Can’t say you’re from Chicago if you haven’t experienced all four of these favorites.

By:Brittany Dole

The Windy City has many tasty options for even the pickiest of eaters. Here are some of my personal favorites that I think help define Chicago’s culture.

  1. The Chicago Style Hot Dog. This is a given, don’t care what team you root for but you must experience a ballpark hot dog once in your life in the Chi. It is served between a poppyseed bun and contains these traditional toppings: yellow mustard, chopped white onions, green relish, dill pickle spear, 4 wedges of tomato, 2 sport peppers and a bit of celery salt. You may begin the argument on if ketchup is allowed on a hot dog.
  2. Deep-Dish Pizza. Again, this is an extremely cliche list. But it’s legitimate. Please order a Lou Malnati’s butter crust cheese deep-dish and you will never be the same. The sauce. You haven’t visited Chicago if you didn’t indulge in a pizza pie.
  3. Garrett Popcorn. You can find this at Chicago’s two airports, so you don’t have an excuse. Cheese and caramel popcorn is all you need to know.
  4. Italian Beef from Portillo’s. Try it double dipped in the gravy, and it goes really well with cheese fries. Portillo’s is a Chicago staple.

There you have it, short and sweet but four solid choices for your taste buds. Once you try these you will understand why food is such a part of culture.