Is Chicago America's MOST Underrated City?! 🇺🇸

Chicago. A city known for its stunning architecture, rich history and one of the most iconic food scenes in America. It is my first time here and I have got one mission to see if the Windy City really lives up to the hype. Welcome to Chicago. I am so excited to be here you guys. It is the perfect blue sky day today and we have nothing but time, things to explore, food to eat. Now I want to start the day by visiting arguably the city's most iconic landmark. It's the place I think of when I think of Chicago. But before we get there we need to take a little detour. I need to start my day with some caffeine and sugar. Don't judge me, this is happening. This place is a good one to try when you're here in Chicago and I am here in Chicago. So let's try it. Which one do you recommend the most? It's like a must try. Yeah I like strawberry. Give me a strawberry. Have you seen this? It really is the Windy City. Sweet sweet fantasy baby. I've got a cold brew with a vanilla cold foam on top. Let's just, let's try this bad boy. That is straight out of the fantasy dream journal of eight year old. In life, in life, and make direct eye contact with me when I say this, you try your very best food when you ask the people that work there for their recommendation. I would never have ordered that. Strawberry, cream cheese, sweet but not crazy. Shout out to the lady that works there, you're a real one. Goodness, I cannot believe how beautiful it is today. It is the perfect day with a cloud in the sky, beautiful blue skies. It is the perfect temperature. I have nowhere to be and nothing to do but explore this city with you and I just just want to start my day with a little bit of gratitude because I'm really thankful to be here and really thankful for a day like this. It just makes me really happy. Oh my god there it is, I can see a glimpse of it through the hedges. That's crazy, that is crazy to have like seen something in so many like TVs and movies and all that kind of stuff and then to be in front of it, it like takes a moment for your mind to process. It's way cooler in real life than I ever thought it would be. There is one place that represents modern Chicago, it is this one, Millennium Park and of course the iconic sculpture in the middle of it all. Now the name actually isn't the bean, even though everyone calls it that, it is actually named Cloud Gate and it was created by a British artist, Anish Kapoor. Now this stainless steel sculpture weighs over a hundred tons and is made from 168 individual plates that are so seamlessly welded together, it looks like it is just one big structure. That's not easily done you guys and it is so cool to look at. Now the idea here was to reflect Chicago's skyline, so you've got the clouds above and the people below and what's really cool is no two photos here are ever going to look the same because all the people and all the reflections are always changing. Okay just make sure that you make the effort to come inside this thing because it is so cool in here. The shape inside is awesome, you get all these crazy reflections. I feel like I am inside a dream. Oh so cute they're doing their wedding photos, congratulations on your wedding. This is the perfect place to start your day in Chicago. Okay I'm gonna let you guys in on a little secret, this is probably really embarrassing but I want to film some episodes where I try some of America's iconic restaurants. I would like to go to Olive Garden, what's happening there? I've heard the breadsticks are great. Red Lobster, okay. What's happening at the Cheesecake Factory? Like I've never been, I'm quite partial to a cheesecake but what else is on the menu? And most importantly my number one holy grail American restaurant, Waffle House. What is happening at the Waffle House? Anthony Bourdain raved about the butter pecan waffles and it really put it on my radar, so let me know if you want to see some of those episodes because I would love to film them for you. Okay now this has to be another of Chicago's most iconic landmarks. The Chicago Theatre was originally opened in 1921 and it was designed to be a lavish movie palace but over the years it has become somewhat iconic for its musical performances so everybody from Frank Sinatra to Prince, modern day comedicans and musicians have performed there and it looks like Rick Ross is coming soon. Ricky Rose, see you there. Unfortunately for me there is a ton of construction happening today so the view that I was hoping to get of the Chicago Theatre is non-existent. This is my view. Hopefully when you visit they've stopped the construction and you can get a bit of a better view of it. That's a bummer. I also feel like it would be really great to see after dark. So to get around Chicago you've got a few different options. There's public transport, your buses and your trains. My Uber driver from the airport yesterday said don't get on the train, that's not for you. So I don't know if that's right or not but I'm avoiding it. You can obviously catch Ubers and taxis around but today I really just want to walk everywhere. It seems to be a really walkable place and I was looking at the map and planning my day everything seemed to be pretty close to each other like 15 minute walk at the most and I thought we could play a fun little game called how many steps is Phoebe gonna do today? I love to walk around the city if I can. I think it just keeps me healthy, keeps my heart nice and strong. So what I want you to do is pop your guesses in the comments below and tell me how many steps you think we're do today and at the end of the day we'll check my phone and see what it says. If I had to guess I would say I think we're gonna do about 18,000 steps today which is a lot. Chicago is for foodies and when I was researching all the best places to eat a lot of the same spots kept coming up and yes we are going to visit a few of those but for our first lunch here we're going rogue. We're going off piste. We're going here. I am a person that is a pirate. I like to eat the fruits of the sea, fruity del mar if you will. So what was I to do? I can't go and eat the Italian beef sole. I have to find a workaround here and I found a great one. Behold a lobster roll. I just was scooting around Google Maps and I saw it and I was like I love seafood. I love a lobster roll. Let's go rogue. Let's try something that's not on the guides and see if it's any good and if it is we've unearthed a gem and if not I've wasted a lot of money on a lobster roll. This was a shocking 47 US dollars with the bottle of water. It's for the vlog. It's for the research and it came with a Swedish fish which I am dying to try. I've always wanted to try one of these. It comes with a side of tots. Let's throw one of those in. That's a really well cooked top. It's super crunchy on the outside. Nice and fluffy on the inside. Put some lemon on there. Beautiful brioche. Nice and golden on the outside. Absolutely piled high with lobster. This is gonna be really messy to eat. Don't judge me. Just look away for a moment. That's absolutely delicious. The chunks of lobster are so big and juicy. This little individual guy. Dream come true. Let's eat him. If I can get him open. Come here Swedish fish. I actually love that they did that. It's so clever. I've only just gotten the gag because they're seafood cut. Immediately good. People of Australia, I'm very similar to a red frog. I'm ready to commit to buying a whole bag of those. All right I have to admit Chicago has completely exceeded my expectations. I was not expecting it to be this beautiful. I mean the architecture is incredible. You have these gorgeous historic buildings that feel very old world and they're nestled right among these huge skyscrapers. Let me see if I can show you. You have to crane your neck to see them. Look at that. I've been to a lot of big cities like even places like New York and Tokyo and spots like that. I have never seen buildings this big. I have never. I'm gobsmacked by them. Now the reason for the incredible skyscrapers here is actually pretty interesting. After the great Chicago fire in 1871 much of the city had to be rebuilt. One of the other things I love is the trains. As you're walking around down these big wide open major streets you have these trains just passing above overhead and it's such a cool look. It's like something straight out of a movie or a tv show or something. It is absolutely beautiful to look up at eye level and there's a train just buzzing past. I just feel like this city in general has a very distinct old world meets modern feel to it and I feel like old meets new can be a little played out sometimes. Here it's a really cool blend and the fusion of these two things creates a really beautiful city especially on a day like today. Now one of the must-do items that I saw on every single Chicago guide was the architecture cruise. People rave about it. So I'm in two minds. One, do we do it? And if yes, which one do we do? There are so many to choose and I haven't pre-booked a ticket. Or two, do we completely flag that and do something my Uber driver suggested which was just to catch a water taxi which is apparently going to cost like eight or nine dollars and do much of the same thing. I don't know how to make that decision. Let me just panic make that on my own. It is 2 p.m. The sun is blaring overhead and it is unbelievably hot. I'm not sure sitting on the roof of one of these things in the blistering heat for 90 minutes is some safe idea. My Australian survival instincts are kicking in and they're saying don't do it babe. So instead I think let's just go for a little bit of a walk along the river walk and catch the vibe. I want to jump on an architectural road tour later. We absolutely can but right now I'm not sure I want to part with 45 dollars for a summer. 45 US dollars. If you've done the architectural road tour and you have an opinion about it, if you're from Chicago and you have an opinion about me not doing it, I would love to hear it. Roast me in the comments below or ideally support my decision. This may just be my favorite part of Chicago so far. It is a vibe along the river walk. Look at everyone just out enjoying this weather. I mean I imagine you'd wait to see a Chicago where it's really hot. So to get a beautiful summer day like this, not only is everybody out enjoying it but they are extremely grateful and appreciative for it and that makes for a city with a really awesome vibe. Oh my god, look at this building. Wait a second. I thought this was like an office building. There are cars parked up in the bottom of that. That's crazy. Now not only is it incredibly beautiful and vibey down here, it's actually really historic as well because this river is the reason Chicago became such an important city in the first place. I mean back in the 1800s it was a major transportation route and it was that that made Chicago become one of America's biggest commercial hubs. I'm in the mood to do a little bit of people watching. What a spot. Just sit here and soak it in and enjoy the magic. Chicago. I feel like Chicago is grossly underrated. Like whoever says to go to Chicago, everyone told me oh go to Boston, go to New York, go to all these places. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Nobody has been telling me to go to Chicago. Right, I'm tearing myself away from the Riverwalk very sadly because if I don't move now I'm never gonna leave. I'm just gonna sit there all day. It's so great. But there is one thing that has gotten me to leave that spot and it's a sweet treat. You know I love a sweet treat. Now I was scooting around Google Maps as I often am and I saw that here in Chicago they have an outlet for my favorite cookie store in the whole world. I didn't know that you could get these outside of New York but apparently you can. So the incredible day that I'm having here in Chicago, somehow it's about to get even better. Maybe it's vibes, maybe it's time, maybe it's something legal. Okay, I see it and I'm clearly not playing it cool. Levain. Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh I could not be any happier about this outcome. They have a lot of different flavors in there. I've only ever tried one. I need to branch it out. I never do. If you've tried the other flavors please let me know if they're any good but I am very happy with this. Hold on, I bought like a piece of art. I'll show you, hold on. I'm getting sidetracked. Cute! How cute is that? I love that. I try to collect like a unique little local piece of art when I travel for my wall at home. Hold on, let's put that down because this is a two-hand, a two-hand job. The smell coming off it, I die every time. How much was that? I don't know. $5.70-ish. I will give them whatever they want for eternity for that. If they want to send me the recipe, please do. Is it gooey? Is it gooey? Can you see? Holy! That is so good. It's criminal. It's just a big chunk and cookie. It's crunchy on the outside and so gooey and chocolatey on the inside is the thing. It makes me so happy. I need to save the rest of that for later. Chicago, I'm just one gal. Just one Australian gal trying to make this work. Now my hotel is a short walk around the corner. It is in the very best location imaginable. I am loving staying there. Let's go for a walk. I'll show you where it is and I'll tell you what I'm loving about it. Come with me. This is where I am staying. It is the Acme Hotel Chicago. Let's go inside and take a look around. If hotels had personalities, this one would definitely be the cool kid. Now the building dates back to the 1920s when it operated as the Berkshire Hotel and was reportedly a favorite hangout for Chicago mobsters. But don't worry, today it is the Acme Hotel Company. It's a locally owned boutique hotel that leans hard into creativity, music, art and self-expression. Now everywhere you look there is something unexpected from vintage album artwork and colorful murals to chalkboard signs outside the guest rooms. But beyond all the quirky design touches, the biggest thing for me was the location. You are right in the middle of downtown Chicago. It just has made it so incredibly easy for me to explore the city. And after a full day out, coming back to a room this spacious, colorful and comfortable was a pretty great feeling. And I have to specifically call out how comfortable the bed was and the incredible water pressure in the shower. If you're looking for a great place to stay in Chicago, Acme Hotel Company is it. I have a QR code on screen right now and a link in the video description for you so you can click through and book your stay too. I love the size of this room. Having this second area over here has been awesome. There's so many spots to sit, relax, watch the tv, I can get some work done on the couch and enjoy views of Chicago. Hey Chicago, I love you! Alright, there's a really cool bar in the bottom of this hotel. I keep walking past it and yesterday evening it had the best vibes going on. So you know what, I've got some jeans back on, we're going out. This was an excellent idea. It is so stunning. I feel like I've stepped back in time. There are these really big high ceilings, the lighting is so warm and cozy, everything is very dark and old world. Now there are loads of cool places to sit but I am loving sitting up at this bar and just watching the bartender work and it is so fun and social in here. There are so many people in here. Sometimes a hotel bar can be really dead and cold and clinical. Not this one. This one's a vibe. Even if you aren't staying at the hotel, you would want to come here and check this place out. It's the perfect place for a drink. Alright, now you absolutely cannot come to Chicago and not eat pizza and Chicago specifically is famous for its deep dish pizza. So you know you have to try some. Here's the thing, when you look online you are going to find two places recommended to you over and over. Lou Malnati's and Giordano's I think. I definitely want to try one of those places but I also kind of want to go rogue and try something that's not on those lists because otherwise we're just doing the same thing as everybody else. Now every time I walk out of my hotel, I see this place. There is a pizza shop right here on the corner. You'll see it behind me. I took a quick look at the reviews and the menu online. People rave about it so I think we should try it and see if it's any good. I hope it is. Can I get an individual veggie? Can I add some anchovies on that? Yeah that's it. Thank you. I don't know if you guys heard that but if you are coming to eat the deep dish pizza you need to prepare for a wait time. Now this is something that, who told me? I think my Uber driver from the airport, that guy came in clutch. He was like hey just so you know if you go to Giordano's or Lou Malnati's you're probably looking at like a 45 minute to an hour wait to get a table if you go at dinner time and then it's going to be like an hour wait for food. So he was like make sure you go two hours before you're hungry. Now this is another incentive for me to come here to Murdoch because there was no wait for a table. I just filled right in and got a great seat outside in this beautiful weather and then the wait time of the pizza he said 45 minutes. Now I'm not surprised because the deep dish pizza is a big thick boy and that takes a while to set in the oven. So happy to wait. Just gonna hydrate. Thank you. I'm watching TikTok in the meantime. It's here like and I'm scared of it. I'm really scared All the photos and videos I've seen of this pizza have put me into a state of fear. I like a New York style pizza. I like a thin crust. That's my vibe. This is like the opposite of the kind of pizza that I'm into but I'm here and I have to try it. Now in an attempt to like it as much as possible I've ordered a veggie version. Add some freshness on there and some anchovies because I love anchovies So how much was this? It was around 15 to 16 US dollars and then I did add anchovies on there which would be an extra one to two US dollars. Like oh and how long did it take? I ordered at 7 30. It is 7 57. So it didn't take the full 45 minutes. I'm happy with that. Let's do this This is not a pizza. This is a whole, it's like a pie. It's very difficult to cut. I'm not loving this. Are you ready? As you can see a lot of base, a lot of depth. It's the deep dish concept. Everybody pray for me. Please be good otherwise all in Chicago is about to hate me. Chicago you haven't done me wrong yet. From donut to lobster roll, Swedish fish, fish and everything in between. You've been great. Come on. It's good. I thought that was going to be an insanely cheesy, over the top, stomach inducing hellscape of a nightmare. It's not. I think the veggies are doing the Lord's work. I think they're really brightening that up and freshening that up. The base is incredible. It's really well set. It's really delicious. Can I eat this whole thing? Absolutely not. But am I glad I tried it? Heck yeah. You know I've spent the whole day here exploring Chicago and I have to be honest with you. I've fallen head over heels in love with the place. It has been awesome. Like I said I had such a great time exploring Boston last year. It was a city that hadn't ever really been on my radar and that trip really inspired me to start exploring more of the U.S. and going to places that maybe I wouldn't otherwise because you just never know what's there. You never know how much of a good time you're going to have and I have loved it here. I've been blown away by the food, the architecture, how beautiful it is and just such a vibe. It is absolutely incredible and I'm not done yet because next week I'm going to have for you an entire episode dedicated to Chicago's best eats on a budget. Yes I need to put on my stretchy pants and strap myself in because I am going to be exploring this city trying to find the most iconic Chicago food. It's just $50. I don't know if it can be done. I may be able to do this for one lobster roll a day but I'm gonna challenge myself. I'm gonna give it a try. Alright you guys and with that that brings this week's episode to a close. I really hope you've enjoyed it. Now if you don't already be sure to subscribe right now so you never miss a single episode and say hello in the comments below. I hope you have a great weekend and I will see you with a brand new episode and a whole lot more food and pizza next week. Love ya!