As the school year came to a close in 2024, my wife and eldest daughter went on a service trip to Nicaragua, starting on Memorial Day weekend and lasting for 8 days. To keep the wander lust as bay, Clara, JR and I decided to take a short jaunt to Chicago and catch a White Sox home game.
If you are asking why in the world did we choose the White Sox, the answer is pretty straightforward. For one, it is a direct flight from NOLA to Chicago, which made traveling with a three year old a lot easier. Two, we had never been, and I would like to see a ball game in home stadium of every team. Counting the ChiSox, I am up to fourteen.
We were in Chicago for less than 24 hours total, but we had a great time. There’s so much to do there, that we could go back again and have a completely different experience.
What We Did
Stax Cafe: We arrived quite early, and the game didn’t start until 1:10 pm, so our first stop was at Stax for pancakes. There are at least two of these in Chicago, and I was very impressed. They have a very diverse menu for breakfast and for lunch, and have several options for kids. All three of us got pancakes, and while JR, who is a bit of a pancake snob, said they weren’t the best he’s ever had, they were definitely above average. We were all very satisfied.
Maggie Daley Park: This is a great public play area right off the water in downtown Chicago. It has a lot to offer, and while we didn’t have a ton of time, we managed to get in 18 holes of mini golf and about 45 minutes on the playgrounds. There’s a lot more to do in this area, and it has great options for kids. We probably could have spent the whole day there. The only drawback is that parking is kind of confusing and kind of expensive.
White Sox Game: If you were too suggest that the White Sox stadium has the worst name in baseball, I wouldn’t disagree. That said, the stadium itself is quite impressive. While it isn’t in the best part of the city, the area immediately surrounding the stadium is great. There is ample parking, and since the team is pretty mediocre at the moment, we were able to park less than five minutes away.
There is a large Kids’ Zone in the outfield, but we actually didn’t take advantage of it. JR said the pretzel was a 6 out of 10, which is much higher than Philadelphia, and Clara easily took care of a hot dog. My only complaint about the food is that they didn’t have any candy (as far as we could tell), which helps to get a three year old through 3 hours of ball.
My favorite things about the White Sox experience are the batters eye and City Connect jerseys. Centerfield is lovely copse of green trees and bushes that creates a much more esthetic batters’ eye than does a simple green wall. While they weren’t wearing their City Connect jersey’s that day, I think the White Sox’ is one of the best. I see little reason to ever go back the Guaranteed Rate, but I would definitely recommend it.
Lou Malnati’s: We closed the night with deep dish pizza and spaghetti at Lou Malnati’s. I am not expert in Chicago-style pizza; frankly, it’s not my favorite. That said, the food was good, the beer was cold and the people were friendly, so what could there be to complain about?
We had a great, brief experience in Chicago, and while the Sox field certainly doesn’t compare to Wrigley, it certainly isn’t at the bottom of the list of stadiums that we’ve visited. It probably doesn’t make the list of must-do things in Chicago, but for the MLB fans hoping to visit every stadium, Guaranteed Rate is more than just a box to check, it was a very pleasant experience. We spent the night at a Holiday Inn Express (which was not very nice) near the airport and caught the early flight home.
Next up, we’ve got an RV trip through the Dakotas, so stay tuned to see if I hit another Dairy Queen.