Chicago Restaurant Deals To Stuff Yourself Before And After The Marathon

By Anthony Todd in Food on Oct 5, 2012 3:00PM

The marathon is fast approaching, and restaurants are laying in extra supplies for hordes of hungry runners. But here's the thing - for us, the marathon is just an excuse to eat more pasta. No, we're not running. But we plan to find a friend who is a runner and drag them out for one of these great specials.

- If you're downtown and want to pig out a little (or if you're travelling in for the marathon) Lockwood in the Palmer House Hilton is offering an unlimited pasta menu on Saturday. Chose your pasta and your sauce and eat all you can for $18 - each plate is finished with fresh basil from their rooftop farm.

- For a slightly more upscale pasta, head to Michael Jordan's Steakhouse. They're serving a Wagyu beef meatball pasta special on Saturday night for $23.

- Eleven City Diner has an entire marathon menu and just reading it is enough to put us into a carb-induced coma. They've got five special pasta dishes, all of which are enormous, a deep-dish paella with chicken breast and a dessert they are calling the "26th Mile" - a granola and yogurt tower with toast.

- Tesori is so new that we haven't even covered it yet - but they are jumping right into the game with a marathon special. Bring your bib and you'll get a free craft beer. Even better, everyone you bring with you gets 10% off their bill.

- On Sunday, 2 Sparrows is offering a 26% discount on all food and non-alcoholic drinks to runners. This a great option if you don't want to limit yourself to carb-bomb pasta specials.

- At Mercadito, any runner that shows his or her bib gets a free order of tacos de huevos a la Mexicana, normally $12.50. These scrambled egg tacos are served with fresh pico de gallo, queso fresco, black bean hash, chile de árbol salsa and avocado. You have to buy something to get the deal - order a drink and relax after a long run.

Good luck to all the runners!