My Chicago

By Wendy Cole

Chicago correspondent Wendy Cole gives us insider tips on the best places to go for:

A Satisfying Breakfast Lou Mitchell's Diner, on West Jackson Boulevard. Old-fashioned and in the shadow of the Sears Tower

A Between-Meetings Walk Any route along the Michigan lakefront that passes Buckingham Fountain

A Freebie Cultural Fix Suburban Oak Park, for a drive-by of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses; or the Art Institute on Tuesdays

An Unusual Sport Lake Michigan, where fishing for silvery, finger-size smelt is permitted only during April

Impressive Eating Charlie Trotter's. Get there before he opens his London place in March. Expect to spend $175 each.