Ask Me Anything About Chicago

[Henry]

Another new "Ask me anything..." thread. What is it about my hometown that you want to know about?

[Rothman]

How dare you?

[Brandon]

How dare you?

Yes, they dare.  They drive on the shoulder and sidewalk, shoot on the freeway and run the red, blow the stop sign and hog the left lane.

[JayhawkCO]

Why oh why did Doug close Hot Doug's?

Chris

[jlam]

Do you like Chicago-style pizza?

[Max Rockatansky]

Is Chicago flat?  I've heard it's full of mountains but that seemed questionable.

[wanderer2575]

Is "dibs" (using a folding chair to reserve a shoveled-out parking spot on the street after a snowfall) still a thing?

[Brandon]

Is Chicago flat?  I've heard it's full of mountains but that seemed questionable.

You've never heard of the Mountains of Illinois?  What a trope!

[Brandon]

Is "dibs" (using a folding chair to reserve a shoveled-out parking spot on the street after a snowfall) still a thing?

Yes, along with old tables, children's toys, orange cones, 2x4s, actual non-folding chairs, car parts, boxes, and damn near any piece of junk you can find in a basement, attic, vacant lot...

[JayhawkCO]

How many shots of Malört are drunk per capita?

Chris

[jgb191]

Q1:  What is the best way for a traveler to connect between Midway and O'Hare between flights?

Q2:  What is the best deep dish in the city?

Q3:  Why do Cubs fans dislike the W. Sox team, and why do W. Sox fan dislike the Cubs team?

[abefroman329]

How many shots of Malört are drunk per capita?

Chris

Too many.

[kevinb1994]

How fun is the Navy Pier? I've been to the area, just didn't get a chance to visit that landmark (nor the North Side, for that matter).

[abefroman329]

Do you like Chicago-style pizza?

It's not my favorite, although there's a local place called Gulliver's that does a thin-crust deep-dish pizza that I like.

Tavern-style (thin crust) pizza, though, I could eat that 3 meals a day for the rest of my life.

[Max Rockatansky]

Is Chicago flat?  I've heard it's full of mountains but that seemed questionable.

You've never heard of the Mountains of Illinois?  What a trope!

I heard they are all on I-70 and the Chicago Skyway.   

[Rick Powell]

Q1:  What is the best way for a traveler to connect between Midway and O'Hare between flights?

Best answer - You don't book a connecting flight between Midway and O'Hare.
CTA Orange Line to CTA Blue Line is probably the best way if you absolutely have to do it. Van Buren or Clark/Lake are the 2 stations you can transfer from Orange to Blue. Or get an Uber or a cab, they will probably do Cicero north to I-55, then go west to I-294 north, depending on traffic. It will take about an hour driving in the daytime.

[triplemultiplex]

Why do the Bears still suck?

[JayhawkCO]

Q1:  What is the best way for a traveler to connect between Midway and O'Hare between flights?

Best answer - You don't book a connecting flight between Midway and O'Hare.
CTA Orange Line to CTA Blue Line is probably the best way if you absolutely have to do it. Van Buren or Clark/Lake are the 2 stations you can transfer from Orange to Blue. Or get an Uber or a cab, they will probably do Cicero north to the Kennedy (or maybe Cicero to I-55 to Dan Ryan to Kennedy) depending on traffic.

I've flown into LGA and out of JFK which is annoying, but doable.  I wouldn't ever book into MDW and out or ORD (or vv).  Taking the L is about an hour and a half if not longer.  I once met someone at Midway after having flown into O'Hare, and then we took the Red Line back up to Andersonville (Argyle stop).  I think I was on the train for three hours.

Chris

[Rick Powell]

I've flown into LGA and out of JFK which is annoying, but doable.  I wouldn't ever book into MDW and out or ORD (or vv).  Taking the L is about an hour and a half if not longer.  I once met someone at Midway after having flown into O'Hare, and then we took the Red Line back up to Andersonville (Argyle stop).  I think I was on the train for three hours.

Chris

At the current time of day, Google says the drive is 50 minutes via I-55 and I-294, and the CTA train including transfer is 1:15.

[NWI_Irish96]

How fun is the Navy Pier? I've been to the area, just didn't get a chance to visit that landmark (nor the North Side, for that matter).

Navy Pier is essentially a mall (minus the anchor stores) on a very scenic location. It's a nice place to spend a few leisurely hours on a nice summer day/evening, but it's not by any means a must-visit for visitors to Chicago.

[JayhawkCO]

I've flown into LGA and out of JFK which is annoying, but doable.  I wouldn't ever book into MDW and out or ORD (or vv).  Taking the L is about an hour and a half if not longer.  I once met someone at Midway after having flown into O'Hare, and then we took the Red Line back up to Andersonville (Argyle stop).  I think I was on the train for three hours.

Chris

At the current time of day, Google says the drive is 50 minutes via I-55 and I-294, and the CTA train including transfer is 1:15.

I think it was on a Saturday or Sunday, so maybe the trains ran a little less frequently.  Either way, it took a while.

Chris

[abefroman329]

Why do the Bears still suck?

Because the McCaskey family makes money off the team regardless of whether they're any good.

[NWI_Irish96]

Q1:  What is the best way for a traveler to connect between Midway and O'Hare between flights?

Q2:  What is the best deep dish in the city?

Q3:  Why do Cubs fans dislike the W. Sox team, and why do W. Sox fan dislike the Cubs team?

1: I don't know why anybody would want to do such a thing. The airports really aren't set up for people to commute between the two. There are no good ways. The least bad way would be a cab/Lyft/Uber

2: They're all incredibly similar. Pizzeria Uno/Due, Giordano's, Gino's East, Lou Malnati's are all good in my book. Deep dish isn't really pizza though so much as it's fine dining. You to to one of those places for a nice dinner, but you don't generally order them for pizza night at home. That's what thin crust is for.

3: Cubs fans dislike the White Sox because they're stupid. White Sox fans dislike the Cubs because their fans are stupid.

[Henry]

Why oh why did Doug close Hot Doug's?

Chris

According to the owner, "it was time to do something else."

Seven years later, I miss it so badly, because on my summer trips to Chicago, I'd stop by the place before taking in the Cubs game, if they were in town and my father had tickets. (And even at 75, he still attends their games today.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Doug%27s

[JayhawkCO]

Why oh why did Doug close Hot Doug's?

Chris

According to the owner, "it was time to do something else."

Seven years later, I miss it so badly, because on my summer trips to Chicago, I'd stop by the place before taking in the Cubs game, if they were in town and my father had tickets. (And even at 75, he still attends their games today.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Doug%27s

Did I hear correctly that he opened something else at Wrigley?

Chris