Thanksgiving at Ditka's Oakbrook?

Due to a lot of crappy circumstances, we are going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving. I chose Ditka's. Does anyone have any experience with Thanksgiving there? Thanks!

jleblanc05 wrote:Due to a lot of crappy circumstances, we are going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving. I chose Ditka's. Does anyone have any experience with Thanksgiving there? Thanks!

We drove by the place today. Looked like a personality-free corporate dining hall. Said to The Wife, "I would never eat there." No kidding. Now, that isn't to say that one might not have a fine time there, but it looked very unhappy, blank.

ugh

jleblanc05 wrote:ugh

I should repeat, I've never eaten there. I'm guessing, too, that you can probably get a good piece of meat there.

Thank you, Mr. Hammond . I have the dad going into a nursing home Tuesday and a pregnant daughter being induced one week after Thanksgiving. Yikes! So hoping for the best. The whole family is not happy with the restaurant instead of home, but sheesh i'm paying!!

i've had good food at Ditka's on Chestnut a few times. i'd be very surprised if you couldn't have a pretty nice meal at ANY Ditka's.

David Hammond wrote:

jleblanc05 wrote:Due to a lot of crappy circumstances, we are going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving. I chose Ditka's. Does anyone have any experience with Thanksgiving there? Thanks!

We drove by the place today. Looked like a personality-free corporate dining hall. Said to The Wife, "I would never eat there." No kidding. Now, that isn't to say that one might not have a fine time there, but it looked very unhappy, blank.

We drive by there and my own impression is how soulless the place looks coupled with wait staff that smoke outside the door. Why can't restaurant and grocery stores provide places for the staff to smoke where the public can't seem them (and smell the second-hand smoke)?

I've been there several times; just the other night, in fact.

It is soulless and generally inhabited by the Oak Brook bar crowd, but that shouldn't affect you at Thanksgiving. I've had some pretty good meals there, and never a bad one. It's a buffet, but the menu sounds good.

http://mikeditkaschicago.com/downloads. ... s_menu.pdf

jleblanc05 wrote:ugh

Think positive my friend, think positive.

I've been to Ditka's on Chestnut a few times for Thanksgiving and very much enjoyed myself. If we are not visiting my folks for T-Day I cook with the Salvation Army and Ditka's serves late, so we can go after the Salvation Army cook. It's been a few years, but unless they have changed, its not a buffet but all you care to eat of served portions, main courses, sides and desserts, its been fun and quite tasty.

Service at Ditka's has been excellent, both for T-day and the few other times I've been, and we always leave saying Ditka's food and service is much better than they have to be considering the fan appeal of Mike Ditka.

I've not been to the Oakbrook Ditka's, but if your experience there mirrors mine on Chestnut street you will have an enjoyable meal.

Enjoy,
Gary

For an extra fee, if the kids don't clean their plates, Mike Ditka himself will come out of the back and scream at them.

We went to the Oak Brook Ditka's for Easter a couple of years ago. It was a buffet and the food was good. The space is corporate -- it is in a suburban office building -- but I bet the meal will be fine.

Enjoy!

Had T-Day at the Chestnut locale a few years ago - quite good, but definitely not home! First experience with Turduckin....

I've eaten at the Oak Brook Ditka's a number of times. As others have noted, the atmosphere is somewhat "corporate" -- primarily due to the fact that it's located in a suburban office building. But, that being said, we have had some very good meals there and the service generally is pretty good.

Thanks Everyone! We shall just wait and see. I'm hoping for the best! (There's that positive thinking Gary!!)

Despite the corporate look which turn Hammond off (and does the same for me), I suspect he'd be happy to hear that Ditka is quite outspoken about seafood sustainability, and I've heard him talk about his restaurants' commitment to sourcing fish on the Shedd's approved list.

Although he's no longer there, Ditka's was where "oyster whisperer" Mark Mavrantonis went after Fulton's.

Personally, the only time I had anything to do with Ditka and food was when I was shooting a Talman commercial and he was supposed to say "free checking" and it kept coming out "free chicken."

In my opinion, Ditka's is pretty darn good, certainly better than it needs to be. The original is one of the more acceptable and underrated places along the Magnificent Mile. It's been forever, but the last time I stopped in I had pot roast that would have been great anywhere.

I used to wonder whether Iron Mike is just lending his name to stuff, what with the restaurants, wine, cigars. Then I happened to sit next to him on a flight last year. Talked food and wine for a while, and it was clear he's very hands-on in those ventures. FWIW, he also cheerfuly signed autographs and earnestly answered even the most inane footbal questions (from other passengers) throughout the flight.

JeffB wrote:I used to wonder whether Iron Mike is just lending his name to stuff, what with the restaurants, wine, cigars. Then I happened to sit next to him on a flight last year. Talked food and wine for a while, and it was clear he's very hands-on in those ventures. FWIW, he also cheerfuly signed autographs and earnestly answered even the most inane footbal questions (from other passengers) throughout the flight.

That's great to hear. When we dined at the Oakbrook Terrace location for my father-in-law's birthday a few years ago, Coach Ditka was very accomodating (made it a point to come to the table to shake hands, take pictures, etc.). When he saw that my FIL is a cigar smoker (there were some cigars that I had given him on the table, along with some other gifts), Ditka even offered him one of "his" cigars from his shirt pocket. We thought that it was an extremely nice gesture -- it really made my FIL's day. All of that being said, Ditka seems like he could be very gruff if you caught him on a bad day, and is somewhat intimidating.

JeffB wrote:In my opinion, Ditka's is pretty darn good, certainly better than it needs to be. The original is one of the more acceptable and underrated places along the Magnificent Mile. It's been forever, but the last time I stopped in I had pot roast that would have been great anywhere.

I used to wonder whether Iron Mike is just lending his name to stuff, what with the restaurants, wine, cigars. Then I happened to sit next to him on a flight last year. Talked food and wine for a while, and it was clear he's very hands-on in those ventures. FWIW, he also cheerfuly signed autographs and earnestly answered even the most inane footbal questions (from other passengers) throughout the flight.

Was this the full-sized Ditka or the mini-Ditka?

Ditka's yeah it is what it is. I have ate there a couple of times. The menu is different from the one in the city which is kind of strange. They have a separate lunch and dinner menu. It's pretty blah compared to the one in the city. The one redeeming factor is the pot roast nachos. Honestly I could take or leave the place.

No need to waste your hard-earned money at the Oakbrook Ditka's. I've had perhaps 10 meals there and consider it strictly average. The bar is notorious for "short" pours.

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately, the hard earned money will be spent there and the original question was regarding dinner on Thanksgiving. Believe me, none of us are terribly happy about eating in a restaurant for Thanksgiving. As a matter of fact, I'm stuffing and cooking a 16 lb bird tomorrow morning so my 80 yr old mother and very pregnant daughter will still have the leftovers they so cherish. But it is what it is. Happy Thanksgiving!!

You will have to let us know how it turns out and what ya had to eat.
Enjoy and have a GOOD one!

We went to the Chicago Ditka's today. As GWiv said - it was very good. Amazing Crab Bisque, Great Turkey, Gravy, Potatoes, Pecan Pie.

The bloody mary comes with a shrimp and a beer chaser.

You could do much worse.

Okay, had our dinner at Ditka's in Oakbrook. I'm amazed to say it was lovely. The service was terrific and the food was completely top shelf. For those that posted it looked corporate/personality free, it wasn't at all. Once inside you forgot that it was in an office building. They took the large, circular bar and turned it into the buffet table which was a nice departure. There was a nice selection of salads, including my favorite wedge, two carving stations - turkey and prime rib which was really prime rib, not some top round. There was a nice raw bar with king crab claws, jumbo shrimp, smoked salmon, sushi rolls and raw oysters. I'm pretty critical when it comes to buffets and they really did this well. Nothing ever was empty, things were replaced as soon as they were half empty with the older food just being taken away, not added the new food. Their kid buffet was nice, we had a ten year old and a 20 month old that both loved the 'kid' food. And there was a nice dessert station with around 10 different items on it, and an ice cream station. All and all, it was very, very nice! It's always a good thing when you get what you pay for!! Someone said it's just not home, but it was truly a great substitute, and I didn't have to clean up!! And the food coma is every bit as uncomfortable!

so glad you had a nice Thanksgiving at Ditka's. as i figured, the food was not going to be an issue in terms of taste & quality. SORRY to the haters of the soulless corporate dining halls who would never eat there based upon driving by.....()

Boy, we've sure been told off. Next time, it's soulless corporate for me all the way!

Seriously, I am glad for Jleblanc that it worked out so well.

that spreads sounds good, curious as to the cost per person.

jimswside wrote:that spreads sounds good, curious as to the cost per person.

$39.95 adults, $19.95 kids 7-12, $5 for kids 6 and under. You can view the Oakbrook Terrace Thanksgiving menu on their website here. The menu and kids prices were different at the downtown Chicago location (here).