Need good recs for lunch and dinner near Ohare

My wife and I (and several of our friends) are going to be taking a very important test this week at one of the Ohare hotels.

I am looking for LTH-worthy restaurants for 2 lunches and 2 dinners.

For lunch, anything that isn't too heavy would be great. An excellent sandwich place or deli would be a fantastic find.

For dinner, my preferences would be inexpensive (around $10-30 pp) with a good atmosphere. Preferably someplace where we could have some wine.

Can you help me?

Thanks,

Veeral

PS I searched through some past LTH forums and because of my unfamiliarity with the area around Ohare, I may have missed some of the geographically relevant posts.

Riviera (Da Riv, Da Will Special) is just down Harlem (3220 N.). You can take River Road south and cut over at Belmont if you don't want to deal with the three miles of lights on Harlem.

For that matter, Gene and Jude's is just a little further down River Road (2720 N.).

In the immediate O'Hare area, the Gibson's location is a good one (and nowhere near as obnoxiously loud as Morton's).

Santander wrote:In the immediate O'Hare area, the Gibson's location is a good one (and nowhere near as obnoxiously loud as Morton's).

Don't you have that backwards?

I've always found the opposite to be true.

Could be, depending on the night of the week. They're both airport steakhouses, so you have a sense of what you're getting before walking in (lots of loud chatter, pilots, bachelor parties, out of towners), but I find the back room at that Gibson's location to be conversation friendly, and like the dark wood and leather. That said, I've been there mostly on Sundays and weeknights. The few times I've been to Morton's have been on Fridays after conventions or Saturdays for bachelor parties, and can't hear anything or really enjoy my food. For a business lunch or early weeknight, I'll still recommend Gibson's. While it's not my regular steak order, they make a remarkable London Broil for those nights where you want whole peppercorns, blue cheese, jus, and giardinera as much as meat.

Al & Joe's Delicatessen is a good choice for lunches... it's a small grocery store, but they have a deli counter that serves up some of the best subs around. At lunch time, they also have Italian and American subs ready for grab & go, so depending on the line, you can get out of there quickly. A large sub can also easily feed two people.

Al & Joe's Delicatessen
10348 Addison Ave
Franklin Park, IL 60131
(847) 678-6788

cito wrote:

Santander wrote:In the immediate O'Hare area, the Gibson's location is a good one (and nowhere near as obnoxiously loud as Morton's).

Don't you have that backwards?

I've always found the opposite to be true.

I concur, but I'd recommend Harry Caray's over either. It also has more options in the price range the OP requested.

Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse
Holiday Inn Select
10233 W. Higgins Road, Rosemont
847/699-1200
www.harrycarays.com

Here's a possibility for lunch, very typical Chicago-style hot dog stand, good Vienna natural-casing dogs and decent Italian beef, no frills:

Parse's Red Hots
7049 W. Higgins Ave., Chicago
773/763-9693

Fun spot for Korean barbecue, cook it yourself over charcoal:

New Seoul Restaurant
638 W. Algonquin Road #4, Des Plaines
847/439-3720

two lunch recs:
Paradise Pup
1742 S. River Road
Des Plaines, IL
847-699-8590

and
Las Asada's (see gnr thread on La Pasadita. Same family owns Las Asadas. Same concept. Same food. IMO, Asada's is better. It's a bare bones taqueria - make no mistake about that. Asada, lengua, and barbacoa is the draw here. Mouthwatering Char grilled skirt steak.
Las Asadas
356 Lee St. (Just south of Rand and Des Plaines)
Des Plaines, IL
60016
847-298-3393