Chicago cuisine
Eats her way around the third most populous city in the US. She finds Chicago’s culinary scene has many more tasty tidbits to try than greasy burgers and fries.
Deep dish pizza is just the start
Deep dish delish
On the tray the waitress carries are two round tins of thick iron, the contents of each steaming. She places the tray on the table with a heavy metal pair of tongs that look like they belong in a blacksmith’s workshop. The delicious smell of melting cheese and garlic fills the room.
Deep dish pizza is world famous, and I’ve flown more than 13,000 kilometres to sample the Chicagoan speciality in its birthplace.
When I take my first bite, I’m expecting the familiar rich flavours of one of my childhood favourite dinners – lasagna. The pizza is assembled similarly to the pasta dish, with layers of cheese and tomato stacked on top of each other to a depth of about 5cm.
So when a sweetness hits my tongue, it seems incongruous. The crust is thick and crumbly, like the casing of an apple pie.
As I swallow the first chunk, it burns my throat slightly, I should have waited for it to cool a bit, but I’m already cutting off another piece. It takes me a few mouthfuls to work out whether the unusual combination of sweet, sharp and tart flavours is delicious or sickening. It’s definitely moreish.
However, I’m not a fan of the base – with the toppings, it’s overpowering.
I cut off the crust and enjoy the rest of my slice as I read the messages etched, written and painted on the walls of the restaurant.
Gino’s East (not to be confused with the chain Giordani’s) in downtown Chicago, encourages people to leave their mark on the walls. The waiter says the tradition started after hungry customers got impatient while waiting for their pizza – which is made from scratch and takes about half an hour – and started doodling.
The restaurant opened in 1966 after two taxi drivers became frustrated with Chicago’s traffic and decided to start a pizzeria with another friend. Today, Gino’s East claims to be the No 1 pizza restaurant in the city.
Food is culture
I believe that a country’s food reveals a lot about its culture. How people cook in different parts of the world usually reflects their lifestyle, access to resources, history, customs and traditions, and connection to nature. So, when I travel I like to let my senses of taste and smell teach me about the place I’m visiting.
In a bustling, vibrant city like Chicago, the United State’s third most populous city, and the economic and cultural capital of the midwest, there are many tantalising options. The city is ethnically diverse. Many of its residents are of Italian, African American, or Hispanic descent. Chicago’s Chinese population has also been growing rapidly since the mid-1990s.
The numerous ethnic restaurants allow me to indulge in several cuisines in just a few days. I’m pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety.
After watching the documentary Food Inc, which exposes the grotesque practices involved in some factory farming in the US about a decade ago, I’d decided that when I next visited the US I’d only eat vegan food. But pretty much immediately after touching down in Chicago I broke that vow.
And I’m glad I did as I found the city has a lot more to offer than the greasy burgers, fries, and cake bars so processed their texture resembles that of a kitchen sponge that, as a Kiwi, I’ve (wrongly) associated with America.
In Auckland, we’re lucky to have heaps of options when it comes to dining. We love food and because our city is multicultural, I could probably try a different cuisine every meal for a month.
Authentico Mexicano
One specialty that is hard to find in Auckland is authentic Mexican. The burritos sold here are more often dolloped with sour cream and sprinkled with half a cup of cheese than garnished with habanero and oregano.
One in five Chicagoans has Mexican ancestry, so most of the city’s 77 neighbourhoods have at least one Mexican restaurant. My favourite was La Casa Del Pueblo Taqueria in the Pilsen neighbourhood.
The decor may resemble that of a cafeteria, but the food isn’t anything like what’s served in most cafeterias. The menu and signs are entirely in Spanish, but the staff are friendly and help translate the names of the meals into English.
We arrive at 9.30am on a Sunday to avoid preand post-mass rushes. A local tells our group that La Casa Del Pueblo Taqueria is popular with families and gets packed at weekend meal times.
I order the eggs with beef served with housemade refried beans, rice and corn tortillas. Mixed into the scrambled eggs, along with succulent shredded spiced beef, are pieces of corn tortilla, which give it a crunchy texture.
All elements of the breakfast are seasoned with a well-balanced mix of chilli, oregano, garlic, cumin, and paprika. The breakfast is substantial but not overly rich. In fact, it is one of my favourite meals during my trip, simple, yet delicious.
Ducking delicious
One of the reasons I like to try local specialties is that it pushes me out of my comfort zone.
As our group heads to the ‘‘reasonably authentic’’ Chinese restaurant Duck Duck Goat for dim sum for our first dinner in Chicago, I’m reminded why it’s important to be open-minded.
In the upmarket dining precinct of Fulton Market, Duck Duck Goat is co-owned by Stephanie Izard, who won the fourth season of reality TV show Top Chef.
Izard is also the executive chef. She is not Chinese, but thoroughly researched the cuisine before creating the menu.
The table we’re seated at is equipped with a lazy susan, making sharing delicacies among the group easy. Because there are so many dishes on the menu that have descriptions that make my mouth water – scallion pancakes, goat and duck spring rolls and at least three varieties of dumplings – it makes sense for us all to share.
But as we go around the table and each person picks a couple of plates, I start regretting the decision to forgo our own mains. Two people suggest the pekan cauliflower and – to my horror – the rest of the table enthusiastically agree.
However, when the dish arrives, I’m relieved to discover it more closely resembles large bits of caramel coated popcorn than the vegetable. Drenched in sweet and sour sauce, which crystalises during cooking, and rolled in sesame and pecans, it looks, and tastes, as I’ve never had it before. It’s more like a dessert.
An old-school diner
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of American food is big portions. My hypothesis
proves true during my first experience at an oldschool diner.
Lou Mitchell’s, in Chicago’s Greektown, is famous for its skillets and omelettes. But when I peruse the menu I can’t go past the pancakes.
And when they’re served, by a friendly and competent waiter, I’m pleased with my choice of breakfast. Thick without being gluggy, perfectly golden, and broader than my dinner plates at home, the pancakes are exactly as I’d imagined when I spotted them on the menu.
After devouring them with lashings of butter and maple syrup, I nearly fall into a sugar coma. But the lethargy is worth it. They’re the best pancakes I’ve had in years.
The finest dining
A fine-dining establishment with a prestigious Michelin three-star rating, Alinea claims it’s not a restaurant (‘‘at least in the traditional sense’’, its website says), despite having won the title of Best Restaurant in America three times.
After Justin Timberlake ate here while performing in the Windy City a year ago, he not only uploaded a video to Instagram of himself biting into one of head chef Grant Achatz’s signature helium-filled candy balloons, the pop star also invited the kitchen staff to come on tour with him.
Although he doesn’t quite have the same celebrity status as Timberlake, Achatz is famous in the culinary industry. He has been credited with making significant contributions to the food science movement of ‘‘molecular gastronomy’’, in which chefs aim to transform food physically and chemically.
Achatz describes his food as ‘‘progressive American’’ and aims to provide customers with an experience that will tantalise all their senses.
Perhaps, the reason he focuses on the presentation, auditory and textures of his meals, as well as the aromas and flavours, is that he temporarily lost his sense of taste after undergoing extensive surgery on his neck while being treated for stage 4 mouth cancer in 2007. The treatment saved Achatz’s life and – fortunately, given his profession – his sense of taste eventually returned.
Our meal consists of a 22-course set menu. Before each course, I try – nearly always unsuccessfully – to anticipate what might be set in front of me next based on the dish’s name.
Eating at Alinea is often explained in online reviews as an ‘‘experience’’, and this proves to be an apt description. Between the first few courses the table’s centrepiece, which appears to be some orange segments in a bucket, starts smoking, releasing a natural citrus fragrance that I find to be a pretty good palate cleanser.
With so many courses and the sometimes-unusual flavours, the experience is a roller coaster for my tastebuds.
While some courses, such as ‘‘Ink’’, consisting of octopus, scallion and black lime, or the helium green apple candy balloon, have me scraping the plate to make sure I get every last morsel, others were underwhelming.
One particular lowlight is the ‘‘Heirloom’’ dessert, which the menu states is peach with edible begonia and nasturtium flowers. It fails to satiate my sweet tooth and actually tastes quite bitter.
All in all, eating at Alinea makes for a memorable and unique night out.
However, because it costs between US$175 (NZ$257) and US$385 (NZ$566) a head, it would be something I would recommend as a once-ina-lifetime experience, or to those with deep pockets. And book before you leave home, as (allegedly) even Timberlake struggled to get a table.
A taste of home
Getting my daily caffeine hit (or three) proves difficult in Chicago. While nearly every restaurant serves coffee, it’s usually of the drip variety, rather than the espresso that, as a Kiwi, I craved.
Order a flat white, as a member of my group repeatedly does, and instead of being presented with a steaming mug, you’ll get a blank look and a ‘‘do you mean you want milk with your coffee?’’ from the waitperson.
Thankfully, Kiwi coffee chain Mojo has a cafe in downtown Chicago. The brand’s founders, Wellington couple Steve and Julie Gianoutsos, run the coffee shop, and I can attest their US product is just as good as it is at home.
The verdict
The analogy of America as a ‘‘mosaic’’ (an alternative to the ‘‘melting pot’’ metaphor) where people from different backgrounds come together and bring the strengths from their cultures to create something unique and striking, rings true for Chicago when it comes to the city’s food.
It’s humbler than other foodie destinations, such as Melbourne, Paris, Tokyo, or New York, but Chicago’s culinary scene does not disappoint and, in fact, delights, this hungry Kiwi.