What to eat in Chicago
A working city of beef, sausage, and cheese that eats its sandwiches dripping with jus and its pizza with a knife and fork.
Five dishes. Zero regrets.
Italian Beef Sandwich
Roast sirloin sliced paper-thin, soaked in garlic-y beef jus, and piled onto a long French roll with hot giardiniera or sweet peppers — the sandwich of the old Union Stockyards. Order it 'dipped' and eat it standing in the patented Italian Stance.
Try it at: Al's #1 Italian Beef, claiming the invention in Little Italy in 1938
Deep-Dish Pizza
A buttery high-sided crust loaded with cheese first, then meat, then a slab of tangy tomato sauce on top — Chicago's knife-and-fork pie that takes 45 minutes and rewards every one of them. It's less pizza, more a cheesy casserole you dream about.
Try it at: Pizzeria Uno (where it was born in 1943) or Lou Malnati's
Chicago-Style Hot Dog
An all-beef Vienna frank in a poppy seed bun 'dragged through the garden' — mustard, neon-green relish, onion, tomato wedges, pickle spear, sport peppers, celery salt. Never ketchup. Born of the Depression-era 'Depression Sandwich,' it's the city's immigrant history in one bun.
Try it at: Portillo's or any stand with a yellow-and-blue Vienna Beef sign
Maxwell Street Polish
A grilled beef-and-pork kielbasa-style sausage on a bun with grilled onions, yellow mustard, and optional sport peppers — the open-air-market sandwich created by a Macedonian immigrant at the Maxwell Street Market in 1939. Sweet, smoky, and best eaten before midnight.
Try it at: Portillo's or Jim's Original-style hot dog stands
Garrett Mix Popcorn
The fan-invented blend of sweet CaramelCrisp and savory CheeseCorn, hot-air popped and still cooked in old-fashioned copper kettles — the sweet-and-salty 'Chicago Mix' that made Garrett a Chicago tradition since 1949. It's as synonymous with the city as the pizza.
Try it at: Garrett Popcorn Shops (the O'Hare Terminal 5 shop is a legit souvenir stop)
