Portillo’s Garden Dog
Remember that old adage that says you can tell everything about a hot dog by the quality of its bite? As my late uncle Pete would say, let’s all just forgeddabout dat, shall we? Texturally, there’s no snap, smack, or pop to this dog, but it does pack a tantalizingly sweet punch. Char-grilling it transforms its excess sugars into a more nuanced flavor, like an encased bundle of caramelized Vidalia onions. Stay true to your roots — eat your relish, kids — and your Chicago-trained taste buds won’t know the difference. portillos.com
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Kitchen 17’s Deep-Dish Vegan Pizza
How essential is actual mozzarella to your enjoyment of a Chicago-style pizza? Because the faux cheese that Kitchen 17 uses in this pie won’t fool anyone. It jiggles like Southern grits and is as Italian as a bread bowl from the Olive Garden. The silver lining? With all that flavor-sopping dairy excised, the peppery sauce and I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-buttered crust take center stage, giving plant-based eaters something seriously crunchy (and pretty tasty) to sink their teeth into. 2554 W. Diversey Ave., Logan Square
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Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat’s Italian Not Beef
The vegan beef used by this local three-store chain may look like frozen gyro slices — flat, soft, and slightly Buddig-like — but, brother, it’s dressed to the nines and knows exactly what it wants to be: a Philly cheesesteak. You could argue it’s a tad salty and that a real Italian beef sandwich ain’t got no cheese on it. But the sunrise-yellow vegan cheese sauce is so good I’d happily dip any chip into it, and the house’s vegetarian jus is a slick umami bomb of the first order. 1143 N. Wells St., Near North Side; 1368½ E. 53rd St., Hyde Park; 24 Orland Square Dr., Orland Park
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