Last weekend was rare, as I was in town and not attending a sports game, so I decided to visit a few favorite Chicago spots and a new one, too.

“Disco Demolition: The Night Disco Died” drew me to the Elmhurst History Museum for the first time. On July 12, 1979, the Chicago White Sox held “Disco Demolition Night” hosted by local radio station WLUP and DJ Steve Dahl. The night doubleheader featured more than 50,000 fans paying 98 cents and donating disco records to be blown up between games. What seemed like a fun promotion turned into chaos as fans stormed the field, eventually forcing the forfeiture of the second game.

Out of pandemonium comes history, and the Elmhurst History Museum exhibit brilliantly captures the experience. The exhibit is named after the book written by Dave Hoekstra, who contributed to the effort, as did Dahl. The exhibit, bringing you back to the era, features pictures, video and artifacts.

While in Elmhurst, we dined at Café Amano, sharing plates of spinach and ricotta gnocchi, mushroom ravioli and Maine lobster ravioli — it was pasta heaven.

The rest of the weekend I spent in downtown Chicago. As a lifelong Chicagoan, I sometimes overlook the beauty in this city — just soaking in art and views of Millennium Park can fill a day. I also wandered through the rest of downtown, looking more like a visiting tourist than a resident.

For my downtown meals, I visited two of my favorite spots. At lunch, I enjoyed a havarti and portabella turkey burger at 25 degrees. Dinner was at Sushi Taku, where we worked our way through the 30 rolls between all of us — and I’m pretty sure I had one of every roll.

I left downtown with all of my senses completely satisfied and a renewed love of this city.

— John Wroblewski, distribution specialist