DK Travel : Chicago

Big-city sophistication combined with small-town hospitality create the perfect blend in this, the Mid west’s largest city. Chicago’s influential architecture, cuisine for every budget and taste, great shopping, diverse ethnic neighborhoods, and outstanding museums are reason enough for a visit. And the icing on the cake? The city boasts a lakefront and park system that are as beautiful as they are recreational.

Peggy Notebaert Nature Musem

This museum’s sloping, beige exterior was inspired by the sand dunes that once occupied its site. Inside are a whole host of engrossing interactive exhibits, the highlight being the walk-through Butterfly Haven, a light-filled space, constantly aflutter. The outdoor grounds, with their native wildflowers and prairie grasses, are perfect for a peaceful walk or rest.
Penang

Chicago’s only Malaysian restaurant. Ask your server to recommend the best dishes on the menu.
Peninsula Chicago

Understated elegance sums up this hotel. Large, earth-toned rooms have dressing areas, and a steam-free TV screen and hands-free telephone is found in every bathroom. Floor-to-ceiling windows dramatize the lobby, where afternoon tea is accompanied by live classical music.
Phoenix

Superior Chinese dim sum, served with a panoramic view of downtown Chicago, garner outthe-door lines for this Chinatown gem. Dishes emerging from the kitchen are quickly snatched by waiting diners, leading many to ask for a table near it.
Phoenix

Phoenix attracts dim sum diners from near and far. Go early on weekends or prepare for long waits.
Pierrot Gourmet

Run by the elegant Peninsula hotel, this café serves inventive salads, open sandwiches and pastries.
Pilsen

Named after a city in the former Czech Republic, whose immigrants settled here in the mid-1800s, this neighborhood now claims the Midwest’s largest Mexican community. It’s anchored by the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum (see Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum) and animated by street vendors, mariachi music, and Mexican restaurants. Vibrant outdoor murals and mosaics portray Mexican culture and history.
Pizzeria Uno

Uno’s has been baking deep-dish pizza since 1943 – about as long as Chicagoans have debated whose pie is best. Its version comes several inches deep, filled with cheese and toppings of your choice, truly a meal in one slice. The smallish Victorian brownstone strains under demand, sending the overflow down the street to its spin-off Pizzeria Due. Uno’s individual pizza served at lunch-time is a bargain.
Polo/Ralph Lauren

This massive four-story shop so thoroughly transforms itself from a store to a swell den devoted to Lauren’s to-the-manor-born lifestyle – note the horse and hound paintings throughout – that it warrants a visit from even the less well-heeled among us.
Pompei Bakery

A top Little Italy lunch pick, Pompeii showcases a dozen varieties of square, by-the-slice pizzas. Hot sandwiches and stuffed pastas round out the offerings.

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