Chicago for the Poor and Un-Adventurous Eater....

I have a friend coming into town in August who is a decidedly boring eater, much as I love him.

We'll have three nights worth of dinners and 3 breakfast/lunches to take care of. Breakfas/lunch I'm not worried about, we'll either cook or eat sandwiches, hot dogs or something similar.

We also are all generally a bit pressed for cash, as those around the age of 25 can tend to be. No Alinea for us I'm afraid.

I feel the need to really "show" him Chicago in all it's glory since he probably won't be returning for awhile--the last time he left our home state of FL was for my wedding 2 years ago, and that was the first time he'd left FL in 20 years. Our little town isn't known for it's culinary prowess, most people think of a night out as a choice between Ruby Tuesday's and TGI Fridays.

One dinner will be somewhere in Greektown-- probably Greek Islands. He does enjoy Greek food, particularly because they light cheese on fire.

Another dinner will, of course, be deep dish pizza, probably carried out from MyPi around the corner.

Then, there is dinner number three. He does enjoy Americanized Chinese...though I haven't the foggiest of what a good place is for that.
Steak would work if not staggeringly expensive...possibly Mexican. Is Sabatino's open yet?


Any ideas for a third dinner that would be around $20-$30 per person (max) and would sort of "round out" our choices? We'll be doing the usual gaggle of touristy crap: Signature Room, Sears Tower, Museums, etc. Something close to the downtown/Loop area would be nice to give him the full spectrum of urban-ness.

Sabatino's has been open since shortly after their closure. I think it's a great choice, and I think an unadventurous eater would do just fine there.

bananasandwiches wrote:I have a friend coming into town in August who is a decidedly boring eater

curious... if this is indeed the case, why start this thread?

anywho, american chinese can be found here

China Town Cafe
2604 S. Wentworth

cheap and huge portions.

I know it's not near downtown, but Tre Kronor is ideal for the gastronomically timid. My mother-in-law is a lovely but extremely sheltered woman whose idea of adventurous eating is bubble tea.

Anyway, the family ate at Tre Kronor about 3 years ago and she can't stop talking about how good it was. Absolutely nothing to be afraid of and it's BYOB to boot.

bananasandwiches wrote:Something close to the downtown/Loop area would be nice to give him the full spectrum of urban-ness.

Hackney's on Printer's Row serves very good burgers and has a nice beer selection. (Twenty beers on tap, I think.) You can easily get out of there for < $20 per person unless you drink a lot. I was there last week and enjoyed the beer battered grouper sandwich special. Order a fried onion loaf for the table too.

For that matter, maybe you should just go to the Billy Goat Tavern. It won't win awards for cuisine, but it definitely is a unique Chicago experience. I haven't been in years.

Big Bowl probably counts as americanized chinese (and other asian) food. It's not going to win prizes for authenticity, but the food is consistently good. There are a few locations north of the river, so it's convenient if you go up and down the Mag Mile or walk around the Clark/Division bar zone.

Hackney's Printers' Row
733 S Dearborn St, Chicago, IL
(312) 461-1116

Billy Goat Tavern
430 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
(312) 464-1045

Big Bowl Cafe
6 E Cedar St, Chicago, IL
(312) 640-8888

Big Bowl Asian Kitchen
60 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL
(312) 951-1888