What is true Chicago food?

What foods would you say are characteristic of Chicago? Bagel-dogs and corn-dogs? Chicago deep-dish pizza? What is truly Chicago?

Definitely bagel-dogs and corn-dogs.

Steamed pre-Zebra Mussels.
Coho Salmon Sashimi.
Braised Elk &/or Bison=Mixed Grill over Ramps/Wild Onions.
Wild Rice (maybe more Minnesota-centric).



Tootsie Roll for Dessert.

I have 3 siblings and a couple of in-laws, all of them grew up in Chicago.

2 of my siblings moved....1 to Hawaii and 1 to Nevada, the in-laws moved to Colorado.

That being said, my siblings complain to me all the time about how lousy the pizza is in Hawaii and Nevada, and I have to agree with them. When I visited them in those states, the pizza was crap and I think the main complaint was the Italian sausage....they just don't know how to do Italian sausage 'out there'...which is weird, I mean....they have pigs, so they have pork, so why can't they make the good sausage??

An aside....we sprang for pizza when visiting my sister in Hawaii...went to pick it up and we got 2 large pizzas that were, well, crappy for the happy price of $45

My SIL in Colorado begs us to bring her Krakus hams (in the can) when we vist her...she can't get them over there and she drools when we show up at her door with a can of Krakus ham.

Now, when the siblings and in-laws complain, we just tell them to come back to Chicago for the good stuff and we'll make hotel reservations for them because they sure as hell aren't staying with us, with all their complaints!

Hombre de Acero wrote:Coho Salmon Sashimi.

Please... everybody knows that's Oklahoma City.

LSC ma po dou fu

Tank pho

Opart tiger cry

former(CL) al pastor

bagel dogs

Now that I've had more time to think it over, I'm going to have to take back the bagel-dogs. The best, most authentic bagel-dogs can only be found in New York City. Chicago bagel-dogs suck.

cilantro wrote:Now that I've had more time to think it over, I'm going to have to take back the bagel-dogs. The best, most authentic bagel-dogs can only be found in New York City. Chicago bagel-dogs suck.

yeah...the corn dogs and bagel dogs bit are quite the headscratcher

Pizza would definitely top the list, along with a good, soggy, Italian beef sandwich with giardiniere, which is next to impossible to find outside of the Chicago area.

wineaux wrote:Pizza would definitely top the list, along with a good, soggy, Italian beef sandwich with giardiniere, which is next to impossible to find outside of the Chicago area.

There ya go.

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

I was in love when I found a Rosatti's in Phoenix Arizona...I believe they're only in IL and AZ...I was too darn lucky. (and the reason pizza is bad in other states is the water...it makes the crust and sauce different, often times its too sweet in other states)

I saw this earlier, and didn't reply, because it seemed so obvious that the OP hadn't spent much time browsing LTH.

Italian Beef, Deep Dish Pizza in its many forms, and Chicago-style hot dogs are clearly Chicago signature dishes. But there are others.

Shrimp de Johghe is a sometimes overlooked Chicago original, as is Chicken Vesuvio. And, of course, Rene G, who has a true passion for South Side originals, has done an exceptional job documenting theBig Baby and the Mother in Law.

Corn dogs, I believe, originated in Springfield, IL, although I'm sure if I'm wrong I'll get several (welcome) responses within the next ten minutes. However, I doubt there's a better corndog anywhere than the ones at WASC.

Wild Rice really isn't a Chicago thing, so much as it is in Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota (where it can also be successfully paired with locally-grown cranberries).

But I do contend that Chicago has the best Polish food in the Western hemisphere.

nr706 wrote:Corn dogs, I believe, originated in Springfield, IL, although I'm sure if I'm wrong I'll get several (welcome) responses within the next ten minutes. However, I doubt there's a better corndog anywhere than the ones at WASC.

The only corn dog I ever ate was in Springfield, at the State Fair. I liked it. You know, it's funny, without any knowledge, I had a sense that I was eating the prototypical corn dog as I ate it.

What's WASC?

Weiner And Still Champion.

More Chicago food:
Tips
Combos
Cheesecake (the dense, real kind)
Lol...Mexican food. (real Mexican food, that is)

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

Cheesecake (the dense, real kind)

Eli's is great, but we're talking NYC here.

Jibarito

jbw wrote:

Cheesecake (the dense, real kind)

Eli's is great, but we're talking NYC here.

I know exactly what you're saying, and thought about it as I posted that, but everytime I get something that someone pre-qualifies as "New York style" cheesecake, it's just not as dense as what I'm used to from Eli's, and my own kitchen.

Hi,

My cheesecake preference is similar to Sara Lee's, which is very similar to my Grandmother's recipe. I like cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, creamy texture, vanilla flavored, sour cream upper layer and not too tall.

The worst cheesecake for my tastes is lemon flavored, tall and dry.

Cheesecake is akin to pizza: you like best what you grew up eating.

Regards,

It's hard to find a good gyros outside of Chicago-land. Well, I guess not if you were in Greece.

-ramon

seebee wrote:I know exactly what you're saying, and thought about it as I posted that, but everytime I get something that someone pre-qualifies as "New York style" cheesecake, it's just not as dense as what I'm used to from Eli's, and my own kitchen.

I think you must have had bad examples. What I think of as Chicago-style cheesecake -- as exemplified by Eli's and JR -- is somewhat creamier and lighter than New York cheesecake (e.g. Lindy's) but not so creamy and light as Sara Lee, which is a commercialized version of French cheesecake. The most dense cheesecakes (which don't appeal to Cathy2), are the Italian and Polish styles.

I've rarely met a cheesecake I didn't like. (Well, a real cheesecake. The Jell-O kind don't qualify.)

Here's one blogger's comparisons.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

My cheesecake preference is similar to Sara Lee's, which is very similar to my Grandmother's recipe. I like cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, creamy texture, vanilla flavored, sour cream upper layer and not too tall.

The worst cheesecake for my tastes is lemon flavored, tall and dry.

Cheesecake is akin to pizza: you like best what you grew up eating.

Regards,

Well, I don't know about that. I grew up eating a "cheesecake" that was, I think, primarily whipped topping with a splash of Philly for flavor and zing. While I do experience a stab of nostalgia when I encounter it - usually when I am railroaded into going to Old Country Buffet or the like - I wouldn't say I really enjoy it, per se. I much prefer the cheesecake described above, dense with a distinct hit of vanilla and the sour cream is a must.

Sometimes the food of our youths informs our adult choices positively, and sometimes it's an object lesson in what not to do.

stevez wrote:Jibarito

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.

The 2 items I cannot find a good version of outside of Chicago, and typically the first food items I seek out when returning to town:

1) Italian Beef Sandwich with hot peppers
2) Chicago style hot dog.

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.

jimswside wrote:The 2 items I cannot find a good version of outside of Chicago, and typically the first food items I seek out when returning to town:

1) Italian Beef Sandwich with hot peppers

When I lived abroad, my traditional yearly welcome-back-to-Chicago dinner was this with a Sam Adams, picked up on the way back from the airport, of course.

I would also add Maxwell Street Polish to the list. And Chicago thin-crust, square-cut pizza.

Pizza- Both deep dish and super thin with chunks of Italian Sausage.

Hot Dog's-Both Chicago style's. All beef dog, poppy seed bun, topped with mustard, onion, neon relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato, sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. Then theres is the Jimmy's Original and Demon Dog's (RIP) version which is a snappy steamed dog served in well steamed bun and topped with mustard, chopped onions and sport peppers.

Harold's chicken

The Jibarito

Gyro's-Introduced to America in Chicago.

Maxwell Street Polish

Italian Beef/combo's

Boneless rib sandwich

Pizza Puff's

Gravy Bread

Big Baby burgers

Hot dog stand tamales

Mother in law sandwich

shrimp de johnge

Chicken Vesuvio

If you include Oakbrook in the definition of Chicago foods, then I guess you'd have to include things like the Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets and the McRib Sandwich.

Da Beef wrote:Mother in law sandwich

What the. My mind is working overtime trying to figure out what this could possibly be.

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.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:

Da Beef wrote:Mother in law sandwich

What the. My mind is working overtime trying to figure out what this could possibly be.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3932

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.

St. Louis also does the square "party cut" pizza. In fact, a St. Louis pizza does look suspiciously like a Chicago thin crust, but the instant that Provel "cheese" hits your palate, you know it's an imposter.