Chicago Food Guide: What to Eat and Where

Chicago's food reputation rests on three heavy classics, but the city eats far more widely than that. Its neighbourhoods were built by waves of immigrants, and many still cook the food they brought with them.

Pizza: deep dish or tavern style?

Deep dish is the one visitors come for: a tall buttery crust filled with cheese, then toppings, with chunky tomato sauce on top. It takes around forty-five minutes to bake, so order when you sit down, and one slice is a meal. Lou Malnati's and Giordano's are the big names, and Pequod's is known for its caramelised, burnt-edged crust.

Tavern-style pizza is what many Chicagoans eat on a normal night: a thin, crackly crust cut into squares rather than slices, served in neighbourhood bars and pizzerias all over the city. Try both, and don't be surprised if you prefer the second.

The Italian beef

Thinly sliced roast beef on a long roll, soaked in its seasoned cooking juices. Order it "dipped" for the whole sandwich plunged in the juice, "hot" for spicy giardiniera (pickled chopped vegetables) or "sweet" for roasted peppers. Eat it standing up, leaning forward, the way everyone else does. Al's #1 Italian Beef, founded in 1938, is the classic.

The Chicago hot dog

An all-beef frankfurter on a poppy-seed bun, "dragged through the garden": yellow mustard, neon-green relish, chopped onion, tomato slices, a pickle spear, small hot peppers and a shake of celery salt. Asking for ketchup marks you out as a visitor. Every stand in the city serves one.

Beyond the classics

• Pilsen and Little Village: the heart of Mexican Chicago, for tacos, tamales and bakeries.
• Chinatown: south of the Loop, a short L ride on the Red Line, for dim sum and noodles.
• Devon Avenue: on the far North Side, for Indian and Pakistani food.
• Polish food: Chicago has one of the largest Polish communities outside Poland, and pierogi and sausages are easy to find on the Northwest Side.
• The West Loop: Randolph Street and Fulton Market for the city's most ambitious restaurants. Book ahead.

Popcorn from Garrett, mixed caramel and cheese, is the local souvenir snack. For which neighbourhoods to stay in to be near the food, see our where to stay guide, and for fitting meals into a day, our 3-day itinerary.