Good News, you are going to Chicago and you have heard that this city is one of the food capitals of the world. Well, after having visited Chicago and trying all of their Iconic foods, I would certainly agree that Chicago is home to many, many amazing dishes. Follow me as I visit some of the more iconic restaurants and give my reviews on to the must tries and the foods that you can safely leave off your travel itenerary.
The Video Review
We started our whirlwind food tour with a famous Chicago classic – Deep Dish Pizza. After researching restaurants in Chicago, we decided to go with the less busy iconic restaurant of Bartoli’s Pizzeria and what a start that was. The flavor of the pizza was far and above our expectations. It has the same flavors as a pizza, but there is much more of it with less grease. It was a wonderful experience that we continue to try and recreate in our own home by making our own Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza. You definitely must make a trip to Bartoli’s Pizzeria to try this fabulous take on a pizza.
Next we took on a restaurant right across from Wrigley Field called Do-Rite Donuts and Chicken. Now at first listen, chicken and donuts doesn’t sound like they would go together, but they surprisingly go together well. Think just like people love chicken and waffles, well a chicken sandwich with a donut as a bun is a flavor combination I didn’t know I needed. And their donuts and coffee are not bad either. Sure Do-Rite Donuts and Chicken are out of the ordinary, but they are certainly a taste experience worth having.
Now we couldn’t visit Chicago without taking a stop at a famous Italian Beef sandwich restaurant and the restaurant we chose was Al’s #1 Italian Beef. You can have your sandwich dipped or not dipped in the juices to make the bun quite soggy or not. I asked for the dip on the side instead of having out sandwich dipped in the juices, but I guess they forgot as I was not afforded the decision to dip or not. But after tasting the well made sandwich, dipping it or not really didn’t matter as the sandwich left something to be desired. The flavor explosion I was expecting akin to a French dip sandwich just wasn’t there. This sandwich was nothing special to my taste buds, so it’s not a restaurant I intend to return to.
Next on our list of must try’s was The Original Rainbow Cone. An ice cream cone with a multitude of flavors. Now as it turns out, this ice cream parlor is a bit of a drive south of Chicago, but that doesn’t make it any less iconic. We enjoyed the multiple layers of flavor in one ice cream cone. It gives you a little bit of everything you might want to try. The combination of Orange Sherbet, Pistachio, Palmer House, Strawberry and Chocolate go a long way to satisfy any ice cream lover’s desires.
On our way to the aquarium, we were able to stop by a food truck devoted to serving Chicago Style Hot Dogs called Kim and Carlo’s Chicago Style Hot Dog Store. If you have never tried a Chicago style hot dog, then you should spend some time finding any number of food trucks that serve this beast. Filled with relish, mustard, diced onions, tomatoes, a pickle spear and pickled sport peppers, the hot dog is more like a sandwich than a hot dog itself. The good thing is that I enjoy all the items in the hot dog so their combination made me enjoy the hot dog a lot and I still add those same ingredients to the hot dogs I make at home for a wonderful combination of flavors.
The last place we visited was Jibarito Time and we literally went there on our way to the airport. We would have tried Jibarito Y Mas, but we were out of time and we found a jibarito (Puerto Rican Plantain-based Sandwich) place on the way out so we went there and this was a nice last meal to have before leaving Chicago. It’s hard to explain the jibarito, but it is a taste experience I would love to have again. The grilled meats inside a flat plantain which acts as the bread brought a wonderful experience to the sandwich genre. I didn’t miss the bread and enjoyed the crisp and chewy structure of the plantains that bring this signature sandwich a worthy addition to anyone’s dining experience.
So if you get a change to travel to Chicago, be sure to check out the local iconic foods as they are certainly iconic for a reason. I would absolutely be eating those foods again if I ever get the chance to visit Chicago again.
