Gino's East has a fun atmosphere that will appeal to your two boys. (And the pizza is classic Chicago deep dish.)

http://www.ginoseast.com/flash.html

First thing that came to my mind was Ed Debevics.

http://www.eddebevics.com

Pizza also a great idea as Gekko mentioned.

Maybe Greektown?

www.greektownchicago.org

Have fun!

iCream is a lot of fun -- ice cream made to order and "instantly" (well, really pretty quick) frozen with liquid nitrogen. Think billows of dry ice smoke. It's up in Wicker Park, but just off the Damen-O'Hare stop on the Blue line.

http://www.icreamcafe.com/

You might try this place. From my trip report. The price is for 6 persons.

We walked around the downtown all together and then took the Red line to the Lawrence station to eat in an Ethiopian restaurant half a block from the “L” station: http://demeraethiopianrestaurant.com/ We ordered the family platter which is a variety of foods on sponge bread presented on a large platter: $183.63 including drinks and tip. The food is excellent, but one has to be willing to eat using sponge bread to grab the food, no utensils are given.

Gino's East is an excellent deep dish pizza choice. Other worthy options include Lou Malnati's and the original Pizzeria Uno or Due, and Giordano's does a worthy variant called stuffed pizza.

Good places for Italian beef sandwiches would include Al's #1 Italian Beef and Mr. Beef. Al's is a little more sit-down friendly, but I liked the sandwich at Mr. Beef slightly more.

Many of the best-regarded Chicago hot dog spots (Superdawg, Hot Doug's, Wiener Circle) are located outside of the Loop and the Near North area -- your best choice here arguably would be Portillo's for this item.

I think you've garnered from the above responses that most of the choices which will fit your desires are away from the Magnificent Mile area.

What do you have on your agenda when you are here?

BTW, there is a *LOT* of Chicago - many miles in all directions - except east, of course - before you get to the suburbs. So lots of choices abound in the neighborhoods.

I think they would enjoy Cafe Ba Ba Reeba on Halstead, a tapas spot with high energy. Our kids liked it a lot.

Last time we were in Chicago we went on a Tastebuds food tour and we really enjoyed it-even your children would like it. We walked around the city for about three hours and stopped for food along the way-got a history lesson also. We tried pizza, chicago hotdog, cheeseburger at the Billy Goat Tavern and several other stops. We are planning to go on another food tour next time we go to Chicago.

Portillos

For lunch you might enjoy Miller's Pub on Wabash. English fare but good.

Wow - thanks for all the suggestions! I'm taking notes! And I certainly don't mind venturing outside the Mag Mile - I prefer it, actually.

@exiledprincess: I'm not sure exactly what's on the agenda. In the past, the boys enjoyed the Nature Museum, and they consider the Museum of Science and Industry a must-do. I'm more of a wandering-around-neighborhoods person than a museum person, so I'm hoping for a couple of hours of that, too.

Google restaurants in Hyde Park where the museum is. Where will you be staying out of the city?

On the border.!

Just a recommendation: if you're exploring the MoSI area on foot, I'd stick to the area between this museum and the Univ. of Chicago campus to the west. If memory serves, East 57th between the museum and college is especially fine to walk and has several places to eat, etc. Wandering north of E. 55th, west beyond the UC campus, or south beyond E. 60th can get into dicier territory especially after dark, though reports are that even these close-in surrounding areas aren't as bad they used to be. Regardless, that still leaves a good bit of the neighborhood to experience.

And arguably the best way to get there from the Loop area is to take the commuter train.

And arguably the best way to get there from the Loop area is to take the commuter train.

We took an express bus from the Museum of Science and Industry to the Water Tower on the Near North side.

I thought Ed Debevics was a hoot.

Chicago Q

Have you watched any of the competition barbeque shows? This place is owned by Lee Ann Whippen (who was there the night we were there) and does competition style ribs that are out of this world. They even offered us a tour of the kitchen. Great stuff!

Pizzeria Due, Gino's East, Ed Debevic's, Heaven on Seven are really great places.

http://blogs.wttw.com/checkplease/2012/01/13/out-of-the-ordinary/

Look at the last place mentioned in this blog. It's just across from Millenium Park.

Also re Hyde Park area, the Thai restaurants there are best in the city, IMHO. But be very careful. I would not be in any of that area at night. It's been worse this school year.

All places mentioned are good mentions. But they are mostly tourist restaurants. Except maybe Pizzeria Due, IMHO. Just my opinion. Not Chicago Q either. And if you are looking for foodie- that's a different direction. Kids or yourselves.

http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,49,1

If that's your direction, you might want to use Check, Please and the food locater for your exact direction and location. It's not always perfect, but I love to read the reviews. I was looking up an Armenian gem Sayat Nova for you- because it is Near North near MI Ave.- just about where you might be staying, but found this one.

My grandkids- love, love Oven Grinders. It is a vacation (more than 1-1/2 hours)drive away from where they live. But their Dad takes them about 2 or 3 times a year. That might be the ultimate "pizza" experience. Not deep dish, not thin crust. By the bowl. And the salad is legend too. It feels somehow like old Chicago there too.

During the weekend and on holidays are the only times you can take the #10 CTA bus to the MSI at that time of year. It would be different if you were coming during the summer months.

In addition, you will need to allot pretty much an entire day for the MSI. So if you are coming for only a weekend, this will take up a huge percentage of your time.

IMHO, I wouldn't be wandering by yourselves around too much in the Hyde Park area, especially with two youngsters in tow. You can view recent crime information from either the University of Chicago or the Hyde Park neighborhood's websites.

Just a note for the above: I often suggest that if someone is interested in exploring the Hyde Park neighborhood (and it *is* a very interesting neighborhood with much history) that they do so either by using the free Chicago Greeter service or as a member of an organized group, such as the Chicago Architecture Foundation. But I strongly warn against someone unfamiliar with this neighborhood to just go wandering around it.

I'm going to mention a couple of stores where your family might have interest:

Uncle Fun in is Lakeview, not far from the Belmont Red Line stop.

RobotCity Workshop is also in the Lakeview neighborhood, also very close to the Belmont Red Line stop.

Rotofugi is in the Lincoln Park neighborhood (in the DePaul University area).

Lincoln Park and Lakeview have many interesting dining choices, as well as evening entertainment. However, without knowing exactly where you will be, it would be difficult to make any viable dining suggestions. You don't want to be traveling clear across town just for dinner.

In the Loop or Mag. Mile area, though, you might consider Yolk for breakfast or Heaven on Seven for lunch.

Which weekend are you coming? Near St. Patrick's Day? If so, you should check to see if the parade is that weekend. If it is, you could either attend it or, if you aren't interested, you'll need to check how it will affect road closures and bus re-routes (if any).

Near-ish to Mag Mile... XOCO (Rick Bayless Mexican "street food" place) -- you can dine in or take out, and I *highly* recommend the churros and Mexican hot chocolate; on State Street there is now an Epic Burger - delicious burgers an fries, and a peanut butter milk shake to die for; at 100 East Walton there is a bijou Belgian bakery called Hendrickx with fantastic croissants and pastries - they have a few tables but it is really a take out place; also on East Walton there is an Indian place (name escapes me at the moment) with a reasonable lunch buffet. And for tapas, Cafe Iberrico on Lasalle is always good.

Also, haven't been here, but am dying to try it - looks very fun and is good for Mag Mile location:
http://www.bartomachicago.com/chef.html