March 2026
Where We Stayed: The Langham
For the past four years, Mike and I have been trying to go to Chicago for the St. Patrick’s Day weekend river dyeing — and our previous attempts were thwarted by illness, weather, etc. Well the fourth time was the charm! We made it and had a great weekend in the Windy City.
We arrived on a Friday and headed home early on Sunday (to get home ahead of a terrible blizzard). Friday we visited the observation deck/bar at the Hancock Building, because Mike had never been. The views from the Hancock are my favorite, but I have to say, it was not the same vibe as 10+ years ago when the Signature Room and Lounge were still with us. Another case of the good old days being gone. After our time in the sky, we went to Gangnam Market which is located just west of downtown. Gangnam Market is half-Asian grocery store, half-Asian food court. We loved it and had a late lunch of sushi and snacks.
We checked into our hotel, the Langham, late afternoon and then headed to the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in the West Loop. A perfect St. Patrick’s Day weekend kickoff! The food was pretty good — except for the really, really terrible chicken fried cheese curds. A tragedy that a cheese curd experience was so bad! But I’d recommend the Guinness brown bread and the Reuben eggrolls.
