Business in Chicago

On a Monday night, our group headed out to ESPN Zone for casual dining. There was no waiting - we walked right on up to the host and were seated immediately.

Once at the table, we were given quick instructions on how to operate the television feeds at the personal TV at our table. There were about seven feeds available for you to choose your favorite game. Baseball was the main event of the evening. We could have just as easily watched the main attraction on the hi-def, 16-inch big screen, which offered an extremely clear picture.

Our waiter arrived promptly and took our drink orders, giving us time to look at the menu. A burger sounded juicy and delicious, but the ribs that were delivered to the next table over caught my eye. Ultimately, I chose somewhat lighter fare and went with the chicken tender salad. My group mates chose an ESPN burger and a chicken breast sandwich.

We enjoyed our beers, soft drinks, and the game as we waited for our food. In what seemed like no time, our waiter returned with our dinner.

The salad was crisp, with generous chicken tender bits and avocado chunks. It came with both ranch and barbeque dressings. Trying both, I decided to go sans sauce. The chicken tenders went a long way to seasoning the salad.

The three of us spent just over $50 on dinner.

After dinner, don't forget to try out some of the games. The most popular the night we were there was the interactive horse racing game in which you get your entire body involved in the race. Others were the NASCAR Daytona race game and a hoop-shooting game.

It had great value for the food and fast and friendly service on Monday. We left satisfied with our choice.

For more information about the menu, games, hours, and location, check out http://espn.go.com/espninc/zone/chicago.html

It's lunchtime on a Monday in Chicago. Where else to go but to try the Famous Stuffed pizza at Giordano's? And when they say stuffed, they aren't kidding!

Giordano's is not your everyday fast-food pizza joint. That's evident when the menu cautions that it will take about 30 to 45 minutes for your pizza. And the waiter reiterates that fact when she arrives. We are committed to waiting, so we order soft drinks and dive into the menu.

We look over the menu and see the tempting sandwiches -- selections include a meatball sandwich or chicken parmesan with marinara and pasta, with everything from spaghetti to eggplant parmesan -- but we're there for the pizza. Thin crust or stuffed? Definitely the stuffed with sausage, pepperoni, and green peppers. We order a medium stuffed-crust (12 inches), which the menu says serves two to three people, and an order of garlic bread to tide us over.

The wait doesn't seem long, and soon our waiter is carrying our pizza toward us. She sets it in the middle of the table and serves up our first slices. We take our first bites of this Chicago treat and agree this is much better than the fast-food pizza joints. There's no skimping on the toppings, and every bite is filled with what you ordered. The thick crust has a crunchy shell, and once you bite into it, you find the chewy center. And the taste of the crust complements the pizza - this is definitely a package deal. Perfect!

The only drawback is that we couldn't take the leftovers with us! Three of us were able to eat just over half the pizza.

The pizza alone cost about $20, not bad at all for some authentic Chicago pizza in the city and a filling meal. The garlic bread was about $2.50 and soft drinks about $2 each.

If you're looking for that famous stuffed-crust pizza in Chicago, Giordano's won't disappoint. Not in Chicago? No problem! They have a mail-order menu. Your pizza of choice will arrive half-baked and frozen, packed in dry ice for optimum freshness, when served in your home. They also have a delivery and catering menu.

For more information and a list of locations, visit www.giordanos.com.