Day Zero: Arrival, The Wit, Lou Malnati's

Union Station in Chicago is relatively centrally located. Though it was only a mile from our hotel (The Wit), burdened as we were with luggage, we took a cab.

Our first view from the train of downtown Chicago.

I took a few pictures of our hotel, but--meh--to be honest, it was nothing more than a very expensive hotel in The Loop. It's chief utility was that, while there, we were within walking distance of Millennium Park and the Art Institute. (If we were into such things, it might also have been important that it's located in the city's theater district and near one of the better shopping areas in town, State St.) We also had ridiculously easy access to public transportation, allowing us to easily travel further afield, as we opted not to rent a car. And it was a familiar place to Dave since he's stayed there for business.

Anyway, we checked in and decided to go in search of food. There was a pizza place, Lou Malnati's, that Dave wanted to try. it was only a few blocks from our hotel, so we went there and had a deep-dish pizza.

They are good, let me tell you. I don't know if you can describe a pizza as lush, but if you can, that is how you would describe a deep-dish pizza just out of the oven.  They are self-limiting, though, meaning you can't really eat much of a two-inch thick pizza. We shared a small and I could only eat one and a half slices. And I can knock back some pizza, let me tell you.

And I wasn't perving on our waitress, taking this rear-view pic. Nor was I trying to show you the beauty of our half-eaten plate of bruschetta.



I was just trying to capture this funny thing that all the servers do with their removable pizza pan handles. (Is there an actual name for that thing that they use to clamp onto the pan while they carry it to the table?) Anyway, they tuck them down the back of their aprons when they're not in use. I was, like, hmm. Is that sanitary? But no matter.

We timed our visit to Lou Malnati's just right, seems like. It was pretty early, so we just walked in and were seated right away. We had our appetizers and a pizza (which take thirty minutes to cook). And on the way out, the foyer was packed with people and there was a line out the door.

So there's a travel pro-tip: Go places early.