chicago

There is no more literary spot to stay in the Windy City than The Publishing House Bed and Breakfast, where each room is carefully curated around a Chicago author’s work, in a building that once was an actual publishing house. On our first night, we hosted Chicago author and publisher Sam Landers to talk about his bookmaking venture, Trope, and their photographic love letter to the city. We took a chef-driven food tour of the Pilsen neighborhood, where we ate tacos, toured the National Museum of Mexican Art, and admired the 14th Street murals. This same neighborhood was where Sandra Cisneros drew her inspiration for The House on Mango Street. We took a riverboat tour of Chicago’s fascinating artictecture, and dove a little more deeply into the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright. And we shared a deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s with bookseller, librarian, chef and author Nina Barrett to hear more about her fascinating true crime book, The Leopold and Loeb Files: An Intimate Look at One of America’s Most Infamous Crimes. We took a quick tour of The Art Institute (and spied ourselves in The Bean at Cloudgate.) Our Sunday night farewell brought us to Girl & The Goat, Chicago chef (and Top Chef winner) Stephanie Izard’s flagship restaurant, where we feasted on her one-of-a-kind dishes in a private dining room.