If you want to stay closer to the hotel and downtown area, we recommend Quartino Ristorante for small plate Italian food, Frontera Grill for delicious, upscale Mexican food or Jake Melnick's Corner Tap for the best wings in the city.

Randolph Street in the West Loop has many of the new, trendy restaurants in the city. We recommend Haymarket Pub & Brewery for a more casual atmosphere, Au Cheval for their nationally recognized thick-cut bacon burger or the ever popular Little Goat Diner. There is frequently a two to three hour wait to get into Au Cheval (worth it), so plan ahead. West Loop restaurants are also a convenient option if you are planning on joining us for out post rehearsal dinner welcome reception, as they are within walking distance or a very short cab ride from Carnivale.

Chicago has some of the best restaurants anywhere in the world. So if you would like to explore your options, Yelp is usually a reliable guide.

Yolk and Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe are two tasty options for the best meal of the day. They both frequently have waits, but you can beat the crowd by downloading the Nowait app. You can put your name on the list remotely so that you do not waste any time sitting in line.

Our favorite brunch spot is Eleven City Diner.

There are plenty of options if you have some extra time to explore our beautiful city. The hotel is not too far from the museum campus and you can't go wrong with a day spent at the Field Museum or the Shedd Aquarium. If you are looking for a day of shopping you can head to the Magnificent Mile and maybe stop along the way at Millenium Park to take your obligatory tourist picture at the Bean. For the best view of the entire city we would recommend going for a drink at the Signature Lounge at the top of the John Hancock building (this is also the location of our 2nd date). If you would like to venture a little farther north you can visit Colleen's favorite place in the city, the Lincoln Park Zoo (which is free). Finally, if you are looking to be a little more active in preparation for all the delicious food and adult beverages you will be consuming at the wedding, a walk, run, or bike ride along the lakefront path would be a good option. Bikes are available to rent at several locations.