Originally Posted by shoeflyer

When you leave T5 at O'Hare, you can either get in a taxi at arrivals, or get on the interterminal bus (the people mover
train is still broken) and go to T2 to access the Blue Line L towards the city. A one-day pass is $5 until 25 Nov (usually
$10), so that's a good deal vs cab fare, but you'll lose a bit of time going to T2.

Traffic is getting back to pre-pandemic levels so if you cab it, as noted above, you will want to check traffic on the return.
Here are a couple of possibilities if you take the L but don't go all the way downtown. You don't say if you will be hauling
bags but all of these places are within a couple of blocks of the L stops:

Irving Park stop - Smoque BBQ, Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
Logan Square stop - Longman and Eagle, Lula Cafe, El Cid
Western stop - Irazu
Damen stop - Big Star, Urban Belly, Dove's Luncheonette (if it's open again)
Grand stop - Piccolo Sogno, The Dawson

Going all the way into the Loop is not necessarily the obvious way to go; a lot of lunch places in the Loop were generally
mass-production food to feed all the workers before Covid, and not all of them are open again yet. Getting to other parts of
downtown, like Mag Mile, can be done but will suck up more time.

But if you do decide to go all the way into the Loop, my favorite is Oasis Cafe (Washington stop); it will be fast, you will get a
lot of food, and how often do you get a chance to dine in a jewelry store? Other options: The Gage, Cindy's Rooftop, Russian
Tea Time, Catch 35.

Obviously, check for whether places are open on the day you will be here. Enjoy!