America's third-largest city, Chicago has
become one of the top gay destinations in the country, known for its
exceptional museums, restaurants, hotels, architecture, and performing
arts. It was also host for the Gay Games in July 2006, a spectacular event
in US gay history.
Even if you're in town only for a short time, try to set
aside at least an afternoon to visit a few key attractions in the Loop,
the central business district that contains Chicago's most noteworthy
museums and architectural marvels, including the leviathan Marshall Field
& Co. department store, the Chicago Architecture Foundation Shop and Tour
Center (which gives excellent walking tours), and Grant Park. Don't miss
the superb Art Institute of Chicago, whose astonishingly comprehensive
collection spans more than 40 centuries and includes the most impressive
display of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works outside of the Louvre. Other Grant Park musts include the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the
similarly humongous Field Museum of Natural History.
North of the Loop, you'll find a collection of lively and eclectic
neighborhoods - some rich with galleries and nightclubs, others known for
shopping and fancy apartments and hotels. In River North, Michigan Avenue
(aka the Magnificent Mile) compares with the finest American and European
shopping districts. Still farther north you'll find 1,200-acre Lincoln
Park, which has several museums as well as the small but impressive
Lincoln Park Zoo. To the west, Bucktown and Wicker Park are white-hot
centers of avant-garde arts and offbeat dining and shopping.
Chicago's gayest neighborhoods, Lakeview and Andersonville, lie well north
of downtown and pulse with hip shops, see-and-be-seen restaurants, and
chic lounges and clubs. In hopping Lakeview, Matsuya serves excellent
sushi and Japanese fare, including such knock-out starters as deep-fried
chicken wings and whitefish with smelt roe. Although many imitators have
opened nearby, Mia Francesca remains the best place in the neighborhood
for sophisticated but simple Northern Italian fare. HB is a cozy spot that
features the creative down-home cookin' of the Food Network's much-loved
"Hearty Boys," Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith. X/O is a swanky newcomer that
serves up a tantalizing three-course champagne brunch, plus such
innovative creations as grilled short ribs with Vietnamese cabbage salad,
and seared sea scallops with pumpkin dumplings. Moxie is a trendy place
for tasty tapas, designer cocktails, and great people-watching - it draws
a mix of the neighborhood's gay and straight folks.
You could survive solely on the flaky, freshly baked cinnamon rolls that
accompany every meal at the hallowed Swedish diner Ann Sather, which has
several gay-popular locations. Athletes seeking healthy food should head
for the Chicago Diner, which specializes in creative vegan and vegetarian
fare and serves delicious baked goods. An attractive little Thai
restaurant where the rice and noodle dishes are delicious and cheap, Joy's
Noodles serves a terrific ginger chicken with a fragrant bean sauce. If
you're a java junkie, keep in mind that the cozy Lakeview outpost of the
Caribou Coffee chain is known locally as "Cari-boy" and "Queeribou" - that
should tell you all you need to know about the crowd. Continue to page
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The Hunk
