Stephens Convention Center

I have to attend a conference down at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont later this week. Is there any place within a 10-15 minute walk where I could get something for lunch? Or am I doomed to the overpriced convention center food?

Thanks in advance.

By insisting on walking, you are severly limiting your options. One that I can think of is Maria's Mexican Restaurant. While it's far from the best Mexican you will ever have, it's pleasant enough and at least has the feel of an authentic Mexican cantina (although the food is geared to the taste buds of a white man from Schamburg.) If you had a car, I would suggest getting in it and heading North to Paradise Pup.

Maria's Mexican Restaurant
9440 W. Foster Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60018
(773) 992-2288

Paradise Pup
1724 S River Rd
Des Plaines, IL 60018-2253
(847) 699-8590

HI,

You really did truncate the name, isn't it the DONALD E. Stevens Convention Center? (It's very important to 'The Donald')

I have walked north to the hotel, Hyatt with access via a skywalk, where they have a buffet lunch. They also have a coffee shop. It is also refuge to sit quietly away from the din of a convention or pay twice for parking to drive away.

Regards,

A few other places (besides Maria's) I can recommend for a walk. Unfortunately, Paradise Pup would be a 5-10 minute cab ride. You can walk right across the street to Gibson's (steak, burgers, etc). You can also head north for about a 10-15 minute walk past the "L" station and under the overpass (but right before the Marriott Suites) to Carlucci's (on the East side of River Road) for Italian food. Just north of Carlucci's on the West side of River Road is a Giordano's for pizza (at the corner of River/Higgins and also a 10-15 minute walk).

BR wrote:A few other places (besides Maria's) I can recommend for a walk. Unfortunately, Paradise Pup would be a 5-10 minute cab ride. You can walk right across the street to Gibson's (steak, burgers, etc). You can also head north for about a 10-15 minute walk past the "L" station and under the overpass (but right before the Marriott Suites) to Carlucci's (on the East side of River Road) for Italian food. Just north of Carlucci's on the West side of River Road is a Giordano's for pizza (at the corner of River/Higgins and also a 10-15 minute walk).

Yes it's true that there are all sorts of conventioneer type dining choices around the convention center within walking distance, including a fairly nice bistro-style restaurant in the Hotel Sofitel, but I purposly avoided recommending any of these, since they will all be filled with the very people you are trying to get away from. BTW, Paradise pup would be a longer cab ride than 5 - 10 minutes. More like 15 and getting a cab back would be a challenge...unless you offer to buy the driver lunch.

I don't mind being with people at the meeting. I just object to paying the OUTRAGEOUS prices that the concessions in conventions generally charge. It be different if the food was good food ...

Thanks for the ideas.

You can get a very good lunch at Gibsons in the $10-$15 range. Folks that I work with rave about both the food and the high prices at Sofitel.

The Crowne Plaza has a food court in its inner belly. Never eaten there. Only noticed it on the way to the bar.

On Day One, I went over to Sofitel to their bistro. While the lobby was extremely busy, there was not a soul in the bistro. That's not a good sign at lunch so I ran over to Carlucci's in the Marriott Suites. That was about a 10-15 minute walk under I-90.

They run a special on Mondays and Tuesdays with all their pastas priced at $5. I had the penne with sausage and dried tomatoes. It was decent but the Italian sausage was not very good - it was really bland with the texture of a bratwurst. The field greens with apples and garganzola was definitely the high point as was the excellent fresh baked bread. Total bill with tip was $14.

On the way home, I stopped at Edison Park. I had hoped to get to Tony's for a sub - my boss's favorite sandwich in Chicago but the store was closed. Stopped instead at the BBQ joint next to Don Juans. Noone was in there - again not a good sign.

Overall the food was disappointing - the three "ribs" were almost meatless, the chicken was red and undercooked inside, the beans were overcooked and gloppy. Not worth another try.

jlawrence01 wrote:Stopped instead at the BBQ joint next to Don Juans.

J Lawrence,

Must be pretty new, do you remember the name?

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

I always pay by credit card so that a year from now, I remember the name of the place. However, they did NOT accept credit cards and the guy did not give me a receipt.

If I get to Edison Park sometime tomorrow - as I will be in the neighborhood. I will get the name.

The place is named TAILGATOR'S BBQ.

jlawrence01 wrote:The place is named TAILGATOR'S BBQ.

I thought that place was called Tailgators Bar & Grill. I had no idea it was supposed to be a BBQ restaurant. I don't think they do, either. I've never gone in to the bar, but they had a booth at last weekend's Edison Park Fest and served burgers, and chicken wings. No BBQ.

They have a sign that says "Tailgater's BBQ" that looks pretty new. They have three specials in the windows "Hot Wings - 25 cents" and "Ribs - $1 per bone" and a third sign that I forgot about.

I saw no evidence that they served alcohol so I do not think that they are a bar and they have an open kitchen.


As I was recovering from the nachos at the Hyatt - which were very disappointing as they used that godawful canned cheese sauce, I decided to try something a little less ambitious.

I ended up at the grand dame of Park Ridge restaurants - the Pickwick - another one of the Greek style restaurants. The food was surprisingly good despite a rather non-ambitious menu.

Pickwick Restaurant
1 S. Prospect Avenue
Park Ridge, IL 60068
(847) 823-7322


Will be glad to get back to my 11 mile, 19 minute commute tomorrow. These long drives down Northwest Highway are killing me!

jlawrence01 wrote:The place is named TAILGATOR'S BBQ.

JLawrence,

Thanks, I'll definitely check Tailgator's BBQ out, though it does not sound all that promising. Actually, that block has two of my go-to places, Don Juan for Mexican, both upscale and standard Mexican/American fare, and Tony's for Italian subs.

Enjoy,
Gary

Tony's Italian Deli
6708 N Northwest Hwy
Chicago, IL 60631
773-631-0055

Don Juan
6730 N Northwest Hwy
Chicago, IL 60631
773-775-6438