And so gentrified.
The parking shock is true in the loop but in all other areas of the city, you can get street parking without much of an issue. You may have to pay for it, but it's far more reasonable than the numbers you're talking about in downtown parking garages.
![25 MISTAKES Tourists Make When Visiting Chicago - What NOT To Do in Chicago USA 🇺🇸 [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IKJrc1Xtgo8/mqdefault.jpg)
It was so much fun to have a cameo in this video! I LOVE living in Chicago, and I hope more people come to visit this great city from near and far! 😀
Thanks for helping us out Eliz!
@@woltersworld she should collaborate with you guys more often
I'm glad you straighten him out about the hot dogs🤣 Kids put ketchup on hot dogs up til a certain age *then* they're expected to ditch it. The Dibs in the winter is no joke. Hipsters think they can buck the trend. *Umm* *Nope*. I lived in Wicker Park for 20 yrs. I seen a few hipsters with egged cars or cars immersed in ice-cause they parked in a shoveled spot l also learned- if I got home late. I better prepare to hunt for a parking spot-perhaps blocks away.
Chgo is 1-of the *Realest* *Cities* in the u.s. It's the real city (Where) if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere (No Disrespect to N.Y.)
@@geedavia1785 I agree Chicago is great! Also, I lived in NYC for eight years and think it's great in a different way!
@Tobi Ojo That sure sounds fun to me! :-)
I was born and raised in the Midwest but did not visit Chicago until after I had moved away. What a fabulous city! We LOVED the Museum of Science and Industry and taking a harbor tour - fun to see the city from the water.
I agree! I went with my family on one of the Architectural Boat Tours a few years ago and had a blast!
How do you mention the cost of parking and “multi-lane switches” without once mentioning that Chicago has arguably the nation’s best transit system outside NYC? Much of the city is not best explored by car.
Agreed!!
I’ve lived here(Chicago) my entire life, and I love it. We don’t have the best transit system. I guess it’s better than LA, and some others, but it is nowhere near the best.
@@52000rightwing probably the third best in the country tbh
@@johncantatore7986 yeah but US yk 😂
@@ksodplsfiel1405 ye
Another shock of Chicago is its inconsistent weather especially in the spring time. For example one day it will be 82 degrees and a few days later it’s only 55. Witnessing three or all seasons in one week isn’t uncommon. Wait a minute that’s what is happening now. Saturday felt like summer, Sunday was like spring today feels like fall and in a few days it’s going to be in the low 40s so winter like weather. You got to be prepared for it all when it comes to weather here.
Over the weekend it was 80 degrees and today it is 40 degrees. I love my city! You can get all 4 seasons in one day!😂😂
I live very close to Chicago too, about an hour away in Indiana by the lake
It's been super weird weather this year and a few weeks ago it was snowing and a couple days before that it was in the 70s or maybe 80s
The past few weeks in general have been weird. Fluctuating between basically summer weather and 40 degree weather. So happy it's balanced out for the next week or so in the 50s and 60s, though I wish it was a bit warmer
@@juliasings6131 I live close to the Indiana border so I am in Indy all of the time as Indy has better sales tax and gas prices. 😁 Yes, you guys basically get the same weather!
@@ericafisher110 ahh nice haha
Or maybe not nice considering how weird the weather is
No doubt about that, from your neighbor in the Hoosier state (northwestern Indiana).
I had a Chicago dog the first time I was there and didn't realize how different and delicious they were. 100% recommended.
It is true. You see it and kind of think, NAH, but then you have them and they are really good
It is as (Mr. Wolters) pointed out the reason it doesn't need ketchup. It's already flavorful.
Was on the L as a cubs games was coming out, some Jamaican guy was on it drinking Hennessy and a cubs fan, clearly already drunk, shouts “yo let me get a shot” and he hands the bottle over, tells him to keep going, then later offers him more. Then as the Jamaican guy gets off the L he does a flip on the bars from the top of the train. Love Chicago!
I left the Southside back in 1972. Have not been back, I am still a Chicagoan. The video shows how things have changed but the core of the City has not changed. Reason for leaving was two fold. 1) got excepted to Grad. School at San Jose State U. In Recreation, this was after I grad. From S.I.U back in 1972 in Outdoor Rec. & Education. 2) was the arthritis that I grew up with, if I did not leave I would have ended up in a wheel chair. I worked as a Park Ranger for four different Fed.Agencies. Been retired for over 17 yrs. What I learned growing up on the Southside help me to deal with people, when I was a Park Ranger.
Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world. Thanks for making a video on it Mark!
Sears Tower. That’s right! Cheers from Chicago. Thanks
Mark, I'm starting to think that you are from Chicago. As somebody that spent the first 30 years of my life on the west side, you pronounce 'Chicago' just the way that many Irish people that I know used to say it.
There's one major thing that you need to talk about with regard to Chicago. That's Italian beef sandwiches!!!! The first thing that I do when I get into town from Ireland is go straight to Portillos. Not quite as good as the old-time neighborhood Italian beef stands, but those beef sandwiches are to die for!!! Thinking about the au juice is making my mouth water as I write these words. In fact, when I was a kid I used to mow the McCarthy's grass next door. First thing after I got paid was ride my bike up to Connie's Beef to get 2 beef sandwiches.
Pizza and hot dogs are fine, but Italian beef is truly Chicagoan!
Great job as always!
Yes! Jocelyn and I mentioned the Italian Beef sandwiches in the "Eats of Chicago" video that went up on her channel this morning! So true, it's a must-try!
Yeah, we just have great food all around! Love my city!!!
You should just go to Als on Taylor.
Best in Chicagoland,
Thanks for the excellent video Mark! Definitely adding Chicago to my visit list
Thanks G!
I've watched a few of these Chicago video tours and I'm very surprised that nobody talks about how many unbelievable music venues Chicago has.
All the big-time bands come through but you can attend some excellent live music event for relatively little money.
And Chicago has every kind of music you can imagine with festivals every week.
Pre-covid-19 there was not one single weekend all summer long where some neighborhood was having a festival of some sort.
2:25 I had a job where I commuted on the blue line from River North to Logan Square and then back in the afternoon. And I always sat in the last car because it was closest to the exit at the station I got off at. I would often literally be the only non-tourist in the car. They all had their suitcases with the airline stickers and would be reading through brochures or trying to look stuff up on their phone, or confused on where to go...the amount of time I spent helping them...I kinda felt like the board of tourism should've been giving me a stipend or something. But when you hear people having a conversation thats like "I think its (incorrect statement)." "no, I think its (also wrong). "You're both off, its (wrong again)." and you know the correct answer, its hard not to chime in. I guess thats the teacher in me. There were times it felt like I was doing a Q&A session or something.
I have been to Chicago a few times and it's a great city
agreed!
I loved the art museum there! A lot of cool famous paintings
I totally agree! The Monet's there are my favorite!
What shocks me is, barring I-94, Chicago is really easy to get around. I don't think the traffic approaches the soul-deadening levels of an city like Atlanta. Also, I love me some Italian Beef, specifically Johnnie's Beef. Finally, not once have I felt unsafe in Chicago. A great American city.
1st thing @running4kabob
*Hardly* *ANYONE* uses interstate designations. Dan Ryan, Kennedy, Ike, Bishop Ford, Edens etc,. We have to *think* when you say *I-94* 🤣 Good Lord. I used to live off North Ave for many years. Now I live South in Beverly. Whenever, I go up North, I gotta get Johnny's or Al's for Italian Beef/Lemonade. Jimnys for hot dogs & a trip to Roeser's Bakery.
*Good* *Times* 😋
Not according to the department of transportation! LA, Chicago, Boston, DC are constantly the worst cities for traffic so I certainly wouldn’t say it’s easy to get around! Not gonna argue with you about the crime statistics, but you obviously didn’t drive much in Chicago ha ha…..
@@geedavia1785 Oh yeah, I forgot the lemonade. So good. I'll have to check out Roeser's Bakery. Looks really good. Thanks for that!
@@FrankRizzo7080 I mean, I've been to Chicago every year for the past decade. Still, I can't deny the statistics. Maybe there is just something exciting about the city that prevents me from getting riled up while sitting in traffic.
It gets real bad for the commute with Suburb to City or vice versa workers. So the Edens, Dan Ryan etc. are pretty bad around 7-10am and 3-8pm. But the rest of the time, it sorta moves, there are zones of speed and people will pass slow cars to get ahead. Just make sure your breaks work and don't leave too much room between you and the car in front of you or you will just infuriate people behind and around you.
My favorite city!!!!!!
Giordano's isn't really Chicago Style pizza, it is made in a pan and looks similar to Uno (the original Chicago deep dish pizza) or Lou Malnati's (my personal favorite), but Giordano's is a stuffed pizza and really is its own thing. Also, Chicago has two styles of pizza, not just one. In addition to the deep dish is pub style, which is a thin crust pizza cut into squares. For many of us who grew up in and around Chicago, pub style is the pizza we grew up eating and deep dish was something special you got when you made a trip downtown or if you were lucky enough to live in the northern suburbs where Malnati's originated.
I was just there in Chicago not to long ago I had alot of fun there we did so much there it was Windy tho From NYC
I've been to Chicago many times and it's a beautiful city.
Lifelong Chicagoan here. I came in to say something clever like "Chicago, come for the food and museums and stay because you got shot" or "if you don't like the weather in Chicago, just wait a few minutes......it will change"......but you guys did a good job with this video. Cheers.
Assuming there would be any "shocks" it would be for first time visitors-rookies. So it's a big miss to not include the miles and miles of beautiful lakefront, including perfect white sand beaches walking distance from Michigan Ave/downtown. That's very rare in the heart of big cities.
When I went to Chicago the first time, I was in shock that there was a drive thru McDonalds right downtown. I thought that part of Chicago would be kinda like Manhattan and wouldn't have drive thrus.
As someone who lived in NYC for eight years before moving back to Chicago, I can say that it's really nice how much easier it is to drive downtown! I guess there's more room for things like drive-throughs when the city isn't built on a small island!
@@MeansToTravel Except of course for the fact that the entirety of the Loop is an island! I think the thing that confused me a bit when I started working in River North was how hazy the concept of "Downtown" is here.
Seems like a fun, safe destination. Cool!
Unsafe
@@CourageToLiveTrue Hello, are you from Chicago? I would like to visit one day. I am from Scotland, and mainly live in the countryside. I want to see a big American city.
Great to see the finished product! Loved being there for the BTS!
we got to see your pretty face a couple times :)
@Wolters World thank goodness for that! :) :)
3:50 that definitely looks like something from Pequods. Best thick style pizza in the windy city😋😋
It was quite yummy!
Yes it was Pequods!
I used to live in Chicago, one thing I hear people mention all the time is the violence. This is only in a couple neighborhoods in the south and west. It’s not nearly as bad as the media makes it out to be. Love Chicago
Glad to hear you clarify that. My husband is so against me going but I want to so bad. Never been.
I knew it! A surgeon at my job was from Chicago, and she talked it up.
Same way where I'm from. I had an in law say I was from a "ghetto area". There are two parks in the town next to mine where there are drugs and shootings. His neighborhood has a hooker trailer park and a know drug abuser on his street.
I'm glad you said that. People act like the city is a giant war zone. It's only a few neighborhoods that you have to worry about. I love my city.
Individuals are robbed at gun point in front of their condo bldg at N Michigan and Walton at mid day. Or carjacked down town during daytime, or downtown looting, shooting and robbing 24/7 and visitors think that's only in a few neighborhoods. Or just look at places like Water Tower Place....Empty.!!! Go ahead and risk your life; not me. The CPD won't be there for you either.
I'm glad you mentioned the "right kind of Chicago style pizza." People don't realize that there's a difference between Chicago deep dish pizza & Chicago style pizza. 🍕 🍕
I live in Chicago and my style of pizza is the one that is thin crusted, full of stuff on top, you hold a slice with one hand, fold it until the oil drips out, then put it in your mouth and eat it, in one smooth move, get it?
@@dc10fomin65 but you don't fold pizza. Sorry but no.
@@johnplampin7274 Ah, ah, ah, I learned this "folding " thing from a guy in Queens and also some people in Brooklyn, decades ago, I tried it and it was OK, but only on " thin crust ", don't knock it till you try it!
@@dc10fomin65 another example of New Yorkers trying to impose their ideas on the rest of us. Of course true Chicago thin pizza is in squares not foldable wedges.
@@johnplampin7274 I am 73 years old, there used to be a time when all pizzas were " pie cut ", I don't really even remember when they started cutting pizzas in "squares", so, if I want to " fold " I ask the pizza to be pie cut, very simple. I don't mind being influenced by others, that;s how we " learn " things! best regards to you !see you later, alligator!
Parking prices.... thank you Mayor Daley!
Thick pizza is for tourist!
My beau from Highland Park. I luv Chicago. We now live in Philly. Great content!
I love the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium! And a Chicago Dog straight up 😋 👍👍
Ohh yeah!! The wind does blow!
Deep Dish Pizza is tourist pizza. True Chicago Style pizza is square cut tavern style, thin crust.
Best Chicago memory: the Field Museum
Worst Chicago memory: coming home from a different vacation and having our first plane get so delayed that we couldn’t make our connection so we had to get a hotel at midnight.
Haha
My worst Chicago memory was a time we visited a friend for a shopping trip in the winter. I got sick in the middle of the day walking around and had to deal with it for a long part of the day before we went back to our friend's apartment (obviously, all before covid haha)
Tavern style >>> deep dish
Only thing missing from this fun and informative clip....is the "soul" food. Doesn't get any better than that....than in Chicago. Yeah, I'm a Chicagoan!
A great place to take in . Harriet and I love the museums. The hoods are a Foodie Heaven. Nice Video. Sending you lots of love.😍😍 Harriet and Jim
Thanks guys for watching!
I live in California now but lived in Chicago for 25 yrs and it's always gonna be my second home as my siblings still lives there. Love your shocking list. Laughing so hard at the amount of potholes in Chicago. There's hardly any here in California. But the worse drivers in my opinion are not from Chicago, California wins that! And everyone who lives outside of Chicago, lives in the suburbs. Chicago is a top notch town. So pretty especially in the summer. People are so friendly.
I prefer Chicago tavern style (thin crust, square cut, etc.) pizza. 🍕
That wind chill is no joke
Sounds like NYC with variety of cultural foods 👍
What will shock you, Chicago style pizza is NOT thick, deep dish. It is super thin, called tavern style pizza. What he showed is often known as “tourist pizza”, natives know it is NOT thick pizza. Sure, locals occasionally eat it, but tavern style is what Chicago style pizza is all about, cut in small squares. The farther away from downtown, the better the pizza. She must not really be a native if she doesn’t know Chicago pizza is super thin.
I guess that depends on the Chicagoan. I've lived in Chicago all my life and I definitely mean Deep Dish when I'm talking about Chicago-style. The other kind I have had, but honestly it's the opposite over here, that kind is only popular at schools or events to feed a lot of people. Usually Deep-Dish is way more popular, not counting the cheap pizza places like Dominos, Pizza Hut, etc.
@@IreneShardaForever perhaps, and never said not eaten, but without question deep dish less frequently eaten by majority of locals, with exponentially more pizza places (locals, not chains) serving thin crust pizza.
I was a Chicago trolley double decker tour guide for many years . I saw you doing your tours downtown alot congrats on the channel
Heading up for a day trip today! Spot hero is a must for parking. Love parking at millennium park garage for half price. Plus EV charging in the garage.
Bucktown represent! Enjoy the city, it’s the best
05:15 Hopefully that's a Vienna hot dog! Delicious!
#11. Dec., Jan. & Feb. Winters. Too. But Spring, Summers & Fall I Love Chicago, IL.
4:10 get a Malnati salad to eat while you wait for your pizza with extra sauce to come. You'll thank me later.
Pizza, Aurillio's is a great place for a pie. Especially if you can make it to the original in Homewood
Chicago's best trick on tourists is traffic reports. No one will give interstate numbers, every highway has a name that only the locals know. Truckers hate Chicago because of this.
🤣😂
5:30 never ever ever ever ever ever put ketchup on a hot dog.
I love the hype, and I love Chicago my second home!
I always watch your ‘don’t’ videos before going to anyyy place.. ❤️❤️😀we went to chicago and felt few things as well.. 😊😊😊Thanks for putting everything together 🔥🔥🔥 for ‘chicago baby’
Wish I saw you when you here!!!! Love the videos.
We will be back again later in the summer to film some more :)
@@woltersworld woop woop!
Interesting thing about our culture is we’re attached to the original names on what we call certain places.
Most notably, residents refer to Willis Tower as Sears Tower.
Culturally, when someone is known for a long time and names change. We stick to it because it’s what we think is familiar.
My advice from a Chicago area resident, it’s best to call places by their originals respectively because it’s what most people call it!
Another addendum to the parking problem is that lots of tourists get towed because they don't see the "temporary parking notices" that are posted on the utility poles on many streets in Chicago. These are limited date and time notices that state you cannot park in a particular place on certain dates at certain times. We once saw more than twenty cars get towed on Milwaukee Avenue in a single night. Many were tourists visiting Nick's to hear blues. If you don't want to add $200-$300 to your rental bill, take Uber or Lyft - and NEVER take an "independent" cab.
If you have out of state tags, you can park in a suburb city and take the trains in! No one visiting in my family ever got ticketed parking in Batavia, La Grange, Hinsdale, or Oak Park; you just can't park overnight most places, so if you plan on doing that double check the signage or ask a beat cop. It's also half the price to stay in a hotel outside and take the train into the city and walk or taxi around.
If I see you putting ketchup on any hot dog in Chicago, yes, I will judge you 😂😂😂
Illinoying drivers😂
Love Chicago.
Gino’s East or West🍕 deeply delish😋
The museums are great. There is a citipass to save$
Can’t believe no one in the comments called out the hot dog within the video is not a real Chicago style hot dog.
Have you done a video of Buffalo, NY? You might see some similiar things i.e. food & culture like Chicago.
5:50 a buddy of mine is the cultural ambassador for Malort. He actually loves it. Last time I took a shot of it, I ran to the bathroom and puked my brains out.
Also driving in Chicago, no hesitation at green light unless you like taxis honking at you.
chicago style pizza is a thin crust , edge to edge cut into squares. deep dish is a gimmick always was .
It's a delicious gimmick though
So interesting to learn that square cut was invented on the South Side, since I always associated it with STL and not Chicago! I just looked into the history a little and it sounds like square cut was invented by bars on the south side in order to easily give pizza away for free to customers so they'd keep drinking! Too funny. I've personally never paid for square cut pies, because I like to be able to hold it by the crust as part of the eating experience. :)
Lolol Wolter is absolutely right. I live in Chicago. Pequod's Pizza!!!! Also Chicago pizza is deep dish, but locals eat tavern style so please try that too. Deep dish is only for when people visits us! Malort sucks. But you can’t visit Chicago and not try malort. Might as well not come. Try a polish dog. Maxwells. And lastly…… NO KETCHUP. Lol
i agree. Malort sucks :)
My wife loves the aquarium! She won’t let me go when she doesn’t fly out with me lol
The Chicago Cultural Center is really good. I can also recommend the free Chicago Greeter tours (unfortunately cannot post a link), which are really free and individual tours. My son and I did a tour of Polish Chicago (my great-grandparents married at St. John Cantius, a Polish parish at the time) and the downtown (including the former Iroquois theater, site of one of the worst fires in US history).
Chicago is a wonderful destination, except in the summer (too humid) and winter (possible polar vortex).
Wow thanks for these great tips! I gotta do those things now!
I had a good laugh about the potholes in Chicago. In college there was a guy from Chicago who said that his street didn't have any potholes one year, so the city came and jack hammered them one so they wouldn't be left out.
If you go to Chicago during the winter, prepare for the wind off of the lake to take 10-15 degrees off of the actual temperature 🥶
Another thing is there is so much construction in the downtown area like sometimes you’ll have to drive through alleys
So true!!! We had to do that in March when we were there filming. So true!
I seen that Chicago flag alot so I definitely agree on the pride.
Yes good point, the flag is everywhere!
Absolutely. Lots of great food and culture. The people that work hard and are good proud of their city. They cant stand thugs that ruin it .
If you can drive in Chicago, you can drive anywhere. I’m bias but I think Chicago has the best drivers out of all the major cities in the US. We love driving fast with awareness as much as we can
I love all your videos. And this one reminded me that I definitely have to visit your beautiful country again this year with my family. ❤️
I'm born and raised in Chicago. No one drinks malort. And people of color don't wear shorts on 40 degree days in Chicago.
EXACTLY
You get a tourist to drink malort, Chicagoans never drink it.
I'm a Chicago native, love the food, I like Chicago style hotdogs love the CTA and I like the Willis Tower it makes the city look beautiful.
You mean Sears Tower
@@alexnikki515 its Willis Tower they changed the name years ago.
SEARS TOWER!!!! 😎👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
tavern style pizza > deep dish
Malort is vile.
I fell for that trick the first time I was in Chicago.
Haha it happens to everyone I think!
I'm from here and this is the first time I ever heard of it.
@@sheissunshine Thank you drank in bars on the North, South,West sides and downtown never heard of it or seen anyone order it.
Malort kinda seems to be how we see Akvavit in Scandinavia. It's disgusting on it's own, but on the other hand the after-taste of Akvavit fits well with a lot of dinners, especially at Christmas.
Great video!
Akvavit is milder in flavor, at least a bit. I had some in Norway. It was funny watching everyone else's reaction!
I moved out of chicago and my biggest shocks. 1. No blinkers ,people weaving in and out of lanes like maniacs. 2. Weight gain- the food is pure heaven. You cant resist. 3. Prices of anything in downtown. Or tourist hotspots. Complete ripoff. Bring a backpack with essentials. Umbrella/pack of tissue-toilet/ water bottle you can fill up free at spots at the beach/ snacks/flip flops(highly reccomend running shoes /croc sandals if you walking downtown -switch out when going to beach)/towel/meds like tylenol. 4. If your going downtown for the day-your gonna walk. Alot. Thats why i love eating and walking there. Burn it off. The weather changes. Layer up. Dress comfortably with comfortable shoes. 5. Shock for me - alot of traveling. You can just go 2 places and there goes the whole day. 6. To me the variety of people in chicago rivals new york. I joke chicago is the lil brother of new york. Chicagoans are earthy and love to have fun. Quick to dance if the beat is good. 7. One on my favorite memories was driving in june and my block had music blasting and barebecues from 3 different houses. 1. played old school house music 2 .played mexican music 3 . played 90s r and b. Of course the smell is amazing. The vibe that day was so great in the hood. My mom and i sat on the front steps guessing songs and catching up. I put it as a shock because i live far up north and i forget how "cool" my city is. Just stay out of the sketchy hoods at night and you will be fine. Nobody goes there anyway. Its far from downtown. Chicago IS HUGE!!
the Chicago box is checked out....10 minutes of it was plenty enough😀
There's a parking problem here. Get a "transit pass", travel this way is very easy and affordable. If in a car you might have to park blocks away, or go around to find a parking spot - locals never use parking garages, too expensive - taxi cabs are also too expensive.
I was saying that. 1. Take the l in (train) . 2. Get a ride to drop u off and pick u up. Parking is absolutely insane with those prices.
@@1Skorpia the busses are better now but in the summer there's crowding and they do two busses in a row, the train is easy, rides are expensive. I would just rent a car and search for parking, but I learned to drive here, so I can fit the small spaces. There's parking eventually
We don't park top, we always take someone with us to sit in the car while we run in to take care of business.
In a pinch there's an alley that runs between Wells and LaSalle right in front of City Hall.
@@charlesandrews2360I'm talking overall at the end of the day residential when they all come home. It got much worse from when I was a kid, not every neighborhood but most, especially in winter. I wouldn't park in alleys, good way to get towed. Been there.
@@charlesandrews2360 yeah if you have someone to drive that's how we do business downtown sometimes. The Northside is creeping south to eat up the parking spots.
Lol I love this, Greeting from Chicago. Weirdly I've never heard of Malort until this video and I've lived here my whole life! Maybe it's only popular in some parts of the city? One thing you will find out about Chicago is that because of the neighborhoods, one section of the city might be completely different from another side. The south side is not like the north side, the east side is not like the west side, etc. Some of the rules also don't always apply. Parking is pretty easy and pretty much always free on my side of town, but north side is a nightmare to find parking lol. Also, from what most of what they're showing on here is mostly north side stuff. There is a whole lot more to Chicago than that.
It's been around but it's gotten trendy the last maybe 5 or 10 years. I used to visit the city in college with friends from Chicago and no one ever offered me malort. Now it seems to be a thing
Chiraq
I am half Swedish and did not know "malort" outside of Sweden, if it is the same thing! In Sweden its called malört and it is a snapps that is not a common shot. Normally consumed together with crayfish in august or with herring during easter or Christmas.
One should distinguish between "Chicago style" and "Chicago style deep dish." Many stubborn folk will argue that Chicago-style pizza is basically New York style but cut in rows and columns. (And these people somehow call those "squares," despite them not having parallel and perpendicular congruent lines.) These snobs will call "deep dish" "tourist food," despite that one of the major deep dish players actually started in the suburbs. (Last I heard, there wasn't exactly a hot tourist market in Lincolnwood.) My wife and I went to Pizzeria Due some years ago. We knew to order the individual size. Meanwhile, a couple of tables over was a couple from NYC (via England) who, being used to New York pizza, ordered a LARGE. The look of horror on their faces when the behemoth was plunked down in front of them was priceless! Regardless of what you say about deep dish, as a fourth-generation Chicagoan, I love the stuff! It's not my favorite pizza, but I love it nonetheless.
The no-ketchup-on-hot-dogs thing is NOT a Chicago thing - it's a UNIVERSAL thing. Go to Coney Island and try to get ketchup on your Nathan's and see what happens. And remember what Dirty Harry said? Well...remember: that took place in San Francisco. The thing about ketchup is that Chicagoans are probably the LOUDEST about it. I would like to argue that the rule only applies to *beef*-based hot dogs; the ketchup has too much sugar on it, kills the flavor of the beef. I would say that if you're eating a pork-based hotdog, the condiment rules are gone, because, frankly, pork-based hot dogs suck and need whatever enhancements they can get.
A bartender once bought me a shot of Malort. I'll describe it. Picture a weed choked vacant lot in a hot August. Mow down the weeds,flood the lot, and let it fester in the sun for two weeks. THEN, DRINK IT. That's the taste of Malort which Altoids won't help.
We are visitors of Chicago. Daughter lives their and it is different than it was 2 years ago. The police would keep the dangerous people out of tourist areas the best they could but now you are really rolling the dice on Michigan Ave.If you go stay in one of the neighbor hoods North or West. They are their own city and use Uber for travel and get advise from locals on Michigan ave that weekend.
Hot dog with ketchup comment at the end was exactly right
Great job!
thank you!
Is that a pizza or a pie?!
I like thin crust pizza. Where would they sell that in Chicago?
I could actually drink that drink and I'm not from Chicago. I drink a Lebanese drink called arak which is 50% alcohol and it tastes like black licorice and I love it
my love Chicago
Local people born in Chicago are very pleasant but had to grow up with street smarts, so being too familiar with someone is a bit strange here. But everyone will stop to help you, just ask and they will take time to help (friendly people). Chicago didn't used to be such a nice place, so this did two things - made us be kind and help one another and made us a bit tough. Nowadays the transportation is better and there are more people from other places.
People were pissed that chicago was being seen in a negative light from the shootings. Thats not what the city is. Thats a small part of a VERY huge city. Chicagoans came out of their shell. Once they scan ya and see your not a threat they are quick to help. Street smarts made em not to trust at first glance. There are pickpockets and thugs -like any large city.
@@1Skorpia I'm in Chicago and was born here. More than half of it is quite dangerous. We have always been friendly, but there are alot less locals here now. It's pretty tame on the north side. And so gentrified.
@@1Skorpiaevery night there are shootings, always were and always will be.
The parking shock is true in the loop but in all other areas of the city, you can get street parking without much of an issue. You may have to pay for it, but it's far more reasonable than the numbers you're talking about in downtown parking garages.
Another shocker is tha there is no Leroy Brown
I’ve been watching your videos for over 10 years and i think I’ve seen you in every country BUT DOMINICAN REPUBLIC .. do it for me man
IMO, Chicago is the finest big city in America!
N. Wilwaukee? Where's dat ayt?
Whats the other channel?