City Dining – Chicago

Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, and has long been known as having a storied and imaginative culinary landscape. The Windy City is known as the economic and cultural capital of the Midwest and for good reason. What makes Chicago so vibrant is that it’s essentially an eclectic grouping of many different neighborhoods, with each one offering something interesting and unique. In each ethnic enclave, there are plenty of restaurants that serve delicious and authentic versions of that country’s cuisine, and the best part of it all is how affordable the dining can be.

“Little Saigon” on Argyle Street offers Vietnamese specialties such as Chao Tom, shrimp wrapped around sugar cane, or Ca Chien Saigon, a whole seared red snapper with an aromatic and spicy-sour sauce. These dishes and other Vietnamese specialties can be found at a wide variety of restaurants from upscale to affordable with no need to sacrifice quality. Other neighborhoods include Little Warsaw, which offers homey polish classics like pierogi and borscht, Little Italy with its perfect pastas and well executed entrees. Greek town is known for the traditional Greek restaurants that are abound near Halsted Street, serving up classics like spit-roasted lamb and flaming kaseri cheese known as Saganaki. At a moderately priced restaurant like Parthenon, you can feast like a Greek god for around dollars. There is also a strong contingent of German restaurants serving delicious specialties like mouthwatering wurst’s and schnitzel. The great thing about eating in small ethnic neighborhoods is that the food is always authentic, tasty, and priced for the people who live in the surrounding sector.

Chicago is also extremely famous for its street food scene. The hot dog, and the many varieties of it that exist, are a big deal in Chicago. A signature Chicago-style hot dog is topped with mustard, onion, pickle relish, slices of tomato, a dill pickle spear, and celery salt. The hot dog stand is ubiquitous in the Windy City, and is a great representation of Chicago’s cultural and economic history. Chicago has always been a hard-working, blue collar city that has also long been an economic and political center. The hot dog brings all of these elements together, as a cheap, fast, and delicious food that attracts people from all strata of life.

While Chicago has a plethora of upscale and trendy restaurants ranging from artistic sushi to extravagant french brasseries, it would be a shame to miss out on some of the gastronomical classics that have made Chicago the food haven it is today. Meat and potato lovers will be delighted to know that the steakhouses have continued to carry on their longstanding tradition of serving some of the finest cuts of meat around. The Morton’s Steakhouse is a true institution in a city famous for its beef, but there are is a vast array of options for those craving mouthwatering hunks of meat. Steak is never cheap, and in Chicago it’s no different, with a meal usually costing in the range of per person, but it is well worth the experience. For those who want a taste of the Second City, but aren’t in the mood for steak, another signature food is the Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Aptly named for the deep dish it is cooked in, this pizza was invented at the original Pizzeria Uno’s in Chicago. Many places serve deep dish pizza in Chicago though, and the formula is generally the same. It starts with a very thick crust which is baked lightly in a deep dish before adding any toppings. Once the toppings come though, they don’t stop, with meats and/or vegetable being piled on the dough along with close to a pound of mozzarella cheese, and crushed tomatoes for good measure. The whole concoction is then baked till readiness, and the result is a heart stoppingly good mountain of food that is often eaten with a knife and fork due to its gargantuan and often messy proportions. So be sure to enjoy the dining in Chicago if you are visiting. Or if you are a food lover and planning on traveling anytime soon, give some serious consideration to the Second City, because when it comes to food, Chicago refuses to come in second to any city.