J-Hope in Chicago

My sister and I are huge BTS fans. Admittedly, my sister is the bigger fan but we're both clearly in the Army. When she found out J-Hope was having a solo North American tour, she went on a quest to get tickets. And she got them!

Chicago is one of my favorite cities. It's the headquarters for the American Academy of Pediatrics so I've been Chicago for multiple meetings and conferences over the years. It's a fun city with good food options.

Here is how we spent 72 hours in Chicago.

Garfield Conservatory

I'm so glad I found this online! It's a beautify conservatory and garden. Each room has a different theme and I loved all of them. There's a room that changes with each season. We got to see the Spring Flower Show which has many of my favorite flowers including tulips. It's free for Chicago residents but only $10 for everyone else. This is a bargain and a perfect place to hang out when it's cold out.

Next Restaurant

Next is part of the Alina Group which is pretty well known. Next has changing menus and we got the 'Alina Year 1' menu which was perfect because I actually wanted to eat at Alina but it didn't work out. The food was creative and interactive and beautiful and yes, tasty. It was a 12 course menu which sounds like a lot but each course was just a few bites. I had to take notes because each course was so complicated, there was no way I would remember all the details. These are not the official names of the dishes, just descriptions that I came up with.

1 - Broccoli stem wrapped in brioche, trout row and orange peel vinaigrette

2 - Hearts of palm with bulgur wheat, prune, vanilla cream

3 - Shrimp tempura with compressed lemon and mint on a vanilla bean skewer

4 - Lobster curry

5 - Tomato, cheese, pumpernickel crouton skewer

6 - Self assembly dumpling with rice paper with herbs, pork belly and various toppings

7 - Hot/cold potato with truffle

8 - Fried frog legs with mushroom broth and foam (on bed of pine needles that was super scented)

9 - Lamb neck with fennel and coffee reduction (on a pillow infused with star anise)

10 - Truffle raviolo with Parmesan butter cream sauce

11 - Shiitake mushroom sponge cake with mushroom caramel and cream sauce (the mushroom caramel was shockingly good)

12 - Chocolate ganache with cookie crumble, mint and avocado cream and lemon curd ice cream

Downtown Chicago

I made my own walking tour of downtown.

Grant Park - Buckingham Fountain (water was not turned on)

Millennium Park - Cloud Gate (AKA the bean)

Chicago Cultural Center - has cool art exhibits in a beautiful building

Riverwalk - every year the city turns the water green for St Patty's Day. This is the first time I've seen the green river!

Magnificent Mile - this is stretch of downtown on Michigan Ave that has beautiful architecture with shops and restaurants.

Ramen-San

We found this on Google Maps when our original lunch plans fell through. It was delicious! I had the kimchi and fried chicken ramen which was a total fusion of Koran and Japanese. My sister had the express lunch which was ramen and rice. She picked the chicken shio ramen and miso salmon. She loved them both. For dessert, we had the matcha puff which was huge! The restaurant had a cool urban vibe with exposed brick and ducts with a huge bar.

Hope on the Stage

If you don't know about BTS, you need to come out of whatever rock you've been living under. BTS is a Kpop boy band that debuted in 2013 and they are the most successful group in the history of the world, surpassing the Beatles.

I went to a BTS concert in April of 2022 and that's when I officially became a fan. That concert had the highest energy I have ever felt, it was palpable. So I already knew what to expect for this concert.

BTS fans (officially known as Army) are the best fans! Everyone is so friendly. There is so much love for the boys but also for other fans. I got my first ever friendship bracelet from a lovely fan walking by.

J-Hope did not disappoint. He is known for his dancing in the group and he got to showcase his dancing skills. Everything was done so well at the concert. The sets were beautiful and matched the songs. The dancers were on fire! The costumes were cool. One of the best part of any BTS concert are the light sticks. They are officially called Army Bombs. They are wirelessly linked so they change colors and patterns with the show. It is a beautiful sight to see a sea of light sticks.