Having lived and worked in Chicago, I must say that it's a REALLY bad situation in the Loop, at least compared to Manhattan. Nothing mom-and-pop in the Loop anymore, except maybe the Dill Pickle (is that even still there anymore?) or Monk's Pub, which re-modeled itself into a frigging SPORTS BAR!

Manhattan has good choices - not enough, but certainly, they are there if you take time to look for them. Arcolai, what do you eat/search for at lunch?