Lunch near Federal Building or Sears Tower?

I just can't get into calling it Willis. I rarely get downtown, but have a morning appointment at the Federal Building. Where would be a great place for lunch? Not wildly expensive, any cuisine. Asian of any sort would be good, or contemporary American, Mexican. The cuisine isn't as important as having a really enjoyable lunch. Thank you!

The area is a bit of a culinary wasteland. I work nearby and tend to stick to a few places. The Berghoff bar (there are 3 distinct dining options there, upstairs restaurant, upstairs bar and downstairs cafeteria) for carved sandwiches; Hannah's Bretzel has a great selection of reasonably healthy sandwiches/soup (it's a fast food place but the quality is great). There really isn't anything that stands out.

Another option is to grab something at the food trucks that pop up on Dearborn and Monroe in front of the Chase building. On Fridays there's Meatyballs, Tamale Spaceship and a variety of others. You can get food and a beverage and eat in the plaza.

knitgirl wrote:I just can't get into calling it Willis. I rarely get downtown, but have a morning appointment at the Federal Building. Where would be a great place for lunch? Not wildly expensive, any cuisine. Asian of any sort would be good, or contemporary American, Mexican. The cuisine isn't as important as having a really enjoyable lunch. Thank you!

One North Kitchen @ 1 N. Wacker is a nice option for contemporary American.

There's also a nice deli/cafeteria with a lot of Asian options on the third floor of 20 N Wacker (the Opera building).

You don't mention whether you prefer quick and cheap, vs a nice sit-down meal.

For quick and cheap, there's always Pret a Manger, for freshly-made sandwiches and salads. They have a location on Monroe that may be a bit closer to the Federal Buildings, whereas the one on LaSalle may be closer to the Sears Tower. There's also the French Market, not too far from the Sears Tower, with all of its various vendors (including Saigon Sisters for Asian, Pastoral for cheese and sandwiches, and Vanille and Delightful for pastries).

For a nice sit-down meal, two contemporary Italian places are near the Federal Buildings - Vivere in the Italian Village complex, and The Florentine in the JW Marriott. And for contemporary American, Blackbird is one of our best, not too far from the Sears Tower and offering their $22 three-course prix fixe lunch menu.

http://www.proteinbarchicago.com/

Healthy alternatives.

If a sandwich shop might fit the bill, consider Cafecito, only a few blocks from the Federal Building. It's one of the few places in the area I consider a destination, not just "good for the Loop." In addition to a wide variety of Cuban and South American-influenced pressed sandwiches I've enjoyed their black bean soup, salads (various marinated vegetables) and Cuban coffee. A few interesting desserts too, like alfajores. They now have lunch plates but I haven't tried them. Cafecito isn't fancy (order at counter) but the space is bright and pleasant. If you have time before your appointment, it would be a great place to stop for a breakfast sandwich (7 to 11) and coffee.

Cafecito
26 E Congress Pkwy
Chicago
312-922-2233
http://cafecitochicago.com/

Thanks for all the great options, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Rene G wrote:If a sandwich shop might fit the bill, consider Cafecito, only a few blocks from the Federal Building. It's one of the few places in the area I consider a destination, not just "good for the Loop." In addition to a wide variety of Cuban and South American-influenced pressed sandwiches I've enjoyed their black bean soup, salads (various marinated vegetables) and Cuban coffee. A few interesting desserts too, like alfajores. They now have lunch plates but I haven't tried them. Cafecito isn't fancy (order at counter) but the space is bright and pleasant. If you have time before your appointment, it would be a great place to stop for a breakfast sandwich (7 to 11) and coffee.

Cafecito
26 E Congress Pkwy
Chicago
312-922-2233
http://cafecitochicago.com/

Hearty thumbs-up to second the nod to Cafecito. Since moving back into the Loop a couple of months ago finding this option just a few blocks from the office has made me very happy.

We had an enjoyable lunch at 1 N. Kitchen. With the construction going on in that area we entered through the building lobby and then through a door that looked like it led into the bowels of the building. It's a very comfortable room with big booths and dark wood. It was quite full when we got there around 12:50, but we were among the last to be seated. I didn't think to take any pictures. I had the pork belly reuben. The bread was only lightly toasted, I would have preferred it to have been heavily toasted or griddled. I don't think there was 1000 island dressing on there, even though the menu lists it. I didn't pull it apart to check. It may have been overwhelming to the pork belly, so I didn't really miss it, but I insist on it with a corned beef reuben. I have had pork belly only once before, so I'm not sure what standards to judge it by, but I did enjoy the meat very much. My sister had the chicken club which she enjoyed, but she preferred my reuben. I didn't taste the club. The fries were thin and nicely crisp. She also had a house salad which was perfectly dressed. She works at the Sears Tower and is already planning on returning for the reuben.