Road Trip, Minneapolis to Chicago, tips on traffic and best places to stop for food wanted!! (Hoffman Estates: how much, safe)

[TheBlackChip]

So, my friends and I are taking a road trip from Minneapolis to the Chicago area for an event at the Sears Centre. We plan to leave the twin cities around 3:00AM and arrive in downtown Chicago around 2PM on Friday, July 29th. We will be leaving downtown around 2PM the following day (Saturday the 30th) headed for Hoffman Estates. Since we don't have much time, I've been trying to figure out the fastest route in and out of Chicago; I was originally going to try and park my car at one of the park & ride stations near O'Hare and take the rail into downtown, but then I got a steeply discounted room at the Howard Johnson which offers free parking, so I decided to just drive into downtown. I'm also hoping that arriving midday on Friday and leaving midday on Saturday will help ease traffic congestion.

On our way into Chicago we plan to take I-90, exiting to stop at Superdawg's and then again in the Avondale area to stop at Kuma's Corner and Hot Doug's. This little stretch of our trip will be going down between noon and 2PM on Friday, and I'm wondering how you think traffic will be? Would we be better off taking a different route into downtown and saving these stops (and our trip along I-90) for when we leave Chicago which will be around 2PM on Saturday?

Once we get downtown we plan to park and either walk or take public transportation. As of now we plan to check out Lou Malnati's, Portillo's and Pizzeria Uno. Any other spots you might recommend in this area of downtown would be greatly appreciated.

As for leaving downtown, our current plan is to take N Milwaukee to N Ashland, follow that to W North Ave/64, and then follow that west all the way down to Johnnie's Beef. Is this a bad route to take there? After Johnnie's we plan to take River Rd to Irving Park Rd/19 to 294 N back up to I-90W and then follow that all the way into Hoffman Estates. Is there a cheaper way to take that will avoid traffic and tolls? Will it matter much at 2-3PM on a Saturday?

I know this is a lot of info, but I'm basically just looking for the fastest, cheapest ways and best times of day to get in and out of Chicago on a Friday/Saturday, along with some good places to stop for food on the way. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out!

Aaron

P.S. this is the current route we plan to take -- http://tinyurl.com/4xk8asj (broken link)

[ERS-One]

Superdawg on a friday at noon shouldn't be a big deal, but then going to Hot Doug's, and then Kuma's Corner, would mean you wouldn't be arriving downtown until much much later than 2

[sydbarrett]

One thing I will tell you is when you travel from Superdawg to Kuma's and Hot Doug's, don't get back on the expressway. Take Milwaukee to Elston and then take Elston down to Addison. Then take Addison to California and go south to Hot Doug's. Going back to the expressway is a waste of time.

[TheBlackChip]

Originally Posted by sydbarrett

One thing I will tell you is when you travel from Superdawg to Kuma's and Hot Doug's, don't get back on the expressway. Take Milwaukee to Elston and then take Elston down to Addison. Then take Addison to California and go south to Hot Doug's. Going back to the expressway is a waste of time.

This is good information right here. I will definitely make that adjustment.

Originally Posted by ERS-One

Superdawg on a friday at noon shouldn't be a big deal, but then going to Hot Doug's, and then Kuma's Corner, would mean you wouldn't be arriving downtown until much much later than 2

Very true. Wasn't thinking clearly when I said that. I expect to spend an hour at each place, so maybe get into downtown around 3 or 4 maybe?

[TheBlackChip]

Also sydbarrett and ERS-One, how do you think traffic will be heading into downtown between 12-4 on the I-90? Are there any other routes you would recommend or should we just stick with what we have? Also, how about taking W North from Ashland Ave all the way to Johnnie's Beef? Does this make sense?

[Drover]

Have you thought about how much food you're looking to consume in the span of a couple hours? Or are you just planning to drive by these place to pay homage?

Don't plan on having a quick in-and-out trip to Hot Doug's. There's usually a line out the door and down the block on Fridays.

Inbound starts to suck at about 1PM on Fridays. That's when the express lanes are reversed outbound and traffic starts pouring in from the airport. By 2pm it's typically already bumper-to-bumper from the River Road toll plaza (the one by O'Hare) all the way to downtown. That said, I think you're overestimating how long it takes to drive from the Twin Cities to Chicago. If you're leaving at 3am, you should be at the outskirts of the metro area by 8:30 am and the outskirts of the city (where Superdawg is) by 9:30am at the latest. Unless of course you're planning to make other stops along the way.

[quigboto]

There's usually a good 1-2 hour wait at Kuma's as well.

[TheBlackChip]

Originally Posted by Drover

Have you thought about how much food you're looking to consume in the span of a couple hours? Or are you just planning to drive by these place to pay homage?

Don't plan on having a quick in-and-out trip to Hot Doug's. There's usually a line out the door and down the block on Fridays.

Inbound starts to suck at about 1PM on Fridays. That's when the express lanes are reversed outbound and traffic starts pouring in from the airport. By 2pm it's typically already bumper-to-bumper from the River Road toll plaza (the one by O'Hare) all the way to downtown. That said, I think you're overestimating how long it takes to drive from the Twin Cities to Chicago. If you're leaving at 3am, you should be at the outskirts of the metro area by 8:30 am and the outskirts of the city (where Superdawg is) by 9:30am at the latest. Unless of course you're planning to make other stops along the way.

We are planning to eat, but I'm a big eater and big foodie (I've gone to 5 burger joints - and eaten 5 burgers - in about 3 hours once before), so the only thing that will hold us up is the wait time. Even though I've never been there before, I can't imagine 1 dog each at Superdawg and Hot Doug's and a burger at Kuma's would be THAT much for a 3-hour span. As far as waits go, I know I won't mind waiting at Kuma's, but if the wait is more than say 45 min at Hot Doug's or Superdawgs we'll probably skip it.

As far as my time estimates, we're taking the Great River Road all the way down to La Crosse and then taking some side routes through SW Wisconsin on our way back to I-90. Google Maps estimates 7 hrs 20 min following 94/90 the whole way, so taking this route instead the whole way adds about 90 minutes to the drive at least. Overall I figure the drive should take at least 8 hours, maybe a little more. I also know we might not leave at exactly 3AM either, so I figured arriving in the outskirts of Chicago by noon was a safe estimate.

[ERS-One]

Yeah, Hot Doug's can be an hour wait just to order. Kuma's can be an hour or 2 to get seated - they don't do carry-out when the patio is open. As far as Johnnie's, North Ave isn't bad. You'll pass some crumb bum areas, but whatever. Taking 290 (Eisenhower) to Harlem would be fast though if you're going to be downtown with a car already.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by quigboto

There's usually a good 1-2 hour wait at Kuma's as well.

As long as you get there by about 2pm or so it's usually not too bad in the summer when there's outdoor seating.