Must-Try Chicago Foods: The Iconic Dishes to Eat When Visiting

Why Chicago is Such a Great Food City

Even before its founding in 1837, Chicago’s food culture has been built up by working class and immigrant communities from all over the world. You can find almost any cuisine within the city’s 77 distinct neighborhoods as well as unique, Chicago-made dishes. From generations-old family-owned restaurants and historic taverns to street food and fine dining, you’re bound to find delicious meals at every corner. They all tell the story of Chicago’s working-class roots, neighborhood pride, and love of bold flavors.

While some foods might seem intimidating (like the Chicago-style hot dog), they might pleasantly surprise you! To best experience Chicago’s culinary scene, enjoy every bite with an open mind.

Table of Contents

The Quick Answer: What Food Should You Try in Chicago?

Breaking Down Chicago’s Famous Dishes

Other Foods Worth Trying in Chicago if You Have More Time

Why a Food Tour is Better Than a DIY Food Crawl

FAQs: Chicago Must Try Foods

The Quick Answer: What Food Should You Try in Chicago?

For a brief breakdown on the must-try foods in Chicago, see the table below. Read on further to learn the history behind these foods and why they matter to the city’s community.

Chicago’s Staples

Food	What it is	Best places to try
Deep dish pizza	Thick, cheesy pizza baked in a deep pan	Lou Malnati’s, Pequod’s, Gino’s East
Chicago-style hot dog	A hot dog in a poppy seed bun topped with tomatoes, onions, mustard, pickles, relish, sport peppers, and celery salt	The Wiener’s Circle, Flub A Dub Chub’s, Portillo’s
Italian beef sandwich	Thinly-sliced seasoned beef simmered in au jus on Italian bread, usually topped with spicy giardiniera	Al’s #1 Italian Beef, Mr. Beef
Tavern-style pizza	Thin, cracker crust pizza cut into squares	Vito & Nick’s, Michael’s Original Pizzeria
“Chicago Mix” popcorn	A mix of cheese and caramel gourmet popcorn	Garrett’s Popcorn, Nuts on Clark
Rainbow Cone	5 flavors of vertically sliced ice cream on a cone: chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio, and orange sherbet	The Original Rainbow Cone

Neighborhood Gems

Food	What it is	Best places to try
Polish sausage	Pork and beef sausage on a bun topped with caramelized onions, mustard, and sport peppers	Jim’s Original
Pierogis	A boiled dumpling found in Eastern Europe stuffed with fillings like potatoes, sauerkraut, beef, etc.	Kasia’s Deli, Staropolksa, Shokolad
Jibaritos	A sandwich made with flattened and fried green plantains, meat, lettuce, tomato, mayo, cheese, and garlic	Jibaritos Chicago
Dim sum	Translating to “touch the heart”, dim sum consists of shareable small-plate dishes including traditional Chinese foods like dumplings, bao buns, egg tarts, and so much more	Phoenix Restaurant, MingHin Cuisine
Gyros	Rotisserie roasted meat (traditionally a blend of lamb and beef in the US) shaved and served in pita bread, topped with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce	Windy City Gyros, Zeus

Breaking Down Chicago’s Famous Dishes

Deep Dish Pizza

Deep dish pizza is usually touted as the #1 must-eat in Chicago, putting it at the top of every visitor’s dining list. This hefty “pizza pie” originated in 1943 at Pizzeria Uno and has since become a staple food. After the success of Pizzeria Uno, dozens of other deep dish restaurants opened around the city throughout the next few decades. 

That being said, there are so many excellent places to try deep dish pizza, and every restaurant makes it a little differently. Lou Malnati’s, Gino’s East, and Pequod’s Pizza are among the top-ranking establishments. 

Be prepared for a long wait, especially at dinnertime and on weekends. If you’re able, make reservations in advance, or join a tour to skip the line and try a few of Chicago’s other famous foods within just a few hours!

Tavern-Style Pizza

When visitors hear “Chicago-style pizza” they usually just picture deep dish, but, unknown to most, the city is also known for a thin, cracker crust pizza called tavern-style. Quick to order and easy to share, tavern-style is the more popular pizza choice for locals. 

This pizza style originated in the early 1900s to keep patrons in taverns. When people bought a drink, they would be served a small slice of pizza on a napkin, eat it, and want another drink to balance the salty bite.

Vito & Nick’s is commonly praised as one of the best thin crust pizza joints, but for something a little closer to downtown check out Michael’s Original Pizzeria.

Chicago-Style Hot Dogs

Chicago-style hot dogs can sound intimidating. Comprised of an all-beef hot dog in a poppy seed bun topped with tomatoes, onions, mustard, pickles, relish, sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt, it’s a dubious combination. However, the ingredients are a perfect balance of crunch, spice, acidity, freshness, and salt. Trust us—just try it.

During the Great Depression, people were trying to make a more nutritious meal out of cheap ingredients and started adding vegetables to their hot dogs. That concept has evolved into the “dragged through the garden” Chicago-style we know today. But remember: do not ask for ketchup. For one, it messes up the tasty blend of the other ingredients. Two, around the turn of the century, ketchup was used to mask the taste of meat that had gone bad, so it became an offense to put ketchup on a hot dog. If you request ketchup at a hot dog stand, you may be asked to leave or have your photo taken for a Wall of Shame. Ask at your own risk.

For a classic hole-in-the-wall hot dog joint, try Flub a Dub Chub’s. The Wiener’s Circle is well known for their char dogs and the staff’s trash-talk. For something closer to downtown, Portillo’s is a top choice.

Italian Beef

Italian beef has taken on a lot of fame the past few years thanks to the hit TV show The Bear, but it’s been a Chicago staple since before the Great Depression.

To make tough cuts of meat more edible, Italian immigrants would tenderize beef by stewing it and then thinly slicing it to make the meat last as long as possible. It was then put on bread to help mask the poor quality. In 1938, Al Ferreri opened up a beef stand in Little Italy (later dubbed Al’s #1 Italian Beef), and the rest is history. Italian beef sandwiches have since been a huge hit.

Today, this sandwich is presented as thin-sliced seasoned beef on Italian bread and can be ordered a few different ways. You have a choice between dry, wet, or dipped, and sweet or hot. Dry means the beef is dried off a little after being taken out of the au jus, wet means the meat is directly placed on the bread without drying to retain the juice, and dipped means the entire sandwich (bread and all) is dunked into the au jus. Sweet refers to sweet peppers on top, while hot means you’d like giardiniera (a spicy pickled relish). Visiting a beef stand with an expert food tour guide will ease the stress of the ordering language and provide more context behind the sandwich.

For places to try on your own, you can’t go wrong with the original Al’s #1 Italian Beef on Taylor Street. Though, as the inspiration and occasional filming location for The Bear, the long-standing Mr. Beef has become immensely popular.

“Chicago Mix” Popcorn

While not a full meal, Chicago Mix popcorn is a must-try snack to satisfy your appetite in between meals.

Chicago’s most famous popcorn stand, Garrett’s Popcorn, opened in 1949 selling just four flavors: Buttery, Plain, CaramelCrisp, and CheeseCorn. Eventually, the shop noticed the guests were buying the caramel and cheese corn and getting another bag to mix the two together. Garrett’s decided to start selling the combination as the Chicago Mix, though it legally cannot call it that anymore due to a candy company in Minnesota placing a trademark on the name decades later. So, it is now the “Garrett Mix” at Garrett’s. It’s a perfect blend of sweet and savory, and it’s a great souvenir for friends and family (or for yourself—we don’t judge!).

While Garrett’s is the originator, Nuts on Clark also pops an excellent caramel and cheese corn mix. You can find both shops at locations around the city as well as at the airports. 

Rainbow Cone

Established in 1926, The Original Rainbow Cone has been slicing—not scooping—ice cream for over a century. The ice cream shop has expanded its menu to satisfy different tastes, but it started by serving its signature “Rainbow Cone”, which consists of five slabs of flavors: Chocolate, Strawberry, Palmer House (vanilla with cherries and walnuts), Pistachio, and Orange Sherbet. Not wanting to choose between mundane flavors, the Rainbow Cone was invented by Joseph and Katherine Sapp to be a tasty and unique summer treat. The Original Rainbow Cone now has four permanent locations around Chicago, including two in the heart of downtown.

Other Foods Worth Trying in Chicago if You Have More Time

Polish Sausage

Chicago-style hot dogs are not the only sausages the city is known for! Polish sausage is a pork and beef sausage on a bun, topped with caramelized onions, mustard, and sport peppers.

This classic food originated in the city’s historic Maxwell Street Market, which was established by Eastern European immigrants in the late 19th century. One of these immigrants, Jimmy Stefanovic, took over a hot dog stand in 1939 and a few years later invented the Polish sausage. The restaurant is now called Jim’s Original, and it still remains the best place to get the sandwich.

Dim Sum

Chinatown is one of Chicago’s most thriving cultural neighborhoods, and it belongs on every Chicago must-eat guide. With dozens of regional restaurants and different cuisines, there is no one specific food to try. They all tell the story of the neighborhood’s 100-year history as a gathering place for people not just from China, but from all over Asia. However, if you’re looking for the best experience in Chinatown, go to a dim sum restaurant.

Translating to “touch the heart”, dim sum consists of shareable small-plate dishes including traditional Chinese foods like dumplings, bao buns, egg tarts, and so much more. It’s part of a dining tradition called yum cha (“drink tea”), which is all about eating food with friends and family while drinking tea. Check out Phoenix Restaurant or MingHin Cuisine for dim sum.

For a more in-depth exploration of Chinatown’s history and to sample just a few of the many meals the neighborhood has to offer, a food tour provides incredible value. 

Pierogies

Pierogis are boiled dumplings found in Eastern Europe, and they are typically stuffed with savory fillings like potatoes, sauerkraut, and beef. While pierogies have been around since the Middle Ages, they connect to Chicago’s strong Polish heritage. In fact, Chicago is home to the largest population of people of Polish descent outside of Warsaw. Many began moving to the city in the 1850s, and immigration continued in huge waves throughout the next century. As a result, Polish foods like pierogies have become staples in Chicago’s food culture.

There are many excellent restaurants to find pierogies, but Kasia’s Deli, Staropolksa, and Shokolad are among the best. The pierogies at Kasia’s Deli are actually a favorite of Martha Stewart! (P.S. You can sample pierogies and more on our West Side Foodie Ride Bike Tour!)

Jibaritos

Jibarito (pronounced “hee-bah-ree-toh”) is a Puerto Rican sandwich made with flattened and fried green plantains, meat, lettuce, tomato, mayo, cheese, and garlic. This meal originated in Humboldt Park in the 1990s, which is home to a significant portion of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community. The crispy plantains combined with the savory fillings makes for the perfect lunch sandwich.

Many people from Puerto Rico started immigrating to Chicago in the 1950s, and, with working-class communities being forced west of the city due to gentrification, Humboldt Park became the hub for Puerto Rican immigrants. The area has since grown into a classic example of the culturally rich neighborhoods that make up the city, however the community still faces the risk of gentrification. Though, some classic restaurants still remain, such as the originator of the Jibarito, the Borinquen Restaurant. Other top-tier places to try this sandwich include Jibaritos y Mas and Jibarito Stop.

Gyros

Gyros are another international food that didn’t originate in Chicago, but the city was the first place to mass produce the Greek staple. A gyro (pronounced “yee-roe”) is a Greek sandwich/wrap made with rotisserie roasted meat (traditionally pork, but usually a blend of ground lamb and beef in the U.S.) topped with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce on warm pita bread.

Originally, gyro meat was hand-packed onto spits, but that was very time-consuming and inefficient. In the 1960s, Greek immigrants in Chicago found a way to prepare gyro cones of meat that were easy to store and start roasting with little preparation.

There are so many places to find gyros in Chicago today, but try Windy City Gyros or Zeus.

Why a Food Tour is Better Than a DIY Food Crawl

Planning your own food crawl can be a fun adventure, but it has a few cons: you either have to make reservations or wait in line at each restaurant, then you have to wait to order, then wait for the food… Dining at one restaurant can easily take an least an hour, and all the while you don’t really have an opportunity to learn about the history behind the food. A tour lets you try multiple dishes within just a few hours, and guides fill you in on the stories of the meals and how they connect to Chicago’s history. More neighborhood-based tours can also help you discover hidden gems outside of the viral restaurants that are always promoted online. In addition, tours simplify logistics for all sorts of guests: first-time visitors, families, corporate groups, travelers with limited time, and even bachelor/bachelorette parties.

For those who do want to taste several Chicago classics in one outing, Bobby’s Bike Hike offers several guided Chicago food tours that combine iconic dishes, neighborhood stories, and local guide insight.

Wondering what to expect on a food tour? Check out this blog.

Option	Best for	Pros	Cons
Guided Chicago food tour	First-time visitors, short trips, those who want to know more about the city’s food culture	Multiple tastings, local guide, context, easier planning	Less flexible than choosing every stop yourself
DIY restaurant crawl	Repeat visitors, flexible travelers	Total control and exact restaurant choice	More planning, travel time, and risk of over-ordering
Single famous restaurant	Travelers with one specific craving	Easy and focused	Only showcases one dish or one style of Chicago food
Private food tour	Corporate groups, families, celebrations	Custom pacing and easier logistics	Usually higher cost

FAQs: Chicago Must Try Foods