ElendilPickle

We (Mr. Pickle, 17yo PickleDude, and I) will be in Chicago May 21-23, then heading to Milwaukee for a day or two before we make a loop around parts of Wisconsin.

What do you all recommend for inexpensive places to eat? $10 and under for lunch and $20 and under for dinner would be great. We'll eat just about anything. Anything special we should try?

Thanks!

Lee Ann

Michael

We liked this place and the traditional messob is within your price range:

http://demeraethiopianrestaurant.com/messob.html

bluestar

I like M Burger in Chicago, for lunch
http://www.mburgerchicago.com/

For dinner try Big Bowl (Asian/fusion)
http://www.bigbowl.com/
I've only been to the Ohio & Rush location and I think with a drink/tip it's usually ~$25 but I'm sure you could keep the total under $20pp

May I ask if you found a good hotel in May? I was thinking of going to Chicago in May but hotels for the whole month were super-high so I gave up. I usually pay $75 or less for a 3 star or better in River North or Loop using Hotwire.

Michael

The Parthenon in Greek town, or any other similar establishment, has an evening menu that fits your criterion.

http://theparthenon.reachlocal.com/?...id=22955192600

Michael

In all instance, plus tax and tip which probably will lead the meal to be over-budget.

jent103

Hi Lee Ann! I had the best sandwich of my life* at Xoco a few years ago - it's Rick Bayless's fast casualish restaurant, near Topolobamplo and Frontera Grill on N. Clark.

* We'd been awake since 5am and had stood in line ravenous for two hours (it was right after Xoco had opened), so this assessment might be slightly biased. Still, a dang good sandwich. And churros and hot chocolate!

We also went to the Twisted Baker bakery on N. Wells for breakfast before doing the Second City walking tour. Yummy breakfast sandwiches.

DebitNM

bookmark

Bitter

Chicago: Portillo's! Love their Italian beef, but they also have chicago dogs, etc. Diagonal across from the Hard Rock.

Citylghts

You can find restaurants, as well as other events, at www.chicagoreader.com or www.chicagomag.com. You can search by neighborhood, price or cuisine.

jayne1973

We enjoyed our inexpensive burgers and fries at the famous and divey Billy Goat Tavern, of SNL's Cheezborger Cheezborger days. A little tricky to find-- its kind of below ground.

www.billygoattavern.com

ElendilPickle

This is a great start. Thanks, everyone!

We can get good authentic Mexican food here, but I think Mr. Pickle is interested in trying some of Rick Bayless's food while we're in town. Thanks for that recommendation, jent103!

Michael, the Ethiopian place sounds intriguing, and I'm glad you mentioned Greek food. We love it and we could do our own little homage to My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

bluestar, apparently there are a bunch of conventions in town in May, hence the high hotel prices. We're staying at the IHSP hostel in Wicker Park. It's a block from the Blue Line and should be good for what we want to do.

Lee Ann

ElendilPickle

I was in a bit of a hurry when I originally posted, so here's a little more information on our itinerary. It sounds like most of the places you all have recommended are near where we'll be visiting.

On our first full day in Chicago, we're going to do an architecture boat tour and visit the Art Institute of Chicago. We're getting in really late the night before, so I think we will probably not plan much for this evening.

The next day, we're going to the Museum of Science and Industry - Mr. Pickle thinks we will spend most of the day there. That night we have tickets to see the Red Sox play the White Sox.

On our last day, we (or maybe just the guys - I'm not fond of heights) are going to go to the Willis Tower Skydeck, then take the train to Milwaukee.

What's the food like at US Cellular Park? Any recommendations?

Lee Ann

abram

Where will you be staying in Milwaukee?

Skiergirl

OMG!!!! You are going to be so near PENNY'S at your hotel!! It's cheap, amazing Thai food. I used to live in Chicago and I go there every.single.time I visit - which is at least once a year. I'd drive from anywhere to go there. It's on North Damen just underneath the blue El train half a block south of W. North Avenue. GO!!!

ElendilPickle

abram, we're staying near the airport, and we'll have a car.

Skiergirl, yum! I love Thai food.

Lee Ann

Dave_Ohio

Cheap and good and close to where you're staying in Wicker Park are Penny's Noodles and the Sultan's Market. Big Star is cheap and good, too, but alas, it is Mexican/Latino cuisine.

I grew up on the near South Side, not far from Comiskey Park, and today's US Cellular Park, "The Cell." Nearby, in Chinatown (vic. Wentworth Ave. & 22nd St), are an array of economical Chinese restaurants. Ricobene's Restaurant (26th S. & Princeton Ave, about a block west of Wentworth) makes my all-time favorite Italian roast beef and pepper sandwiches! The Cell is on 35th St. at Wentworth.

Joy_ed

I'm an avid White Sox fan, love going to the "Cell" for a game. Will you drive to the park? If so, plan on getting there early and tailgating. It's really an entertaining time. Fans grill, play music, games, and drink beer. Great people watching. A cheap food option would be to bring your own sandwiches, snacks, pop, beer, etc while you tailgate.

Bacardi's at the Park, located at Gate 5 is a great sports bar for food and drink. It opens 4 hours before the game, lots of sandwiches , nachos, and snacks. Lots of big screen tvs, fun to check out even if you don't want to eat there.

Inside the park, we always must have a beef hot dog with grilled onions! The nachos with beef , pork barbacoa

Joy_ed

Or chicken are geat. Really, all the food in the park is good. Have fun!

ElendilPickle

Good information, thanks.

Lee Ann

abram

My kids can't come back to Milwaukee without their first stop being Kopp's for a burger and frozen custard.

For Mexican, we like Botanas, Cempazuchi, and La Perla.
For Thai, Singha Thai.
For Indian, Mayura or Maharaja.
For Chinese, China Gourmet.
For sushi, Kiku and Izumi.
For middle Eastern, Sheherazade.