7 Chicago Foods You Need to Try at Least Once (Beyond Deep-Dish Pizza)
Ask a Chicagoan where they actually eat and the answer rarely involves a knife and fork. It usually involves a paper bag, a cash-only counter, and a very specific way of ordering.
These seven places keep coming up in local roundups, review sites, and Reddit threads. Each one comes with the order people recommend most.
Johnnie’s Beef
This Elmwood Park stand has been serving Italian beef since 1961, and it’s the first place many Chicagoans name. Reviewers describe a no-frills counter where you wait outside and bring cash.
The most recommended order is the beef dipped, with hot giardiniera and sweet peppers. Several Chicago chefs gave the same answer when asked for their favorite orders, and one added the combo, which tops the beef with a sausage.
Add fries, since one writer notes the staff tosses a generous scoop into the bag. The Italian ice makes a popular finisher.
Lem’s Bar-B-Q
Lem’s has been smoking on the South Side since 1954. Sisters Carmen Lemons and Lynn Walker Harvey now run the city’s oldest Black-owned barbecue joint.
It’s takeout only, and one review notes you order through bulletproof glass. One Axios writer photographed her tips on the hood of her car, which says plenty about the setting.
Order the rib tips, often paired with hot links. The tips are chewy, fatty, and smoky, and they come with fries, bread, and sauce.
Borinquen
Borinquen is credited with inventing the jibarito, a sandwich that swaps bread for flattened, fried plantains. The plantains here are fried to order, so they stay crisp under the filling.
The steak jibarito is the order reviewers lead with. Baked pork is the other best seller.
Ask for the house condiments, which include a garlic sauce, a mayo-ketchup blend, and a hot sauce called pique.
Garrett Popcorn Shops
Garrett has been popping in copper kettles since 1949, and the line out the door is part of the ritual. The bestseller is the Garrett Mix, caramel and cheese popcorn blended together.
Reviews are almost unanimous on what to order. Sweet and salty in the same handful sounds odd, and then the bag disappears.
One reviewer loved it but wished the tins weren’t so pricey. A smaller bag is an easy way to test it first.
Vito & Nick’s Pizzeria
Locals who call deep dish a tourist dish usually mean tavern-style, and this South Side spot is the benchmark. The crust is cracker-thin and cut into squares, and the place has been going since 1949.
One Reddit fan compared a slice to phenomenal potato chips. The sausage pizza is the consistent favorite.
Add a side of giardiniera for heat. Bring cash, since one local guide says it’s cash only.
Gene & Jude’s
This River Grove stand has no seats, no ketchup, and a menu of just four items. The hot dog is topped with mustard, relish, onion, and sport peppers, then piled with fries.
The double dog is the move. Chef Matty Matheson says his order is two dogs with extra salt on the fries.
One reviewer suggests getting the fries well done. Others recommend adding a tamale.
Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen
Manny’s is a cafeteria-line Jewish deli where you slide a tray along the counter and watch the meat get sliced. It has been serving corned beef and pastrami for nine decades.
The corned beef on rye is the headline order. One long-running tip suggests half a sandwich, matzo ball soup, and a potato pancake with applesauce.
Sandwiches are enormous, so some reviewers split one. Eat it there, since one delivery customer found the potato pancakes cold and soggy.
