LP's New Top Spot - the J. Parker

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend - I know I did.  One of my best friends got married on Saturday and I had the privilege of standing up next to her (and salsa-ing the night away with her fun & incredibly sweet extended Colombian family!).  I got to see some friends from Iowa and Vegas whom I hadn't see in a very long time, and on Monday my sister and I ventured to Lincoln Park Zoo and later found ourselves enjoying one of the last weekends of summer atop Hotel Lincoln on the beautiful new J. Parker rooftop patio.

Enter into the lobby of the adorable revamped Hotel Lincoln (don't forget to peek your head into Elaine's Coffee Call - too cute to miss) and head towards the elevator where a friendly staff member is manning the host station.  He'll politely ask you if you have reservations and will let you know the status of the rooftop, whether your answer is yes or no.  After letting him know we had not made a reservation, he let us know there were plenty of seats in the covered area inside & plenty of standing room all around.

Elaine's Coffee Call

We proceeded into the elevator to be greeted by another friendly face who asked us how our day was, if we'd ever been to the J. Parker and finally told us - as the doors opened up behind us to the roof & spectacular view - to enjoy the magic we were about to walk in to.  He was pretty on point, I must say.  The view is breathtaking and the inside, though on the smaller side, is completely adorable.  The patio is bigger than what you'd think when you first walk up, and every member of the staff was incredibly helpful, friendly and accommodating.

View from the front of the patio overlooking Lincoln Park Zoo

Since there weren't any seats open outside when we first arrived we took a seat at the bar, not minding of course as we were served by one very adorable bartender who also made delicious recommendations when it came to both the drinks & the food.  We both started out with Rose Sangria - refreshing and sprinkled with blueberries, it was just what we needed.  The drink menu is divided up by region - Cuba, Mexico, Spain - and the food is divided into column A & column B, meant for you to play with your own flavor combinations.  We tried the fried egg with Romesco sauce and the Semolina Crostini with goat cheese and River Valley mushrooms - seriously delicious!

The hostess said she'd be sure to let us know when a table outside opened up, and what do you know about 15 minutes after we arrived were seated on the beautiful, slightly eclectic patio with a never-ending view of lake Michigan in front of us, and the various Chicago neighborhoods sprinkled behind us.

View of the city from back of the patio at sunset

My advice: try to make it to the J. Parker before we see snow - and we did hear the manager say they will be bringing heat lamps out for the chilly Fall months.  The patio is a great spot to take the parents you want to impress, the girlfriends you want to catch up with, or a date - whether it's something new or seasoned - talk of the view & our great city are sure to break the ice in no time.  And don't forget to suggest staying at the Hotel if you have visitors coming in - my friend's parents came from KC for a Saturday night stay and got a killer rate (I'm talking around $85) on a beautiful room through one of the travel websites!

One of the East-facing rooms in Hotel Lincoln