When friends come to visit me here in Chicago—which, thanks to my ceaseless bragging about the city's food, affordability and friendliness, happens frequently—I take them to the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the Hancock tower for a cocktail. Veteran Chicagoans reading this might groan: The place is overpriced, it's full of tourists, and there can be lines out the door. All true. But click past the jump to see why it's a must-do for a Chicago visitor (or native) and how to do it right.
Sure, on a Chicago scale, the drinks are a little pricy. But $12 for a martini is fundamentally humane. I will cede that if you are trying to drink 13 of something, maybe this isn't the place. Besides, you don't want to end up taking a groggy-eyed sharp left out the window of the 96th floor. It's full of tourists, yes. So what? When the three kings came from all over the Orient to bring birthday presents to Jesus, did the locals say, "This crap is so played out. Let's hit up some tiny manger and find a baby nobody knows about"? Hardly. Sometimes stuff is worth doing, and people from other countries find out about it. No one is more excited to be in Chicago than these folks, and we can do worse than to help them snap a cheezy photo, slap 'em on the back and tell them we love their acid-wash jeans. Lines out the door occur only at peak times and, naturally, when the skies are pristine. The big crush tends to be around 9 or 10 p.m., after dinner when it's dark, but if you go a little early (say, 7:00 or 8:00) or a little late (it's open 'til 1:30 on Friday and Saturday, 12:30 the rest of the week) you can usually waltz into the glossy marble lobby, hop into the elevator, sail up to the lounge and watch the sun set while the lines form downstairs. Of course, on a clear night, you can see the streetlights stretch out in a twinkling golden grid to the horizon. But don't discount the Signature in the fog, when it's sure to be less crowded. I've been up there when thick clouds drifted slowly like big white Cadillacs around the windows, occasionally letting the city lights bleed through from below. I've been there in almost every season and every condition and it's always magical, which means 1) it's a sure-fire hit for Chicago visitors and 2) I need a hobby.
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