Unfortunately, I won't be going this year.
But, if you are going downtown for sightseeing, or whatnot, you might want to check out Peoria Meats. They are a meat packing company on Lake St that is West of the "Loop" that also has a store across Lake St from the packing facility. If you see Peoria Meats WITHOUT a parking lot in front, just look directly across Lake st for where to go. Here's the current specials.
http://www.peoriapacking.com/specials If you look at the bottom corner of the specials you will see buy 1 3.5 pound FROZEN pack of Italian, Brats, Polish, or Hot Links,for $7.99 & get one free (you can mix & match). That is like $1.14/pound, INSANE! It's in the freezer case in the half of the store where you check out. I've tried the mild Italian & the brats & like them. I've even squeezed them out of the casings to "pre-cook" Italian sausage chunks in a fry pan for when I make pizza & there wasn't a lot of grease.
The other half of the store is basically a HUGE walk in cooler where you have various cuts of various meats that you can choose & you can even have them cuts stuff up for you further. This week has FRESH T-bones & NY Strip steaks for $3.99/lb. 85% lean FRESH ground Chuck for $2.69/lb. I get a kick walking around this place.
FYI- I don't particularly think the packaged stuff that they sell that is NOT theirs is particularly good pricing.
It is safe to go to & has a parking lot, but I wouldn't walk around the immediate area (or West of there) at night. Just a bit east of there has a lot more going on, especially on the street just a block south. If you are coming from the west & not familiar with the area, you might want to stay on the highway & not drive the locals until you get close because west of there can be scary for those not used to it.
I wish I knew about this place years ago, because I worked downtown for decades.
Topic: Those attending Chicago meetup that pass through downtown or for locals (Read 927 times)