Originally Posted by IceTrojan
What would you say would be the minimum amount of time to arrive at ORD, have lunch somewhere meaningful like Geno's, and head back to ORD, using public transport?
I'll assume you Don't want to go all the way downtown but hit the Genos near at Ohare.
Wait/ride Blue Line to Cumberland. 15 minutes.
Walk to Genos from EL stop. 10 minutes (cut accross the back parking lots of the Marriott, and 9700 office buildings.)
Lunch at Genos (can vary widely if lunch time) 0:45 minimum to 1:15 maximum
Walk back to Cumberland EL station. 10 minutes
Wait/Ride Back to ORD. 15 minutes
If you had about a 3:30 hour connection you should be just fine.