O'Hare for 6 hours or Midway for 2? (Chicago: live, shops, food)

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

Head back to O'Hare at 4pm.
Will be at the gate by 5:15pm.

I don't see the problem here.

Do you have a helicopter? At 4 p.m. I have had that drive take 20 minutes and I have had it take an hour and a half. Then there's checking your bag and getting through security.

Two hours at Midway is by far the better bet.

[ForYourLungsOnly]

Originally Posted by Dennis Schroeder

There aren't any "quick sites" on the Blue Line from O'Hare.

Personally I don't think riding the blue line for 2 hours and having lunch somewhere for an hour, then going through security, sitting in O'Hare again for another 2 hours sounds better than 2 hours in Midway. In fact, it sounds much worse.

?? O'Hare to Logan Square on the Blue Line takes 30 minutes....

[JacksonPanther]

The fear you guys have...

I'm assuming the blue line, not a taxi. The gets rid of the uncertainty.

Of course the best option for getting to his destination is the 2 hour wait at MDW. But he said that option was not expensive. How much more, he didn't say, but enough to make him consider this other option.

You guys are afraid of every possible thing that might go wrong. Let go of that fear and allow OP to enjoy the city on his layover.

[Dennis Schroeder]

Originally Posted by ForYourLungsOnly

?? O'Hare to Logan Square on the Blue Line takes 30 minutes....

He's going to El to Logan Square, get drunk on PBR and Jameson (by himself with his bags), then go back to O'Hare for 2 hours?

I can't think of a worse time, but different strokes for different folks.

[ForYourLungsOnly]

Originally Posted by Dennis Schroeder

He's going to El to Logan Square, get drunk on PBR and Jameson (by himself with his bags), then go back to O'Hare for 2 hours?

I can't think of a worse time, but different strokes for different folks.

uh...Getting lunch at Longman & Eagle (which has delicious food), grabbing a coffee and taking a walk is the worst thing you can think of? Wow. And nobody said "get drunk on PBR and Jameson"...you're just using over the top statements because you have some weird personal problem with this issue. You can't do anything by yourself? I guess it's better to sit in an airport by yourself instead of than to do something enjoyable. The guy clearly has somewhat of a desire to explore a nearby neighborhood or do something with his time other than sit in an airport, or he wouldn't have made this thread to begin with.

[Dennis Schroeder]

Originally Posted by ForYourLungsOnly

uh...Getting lunch at Longman & Eagle (which has delicious food), grabbing a coffee and taking a walk is the worst thing you can think of? Wow. You can't do anything by yourself? I guess it's better to sit in an airport by yourself instead of than to do something enjoyable.

That sounds stupid to me if the other option is getting out of town 4 hours earlier.

[ForYourLungsOnly]

Originally Posted by Dennis Schroeder

That sounds stupid to me if the other option is getting out of town 4 hours earlier.

thats great...but obviously the OP isn't in some crazy rush to get to their destination if they are even weighing the option to take the 6 hr O'Hare layover

[chet everett]

While I can almost understand the desire of the relentless promoters of "the wonders that hipsters have brought to Chicago" to spread their "gospel" this could backfire badly.

For starters the OP really won't be spending four hours in Logan Square, they'll spend a sizeable chunk of that time on the Blue line, which is hardly a model of efficient intra-city transit. Even getting to the transit terminal can prove frustrating with the rather sparse directional signage at O'Hare.

Riding the Blue line is not the worst experience but it will be 9 stops and at least 25 minutes, assuming no delays. Coming out of the station at Logan Sq is hardly some revelatory welcoming to hipster Mecca. There is, as I recall, a nasty liquor store right across from the station. Heck Logan Sq is mostly buildings of 2 or 3 stories and even compared to Brooklyn will seem less like a thriving "big city" than sort of moderate density neighborhood.

While I like Longman and Eagle and have had dinner there a few times I have not been overly impressed by their brunch / lunch menu. Mostly well presented but hardly a terrific value and nothing that screams "so unique you must stop in"... Depending on the day of the week / what else is going on Logan Sq during the daytime is not exactly a model of tourist friendly activity. For folks expecting the artsy / music scene of New Orleans or even the bustle of the Loop they will feel utterly cheated. If the OP is a shopper the relatively odd mix of little mom & pops that used to serve the ethnic population and now quite clearly are waiting for the next hipster with a dream to buy 'em out there is not really any "souvenirs" to bring home...

When OP feels like they've had enough and they head back to O'Hare on the same not very swift CTA it is almost inevitable that they'll come away unimpressed with Logan Sq. -- the real time to appreciate it is when the bars are in full swing and/or during an arts festival. For folks that visit during the day that does not come through at all. Unlike a visit to Millennium Park, that is so much farther as to be really pushing the "scramble for your flight at the boarding gate" there is not really any significant attraction to make "people watching" a viable option.

The OP very well could get on their flight and think, "Logan Sq, meh!" and while that may be the daytime hipster "goal" it hardly seems like something to encourage a repeat visit...

[Dennis Schroeder]

If the OP really wants a blue line to a neighborhood experience, I'd get out at Damen. There's more stuff concentrated right there. Quirky shops, cheap food places, more people out and about and a good photo op from the elevated station

[Drover]

Originally Posted by ForYourLungsOnly

?? O'Hare to Logan Square on the Blue Line takes 30 minutes....

If that.

Originally Posted by chet everett

While I can almost understand the desire of the relentless promoters of "the wonders that hipsters have brought to Chicago" to spread their "gospel" this could backfire badly.

For starters the OP really won't be spending four hours in Logan Square, they'll spend a sizeable chunk of that time on the Blue line, which is hardly a model of efficient intra-city transit. Even getting to the transit terminal can prove frustrating with the rather sparse directional signage at O'Hare.

Riding the Blue line is not the worst experience but it will be 9 stops and at least 25 minutes, assuming no delays. Coming out of the station at Logan Sq is hardly some revelatory welcoming to hipster Mecca. There is, as I recall, a nasty liquor store right across from the station. Heck Logan Sq is mostly buildings of 2 or 3 stories and even compared to Brooklyn will seem less like a thriving "big city" than sort of moderate density neighborhood.

While I like Longman and Eagle and have had dinner there a few times I have not been overly impressed by their brunch / lunch menu. Mostly well presented but hardly a terrific value and nothing that screams "so unique you must stop in"... Depending on the day of the week / what else is going on Logan Sq during the daytime is not exactly a model of tourist friendly activity. For folks expecting the artsy / music scene of New Orleans or even the bustle of the Loop they will feel utterly cheated. If the OP is a shopper the relatively odd mix of little mom & pops that used to serve the ethnic population and now quite clearly are waiting for the next hipster with a dream to buy 'em out there is not really any "souvenirs" to bring home...

When OP feels like they've had enough and they head back to O'Hare on the same not very swift CTA it is almost inevitable that they'll come away unimpressed with Logan Sq. -- the real time to appreciate it is when the bars are in full swing and/or during an arts festival. For folks that visit during the day that does not come through at all. Unlike a visit to Millennium Park, that is so much farther as to be really pushing the "scramble for your flight at the boarding gate" there is not really any significant attraction to make "people watching" a viable option.

The OP very well could get on their flight and think, "Logan Sq, meh!" and while that may be the daytime hipster "goal" it hardly seems like something to encourage a repeat visit...

You forgot to mention how the pension crisis would surely throw a monkey wrench into his layover plans.