Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/835995
Cruise the Great Lakes like royalty on the Pearl Mist, or (at right and below) enjoy astonishing views of the Chicago River with an extraordinary dinner in the rooftop cupola at LondonHouse. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PEARL SEAS CRUISES (CRUISE); BY NICHOLAS JAMES PHOTOGRAPHY (LONDONHOUSE TERRACE); TOM ROSSITER FOR GOETSCH & PARTNERS (CUPOLA) 5. DINNER WITH A VIEW: Have the chefs at chic LondonHouse orchestrate a memorable meal served in The Cupola, the domed roof terrace at the very top of the Loop hotel. Start with cocktails at sundown before settling into an 18-course menu crafted to your own specifica- tions. Engagement ring optional. Dinner for two from $6,000; londonhouse.com 6. A TASTE OF POLO: Learn the basics of the "sport of kings" during the summer season at Arranmore Farm and Polo Club and Oak Brook Polo Club. On game days, up to 12 can arrive before the big event and whack some balls from life-size wooden horses with the guidance of Argentine polo professionals like Horacio Onetto and Tomas Obregon. Then take your sofa seat and watch the match field-side, while a catered, boozy lunch is laid before you. (Might we suggest the traditional Pimm's Chukker?). $8,000 for up to 12 guests; chicago-polo.com 7. RAVINIA LUXE: Don't stress about getting a good seat or packing the perfect picnic—just hook yourself up with Ravinia's Lawncierge. Along with prime reserved loungers and guaran- teed shade beneath a tent, fans of Stevie Nicks, John Legend, or Sheryl Crow (some of the summer's big names) are free to indulge in the open bar, grill stations, and dessert tableau of this private viewing area. Single tickets $300; ravinia.org 8. GO, SPEEDRACER, GO: Rarely do mere mortals get to ride in a coveted ($100,000) Radical race car. But at the Autobahn Car Club, members grant guests use of their own vehicles, while the club provides a racing pro to sit shotgun as he trains them along the 2.2-mile technical track in Joliet. Don't worry, the instructor has his own brake and control, so go ahead—open that baby up to 130 mph. "The speed will pin back your ears," says the Autobahn's Ron Dabisch. Full-day Radical Racing School $2,800; with round-trip helicopter transport from Chicago, $4,100; autobahncc.com . 70 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM SCENE OUT & ABOUT