Frank Sinatra's classic My Kind of Town, makes several references to famous Chicago landmarks as in the line "Chicago is the Wrigley Building," I'd like to think that if Old Blue Eyes were a fan of that city's food, the tune's first line would be: "Now heartburn like this could only happen to a guy like me/And only happen in a town like this."After all, the Windy City is the inventor of deep-dish pizza and the Chicago hot dog, two gutbusters guaranteed to make you reach for the Rolaids. Today's edition of The Toledo Blade had a fascinating article on the history of these classic dishes and several others.
One of the most important features of a Chicago hot dog, apart from the truckload of toppings, is the wiener's texture, it should have a distinct snap when you bite into it. One thing that should never dress a Chicago dog is ketchup. Most everything else seems fair game, though. Chicago dogs are dressed with mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions, pickled hot peppers, tomato slices and dill pickles. The one optional ingredient is celery salt, which goes back to the days when the city was a big producer of celery.
I must confess that Chicago's other claim to culinary fame, deep-dish pizza, doesn't rank very high on my list. Nevertheless, it was interesting to learn that what I consider to be a horrible pie was first served at Riccardo's in 1943, and that Pizzeria Uno was started by that restaurant's liquor manager.
5-01-2007 @6:30PM Dmnkly said... Joe...
It's worth mentioning here that while the Chicago style dog and deep dish pizza get all of the attention, many (including myself) feel that the most noteworthy of the uniquely Chicago "low foods" is, by a longshot, the Italian beef sandwich. It's been mentioned here at Slashfood before and a quick search will bring it up, but any story about the former two is imcomplete without mention of the latter.
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5-01-2007 @6:44PM Dmnkly said... As a P.S., if you haven't had one, "gutbuster" is hardly an appropriate term for a Chicago-style dog. A standard Vienna Beef hot dog is just barely over two ounces of meat. It's as much about the vegetables as it is about the sausage, and fully-assembled it's smaller and lighter than most sandwiches.
Deep dish, on the other hand... :-)
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5-02-2007 @5:36AM john said... Chicago deep dish pizza is great when you know where to go - Lou Malnatie's or Gino's East. Chicago pizza is a meal, New York pizza is great too but you can't beat a Lou Malnatie's deep dish pie.
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5-02-2007 @12:28AM Mike said... Add my hearty agreement for inclusion of the Italian Beef sandwich. That is my number one food must-have when visiting Chicago. Great with just beef, or over the top with a grilled italian sausage nestled inside.
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5-02-2007 @1:46AM Xtine said... Another vote for italian beef. I was suprised to see the article pass without a mention of it.
My bf is from Chicago, and introduced me to this wonder.
Italian beef > pizza > hot dogs
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5-02-2007 @10:07AM DrN said... There's one favorite of mine that I think deserves mention, since people brought up Italian beef here in Chi-town. You can get an Italian beef pizza at Giordano's and more often than not Unos if they're feeling generous. Thin crust is the best for this IMHO, but deep dish works too. It's the culmination of two of Chicago's best dishes. Sometimes Giordano's gets finicky and says they won't make it, but if you tell them they've made it for you before, they'll usually give in. Oh, and don't forget the gardiniere.
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5-02-2007 @10:43AM Mr Wolf said... ..."low foods" ?...check out www.hotdougs.com, and by the way, nobody here uses the term "chi-town"....
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5-02-2007 @11:30AM Dmnkly said... Mr. Wolf... it's an unfortunate term, which is why I put it in quotation marks. I wish I had a less prejudicial substitute. My adoration of Italian beef is well-documented, so I assure you it's a term of convenience rather than a perjorative. And, for the record, I also worship at the altar of Doug Sohn :-)
It raises an interesting point, however, that you've got a city with some amazing authentic Thai restaurants, a neighborhood chock full of fantastic Vietnamese like Argyle, tons of Polish and German, a vibrant Chinatown, fine dining chefs like Trotter, Tramonto, Achatz, Bowles and Carlson, and possibly the best collection of regional Mexican in the States (so sez Rick Bayless, anyway), and yet dog/pizza/beef is often the outsiders' perception of Chicago food.
Unfortunate.
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5-02-2007 @12:03PM Scott said... I just have to throw this in there - I'd be pissed if someone refused to let me put ketchup on my hot dog. Who are they to tell me how my tastebuds prefer to have a hot dog? My favorite toppings always include chopped onions, pickle relish, and both mustard and ketchup. Nothing better. I would be very unhappy if some slop-jockey refused to give me ketchup. Guess I'll have to avoid eating a hot dog if I make it out to Chicago.
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5-02-2007 @12:49PM Lemons said... I've never had anyone refuse to put ketchup on a hot dog in Chicago. It's just not the tradition. Even Daly The First couldn't pass that law.
lemons of missouri
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5-02-2007 @3:08PM Tina said... As a fellow foodie and Chicago resident, I'm a fan of your work and am delighted to see a shout out for my town's culinary delights.
I hope you'll have a chance to visit my blog www.voiceofreason.net and let me know your thoughts on all things food!
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5-02-2007 @3:06PM Mr Wolf said... Dmnkly, no offence taken, it was more of a general statement than anything. It took until Jordan and the Bulls to start to forget about Al Capone....now, of course, we have the idiotic foie gras ban.....
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5-02-2007 @8:37PM Heidi said... A Chicago dog isn't a gutbuster by any stretch and yeah, leaving out the Italian beef is almost criminal in a Chicago food story like this.
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5-03-2007 @9:05AM Mitch said... Here is a great website all about the Chicago Dog:
http://www.hotdogchicagostyle.com
I'm already hungry!
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5-04-2007 @2:39PM Venkman said... The owner (a grumpy, but funny older Italian guy) of the little Chicago hot dog stand I used to frequent refused to put ketchup on hot dogs. If a customer asked for ketchup, the owner would just point to the self-serve ketchup pump he had out for fries. It was only kids who ever ordered the ketchup and it was always funny when he would tell them no.
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