Chicago’s oldest Italian beef stand, now part of a citywide chain, opened in 1938 and remains a Little Italy mainstay. Al’s still makes the beef the way it always has, and it’s a little different from the offerings of all the other gravy-slingers around town, as the beef is more finely shredded and the giardiniera … Read more
It was Garrett’s customers — yes, Chicagoans ourselves — who invented the immensely popular sweet-savory Garrett Mix. For years, patrons frequently requested extra paper bags to mix what were then Garrett’s two signature flavors, the tangy cheddar-coated CheeseCorn and the crunchy CaramelCrisp. So, in 1977, the shop started selling the flavors premixed. That mix is available in bags at … Read more
In the 1980s, Nai Tiao, an ethnic Chinese immigrant from Korea, adapted a recipe from back home called gam poong gi, creating a way-too-easy-to-eat classic. The fat, exquisite nubbins of juicy meat at the end of the bone of each of these drumettes makes them perfect for sauce drenching, and the three or four bites … Read more
If you’ve dined in Greektown in the past five decades, you’ve seen it: A slice of brandy-drenched kefalotyri cheese, set aflame at your table with a cry of “Opa!” before being extinguished with a squeeze of lemon. Crispy, gooey saganaki isn’t a Greek import; it was invented at Chicago’s now-closed Parthenon restaurant. Other places in … Read more
It’s all about the dipping sauce at this 74-year-old Southeast Side institution. Locals are fanatics for the zingy orange stuff, which is made with mustard, vinegar, and turmeric and was first introduced by local snack manufacturer Vitner’s (nowadays it’s made by a different company but hasn’t lost its neon glow). While the sauce would be … Read more
As you wait to place your order at this venerated fish shack by the Calumet River in the southernmost part of Chicago, you can picture what was: the barges plying the water, the steel plants churning, the European immigrant workers lined up to grab a quick lunch of fried or smoked chubs, pike, or walleye. … Read more
The signature dish at Stephanie Izard’s eternally popular first restaurant, which opened in 2010, sounds like one of most the adventurous bites in the city: cheeks, snout, and tongue from a Slagel Family Farms pig seasoned with cilantro, lime, and coriander, rolled up like a porchetta, and braised, sliced, and cooked in a wood oven. … Read more
Orange Garden opened in this relaxed North Side enclave in 1926, just as most of Chicago’s nascent Chinese community was moving from the Loop to the South Side neighborhood that would become Chinatown. By most accounts, this is the oldest Chinese restaurant in the city, and it has two things fans can’t get enough of. … Read more
Many Black Chicago families with roots in the South claim to hold the key to perfect fried chicken, but Alabama native Harold Pierce thought his family’s recipe was so good that he decided to share it with the world, opening the first Harold’s Chicken Shack, on 47th Street, in 1950. If there’s one must-try order … Read more
Eighteen years, a second location, and 2 million stuffed dates after this pioneering West Loop spot opened, the same cook, Jorge Ruiz, continues to assemble each of these delicious tapas-style snacks, which are based on a recipe from owner Paul Kahan’s father-in-law. The fat medjool dates are big enough to accommodate just the right amount … Read more
