Culture of Chicago

Food and drink

Local specialties

• The Chicago-style hot dog, traditionally a steamed or boiled, natural-casing all-beef wiener on a poppy-seed bun, topped with yellow mustard, chopped onion, sliced tomato, neon-green sweet-pickle relish, sport peppers, a dill pickle spear, and a sprinkling of celery salt—but never ketchup.
• Chicago-style pizza includes deep-dish pizza with a tall outer crust and large amounts of cheese, with chunky tomato sauce on top of the cheese instead of underneath it. Similar to this is stuffed pizza, with even more cheese, topped with a second, thinner crust. Also very popular in Chicago is a type of thin-crust pizza called "tavern style", which has a very thin, crispy crust and is cut into squares instead of wedges.
• The Italian beef, a sandwich featuring thinly sliced roast beef simmered in a broth containing Italian-style seasonings and served on an Italian roll soaked in the meat juices. Most beef stands offer a "cheesy beef" option, which is typically the addition of a slice of provolone or mozzarella. A "combo" is a beef sandwich with the addition of grilled Italian sausage. Italian beef sandwiches are traditionally topped with sweet peppers or spicy giardiniera.

• A francheezie is a variation of the Chicago-style hot dog. The hot dog is wrapped in bacon and deep-fried, and either stuffed or topped with cheese.
• Maxwell Street Polish, named after Maxwell Street where it was first sold. It is a Polish sausage made with beef and pork, and with garlic and other spices, served on a bun with grilled onions.
• The jibarito is a specialty sandwich that originated in the heart of Chicago's Puerto Rican community. Invented by Borinquen Restaurant in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, a jibarito is made with meat or chicken, and condiments, placed between two pieces of fried and flattened plantain instead of bread.
• Chicken Vesuvio, an Italian-American dish made from chicken on the bone and wedges of potato, celery, and carrots; sauteed with garlic, oregano, white wine, and olive oil, then baked until the chicken's skin becomes crisp.
• Shrimp DeJonghe, a casserole of whole peeled shrimp blanketed in soft, garlicky, sherry-laced bread crumbs.
• The mother-in-law is a tamale on a hot dog bun, topped with chili.
• Chicago also has its own unique style of tamale, machine-extruded from cornmeal and wrapped in paper, and typically sold at hot dog stands.
• Gyros is popular in Chicago. While some restaurants still make their own gyros cones, Chicago is the hometown of mass-produced gyros.
• Flaming saganaki was popularized by restaurants in the Greektown neighborhood. A square piece of kasseri, kefalotyri, or a similar cheese is fried in a small, two-handled pan, topped with a splash of brandy, and served flambé-style, traditionally with a cry of "Opa!" from the waiter.
• A pizza puff is a deep-fried dough pocket filled with cheese, tomato sauce, and other pizza ingredients such as sausage. Indigenous to Chicago, pizza puffs can be found at some hot dog restaurants.
• A pepper and egg sandwich combines scrambled eggs and grilled bell peppers, served on French bread. Originally eaten during Lent by Italian immigrants in Chicago, it now can be found in some casual dining restaurants.
• The big baby, a style of a double cheeseburger with the cheese in between the hamburger patties, ketchup, mustard, and pickle slices underneath them, and grilled onions on top; said to have originated at Nicky's The Real McCoy in the Gage Park neighborhood.
• The breaded-steak sandwich, a specialty particularly found in the Bridgeport neighborhood, which consists of a flattened inexpensive cut of beef that has been breaded, fried Milanesa-style and served on an Italian bread roll with marinara sauce, topped with optional mozzarella cheese with a choice of green peppers or giardiniera.
• The Freddy, a sandwich consisting of an Italian sausage patty topped with green peppers, mozzarella and marinara served on a bun. It is typically found in sandwich shops and pizzerias on the South Side and its adjacent suburbs.
• Pork chop sandwiches, served bone-in with mustard and grilled onions, are popular on the South Side.
• The gym shoe, a submarine sandwich made with a combination of corned beef, gyros, and either roast beef or Italian beef.
• Chicago-style barbecue, particularly rib tips and hot links. This is barbecue that has been cooked in an aquarium smoker, a rectangular indoor smoker with glass sides and a large compartment for a wood fire under the grill. Barbecued ribs are also very popular in Chicago.
• Mild sauce, a condiment made with barbecue sauce, ketchup, and hot sauce, and sometimes other ingredients such as honey or sugar. Mild sauce is used as a topping on fried chicken and other foods, and was popularized at fast food restaurants in Chicago's African-American community including Harold's Chicken Shack, Uncle Remus Saucy Fried Chicken, and Coleman's Barbecue.
• Giardiniera – spicy, chopped, pickled vegetables in oil – is popular as a condiment in the Chicago area. For example, it is commonly used as a topping on Italian beef sandwiches. Giardienera was brought to the city by immigrants from Sicily, where it is served as a side dish. Chicago-style giardiniera has vegetables that are chopped very finely, and uses oil and not vinegar as a base.
• Popcorn from Garrett Popcorn Shops, including their "Garrett Mix" flavor that is a combination of cheddar cheese popcorn and caramel popcorn.
• Atomic cake, featuring banana, yellow, and chocolate cake layers alternating with banana, strawberry, and fudge fillings.
• Chicago Brick ice cream, a Neapolitan-style three-flavor ice-cream with orange sherbet, vanilla, and caramel flavors.

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