3 hr layover in Chicago, anywhere good to eat?

[Swicks]

Hello all,

I have a 3 hour layover at Chicago Midway airport on my way to NYC next week and was wondering if there is anywhere in the general vicinity that would be good for lunch.

I have a reasonable amount of time so it doesn't need to be super close, just somewhere I can get to in a taxi. Nothing too fancy. I'd prefer no Mexican or Sushi. Ideally I'd like something unique to Chicago, say good chicago dogs, maybe Pizza or something. Perhaps some of the newer casual hip places? Do Kahan's places serve lunch? How far away are they?

Thanks for you help!

[figs]

I would suggest staying in the airport.. It's expensive to take a taxi and not really worth it. I would not suggest going downtown because there might be traffic.

Everything local is average. I would suggest you either eat at Wolfgang Pucks in the airport or at the Billy Goat Tavern.

The Billy Goat is a branch of Chicago's restaurant associated with there baseball teams curse. It later received attention on the Cheeseburger Cheeseburger skit on SNL. However, the food is not as good as the original Tavern.

Though you are eating average food, you didnt have to kill yourself to get it.

Airports have bars and bookstores for a reason.

Edited March 24, 2009 by figs (log)

[Alex]

Three hours might sound like plenty of time, but I think it's barely enough *if* you're efficient (and assuming, of course, that the plane is on time). Here's what I'd recommend if you still want to pursue this course:

I agree with figs about avoiding a cab. Take the Orange Line CTA train ($2.25 + .25 for the return trip) to the Library stop. It's less than two blocks from there to Shawn McClain's Custom House, which I think you'll like very much.

I've never taken the CTA from Midway, which is the terminus for the Orange Line, but I'm guessing it'll take about 10 minutes to walk to the station from the airport. (Someone please correct me on this if my estimate is off.) Trains leave every 10 minutes, and it's 23 minutes to the Library station, then a few minutes' walk to the restaurant. The return trip will take about 35 minutes. If you cut it close and arrive back at Midway 50 minutes before your departure time, that leaves 50 minutes for lunch.

Your call.

Custom House

Orange Line schedule

CTA maps

[Swicks]

I appreciate the responses everyone. Having never been to Chicago this is very helpful.

I re-checked and my actual time between landing and departure is actually 3 and 45 minutes so figure probably 2 and 1/2 hours avliable outside of the airport to be safe. Does this change anything? It doesn't really seem so? Again, I don't necessarily need to go to downtown Chicago, maybe something decent in the general vicinity.

[nsxtasy]

I re-checked and my actual time between landing and departure is actually 3 and 45 minutes so figure probably 2 and 1/2 hours avliable outside of the airport to be safe.  Does this change anything?

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Maybe - if your arriving flight is on time or reasonably close (within 15 minutes), and everything goes perfectly, you could make it to downtown Chicago and back by cab, with 75+ minutes to have lunch at Blackbird, assuming that is your desired destination. However, you may want to have a backup "plan B" in case your inbound flight is more than 15 minutes late.

I don't necessarily need to go to downtown Chicago, maybe something decent in the general vicinity.

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Giordano's is still wonderful, delicious and one of our top local specialties, something you can't get outside of Chicago. There really is nothing else I would recommend within a 10-15 minute drive of the airport. There are some places that are slightly closer than downtown, but not within the vicinity of the airport, so you're looking at maybe 15-20 minutes by cab rather than 25. For example, I know you said you don't want Mexican food, but Mundial Cocina Mestiza in the Pilsen neighborhood is open for lunch, and its creative regional Mexican cuisine is representative of one of Chicago's more creative cuisines and not what most people think of as Mexican food (i.e. not just enchiladas and carne asada).

Edited March 25, 2009 by nsxtasy (log)

[Swicks]

I appreciate the responses everyone.  Having never been to Chicago this is very helpful.

I re-checked and my actual time between landing and departure is actually 3 and 45 minutes so figure probably 2 and 1/2 hours avliable outside of the airport to be safe.  Does this change anything?  It doesn't really seem so?  Again, I don't necessarily need to go to downtown Chicago, maybe something decent in the general vicinity.

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Thanks for all the info nsxtasy, it has been very helpful. I am looking into Giordano's it looks delicious, I appreciate the recommendation.

[nsxtasy]

With these time estimates, I am assuming (from your reference to lunch) that travel will be between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., so commuter traffic is generally not an issue.  During prime commuting hours, the el travel times are the same, but cab travel times are often longer than the times by el.

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I see from your post on another board that this assumption is NOT valid; your flight arrives at 3:00 pm and the departure is at 6:30 pm. This makes the travel times downtown and back significantly longer by cab, so much so on the return to the airport that the cab would almost certainly take longer than the CTA el. At that time of day, I do not recommend going downtown.

[Florida]

I'm not a fan of Chicago "pizza," but some people love it. Then again, pizza is pizza and, well, stuffed pizza isn't, but if you've never had it, you might as well have it here in Chicago.

Personally, I think there is a better choice - Szalas. It's a very interesting Polish restaurant that is a great conversation piece. Considering virtually no one here speaks English, you're ensured an authentic Polish meal. Plus it's only about a mile north of Midway. As an FYI, if you go, they're not closed - you have to pull the door bell to get in.

http://szalasrestaurant.com/

Also, I'm surprised this wasn't mention earlier, but Midway is in a quite shitty ("economically depressed") area, so be careful where and how you venture.

Would agree with the other commenters about not going into the Loop, especially by cab. And while the el is a better option, you're still looking at travelling into/out of the city at peak rush hour times. I wouldn't recommend it either.

[nsxtasy]

I'm not a fan of Chicago "pizza," but some people love it.  Then again, pizza is pizza and, well, stuffed pizza isn't, but if you've never had it, you might as well have it here in Chicago.

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Stuffed pizza is indeed pizza! It is one of two popular styles of deep-dish pizza here in Chicago. There are some places known for their double-crust stuffed pizza; in addition to Giordano's, they include Bacino's, Edwardo's, and Carmen's. There are other places known for their single-crust "pizza in the pan", including Uno and Due, Lou Malnati's, Gino's East, and Pizano's.

Anyone who wants to get into a semantical debate can create his/her own personal definition of the word "pizza"; for example, I suspect anyone from Naples would claim that if a place is not certified by the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, it's not pizza. But ask anyone in Chicago, and they'll tell you that stuffed pizza is indeed one kind of pizza here. And I'm not the only one who thinks it's delicious; there's a reason Giordano's has more locations here (40) than any other place, all descended from a single location on the Southwest Side in the 1970s, where two brothers developed stuffed pizza from a family recipe in the Torino (Turin) area. (The first restaurant serving stuffed pizza in Chicago was Nancy's, which opened a couple years before Giordano's and also developed their stuffed pizza from a family recipe in that same part of Italy.)

Personally, I think that if you're visiting Chicago briefly, you may as well enjoy one of the local specialties that you've never had and you can't get anywhere else. Our deep-dish pizza is one of those; Polish food, while good, isn't, since you can find it in most big cities.

Wherever you decide to go, make sure they are open at the time you will be there. Some restaurants aren't open till 5 p.m. or later, which would be a problem for your travel plans.

Also, I would disagree with the above description of the area around Midway. The surrounding neighborhoods are a combination of commercial/industrial use and working-class bungalows. There are other parts of Chicago where personal security is indeed an issue, but I would not characterize the area around Midway Airport that way. (However, the lack of middle-class and affluent demographics in the vicinity are one reason for the lack of more upscale dining options.)

Edited March 25, 2009 by nsxtasy (log)

[Florida]

Yes, I should have known I was opening the Chicago Pizza is/isn't actually pizza debate with my commentary. I've almost gotten into fist fights over this damn debate, but that's as much my fault.

Swicks, go to the pizza place. I don't care for it much, but, in all reality, it's not offensive. I'm sure you'll enjoy it for what it is. If you like it, the next time your at Walt Disney World you can have another one, because they have a location there too.

As for my commentary about the area surrounding Midway, whatever. I'm sure one the monitors of this site will sanitize my comments for everyone's protection.

[nsxtasy]

My previous post, outlining timing and including information about Giordano's, was removed because it included a photo from the Giordano's website. Below is the entire post, replacing the photo with a link to it - sorry about that! (And note that the assumption below about not traveling during commuting hours was later found to be incorrect.)

- nsxtasy

When you say you have a three-hour layover, I assume you mean three hours between your flight arrival time and your flight departure time, not three hours away from the airport. A three-hour connection is NOT enough time to go to downtown Chicago and back taking the el, and get back in time to check in for your flight. Even in off hours, between the 15+ minute walk from the gate through the concourse and then through the parking garage to the el station, plus 10 minutes waiting for the train and the actual train ride, you have to allow a minimum 50 minutes each way, which doesn't leave you enough time to eat somewhere and get back to the airport in time to get through security and check in for your flight the required 30 minutes before the posted departure, etc. It's not even close; don't even think about it.

If you took cabs, you could get downtown in about 25 minutes (and an equal number of dollars) each way, but even that scenario is really borderline, and would depend on your flight arriving exactly on time, exiting the plane quickly, getting a close-in departure gate and arrival gate, no traffic backups in either direction downtown and back, etc. So everything would need to go perfectly to make it downtown and back; again, I don't recommend it.

With these time estimates, I am assuming (from your reference to lunch) that travel will be between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., so commuter traffic is generally not an issue. During prime commuting hours, the el travel times are the same, but cab travel times are often longer than the times by el.

There aren't a lot of great eating places around Chicago Midway Airport, but there is one, which is totally manageable with three hours between flight times: Giordano's, for our delicious Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. There are two principal styles of deep-dish, and Giordano's specializes in the double-crust "stuffed" variety. It's my favorite pizza in the entire Chicago area, and with all of our great deep-dish pizza, that is high praise indeed! There is a location at 63rd Street and Cicero, about 3/4 mile south of the main terminal building. Cicero Avenue is a very busy street so you may be better off taking a cab than walking. Phone ahead with your pizza order when you arrive at the airport so you don't have to wait 30-45 minutes while seated for your pizza to bake.

Giordano's

6314 South Cicero Avenue

(773) 585-6100

http://www.giordanos.com

For photo, click here.

If my assumption is mistaken, and you have a four-hour connection, which would allow you to spend three hours away from the airport (again, if the arriving flight is on time), then going downtown is do-able by cab (although still very iffy timewise by el and not recommended). To answer your question about Kahan's restaurants, which are all just west of downtown Chicago, Blackbird is open for lunch during the week; Avec and the Publican are not.

I would suggest you either eat at Wolfgang Pucks in the airport or at the Billy Goat Tavern.

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You're confusing O'Hare Airport with Midway Airport. Wolfgang Puck's and Billy Goat have locations at O'Hare, but not at Midway.

The dining options in the terminal at Midway are really poor.

Edited March 25, 2009 by nsxtasy (log)

[nsxtasy]

If you like it, the next time your at Walt Disney World you can have another one, because they have a location there too.

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Comments I have read from folks who have visited the Giordano's locations in Florida make me suspect that the product and quality served there is not comparable to those in the Chicago area - a phenomenon that is familiar to any Chicagoan who has had the misfortune to visit the 200+ nationwide locations of Boston-based Uno's Chicago Grill franchised by Chicago's original Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due.

[jesteinf]

Personally, I think that if you're visiting Chicago briefly, you may as well enjoy one of the local specialties that you've never had and you can't get anywhere else.  Our deep-dish pizza is one of those; Polish food, while good, isn't, since you can find it in most big cities.

Doesn't Chicago have the largest Polish population in the world outside of Warsaw? On that basis, you could almost argue that Polish food is a local specialty (certainly better than what you would find in other big cities).

It's kind of like Thai food. Sure, you can get pad thai in just about any major US city, but it's pretty hard to find another city in the US that rivals Chicago for more authentic Thai specialties.

[Pierogi]

Personally, I think that if you're visiting Chicago briefly, you may as well enjoy one of the local specialties that you've never had and you can't get anywhere else.  Our deep-dish pizza is one of those; Polish food, while good, isn't, since you can find it in most big cities.

Doesn't Chicago have the largest Polish population in the world outside of Warsaw? On that basis, you could almost argue that Polish food is a local specialty (certainly better than what you would find in other big cities).

It's kind of like Thai food. Sure, you can get pad thai in just about any major US city, but it's pretty hard to find another city in the US that rivals Chicago for more authentic Thai specialties.

THANK YOU ! As a proud 2nd generation Polish-American, *AND* a proud daughter of South Chicago, I was going to make the same point, but saw this originally at work, so couldn't.

And, as a curent, proud resident of sunny Southern California, I can sure vouch for the fact that Polish food is not to be got in any of the mega cities around these parts. Not unless you count Mrs. T's frozen pierogies, Hillshire Farms kielbasa and Boar's Head poly-bagged sauerkraut as Polish food. And if you do, you don't know Polish food.

[nsxtasy]

Oh, please! I was NOT denigrating Polish food in any way, so please don't throw out that phony red herring! I was simply noting that if you want good Polish food, you can find it in many other cities around the country. You're welcome to claim that Los Angeles is not one of them, but I can assure you that you can find very good Polish food in New York City, which has more Polish-Americans than Chicago, as well as in Toledo, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Milwaukee, all of which have a higher percentage of Polish-American residents than Chicago.

I can also assure you that you can find Thai food as good as Chicago's in many major cities, including Los Angeles (home to the largest Thai community outside of Thailand, where two thirds of the Thai-Americans in the entire U.S. live) as well as in San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, New York, etc. If any city in the country has a claim to the best and most varied Thai food in the country, it's L.A., not Chicago.

Don't look for authentic Chicago-style deep-dish pizza in any of these cities, because you're not going to find it. And that was my point. Case closed!

Of course, if you love Polish food, or you hate pizza, or however you feel, I'm sure I don't need to tell you you're welcome to get whatever kind of food you like! We have lots of great food in Chicago. Unfortunately, the options within 15 minutes of Midway Airport are somewhat limited - but at least you have a few good ones to choose from. Enjoy!

Edited March 27, 2009 by nsxtasy (log)

[jesteinf]

Anyway, the point is, pizza is one choice...there are many others. Some locals don't necessarily like Chicago-style pizza, others do, and that's fine. FWIW, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but that's a personal preference and I have no issues with others recommending it to visitors. Pizza, Italian Beef, Polish, Thai, regional Mexican, avant-garde cuisine, probably a bunch of other stuff I'm leaving out...all of it makes Chicago special.

That's why they have 31 flavors

Edited March 27, 2009 by jesteinf (log)

[newbie21]

The dining options in the terminal at Midway are really poor.

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They've got a Potbelly's, though...