Post-marathon in Chicago.

As you might gather by my username, I'm a runner. I'll be running the Chicago Marathon on October 11th as a matter of fact, and I'm trying to get an idea of the best place for a get together with friends and family for consumption of mass quanitities. I'm looking for something affordable, uniquely Chicago, and probably not Italian (I'm going to be pastaed out!), though pizza could work. If you were in my shoes, what would be on your short list of post-race grub?

Gimme a little more to go on and I'll try to help.  Specific likes or dislikes, ethnic favorites?  What's your transportation situation?  Got a car or are you relying on public transportation?  How well do you know Chicago?  Are you comfortable exploring our many neighborhoods or do you want to stay in The Loop?  Obviously you can't determine exactly when you'll finish and be ready to go out for food, but can you approximate a time?  Are you looking for prime time dining?  Late night?

The more info you provide, the more likely you are to get worthwhile suggestions from our many Chicago members.

Buddy

I'm afraid I'm missing the Chicago.. Hope you get lots of tipd, I'll be jotting them down for next year ! I bet there's some mean steak to be had up there and some fine local brews!!!

LOL! I'm running Chicago too! Gotta run 5 miles tonight...18 miles Saturday.

It will be my first marathon. Running with my sister and her boyfriend. She ran Las Vegas 2 years ago and ran cross country in High School. I started running a little over a year ago.

I was thinking Chicago style Pizza after the race...maybe Gino's. That said, I might end up driving back home right after the race depended on a couple different factors.
 
www.ginoseast.com/
 

Oh...and I must add I LOVE being able to eat anything I want without gaining weight. I have always eaten healty food...and continue to do so...but I haven't had to limit the amout I eat since I've been running.

Buddy: I don't really have any ethnic dislikes, personally. I adore asian and mexican, but I've found every genre has at least one hit, so to speak. I suppose that if there were one hang up, it's that my little sister can't handle much heat. As far as transportation, I'll have enough relatives there that I won't be limited to CTA. Besides the downtown, Grant park area, anything in the NW suburbs is convenient(I'll be staying at a house in Oak Park), but if it's worth the trip, anything goes. Time wise...well, anytime after noon. I'll be done before 10:30, but as AaronM might know, a big meal RIGHT after running isn't a great idea. So I suppose dinner is the idea, with a possible snack before then.
 
Aaron: Congrats! I'm a bit more expirienced, so my training schedule gave me my second 20 last saturday, 12 this coming, and one more 20 on the 18th before my taper. And yes, being a human furnace has its pluses. Gino's, eh? Of the famous ones, I've only had Girodano's...there's a place called Geppetto's in Oak Park that is pretty good, enough so that it's been the pizza place for my fam whenever we visit. Perhaps it's time to expand my horizons...

I admire your determination and stamina to run the marathon. Our son,now 28, ran it during college. His girlfriend, Gabrielle, will be in this years run. She is an engineer, Travis a consultant both living a few blocks apart in Dallas. As for restaurant suggestions following a run, opporunities abound in downtown Chicago. I understand the pasta "overload". Maybe rooftop dining in Greek town or Chinatown. Choices abound as well as being inexpensive, delicious, fun and plentiful.
I wish you well,however, I hope Gaby kicks your butt IN THE MARATHON!

Will,

Not to cop out on answering your question, but let's at least start with this.  It is the Great Neighborhood Restaurant Guide from LTHForum, Chicago's most authoritative discussion site for the local foodies.  The GNR awards are given out annually, as voted on by the membership.  The awards are given out in recognition of great restaurants serving their neighborhoods in relative anonymity, as opposed to the Charlie Trotter and Rick Bayless types who are getting international accolades for overpriced fou-fou food.

The link I've provided you will allow you to print out a handy pocket guide that you can carry with you.  One or two word descriptions of the type of food served, along with addresses and phone numbers for each restaurant are included.  If you want further guidance, go to the main page of the site and try the Eating Out In Chicago forum for plenty more ideas.

rouxdog does make an excellent suggestion for Greek food.  Chicago's extensive Greek Town neighborhood is pretty much due west of where the marathon ends up in Grant Park.  Greek Islands is a big, bustling, theatrical kind of place with good food and more than its share of tourists.  Our family's personal favorite is Pegasus.  It's slightly more subdued than Greek Islands, with excellent food and service.  You can dine on the roof top as rouxdog suggests, but because it is a very popular destination (you'll get a beautiful view of Chicago's skyline) you will pay higher prices for the same meal you could get downstairs in the regular, very comfortable dining room.  Best of all at both places is that they offer free valet parking in this hard to park neighborhood.

Also, you're not too far from China Town and the LTHForum's namesake, Little Three Happiness Restaurant, information for which is in the GNR guide linked above.

Take a look through the guide and if nothing there, or any of the other places I've mentioned grabs you, I'll make some more suggestions.

Good luck in the race,

Buddy


Greek Islands Restaurant
200 S. Halsted
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 782-9855
www.greekislands.net

Pegasus
130 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 226-4666
www.pegasuschicago.com

Three Happiness
209 W Cermak Rd
Chicago, IL 60616-1913
(312) 842-1964‎

Both of the URLs as shown give 404 error messages.  These should work better: 
http://www.greekislands.net/

http://www.pegasuschicago.com/

Thanks to both Buddy and 6star. I think I may have heard of LTHF once or twice, but never rememberd well enough to check it out. Seems to be quite the handy resource.

rouxdog, I doubt Gabrielle has much to worry about.

For both Willrun and Aaron...

I don't know Chicago but am a long time runner (30+ years!) and took up triathlons a while back.  Here's a fyi post-race tip for you:

I read a nutrition article a year or so back (running or tri magazine) that said one of the best recovery "foods" is to drink chocolate milk. Since I love it anyway, I loved the tip.

It replaces a lot of good things, and is yummy. I've found it to be a great call.

Have an excellent time in Chicago, good luck to all and happy eating!!!!

BuddyRoadhouse

rouxdog does make an excellent suggestion for Greek food.  Chicago's extensive Greek Town neighborhood is pretty much due west of where the marathon ends up in Grant Park.  Greek Islands is a big, bustling, theatrical kind of place with good food and more than its share of tourists.  Our family's personal favorite is Pegasus.  It's slightly more subdued than Greek Islands, with excellent food and service.  You can dine on the roof top as rouxdog suggests, but because it is a very popular destination (you'll get a beautiful view of Chicago's skyline) you will pay higher prices for the same meal you could get downstairs in the regular, very comfortable dining room.  Best of all at both places is that they offer free valet parking in this hard to park neighborhood.

I don't want to hijack the thread but...
 
The Contingent needs to do a Greek day in Chi Town. Maybe next summer?

Echoing your sentiments of not wanting to hijack the thread, but here goes anyway, X1 has been wanting to do a dinner at Mykonos, a Greek restaurant in north suburban Niles, on Golf Road not far from I-294, for some time now.  This would be an easy commute for all concerned.  Our  Milwaukee brethren would not need to drive into the city, saving at least one toll.  Our south and southwest suburban friends could take any of the various north/south highways in the area.  And I could pretty much roll out of bed ten minutes before dinner and meet you all in time for a flaming plate of saganaki and a rousing cry of "Opaaaah!"

Start a thread, pick a Sunday evening, and they will come.

Buddy

I second Buddy's rec's having eaten at all those spots and really enjoyed them all-all would also have a nice fun vibe and not be too far from downtown.

If you want to do Greek seafood- we really enjoy Santorini in Greek town
another fun choice
800 W. Adams St, Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 829-8820
http://www.santorinichicago.com/

As to a Contingent Greek tour up the Mykonos area- lots of great ethnic spots up there- after or pre meal for shopping etc...

BuddyRoadhouse


Echoing your sentiments of not wanting to hijack the thread, but here goes anyway, X1 has been wanting to do a dinner at Mykonos, a Greek restaurant in north suburban Niles, on Golf Road not far from I-294, for some time now.  This would be an easy commute for all concerned.  Our  Milwaukee brethren would not need to drive into the city, saving at least one toll.  Our south and southwest suburban friends could take any of the various north/south highways in the area.  And I could pretty much roll out of bed ten minutes before dinner and meet you all in time for a flaming plate of saganaki and a rousing cry of "Opaaaah!"

Start a thread, pick a Sunday evening, and they will come.

Buddy

 
My advice is to pay the extra toll and head into Greektown for dinner. I suggested Mykonos for a group of about 10 of us from work and the food and the restaraunt wasn't up to par. Everything we ate was "meh" nothing great, nothing very good. The place itself was somewhat rundown and dirty. This whole area has gone downhill over the past 30 years and Mykonos is no exception.
 
If you are looking to stay in the Niles area I would suggest Nancy's (same strip mall as Mykonos) for very good stuffed pizza. You could also head into Skokie to the Bagel (old school Jewish comfort food) or Ruby of Siam for very good Thai food.
 
You are also not far from the Super "H" Mart. There is a food court inside and you literally can spend the day looking through all of the unique Korean (and Asian) items that they carry.
 
 
 

mouse,

A small group from The Contingent has visited Super H, on my recommendation, and enjoyed it very much.  At some point I'd like to go back with a bigger group so we can order more items from more kiosks.

Also, I love both The Bagel and Ruby of Siam, and I'm a big fan of Nancy's stuffed pizza, in spite of my affiliation with Burt's.  But the request from up north was for Greek food, so that's what I'm focused on.

Mykonos is a semi-regular stop for us for big family gatherings.  We've never had a bad experience there and I've never noticed any cleanliness issues.  Admittedly, this is not cutting edge cuisine, but I'm not familiar with any "traditional" Greek restaurant that goes down that road.  Personal favorites in Greek Town include Pegasus and Santorini, with Greek Islands, despite its touristy nature, close behind.  I've also been to Rodytis (sp?) and enjoyed that as well.

Years ago we used to frequent It's Greek To Me and felt it was the best spot on the strip.  Sadly, they are no longer there, succumbing to personal financial issues suffered by the owners.

I don't necessarily disagree with you about the superiority of Greek Town's offerings over Mykonos, but similarly, I have not experienced at Mykonos the disagreeable issues you mention in your post.

Buddy

My family is Greek, and when we want good Greek food (that we don't cook ourselves), we head down to Mykonos. Like Buddy, we've never experienced "disagreeable issues", either (except an overly long wait a couple times on crowded evenings), and we've been going there for as long as I can remember (I'm 40).

Buddy - I think it's Rhoditis.

PS - my parents and aunt and uncle tried Santorini and did not like it as much as Mykonos. Then again - they may be stuck in their ways, as they recently (on my recommendation) tried Fred's in Burlington and declared the burgers to be "nothing special", and that John's Main Event, up the road two buildings, is MUCH better. I find this hard to believe, but I'm willing to try John's. I'm also willing to try Santorini, because, as I said, I think my parents are stuck in their ways.

Santorini and Pegasus are, I believe, owned by the same people.  Santorini's menu focuses on seafood, while Pegasus offers a broader, more general menu.

Buddy