Has anyone ever had the kind of ribs they serve at Gale Street Inn and Twin Anchors (occasionally referred here and elsewhere as "meat jello") anywhere other than Chicago and its environs?

They have, you know, a substantial pedigree, going back a long way. Are they truly our very own (dare I say it?) Chicago-style ribs (as opposed to Memphis-, Carolina-, Texas-, St.Louis-, etc.-style ribs)? If you google the phrase "Chicago-style ribs" you'll find many recipes likely to produce the kind of product served at the above establishments, as well as a couple of restaurants with "Chicago-stye ribs" in their title (in Joliet and Winston-Salem, altho since I've never been, I don't know what these are all about). Should this prodigal comestible be recognized (albeit grudgingly) as a charter member of the pantheon, along with deep-dish and Italian beef?

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:I would agree that the square-cut pizza is all Chicago, as I had never heard of such a thing until I came here. It still seems odd to me. My only explanation for it is that Chicagoans find a certain comfort in grids.

I've always assumed that it indicates that flat pizza isn't meant as a meal, but as a canape (vs. deep-dish pizza).

jbw wrote:Has anyone ever had the kind of ribs they serve at Gale Street Inn and Twin Anchors (occasionally referred here and elsewhere as "meat jello") anywhere other than Chicago and its environs?

Most certainly: I remember running across such "shake-em-loose" ribs in places from Wisconsin to Florida when traveling with my family as a kid -- put me off ribs except from places I knew were good (which mainly meant Carson's for this suburban boy).

The "Damon's" chain (mostly Ohio) serves a rather tender rib as well.

Rosatis is also in Wisconsin. The one nearest to me in Madison makes excellent pizza, bet deep dish in town.

I do miss good Italian beef from my days in Chicago. They serve it so many places, it's hard to find one, much less a really good one here in Madison.

At the end of the month I am making a food trip to Chicago, I'm thinking of getting one of those Jibarito, my buddy who lives down there just discovered them and was telling me I had to try them.

brandon_w wrote:Rosatis is also in Wisconsin. The one nearest to me in Madison makes excellent pizza, bet deep dish in town.

I do miss good Italian beef from my days in Chicago. They serve it so many places, it's hard to find one, much less a really good one here in Madison.

At the end of the month I am making a food trip to Chicago, I'm thinking of getting one of those Jibarito, my buddy who lives down there just discovered them and was telling me I had to try them.

Have you tried Poppa Coronofoulos Gyros? Its in Madison and might even be closed now. It wasnt anything special however it did the job when I was really craving a beef in Madison. I think they use pre sliced scala beef, like alot of places here in Chicago. They also had Vienna dogs, green river and Iltaco pizza puff's, so I considered it real Chicago, even if it wasnt top notch, it got the job done.

LikestoEatout wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

Jayz wrote:Basically anything that Portillo's sells can top a chicago restaurants board.

Jay,

I just don't understand the love for Portillo's. True they are a major step up from the abundant crop of national chain trough food merchants, but favorably comparing Portillo's Chicago centric items, Italian Beef/Hot dogs, to an upper tier shop has not been my experience.

Enjoy,
Gary

I'm a big Portillo's fan but then I've had their beefs since the original stand in Villa Park and Dick Portillo ran it himself. I have tried a lot of the other stands, mostly in the Western 'burbs and I can say, a good deal of them are awful! Dry and tough seems to be the norm. I think Portillo's does a good job of representing Chicago "suburban" food.

dont know why but I really like thier burgers too!

djenks wrote:after reading this post i immediately went down California for a pork jibarito. It's awesome that the jibarito was invented in chicago - had no idea.

This month's Saveur (#137, April 2011) features sandwiches, and aside from nice Chicago nods to Italian Beef (Al's), Corned Beef on Rye (Manny's), and Bagels and Rye at Kaufman's... they've got a spread on "South of the Border" sammys (p80), including a Venezuelan delight called a "Patacón maracucho", whose recipe includes shredded roast chicken, mayo, cilantro, avocado, tomato and lettuce on two slices of fried plantain.

I don't know how traditional it is, or how long it's been around, but it may be something that predates the Chicago jibarito.

JoelF wrote:A Venezuelan delight called a "Patacón maracucho", whose recipe includes shredded roast chicken, mayo, cilantro, avocado, tomato and lettuce on two slices of fried plantain.

I don't know how traditional it is, or how long it's been around, but it may be something that predates the Chicago jibarito.

The concept of a sandwich on fried plantain definitely predates the jibarito. Figueroa got the idea from a Puerto Rican sandwich.

Also Polish Mistakes. I bet they don't have those in NYC. However they are made at home and not a restaurant food. They are also called Hanky Pankies which is more politically correct.

Ghetto Fries

Max's Italian Beef
5754 N Western Ave
(between Ardmore Ave & Hollywood Ave)
Chicago, IL 60659
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
(773) 989-8200
http://www.cateringbymaxs.com/

toria wrote:Also Polish Mistakes. I bet they don't have those in NYC. However they are made at home and not a restaurant food. They are also called Hanky Pankies which is more politically correct.

I don't know if they are served in New York, but they're certainly served throughout the Midwest. I wouldn't call them a Chicago food at all.

But that does bring up an interesting question: What dishes are made at home locally that you wouldn't be likely to see outside this area? I don't think we have anything so signature as Minnesota's hot dish or Wisconsin bratwurst.

Certainly you see dishes that incorporate giardiniera -- a condiment hard to come by elsewhere. Another thing I've noticed is really more a matter of nomenclature. Sloppy joes are everywhere, but I've only ever heard them referred to as "barbecue" in Chicago. It was certainly a great disappointment to me the first time I was invited over for "barbecue" and my hostess proudly exhibited a slow cooker full of ground beef in barbecue sauce.

Hi,

Greater Midwest Foodways will sponsor an Heirloom Recipe contest at the Minnesota State Fair. I really hope someone shows up with a hot dish. That will really make my day.

If someone brings Booyah, too, I will be dancing on clouds!

Regards,

Hello guys, Would you happen to know what dishes can be attributed to Chicago city cuisine? Thanks

Since this is your first post on this board, perhaps you could give us some background on why you're asking?

It's not rocket science, and it's pretty clear that the 3 most obvious items that will register on the average person's mind are deep dish pizza, Italian beef and the Chicago hot dog. If you want to delve into our other ethnic offerings and so on, then the topic deepens...

Chicken Vesuvio.

shrimp dejonge

Jibarito

Saganaki.

And while we didn't invent gyros, we made gyros better (and perfected the ubiquitous formed cone and vertical broiler setup).

LAZ wrote:Sloppy joes are everywhere, but I've only ever heard them referred to as "barbecue" in Chicago.

That's almost certainly an anomaly;
though I've sometimes seen chopped
pork in BBQ sauce on a bun called that.
(e.g., Dairy Queen).

I'm pretty sure that i had sloppy joes called bbq beef on the ease coast.

spinynorman99 wrote:Saganaki

No, but flaming saganaki, yes.

Thanks, your contributions are much appreciated. I am compiling the dish list for Chicago at mycitycuisine.org and your feedback will surely help.

Nickcooks wrote:Thanks, your contributions are much appreciated. I am compiling the dish list for Chicago at mycitycuisine.org and your feedback will surely help.

We hope that information you source here will be properly accredited.

Thanks,

=R=