Damn it, damn it, damn it. I'm trying to recall the name of the restaurant we ate at the last night we were in town. For a laugh, we ordered a "small" pizza (it's Chicago, gotta get a pizza), freaking thing was HUGE. Then the regular food, the portions were just a huge but it was so good I could have ate till I burst.
Giordano's, maybe? When my friend and I were there, that's where we ate, and the pizza was
enormous.
Giordano's is easily the best pizza in Chicago. Gino's East is also pretty amazing!
My kind of town, Chicago is! Don't get me started.
I was thinking Gino's East, too. Very famous and very good. And if you're going to do Gino's, go to either the original location on Superior, or the North Wells St. location. You can walk to both from the Loop. Be sure to bring a Sharpie. You can write on just about anything in the restaurant except the seats and windows. Just don't write anything dirty (there always has to be a catch).
Don't forget to get a Chicago style hot dog (no ketchup, for God's sake, no ketchup) and a Chicago Italian steak sandwich (dipped). Al's is good, but you want an "original" franchise Al's. There's on one Wells and Ontario near the Wells St. Gino's East.
If you can get to the Loop (the area of downtown encircled by the El -- elevated part of the metro system) from O'Hare, you are within walking distance of just about anything worthwhile, including the Art Institute of Chicago. If nothing else, you'll want to walk around just to take in the architecture. (By walking distance, I mean about a mile radius of the Loop. It's just under a mile walk from the Chicago River to Gino's East, for example. Worth the walk there to build an appetite, and the walk back to burn it all off.)
Boat tours of downtown along the Chicago River aren't too expensive and are worth every penny (especially on a hot day).
Try to get to the area around the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, and Shedd's Aquarium. Great views of downtown from there where it all juts out into Lake Michigan, and three very intersting places to visit so close together.
Navy Pier looks great and is worth a visit just for the views, but there's not a lot to do there. Touristy stuff and shops.
Metro's very good, and you can buy a day pass to go anywhere.
It' really not that hard to get around Chicago by car, either. Parking can be problematic, as it is in any large city, though.
Cabs aren't bad for short jonts (just outside of walking).
And remember this about Chicago, it's just like New York, except the people are friendly.
