Page 66 – The Points Of Life

Guns & Butter: Chicago Travel Guide (Baseball, Hot Dogs, Pizza, Beer, Pho Edition)

thepointsoflife

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February 7, 2022

Chicago Travel Guide is part of the Round The Atlantic Trip Report. It was originally published on 6/30/2020. It has been updated since my trip Punxsutawney TPOL Trip Report in October 2021.

TPOL’s Guns & Butter Travel Guide is the best way to see as much as you can in as little time as possible. Here’s how it works – A trip is composed of two factors: Labor And Lazy. The opportunity cost (what is given up) for relaxing and being Lazy is gained by being adventurous in the form of Labor and vice versa. The guide includes inefficient activities i.e., tourist traps that should be avoided and aspirational activities that are worth doing but may be impossible to see given the constraints of time and resources.

“Chicago! Chicago!” Not my favorite Sinatra song, but it is a city worth singing about. Here’s what I did in Chicago. As usual, the Travel Guide is a good start but far from comprehensive.

Arrive in Style

Iberia has consistent availability from Madrid to Chicago (see Iberia Business Madrid Chicago: Solid Sweetness).

Stay

From the best hotel to questionable service the second time around, the Waldorf Astoria is worth a look.

The Tremont is no longer a Marriott but benefits from its location and affordable nightly rate.

Invalid request error occurred. — Ditkas will no longer be there which, for breakfast, was a terrible option.

Another option is the Radisson Blu Aqua.

A central option is the Hyatt Regency (see Hyatt Regency Chicago: Bedtime).

If you have an early flight out of O’Hare stay at the Hyatt Regency (see Hyatt Regency O’Hare: The Best Airport Hotel).

Sports

Chicago is a great sports town. I’m not a baseball fan but I enjoyed going to U.S. Cellular for Memorial Day. Catch any game from any sport.

Food

New Orleans is the best city in the US for food (see Guns & Butter: New Orleans Travel Guide (Binge Edition)). Chicago is also a premier food destination.

Be sure to have a few hot dogs (see Chicago Style: Hot Dogs! Hot Dogs! Beer Anyone?).

The reason to go to Chicago is for the pizza. I’ve evaluated plenty of locations and stand by my original assessment that Lou Malnati’s is the best (see The World’s Best Pizza: Chicago Deep Dish Edition).

2021 TPOL Update: Lou’s wasn’t as good this time (see Post Lockdown Dream Fulfilled? Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago).

Others may recommend Giordano’s, but it’s not for me (see Giordano’s Pizza Chicago: Trust Your Taste Buds, Not Your Friends).

For all my pho lovers, Chicago is one of the best places in the world for pho. It has an entire street just for pho sampling (see Pho Paradise Found: Asia on Argyle, Chicago).

Drinks

Traveling means drinking. If you’ve been Scottsdale you’ll recognize two bars: El Hefe and Bottled Blond (see Scottsdale To Chicago, El Hefe Sunday Funday). I preferred the Chicago Bottled Blond location to my former home course.

a group of people sitting at a bar — Typical El Hefe

Billy Goat

I don’t know if it’s world-famous or a tourist trap, but I enjoyed stopping at Billy Goat.

a wall with pictures and neon lights — Wise Guys Corner

a man sitting at a bar — A Wise Guy Regular

Tourism Must Do

Walk down the Magnificent Mile.
Go to the 96th floor of the John Hancock Building.
Willis Tower on the right
Go to the beach
Go to Navy Pier via Lakeshore Drive.
Act like Ferris Bueller.

Tourism You Can Skip After Your First Time

See the stupid Bean.

Always Skip

Chicago in the winter. It doesn’t look like this:

a city street with cars and buildings — Can skip taking this photo too.

Overall

I love Chicago in the summer and will go back for more baseball, hot dogs, pizza, beer, and pho.

Chicago Travel Guide is part of the Round The Atlantic Trip Report.

Admirals Club Chicago O’Hare: Masked Lounge Experience

thepointsoflife

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February 4, 2022

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Admirals Club Chicago O’Hare Review is part of the Punxsutawney TPOL Trip Report, where TPOL leaves the basement and outflanks COVID, at least for now.

Remember lounge fun in Chicago (see Delta Sky Club Chicago: Hot Dog! A Great Bloody Mary)? It’s gone. Now, the lounge is like grade school. Single file! Masks on!

Having missed breakfast after a long night out for NYE (see Happy New Year! TPOL’s NYC NYE Party Guide), I was naively hopeful that the Admirals Club would have adequate food and not the typical offering of hummus and carrots found in all domestic lounges.

I was wrong, partially.

Thanks to everyone’s favorite credit issuer, Citi, I had a guacamole salad that was sort of freshly prepared.

I also had falafel and tzatziki. Falafel, despite the simplicity of ingredients, is one of the hardest foods to make. For a lounge, it was good enough. Like falafel, tzatziki is also surprisingly difficult to make well. For a lounge or a restaurant, I was impressed.

Seating

And now for the worst part of lounge reviews – pictures of seating. There are plenty of places to sit. The amount of seating correlates with the number of weird looks I received for taking photos of the seats.

Bar

The bar was not impressive as next to nothing is included. Looking for free beer? I hope you enjoy Miller Lite. They serve it at both bars.

Coke Zero

Since the selection was poor and since I was in no mood to drink, I thought I would treat myself to a refreshing Coke Zero. Who knew there were so many flavors? The machine almost timed out while I made my selection.

Views

I don’t receive weird looks when I take photos of planes coming and going.

Overall

This lounge was better than average.

Simply The Best: January 2022

thepointsoflife

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February 3, 2022

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It’s January. The birds are chirping. Covid is no longer in the air. Life is back to normal. That may not be the consensus from the world, but that’s how I see it, even with a ruptured Achilles (see TPOL Is Down). Here are the best posts from January:

Your Papers, Please: NY, The Lame Apple
Wake up New York! It does not have to be this way. Enough of these mitigation measures. They are not working.
Happy New Year! TPOL’s NYC NYE Party Guide
NYC was on the bottom of my list for places to go for NYE. Thanks to Covid restrictions, it was my only choice. And it was the right one.
How To with TPOL: Dine Safely During the Pandemic
Instead of pretending that you are enjoying the experience of upscale dining in a trailer in the dead of winter, I propose something bold: take a risk and dine indoors.
Felix Roasting: Best Java in NYC
I stopped into the nicest coffee shop in New York, if not the world.
Etiquette of Things: Comedy Cellar NY
If you’re going to a comedy show, recognize that you are there to see others perform.
Delta Sky Club JFK: Veuve for 6k
For the nice price of 6k Skypesos, I rang in the New Year once again with a bottle of Veuve.
Incremental Progress: A Recap of My 2021 Travels

a plant with a city in the background — My 2021 travel still pales in comparison to days of old. Here is the sad list.

Butler Hospitality Sent Me an Amazon Gift Card!

thepointsoflife

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February 2, 2022

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Have You Ever Not Complained? is a post that still gets hits. And the answer is no. When a hotel/airline offers a service and doesn’t follow through, I follow up until the situation is rectified (see Complaints: How Long Till You Let It Go?). When I stayed at the Park South Hotel in NYC for NYE (see Happy New Year! TPOL’s NYC NYE Party Guide), I was given a $10 credit to use Butler Hospitality. As it was NYE, I thought a good use was to order 2 cups of coffee. After an hour, I gave up waiting and left decaffeinated. I told the hotel the issue. When I returned from New York, I received a call from Butler Hospitality. The agent apologized for the oversight, and the apology was genuine. The call itself was more than sufficient, yet Butler Hospitality went a step further and sent me a $50 Amazon gift card. I was blown away. Finally, some real customer service.

TPOL’s Tip: Pack a Spillover Bag

thepointsoflife

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February 1, 2022

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I pack more for short trips than I do for round-the-world excursions (see What to Pack: “Take 1/2 the Clothes, Twice the Money”). As part of my NYE trip to NYC, I did the same. While it was convenient to only have one bag, I learned a valuable lesson to expand upon the principle of packing half the clothes and twice the cash. Namely, bring a spillover bag for two reasons: 1) Purchasing souvenirs of any kind takes up space. 2) the perfectly packed suitcase becomes a pain to pack when jumping from one hotel to another, one country to another.

See all my Travel Lessons here.

Delta Sky Club JFK: Veuve for 6k

thepointsoflife

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January 31, 2022

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Delta Sky Club JFK seems to have something interesting going on each time I go. Last time it was hot dogs (see Delta Sky Club Chicago: Hot Dog! A Great Bloody Mary). This time it was January 1st which can only mean one thing – champagne.

Mask mandates be damned (see Your Papers, Please: NY, The Lame Apple). It’s time to celebrate 2022. What better way for a travel blogger to do so than drinking champagne in a lounge? For the nice price of 6k Skypesos, I rang in the New Year once again with a bottle of Veuve (see Happy New Year! TPOL’s NYC NYE Party Guide). While I enjoyed the old-school feeling of bubbles before a flight (see Get Ready to Takeoff: The World’s Best Champagne), back-to-back days of over-consumption followed by a baby crying all the way home on a coach flight to Puerto Rico were not good for my head.

a menu of wine and wine — Next time, Rose

a bottle of champagne in a bucket — No mask if you’re drinking! Covid respects the Veuve.

Happy New Year! TPOL’s NYC NYE Party Guide

thepointsoflife

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January 28, 2022

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I avoided celebrating New Years in NYC because it is 1) cold and it is 2) for amateurs. Because of the limited travel options due to the pandemic and because I did not want to be stuck in the police state of Puerto Rico for the third year (see Covid Test to Enter Puerto Rico: Another Asinine Policy), I decided that this would be an acceptable addition to my list of Where to Party NYE.

What Not to Do

Watch the ball drop in Times Square. I have written this many times. Times Square is one of the worst places in the world on any given day. Imagine tens of thousands of people on New Years.

What Not to Do/What to Do

Preparing for a long night of libations, it was wise to have a big late lunch. I do not think spicy lamb vindaloo, my favorite Indian dish, was a stomach-settling choice.

TPOL’s Tip: Chote Nawab is located at 115 Lexington Av along with many other Indian restaurants. They are minutes away from the Park South Hotel.

What Not to Do

Watch the College Football Playoffs. Michigan beat Ohio State and I was happy. I did not expect them to thrash Georgia nor did I expect the opposite.

No Photo Displayed

TPOL’s TIP: A great sports bar not to watch Michigan get destroyed is Turnmill which is located at 119 E 27th St, also close to the Park South Hotel.

What to Do

Book dinner at Gaonnuri. It had been two years since I had Korean BBQ. To remind my taste buds what life was like and to challenge covid which sought to deprive me of my ability to taste, I made reservations at Gaonnuri for NYE. The restaurant featured a 7-course set menu and a high-rise view to watch the fireworks a safe distance from Times Square.

TPOL’s TIP: Gaonnuri is located at 1250 Broadway 39th Floor.

Venue

The venue was excellent. It reminded me of Mint Shanghai. While there were no sharks, there was great lighting, music, and an upbeat ambiance.

two glasses of champagne on a bar — Nice pre-drink before the meal.

a table with wine glasses and silverware on it — My reserved table

Food

The food was very good. It wasn’t Jongro excellent (see Best Korean BBQ NYC?), but it was hard to compare given that it was a NYE set menu. For some reason, there was no kimchee.

Seating

I made a reservation for 10PM. By the time I was done with the second course, a table opened up next to the window, perfectly situated for the countdown.

Back to the Food

Veuve

What’s NYE without champagne? I had to buy a bottle of Veuve to remind me of what celebrations feel like.

Happy New Year!

Away from the crowds and the cold, I rang in the New Year.

The Weekend came on when the fireworks were done with a nice tune to start off the new year.

Back to the Food

a plate of food on a grill — Kimchee available upon request

Cost

This wasn’t the cheapest affair. The dinner alone was $425. The alcohol was $250.

What to Do

Go towards Times Square. I avoided NYC for NYE my whole life. Since this was the one and only time I would come, I made my way to Times Square to see the revelers. It was still a party when I arrived, though I could not go all the way to 42nd Street.

a man standing on a street with a fence and buildings in the background — Officially a tourist

Finish It Off

With omicron on my tail, I went to another pub to test my vaccine. One jaeger bomb and one Guinness made this NYE celebration in NYC complete.

TPOL’s TIP: Peter Dillon’s Pub is located at 130 E 40th St.

Overall

NYC was on the bottom of my list for places to go for NYE. Thanks to Covid restrictions, it was my only choice. And it was the right one.

Park South Hotel: A Boutique Hyatt in NYC

thepointsoflife

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January 27, 2022

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Park South Hotel Review is part of TPOL in NYC Trip Report.

Getting There: Typically, I would recommend taking the Airtrain from JFK which is $10.75 per person (see JFK AirTrain: Why Mess with Uber to Manhattan?). But for convenience and a somewhat decent price of $58, I took Uber. I rationalized spending $40 more for two people and saving 40 minutes in transit.

Overview

I wanted to stay in a hotel close to Gaonurri, the Korean restaurant where I would be spending NYE (see Happy New Year! TPOL’s NYC NYE Party Guide). I found the Park South Hotel, a boutique hotel, bookable for either $600 or 20k points.

Location

The hotel is located on 28th and Lexington. It’s close enough to Times Square for the obligatory NYE pilgrimage and far enough from Times Square to avoid one of the worst places in the world any other night.

Hotel Itself

This is a boutique hotel making it more personal than my typical stay in Four Points or Hyatt Place experiences.

Lounge

If you’re looking to relax away from the main lobby, there is a nice lounge with a fireplace.

Room

I was upgraded to a city view room. Judging by the view, I can only imagine what a room without an upgrade would be like.

Bathroom

The bathroom was terrible. First, it had the European-style shower door, which may look chic but only leads to floods. Second, the water pressure was weak, something common in NYC hotels. Third, the sliding door was clunky.

Butler

The hotel offers butler service through an app. Guests are given a $10 credit. I ordered two coffees for $8. I would have liked to compare the butler service to the St. Regis NYC, but the butler never arrived with the coffee.

Welcome Drink

I was given a voucher for a welcome beer or house wine at the hotel bar. There was a large selection of craft beers.

Overall

I wouldn’t pay $600 to stay here and believe that 20k points would have been steep if it was not NYE.

Chase Honors My Sapphire Referral Bonus

thepointsoflife

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January 26, 2022

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I referred Ms. TPOL for a Chase Sapphire. I waited months and never received the 20k referral bonus. I sent a message through the Secure Message Center and instead of receiving the usual, “Please call our 800 number,” I received this reply:

Thank you for contacting us. Alexander, I understand the significance of your inquiry. I added 20,000 referral bonus points to your account. You can see the rewards adjustment for this purchase now at chase.com and on your next billing statement. We appreciate your business and thank you for being a Chase customer.

Isn’t that wonderful?

a plate of chicken wings — In the words of Shaq, BBQ chicken

I’m Still Not Going to Tulum

thepointsoflife

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January 25, 2022

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For the last two years, I have chronicled how I went from world explorer to in-basement loser (see The Lost & Found Year(s): COVID Trip Report & Punxsutawney TPOL). In 2021 I was supposed to go to Vegas but backed out (see No Vegas for TPOL). That entry yielded snark on Twitter since no one cares about trips that I don’t take. And since I don’t care about what Twitter folks think, I am following up to say that I am no longer going to Tulum this weekend thanks to my injury (see TPOL Is Down).

Last year I swore I would not go to Tulum (see Air TPOL Retiring From Travel) because it’s for travel amateurs. This year I changed my mind because Covid restrictions continue to dominate our lives (see Covid Test to Enter Puerto Rico: Another Asinine Policy & Your Papers, Please: NY, The Lame Apple), and Mexico is one of the few places that has canceled Covid. I document this travel interruption so that one day I can reflect on this period of time, appropriately called “The Lost & Found Years.”