What to Do if You’re Staying in NYC for Thanksgiving

So you’ve already broken your mother’s heart and decided that it’s not worth the $500 flight to eat turkey with Aunt Geraldine. Now what? 

Read More

A Snapshot of Chicago Friends and Family SideTour Experiences

Revae Schneider, one of Chicago’s premier mixologists, works her magic on a cocktail.

A collage of delicious cocktails made by Revae’s happy SideTour guests.  

Alan Lake, chef of “Around the World in 7 Courses” SideTour dinner, shows the crowd his infused vodka concoction.

Alan’s eclectic mix of music and artwork lend a backdrop for his unique dinner.

SideTour CEO Vipin Goyal decorates chocolates at Uzma Sharif’s Chocolat shop.

The final product at Chocolat’s pre-launch SideTour experience. 

Chef Anupy Singla describes some of the main spices used during her Indian cooking SideTour.

Guests at Anupy’s experience share personal stories of their cooking mishaps and successes.  

Find more Chicago experiences by heading over to the SideTour site!

Photo credit: Willie Chandler Photography

5 Corn Mazes That Will Make You Wonder How People Have So Much Time On Their Hands

1. Great Vermont Corn Maze

10-acres and packed with benches for toddler temper tantrums, hiding, and the kind of breaking down that’s usually reserved for couples at Ikea, this maze in Danville, VT takes about 2 hours, on average, to complete. 

2. Cool Patch Pumpkins Corn Maze

Guinness World Record holders for “World’s Largest Corn Maze,” Matt and Mark Cooley, outdid themselves this year with a 53-acre maze in Dixon, CA. This one measures 13-acres larger than their original maze, which begs the question: why not just make it 53-acres from the start?

3. Reding Farm Corn Maze

State pride and sports collide at this Oklahoma City Thunder-themed, 35-acre corn maze in Chickasha.

4. Kraay Family Farm Corn Maze

Obviously the Canadians built this 300,000 square foot corn maze. Everyone knows no one in the U.S. uses QR codes!

5. Treinen Farm Corn Maze

Eight secrets are hiding in this corn maze and are located by only 2 percent of the people that enter.

9 Things to Do in Chicago Before You Kick the Bucket

In honor of our upcoming Chicago launch later this month and a few Friends and Family experiences happening this week, we caught up with a few people who can’t get enough of The Windy City. Here’s a list of 9 things they say you need to do in Chi-town.

1. Chase the Story

Spend an afternoon in the editorial offices at the Chicago Tribune after having traveled around the city with a reporter/cameraman.

Thanks to Author Michele Howe for the tip.

2. Get Your Heart Rate Up

• Run in the Chicago Marathon.
• Walk the 94 floors of the John Hancock Building. There are 1,632 steps!

Thanks to Robert Smith and Kimberly Eberl for the tips. 

3. Respect Your Elders

Go to Hemingway Museum in Oak Park. He’s a fascinating figure and one of America’s finest authors and journalists. 

Thanks to Daniel Lobring for the tip.

4. See Green

Attend the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Thanks to Sophia Mitchell for the tip.

5. Blow Some Bubbles

Visit the Shedd Aquarium. 

Thanks to Artist Pablo Solomon for the tip.

6. Look Up

Go on the River Architecture Cruise hosted by the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Thanks to Kat Podmolik for the tip.

7. Look Everywhere

Participate in Chicago Scavenger Hunt. It pairs interests in history/architecture with geeky game show personas. A race to the end! 



Thanks to Kelly Daugherty for the tip.

8. Grab a Bite

Over eat at the Purple Pig and Moto.

Thanks to Analisa Shah for the tip. 

9. Save Room for Dessert

Head to Mindy’s Hot Chocolate, which is in a really nice neighborhood restaurant with GREAT desserts and maybe the best hot chocolate I have ever had, anywhere! Don’t forget to try the homemade marshmallows.

Thanks to Joe Harberg for the tip. 

What’s the First Thing You Should Do When You Move to NYC?

You’ve unpacked the last box from the moving van. You’ve set up your bed. You’ve double checked that your locks work. Congrats! You’re officially a New York City resident. So now what? 

We polled a few friends for advice on what a newcomer to NYC should do once they get settled. Here’s what they had to say: 

Read More