Dig Into Chicago-style Pizza

No visit to Chicago is complete without trying one of our most famous food delicacies – Chicago-style pizza.

Chicago-style pizza is a deep-dish pizza style that was developed in Chicago in 1943 at Pizzeria Uno. It has a buttery crust and is usually two to three inches thick at the edge. The order of ingredients on a Chicago style deep-dish pizza is “backwards” from a traditional think crust pizza. First, slices of mozzarella cheese are placed directly on the dough, and then additional ingredients such as mushrooms or onions are spread over the cheese. Finally, the pizza is then topped with fresh, chunky tomato sauce and topped off with a sprinkling of grated cheese and spices. Because it is so tall, Chicago-style pizza is generally eaten with a knife and fork. However, if you’re intimidated by the looks of this pizza and prefer think crust instead, you can definitely find that in Chicago too!

Be sure not to miss out on this tasty pizza during your visit to Chicago. Every restaurant has its own slightly different style of deep-dish pizza, but no matter where you go, you’re sure to get a great taste of Chicago. Here are some of our favorite options nearby!

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria – South Loop

805 South State Street

Directions from the hostel:

1. Head West on East Congress Parkway toward State Street
2. Turn left on State Street
3. Walk straight for 3 blocks and it’s on the corner of State Street and 8^th Street

Gino’s East of Chicago

633 N. Wells Street

Directions from the hostel:

1.  Head West on East Congress Parkway toward State Street
2. Turn right on State Street and walk one block to the Harold Washing Library stop
3. Take the Brown line towards Kimball and get off at Merchandise Mart stop (8 minutes, 6 stops)
4. Walk straight on North Wells Street for 5 blocks and it’s on the corner of North Wells Street and West Ontario Street

Giordano’s

223 West Jackson Boulevard

Directions from the hostel:

1. Head West on East Congress Parkway toward State Street
2. Turn right on State Street and walk one block to the Harold Washing Library stop
3. Take either the Pink line towards 54/Cermak OR Orange line towards Midway and get off at the Washington/Wells stop (4 minutes, 3 stops).
4. Head North on Wells Street
5.  Turn left on West Randolph

Pizzeria Uno

29 East Ohio Street

Directions from the hostel:

1. Head West on East Congress Parkway toward State Street
2. Turn left on State Street and walk one block to the Harrison subway stop
3. Take the Red line towards Howard (6 minutes, 4 stops)
4. Get off at the Grand-Red stop
5. Walk North on State Street for one block and turn right on Ohio Street

Lights OFF... Glow Sticks ON!

We are 125 hours away (and counting!) from Earth Hour 2012. Genius has struck here at HI-Chicago…and a Glow Stick Party is in the works for when we shut off all the lights at 8.30pm on March 31st. Earth Hour is the world’s largest public environmental action, and by taking part in this global ‘lights out’ event HI-Chicago will be acknowledging its commitment to operational actions that benefit the planet in the year ahead.

Last year some of the world’s most famous man-made marvels and natural wonders, including China’s Forbidden City, Eiffel Tower, Table Mountain, Great Pyramids of Egypt, Buckingham Palace, Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue, Niagara and Victoria Falls, Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House and many more global icons stood in darkness as a powerful symbol of landmark environmental action.

EGYPT

CHICAGO

Join us this Saturday night to celebrate saving electrical energy and expending energy of our own while having a glow-stick-induced fun time! Glow sticks and snacks are free!

To get a better sense of the magnitude and inspiring nature of the event, take a moment to watch the Earth Hour 2012 official video at www.youtube.com/earthhour .

9 Days Until Earth Hour. Spread the Word!

Earth Hour is Coming Up Soon!

HI-Chicago will be participating in a worldwide event called Earth Hour on March 31st at 8.30pm!
Click to watch the video below to learn more about it, and check out http://www.earthhour.org/

5 Ways to Save Money While Traveling in Chicago

1.      Cook in our Awesome Kitchen 

Eating out for every meal adds up quickly, so why not grab food from the grocery store and cook in our large, fully equipped, self-service kitchen instead? If you need an idea, pasta and vegetables is a cheap and popular meal choice among travelers. Maybe you’ll even score something from the free food shelf or meet fellow travelers to share a meal with! 

2. Use the CTA 

The CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) is our public transportation system around the city. It is quick, reliable, and cheap. It costs $2.25 per ride, or if you’re staying a while we recommend purchasing a 1 day ($5.75), 3 day ($14), or 7 day ($23) pass for unlimited rides on any CTA bus or train. The elevated trains are also a great way to get a mini tour of the city before you set out to explore on foot. 

3. Check out “Free Things to do in Chicago”

Take a look at Free Things to do in Chicago , which provides a nice sampling of current low-cost events in the city. Favorite free destinations in Chicago include Millennium Park, Grant Park, Navy Pier and in the summer the miles and miles of beautiful beaches. And of course Lincoln Park Zoo is always free.

(The Bean: always free, always an amusing picture)

4. Check out Groupon and Living Social

These websites are an excellent source for purchasing discounts to restaurants, bars, attractions, and much more. With the right deals, you could potentially have a night out in the city (dinner, drinks, and a show) for half the price. Especially useful are the “Now” deals that you can purchase and use immediately – perfect for those of us who like to be spontaneous without spending too much cash. 

5.Ask the hostel's front desk and info desk for discount coupons

We have loads of discount coupons in the hostel for you to use during your stay with us. Also, your hostel key card can get you discounts at various restaurants, museums, and tours in the area. Check at the info desk for more information. 

Bonus! Go on an HI-Chicago Free Walking Tour

Take advantage of the awesome weather we've been having lately and sign up at the info desk for one of our free volunteer-led walking tours or cheap excursions. Examples include free walking tours of downtown Chicago and excursions to comedy clubs, festivals, and blue's bars. It's a great chance to mingle with locals and travelers alike!

Your St. Patrick's Day Itinerary

8am: It begins! Start your day with a traditional Irish breakfast(Bangers? Brown pudding? Your regular bowl of oatmeal with a touch of green food coloring?) and maybe a mimosa or two. Add some Baileys to your coffee...maybe just enough to make you less afraid of the mass of human traffic that awaits you on public transportation later this morning.

10:45am: Head downtown to watch your favorite Chicago River get dyed a bright shade of St. Patrick's Day green. The audience generally responds to this event as enthusiastically as they do to anything that happens in a Bulls game.

12pm: If you have survived the crowds at the River, you will now be rewarded with more crowds at the massive parade. More info here! If you are staying at the hostel, you will already be located super close to the start of the parade near Buckingham Fountain.

1pm (or whenever you manage to break away from the herd): You will no longer be feeling the effects of your early morning dose of Baileys, so head on over to one of the many Irish pubs that will be churning out Guinness faster than even Irish folks can drink it. The epic St. Patty's Crawl makes sure to stop by all the big ones.

Also 1pm: St. Patrick's Festival at the Irish American Heritage Center. If you can't make it to Ireland, might as well get as close as you can!

2pm: Shoreline Cruise. Irish buffet? Cash bar? Tour of the river with bits of Irish history sprinkled in? Is there anything to dislike?

Sometime in the afternoon: A nap?

8pm: Riverdance show! It might be nice to sit down after running around all day in the sun, and Riverdance is leaving Chicago soon, so this might be your last chance to catch it.

BONUS: If you didn't get enough of the holiday by the time Sunday morning rolls around and you feel the need to keep celebrating all things Irish, check out these belated St. Patrick's Day events around the city:

5k and 8k run/walk on March 18: You'll need to do something to counteract all of that Guinness, let's be honest.

Soda Bread Contest in Oak Park on March 24: This looks really cool. If you can bake, you should probably participate in this immediately.

AND REMEMBER: Let's be as safe as possible, guys. Know your limits and look out for your friends. Here's some good info to have in mind whenever you know you'll be drinking, and also make sure not to get too dehydrated while you're running around -- it's supposed to be pretty warm on Saturday!

*Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
*Written by Jackie DesForges, Communications Strategies Intern

Green. Verde. Grün. 녹색. Vert.

Chicago will be seeing green this Saturday in celebration for St. Patrick’s Day.  Here we don’t just wear green to avoid getting pinched… we add 100 pounds of green dye into the Chicago River to add to the festivities! The question is, how “green” is this tradition? Prior to 1966, the green dye was oil based, which sparked complaints by environmentalists who pointed out that the oil was detrimental to living organisms. Thanks to them, the green dye was changed to a vegetable based dye. So our crazy tradition has been environmentally friendly since 1966!
 

Green Dye into the Chicago River

At HI-Chicago we are getting greener…and not just for St. Patrick’s Day! This week we have implemented a new protocol for check in that cuts sheets of paper used per guest by 33%!

Instead of printing out the HI-Chicago rules for each guest to sign, the guidelines are now displayed on the front desk, and the guest’s signature to affirm that they will abide by them is captured on their receipt. Over time this will significantly decrease our paper usage and reduce our waste!

Let’s picture it this way – Considering the number of check-ins we had in 2011, and eliminating one sheet of paper per check in, we can estimate how much paper we can save in this upcoming year. From numbers in 2011 we estimate that 29,760 sheets of paper can be saved, and since one tree can make about 8,350 sheets…we will be saving 3.5 trees per year!  

Other Green Events to be aware of…

Earth Hour is coming up on March 31^st at 8.30 pm. Across the globe people will be shutting off their electricity for ONE HOUR. Last year, More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011. HI-Chicago will be participating in this event, and so should you! Check out http://www.earthhour.org/  for more information!

Earth Day on April 22, 2012 Learn how you can participate in activities to help the earth at http://www.earthday.org/

Green Festival @ Navy Pier in Chicago on May 5-6^th. Don’t miss this event, a project of Green America and Global Exchange. There will be over 125 visionary speakers, hands on workshops, green shopping, family activities, organic food and a lot more (including an HI-Chicago table!)

There are opportunities to volunteer! Just log on to www.greenfestivals.org/volunteer