I am lucky enough to have one of the five Great Lakes of North America right in my backyard. How cool is that?

The ONLY place to get fresh fish, H Mart is a mecca for Asian (particularly Korean) ingredients. Their huge store, out in the suburbs, was a haul, and their recent opening in the loop has made me super happy. Gorgeous range of seafood, marinated meats, kimchi, green tea mochi, korean fried chicken, soju, enoki mushrooms, purple yam; this place is da' bomb (in the best sense)!

The Green Mill is Chicago's oldest Jazz club, open since 1907. Today it is an authentic link to past visitors like Al Capone and his henchman “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn who was the club’s former manager.

The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance is Chicago’s primary residence for music and dance, connecting diverse audiences with outstanding artists from across the city, the nation, and the world.

I'm usually too busy to do this but when I can, getting out to the lakefront at night is truly one of the best things ever. There's something about the night sky, the water, wind and the city behind you that calms everything down.