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Links to Trip Reports:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/31066
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/32272
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/trip-notes/trip-notes-back-skies-flying-chicago-american-united-covid-19-pandemic/
CGR

Kosher Restaurants:

MEAT:
Milt's (BOOOOO).
Get chili, cornbread, and beans. Drink a beergarita. 
3411 North Broadway Chicago, IL 60657. 773-661-6384
Delivery available through Postmates
Open S-T: 11:30-10 F: 11:30-2 S: Call for hours

Shallot's.   Amazing sushi and great steaks though quite pricey.
7016 Carpenter Rd Skokie, IL 60077. 847-677-DINE
Delivery available. Shallots has their own app.
Open S-T: 11:30-9:00 Closed Friday Sat: 1.25 hours after Shkia-11:00

Ken's Diner.  The classic burger diner joint. Better than Milts.
3353 Dempster Skokie, IL 60076. 847-679-4030
Delivery Available
Open S-T: 11:00-8:30

Great Chicago. Used to be owned by Ken's, but sold to a different owner. Many of the same items.
3149 W. Devon Chicago, IL 60659. 773-465-9030
Delivery Available. Great Chicago has its own app.
Open S-T: 11-9 F: 10-3

Taboun Grill. Good Israeli food. Schwarma, Shnitzel, moroccan Cigars.
8808 N. Gross Point Rd Skokie, IL. 847-965-1818
Open S-T: 11-10 F: 11-2 Closed Saturday.

Mizrahi Grill. Similar to Taboun. Located in the northern suburbs. 
215 Skokie Valley Rd Highland Park, IL . 847-831-1400
You can order online via their website.

Tein Li Chow. Chinese food. Located in the Jewel supermarket which also has a kosher bakery and deli.
Takeout only.
2485 W. Howard Evanston, IL. 847-328-4642


The Sandwich Club. Burgers, deli sandwiches...etc.
4507 W. Oakton Skokie, IL 60076. 847-677-6020
Open S-T: 11-8 F: 11-2 Closed Saturday

Bebe's Kosher Deli
. Downtown Chicago- They have bagels/cream cheese on one side and deli sandwiches on the other.
Located in the French Market by the train station. Free parking with $20 French Market Purchase
131 North Clinton Chicago, IL 60661. 312-207-0572
Open M-T: 10-6 F: 10-1(winter) 2(summer) Closed Sat & Sun

Evita Steakhouse. Argentinian Steakhouse -
6112 N. Lincoln
Chicago, IL 60659 (773) 463-8482
Sundays to Thursdays from 5 pm to 12 am. Saturdays on winter time sometime after Shabbat to 12 am. Summer time Saturdays closed!!

Metroklub. Downtown Chicago-Only open during lunch M-Th.
In the Crown Plaza hotel. 733 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL 60661. (312) 602-2104
CLOSED

Hy Life Bistro. Connected to Slice of Life (see below). On the expensive side, though not quite Shallots levels.
4120 W. Dempster Skokie, IL 60076. 847-674-2021
CLOSED

Tacos Gingi. Mexican Place. Pretty much takeout only.
5128 Dempster Street, Skokie IL 60077. 847-983-0648
Open S-T: 11-8  F: 11-1 Closed Saturday

Hamachi Sushi. Sushi Bar and Chinese menu (Meat and chicken) They have their own app. 2801 West Howard Chicago, IL 60645. (773) 293-6904



DAIRY:

Emma's Bagel Cafe. Many breakfast options, but they have lunch dinner options as well like mac n' cheese. 9306 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL 60077. 847-673-3030

Chalavi. 2931 W. Touhy Chicago, IL 60645. 773-338-9640

EJ's Pizzeria.   9149 N. Gross Point Skokie, IL 60076. 224-534-7215 On ubereats, and have their own app as well.

Bond Coffee. Starbucks type atmosphere and food. Has a drive through. Available via grubhub.
7555 N. California Ave Chicago, IL 60645


Slice of Life.(request Cholov Yisroel)4120 W. Dempster Skokie, IL 60076. 847-674-2021  CLOSED

Tel Aviv Pizza (Cholov Yisroel - Pizza is Yoshon), 6349 N. California Chicago, IL 60659. 773-764-3776

The Lincoln Cafe. Breakfast/lunch food as well as pre-packaged wraps and salads. Don't miss the bbq chicken pizza!!! Takeout only. Lincoln Cafe has their own app. Located in The BP gas station 6599 N Lincoln Ave. Lincolnwood IL 60712

Sarah's Brick oven. New place 12/18. Pastas and sandwiches. Located next to Hungarian Kosher Supermarket 4020 Oakton St, Skokie, IL 60076


Nuovo. Italian. Open lunch/dinner. High end dairy restaurant. 3750 W Devon Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712. (847) 213-1026


ALL DAIRY RESTAURANTS LISTED ABOVE ARE C"Y AT THIS TIME (9/2021) BUT DOUBLE CHECKING IS RECOMMENDED AS THINGS CHANGE

Activities:
Navy Pier
Millennium Park/The Bean
Segway Tour
Six Flags Great America
Botanic Gardens
Willis Tower Skydeck
Lincoln Park Zoo (Free, but their lot is pay to park, look for street parking)
Museum of Science and Industry


Hotels:
Fairmont Millennium Park
Park Hyatt Chicago>Category 6
Hyatt Regency Chicago>Category 4
Hyatt Regency O'Hare>Category 2
W Lakeshore>Category 5
W Chicago City Center>Category 5
Westin Chicago>Category 5
Aloft Chicago City Center>Category 4
Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers>Category 4
Aloft Chicago O'Hare>Category 2

Shabbos Tips:

Public Transport options:

Guidebooks:

Other Tips
Parking at ORD: The cheapest place to park is in the O'hare lot G. It's $10/day. Be aware that you need to take a bus to the tram (in lot E) which takes you to the terminals. This can take 20-25 minutes
« Last edited by as2 on September 06, 2021, 09:41:00 AM »

Author Topic: Chicago Master Thread  (Read 552425 times)

Offline Ergel

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Chicago Master Thread
« on: July 11, 2010, 04:59:51 PM »
Gonna be in Chicago for a few days.
Can people post ideas of things to do and places to eat.

I obviously know about Ken's (and Great American).
And also I was once at the Museum of Science and Industry which was very cool.
Gonna be there in August so probably check out the air and sea show.
Cubs are away the days I'm there but maybe catch a White Sox game.

Anyone have any other ideas?
Life isn't about checking the boxes. Nobody cares.

Offline Eli

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2010, 08:05:42 PM »
Great Chicago, not Great American, but yes, you've got the picture. I personally love Tel Aviv Pizza Shop and my favorite restaurant is slice of Life in Skokie.

As far as things to do...I've lived there all my life and have so far found nothing really interesting in Chicago.
-Eli

Offline YOSEF

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2010, 08:15:16 PM »
Great Chicago, not Great American, but yes, you've got the picture. I personally love Tel Aviv Pizza Shop and my favorite restaurant is slice of Life in Skokie.

As far as things to do...I've lived there all my life and have so far found nothing really interesting in Chicago.
wow!! a little bit of hometown hating!!
You can check out the Eli's cheesecake factory (cholov stam).
or the Jelly Belly factory (its about an hour north of Chicago, in Wisconsin)
Maybe try to catch a Bears preseason game.
There are also a few small local breweries that have tours (with free samples), if you go for that.
Mikomos.com has a bunch of places to check out, like the sears tower observatory and some sort of boat tour...its meant as a dating website, but it still features some other interesting places...
Good luck!
« Last Edit: July 11, 2010, 08:21:50 PM by YOSEF »

Offline Dan

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2010, 08:30:44 PM »
Denali's was great, but I think it closed.

Shallots, Ken's, Malibu Pizza are all good.
Ken's has some great off-the-menu stuff that they make upon request like the Slamming Sammy (or something along those lines if I'm messing up the name.
Chinese takeout in the Jewel supermarket isn't bad either.
Haven't been to Chicago in a few years though.

Don't miss Illinois Nut And Candy-the caramel bombs and english toffee are out of this world.  I've only had the parve as the milchig is not cholov yisroel.

And I've also heard (from my younger brothers) that touring the Jelly Belly Factory is pretty cool.

Comiskey Park is downright ugly, it was built in 1990 or so and is the last of the "ugly" style of baseball parks before the new beautiful retro style parks were built in Baltimore and Cleveland just a few years later.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2010, 08:34:50 PM by Dan »
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Yellow

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2010, 02:37:25 AM »
Navy pier  is cool, also they have really beautiful architectural tours on boats down the chicago river downtown if your interested in that...
If you want a good fleishig restaurant try taboun in skokie

Offline Yellow

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2010, 02:40:39 AM »
Denali's was great, but I think it closed.

Yeah De'nalis is closed....

Offline Yordai Dooma

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2010, 01:45:55 PM »
Navy pier  is cool, also they have really beautiful architectural tours on boats down the chicago river downtown if your interested in that...
If you want a good fleishig restaurant try taboun in skokie

+1 For Taboun. Great food.

The architectural boat tour is pretty cool as well.

Offline Dan

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2010, 01:58:17 PM »
As far as things to do...I've lived there all my life and have so far found nothing really interesting in Chicago.
+1
Besides a few good kosher eateries I've yet to find any compelling activities when I'm here.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Eli

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2010, 02:44:33 PM »
I do agree that the restaurants are pretty awesome. Granted NYC has much more options, but for an out of town city, Chicago has quite the selection. And Taboun recently opened in Skokie for a nicer ambiance.
-Eli

Offline Yordai Dooma

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2010, 03:01:11 PM »
I do agree that the restaurants are pretty awesome. Granted NYC has much more options, but for an out of town city, Chicago has quite the selection. And Taboun recently opened in Skokie for a nicer ambiance.

The problem is they keep on closing as the community cant seem to support them enough.

Danalis-closed
Good Morgan-Closed
Ta'ami-Closed

and those are just the recent ones. Who's next?

If you end up north in the highland park area, there is a restaurant there called Mizrahi Grill which was pretty good.

Offline Eli

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2010, 03:23:07 PM »
Ok, Danali's...I don't know why it close.
Good Morgan...a fish store for heaven's sake.
Ta'ami...are you kidding me? The second I saw that store open I predicted it would be closed within 60 days. I think I was off by like 4 days. If you're a Chicagoan, you know which stores will last and which won't.
-Eli

Offline steve2

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2010, 03:44:09 PM »
Great Chicago, not Great American, but yes, you've got the picture. I personally love Tel Aviv Pizza Shop and my favorite restaurant is slice of Life in Skokie.

As far as things to do...I've lived there all my life and have so far found nothing really interesting in Chicago.

 unless things have changed in the past 2 years forget Great Chicago they use Meal Mart deli, Kens uses Rumanian :-))))))))

Offline Yordai Dooma

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2010, 04:39:34 PM »
Ok, Danali's...I don't know why it close.
Good Morgan...a fish store for heaven's sake.
Ta'ami...are you kidding me? The second I saw that store open I predicted it would be closed within 60 days. I think I was off by like 4 days. If you're a Chicagoan, you know which stores will last and which won't.

Danalis was supposed to reopen (that was the rumor on the street intially)
Good morgan had a nice sit down restaurant. I went there with the wife, used a restaurant.com GC. We thought it was quite good.
Ta'ami was destined to close as well as they were trying to compete with Taboun who had two restaurants at the time. I predicted it as well. We dont need 3 Israeli restaurants in such close radius.
I was just making a point that restaurants tend to open and close around here. How about Manghal? Another Israeli restaurant that opened and closed a few weeks later.

Any predictions on how long that new place, Chop Touhy will last? lol

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #13 on: July 12, 2010, 04:53:46 PM »
What type of food does Chop have?
-Eli

Offline Yordai Dooma

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2010, 02:38:01 AM »
What type of food does Chop have?
Officially its Chinese, American and Israeli. lol. i think they also have subs or something like that.

seems to be mostly chinese....tein li chow is better IMO

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #15 on: July 13, 2010, 05:15:47 AM »
How about the Kosher Subway on Dempster and Crawford? (is that the intersection?)
-Eli

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #16 on: July 13, 2010, 10:57:46 AM »
How about the Kosher Subway on Dempster and Crawford? (is that the intersection?)

Yes, that is where it is.
Nice novelty for the time being. Wont last IMO.
The one in Cleveland is much better and MUCH cheaper. Double the meat on a premium sub is SIX dollars. lol.

They had specials for a while like a different foot long every night for $5. Once they dropped those, we dropped them. At that price, it was a good price for a sandwich. Once im paying $12 for a sandwich, ill go to sandwich club (which is much better) or kens or anywhere else for that matter. To see their menu go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Skokie-IL/Kosher-Subway/191599592463. Yes, they use facebook instead of a normal website.

Offline Yellow

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #17 on: July 19, 2010, 11:48:38 PM »
Any predictions on how long that new place, Chop Touhy will last? lol
apparently they closed!! and i hear they are opening up a milchig place instead...

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #18 on: July 20, 2010, 12:19:39 AM »

. Once im paying $12 for a sandwich, ill go to sandwich club (which is much better) or kens or anywhere else for that matter. To see their menu go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Skokie-IL/Kosher-Subway/191599592463. Yes, they use facebook instead of a normal website.


is it really $12 for a sandwich??

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Re: Chicago Master Thread
« Reply #19 on: July 20, 2010, 12:29:42 AM »
apparently they closed!! and i hear they are opening up a milchig place instead...
Wow Chicago restaurants seem to have a shorter shelf life than Pittsburgh restaurants.
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