I put it out on my lj. And I will put it out on the few lists I'm still on.

There are LOTS of garden thingies in Chicago... Lincoln Park and Garfield Park conservatory, Evanston Rose garden (bit early in the rather cold season for this), Peggy Notabaert Nature Museum (nature and art). Plus of course the art museums and natl history and science museums.... every museum has a free day per week, you might want to google that cause I'm not sure when it is.

Ethnic stuff- you can't beat Devon Av for fun ethnic food, clothing, etc. Mostly Indian but there's all sorts of other stuff mixed in like a Russian bookstore, Middle Eastern groceries, etc.

Bring an extra jacket. It's still been pretty cold here.

Oh! The Chicago Architecture Foundation has some wonderful walking tours. Chicago has a lot of very important architecture, as does Oak Park if you're a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright, and the CAF offers all kinds of tours of each.

The Art Institute of Chicago is also a great museum, although with the construction of the new wing (designed by Renzo Piano) some of the works are in storage. It's still worth a visit.

The Museum of Science and Industry has two great exhibits - one about glass and one about green homes. I didn't get to see either when I was there last (I was a week early for the green home and couldn't swing the glass exhibit admission), but they looked quite interesting.

Enjoy Chicago!

try the Shedd Aquarium.

rojo

I have some suggestions that will be a bit different and enjoyable.

For museums in addition to Adler Planetarium and the Museum of Science & Industry, stop over at the Museum of Holography at 1134 West Washington Blvd. It is a small place but it has some nice information on the science and art of, well, holography.

For dining I recommend both Ann Sather's diner on Belmont Ave. (just a short walk from the Belmont L station) and Reza's Restaurant (I'm familiar with the one on N. Clark St., but the W. Ontario location is closer to IML). Sather's is good old fashioned Swedish home-cooking (including cinnamon sticky buns to die for!) and Reza's has a dish that is essentially lamb served over dill-seasoned rice that is worth the trip to Chicago alone.

One last place to visit is the Bahai Temple in Wilmette (just north of Chicago but still accessible by transit). The grounds are tranquil and the architecture is striking.

And if you are a baseball fan at all, pay a visit to Wrigley Field.

As much as I love San Francisco, Chicago will always hold a special place in my heart. I hope you enjoy your trip!

Well, my recommendations are for food! I got to go to Moto last year when I was in Chicago and would go back in a heartbeat. My photos: http://www.go-europa.com/location/281/

There's also another restaurant called Alinea which I would have gone to had I had more than one evening in Chicago.

Have a great time!

if you have any interest in the history of medical devices: International Museum of Surgical Science

The Art Institute of Chicago is definitely worth a trip, and it looks like they have a number of Asian art events over the next week.
The AIC is also conveniently located right near Russian Tea Time, a fantastic Russian restaurant which also has a phenomenal selection of vodkas.
Beyond that, my own must-visits when I'm in town are Myopic Books, a used book store with 3 and a half floors, and Quimbys, a fantastic comic book, alternative lit, zine, et al store just one street over from Myopic.

Hope you have a good week!

I work at Early to Bed and will try to make it out to your workshop.

As far as trying to figure out what to do in Chicago goes, nothing beats yelp.com. Since you're from SF I'm going to assume you know a bit about yelp already. It is a great resource.

And if you need a buddy to go grab some good food or drinks with I've currently got nothing but time on my hands and I'm trying to enjoy it.

Sky and I have hit the Chicago History Museum (http://chicagohistory.org/) a couple of times and have also enjoyed the aquarium (http://www.sheddaquarium.org/)

There used to be a dessert restaurant that served things on plates made of sugar, but closed down :(

Chowhound had some good reviews for the North Pond Restaurant (http://www.northpondrestaurant.com/text/display_menus.cfm) Frankly any place that serves "Warm Dark Chocolate Soup, Candied Kumquat Brioche, Hazelnut Semi-Freddo, Whipped Cream" is a place where I wanna eat!!!

Have fun.

Hi Midori,

It's not about Chicago, but I thought you might be interested in this story about an "art island (http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2008/s2240184.htm)" in Japan.

Mary