Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites

by Monica Eng, David Hammond

Overview

A BookRiot Most Anticipated Travel Book of 2023

Italian beef and hot dogs get the headlines. Cutting-edge cuisine and big-name chefs get the Michelin stars. But Chicago food shows its true depth in classic dishes conceived in the kitchens of immigrant innovators, neighborhood entrepreneurs, and mom-and-pop visionaries.

Monica Eng and David Hammond draw on decades of exploring the city’s food landscape to serve up thirty can’t-miss eats found in all corners of Chicago. From Mild Sauce to the Jibarito and from Taffy Grapes to Steak and Lemonade, Eng and Hammond present stories of the people and places behind each dish while illuminating how these local favorites reflect the multifaceted history of the city and the people who live there. Each entry provides all the information you need to track down whatever sounds good and selected recipes even let you prepare your own Flaming Saganaki or Akutagawa.

Generously illustrated with full-color photos, Made in Chicago provides locals and visitors alike with loving profiles of a great food city’s defining dishes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252087059
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	03/21/2023
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	488,959
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Monica Eng is a reporter for Axios Chicago and cohost of the podcast Chewing. She has worked as a food, culture, and investigative reporter at WBEZ Chicago Public Radio and at the Chicago Tribune, where she was nominated for five James Beard Awards for writing. David Hammond is Dining and Drinking Editor for Newcity/Chicago magazine. He regularly writes on food- and drink-related topics for Wednesday Journal and the Chicago Tribune. He is a founding member/moderator of LTHForum.com, a site celebrating Chicago’s mom-and-pop restaurants.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Akutagawa
2. Big Baby
3. Bone-In Pork Chop Sandwich
4. Breaded Steak Sandwich
5. Chicken Vesuvio
6. Chicago Corn Roll Tamale
7. Chicago Mix
8. Chicago Style Egg Roll
9. Chicago Hot Dog
10. Deep Dish Pizza
11. Flaming Saganaki
12. Giardiniera
13. Gam Pong Chicken Wings
14. Gyros
15. Italian Beef Sandwich
16. Jibarito
17. Jim Shoe
18. Malört
19. Maxwell Street Polish
20. Mild Sauce
21. Mother-in-Law
22. Pepper and Egg Sandwich
23. Pizza Puff
24. Rainbow Cone
25. Rib Tips
26. Shrimp DeJonghe
27. Steak and Lemonade
28. Sweet Steak Supreme Sandwich
29. Taffy Grapes
30. Tavern Style Pizza

References

Editorial Reviews

"Jam packed with interesting stories and colorful characters that will make each bite just a little more enticing." —Better

"Chicago has invented, transformed, and promoted dozens of foods that give the city its distinct and inimitable gastronomy. Veteran Chicago journalists Eng and Hammond teamed up to delve into 30 of those unique Chicago eats to discover their origins and their status as icons of American cuisine." —Booklist

"A taxonomic guidebook to the city’s lesser-known endemic eats. With obligatory chapters on familiar signatures like hot dogs and deep dish, its real value lies in the stories behind less celebrated working-class originals like the Japanese-American rice and gravy burger plate akutagawa; sweet sticky Chinese-Korean gampongi lollipop wings; and the city’s other beef on a bun: the sweet steak sandwich." —Chicago Reader

“Eng and Hammond are two of Chicago’s most respected (and voracious) food reporters, so it’s no surprise to see how they’ve covered the city’s iconic foods like a layer of mozzarella on a deep-dish pie. This is the most thorough, gumshoe, deep-dive reporting into the origins of not only the well-known dishes (Italian beef, pizza, and hot dogs) but also the lesser-known gems in specific neighborhoods, like the Big Baby and the Gym Shoe. I clearly need to get out more, because how have I lived in Chicago for thirty years and never had Taffy Grapes?! This is a must-read for any local who wants to understand what it means to ‘eat like a Chicagoan,’ but it’s also a fascinating history lesson about how waves of immigration have shaped our local diet over the years.”—Steve Dolinsky, 13-time winner of the James Beard Award and food reporter for NBC 5 Chicago

“Made in Chicago proves that Chicago is one of the world’s greatest vernacular food cities. Created mainly by ethnic food vendors—from pushcarts to diners and small food companies—these dishes show the city in all its quotidian culinary glory.”—Bruce Kraig

“Few are better qualified to write about Chicago food (and one notorious drink) than Monica Eng and David Hammond. They are journalists who have reported on deliciousness for decades, and shared the heartfelt human stories behind the scenes. Made in Chicago digs even deeper. It’s an essential guide with details that will surprise even the most dedicated experts of local culture and cuisine.”—Louisa Chu, Chicago Tribune food critic and cohost of Chewing

From the Publisher