I appreicate all of the feedback on my quick trip. Based on what everyone is saying I think I need to limit the amount of times we get in and out of the car and spend as little time as possible waiting in lines. That being said, if we did the Hancock Center first and walked around till noon, is there a Lou Malnati's (have never been to one, only Gino; East) outside the city, on the way to Lake Geneva, that would have less of a wait.

It depends on how you are going to go to Lake Geneva.

If you will be driving north on the Tri-State Tollway (I294/I94), I would go the the Lou Malnati's in Skokie. It is a couple of miles off of I-94.

If you are going out I90 (Jane Adams or Northwest Tollway), I would go to the one in Elk Grove Village.

Either way, you can call in and pre-order the pizza to cut down on wait time (it takes about 25 to 30 minutes as they are made form scratch).

I haven't been to Gino's East in several years. I have always liked it but Lou's is much more convenient. On a lark, I went to the Gino's East at Lincoln and Diversey today. I was surprised that everything was served on disposable plastic, plastic utensils and paper cups. The salad was served with a dressing served in a packet. I'm guessing because it's a hole in the wall, they don't have dishwashing facilities. I hope the other locations aren't like this. The pizza, personal pan, was also served on a disposable plate. It was OK, at best, and a disappointment. I would have enjoyed the Pizza Hut personal pan at my local Target just as much.

As I was leaving, I saw a table with a large deep dish pizza - also removed from the pan.

It's all relative, the Lou's is much larger than the Gino's because the Gino's is so small, but the Lou's isn't very big itself.

nitpick, it's in Lincolnwood (just in case OP is trying to look it up). It's the original Lou's location.

I have to admit, I've never eaten in at that location, only picked up and not frequently as we prefer Lou's (so go to the aforementioned one just SE on Lincoln). That doesn't sound good at all. I've been to the original location on Superior a number of times (both when it was the original and since it's been back) and they definitely are not like that.

That's what they tell you they will do, start on your pizza before you get there, but it's not 100% that they follow through.

Cost me and my out-of-town guests probably 45 minutes once because of that (busy weekend evening).

I've only done it twice at the Elk Grove location. The pie came out in 15 to 20 minutes both times.

But, as always, YMMV.