OHare 6 hour Layover- Hash House a Go-Go. Can We Make It? How?
 

One of my favorite meals was at the Hash House a Go Go, a “twisted country” restaurant in Los Vegas. I’m hoping we can recapture the experience. I loved the chicken and waffles. We’ve got a 5 hour & 50 minute layover at O'Hare Airport before going on to Ireland. We will be there on a Thursday afternoon. The address is 1212 North State Parkway, Chicago. Is this doable? It’s only my second time to Chicago so please provide recommendations on how to get there and back. Can you take public transportation?

Take the Blue Line to downtown, then transfer to the Red Line and go north. Takes about 1.5 hours one-way, so 3 hours round trip. If it takes an hour to order and eat, then you'd have less than 2 hours to clear security. Is that enough time?

The Blue Line heading out of downtown might be much more crowded depending on what time of day you're leaving.

http://tinyurl.com/cv423gh

Hi, crusty.

Just as WhereAreWe wrote, I would average 1.5 hrs/each leg (to get from O'Hare to the Loop/Clark X Lake; NOT all the way to State Parkway) as that will allow the time to...
- deplane
- get from your terminal to the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) O'Hare blue line station to the city (go to baggage claim level and follow signs that say 'trains to the city')
- buy your CTA ticket from the machines (cash/credit; $2.25/ride... so $5 per rider should do it).

BUT... the Blue line drops you off in the loop (Clark X Lake). I would not recommend transferring to the Red line to get yourself to 1212 N. State Parkway (Clark X Division stop). That'll add 20-30 minutes, and I can't think what exactly is there... the Zebra Lounge? All the restaurants in the area are fairly unexceptional and the neighborhood is a little ugly and cheerless, IMO.

Instead, you'll have a nicer experience if you get out at State and Lake. On State Street, you'll get to see the wonderful Chicago Theater facade, the Joffrey Ballet studios over the Walgreen's, and lots of lovely, loop buildings.

You and your companion might go to "ROOF" (the rooftop bar at the Wit hotel, or grab a more substantial lunch at State Lake (connected to the Wit Hotel). Have a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery or a chou creme at Papa Beard's. If time allows, lunch at the Atwood CAfe (but this will be a slower dining experience.) A quicker lunch is better.

You might have time to walk due east and see Millenium Park -- which is gorgeous, with the Gehry-designed theater and "Cloud Gate" (the huge, silver "bean" sculpture).

I just wouldn't stray far from the blue line station on Clark X Lake so you can get back to O'Hare or I believe you'll be stressing about time.

Also, know that the red line and blue line stations near Lake Street are connected by a pedestrian underpass, so if you enter the big "mall" on State St. (between Lake and RAndolph), and take the escalator or steps down to the pedestrian underpass, you'll have a choice of either the red or blue line. (The red line basically is under STate Street, the blue line is a block or so west, somewhat under Dearborn.)

Have a great time!

It's in tne beginning of the beautiful Gold Coast neighborhood..In place of Zulu?

Oh! Got it. Thanks, HappyTrvlr. Hadn't heard of the place.

Yeah... still wouldn't recommend taking the time.

North of division, the Gold Coast is very pretty a block or two north. It's just that dreary,ugly walk from the Clark X Division stop, east on Division.

Honestly, I'm not sure I'd spend that much time on a train just to get to the loop either. Time is money and with so little time, I'd opt for a cab to give me a bit more time. Google maps gives an estimate of about 30 minutes from O'Hare to the Hash House, obviously you'd need to factor in traffic and a bit of time to walk through the terminal to get to the cabs.

And depending on when your flight departs, the train may be quicker than fighting rush hour traffic to get to O'Hare.

But for me, there are far better ways to spend a few hours in downtown Chicago than eating at Hash House. I'd grab something quicker to eat and wander around the Millenium Park area. Of course, if the weather is bad then go to a museum or something indoors but still, I think you're better off taking a cab and finding something to do other than eating at Hash House.