Exploring Chicago’s Old-School Food Icons — Where They Came From & How They Taste

Would you consider this one of Chicago's perfect burgers? I think there's a handful, like maybe somewhere between five and ten perfect burgers in Chicago. I would agree on that number, and yes, this is in that number, absolutely. Definitely for the price, too. What's up, guys? It's Cory Wagner, and today I'm going to be taking you guys to try five of Chicago's most iconic foods. And this is episode three of my Chicago's Iconic Foods series, so make sure you go check out episodes one and two so you can see the other ten iconic Chicago foods that I'm featuring in this series. And make sure you're subscribed to the channel so you don't miss the other fun videos I got coming down the pipeline. I know I've got coming up Chicago's Best Cheap Tacos video and a video on my favorite Chicago hot dog stand, so don't miss out on it. And make sure you stay to the end of today's video because the last spot I'm taking you guys to has not only what I consider to be maybe the most underrated all-time burger topping ever, but they are also serving what I consider to be one of Chicago's rare perfect burgers. You're going to want to check it out. And one last thing before... Sorry. Pissed off the puppy. I didn't mean it. I'm just trying to do my intro. Also, how do you guys feel about the new addition to the home, the lava lamp? Kyle and I are talking about we're bringing back the lava lamps. They're sick. Anyways, one last thing to chat about before we get into the food. Just had to do a quick shout out. I started a Patreon, and I got four folks who have joined. So I just want to say a huge thank you to Jeff and Chef Jeff and Reese and Higby. My goal is to get enough support that I don't ever have to make any sort of sponsored content, and I can just make videos for the folks who want to see cool stories about Chicago. So if you want some behind the scenes and early content and to support someone who loves Chicago and is trying to tell Chicago stories, I'm trying to make content just for you guys. So help me get there. Anyways, enough chatter about me trying to make a living off of this. Let's go get to some food, eh? Today's going to be such a delicious day. If you're caught up on this three part series on Chicago's iconic foods, and at this point you probably already know which side of Chicago we're headed to first. That's right. We're headed towards the home of most of Chicago's iconic foods. We're headed to Chicago's South Side, and to be more specific, we're starting off at a legendary spot in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, Fat Johnny's. Opening in 1972 by John Palakowski, John wasn't always in the food business. He first worked at the Nabisco factory until a truck driver strike, at which point John decided, screw it, I'm getting a hot dog cart. He eventually talked to his dad into letting him and his brother build the Fat Johnny's shack on his childhood home's lot, and he worked seven days a week for the first 25 years this place was in business to make it what it is today. A legendary spot that popularized one of the weirdest and most interesting sandwiches we'll be getting during this series, ladies and gentlemen, we're getting the mother-in-law's sandwich at Fat Johnny's. All right, guys, you're seeing it right over the shoulder there, Fat Johnny's. Excited to get a mother-in-law's sandwich. Let's check it out. Everybody likes to eat. Of course, each may have his own individual preference, but no matter whether it's a hot dog at the county fair or a full-course dinner at the Ritz, there's no denying that people like to eat. And here we are, the famous Fat Johnny's with their hand-painted signage that tells me just about everything I need to know about this amazing spot. I see this and right away I know that Fat Johnny's and the food they serve are made for and by people who get the job done themselves. And that's exactly the type of place that you'll want to look for when first trying a mother-in-law's sandwich. And if you're wondering where the idea for this sandwich oddity came from, apparently John was in eighth grade when he bought something similar from a Lithuanian-American from the neighborhood named Pete, a Chicago-style tamale in a hot dog bun and covered in chili. That's right. That's a Mexican food inside of a classic American bun, first seen from a Lithuanian guy and made popular by a Polish dude. If that isn't American, I don't know what is. Can we talk about how all the time we spent together we made up? Oh my God, guys. My first ever mother-in-law and this is absolute insanity. I mean, what do we got on here? First off, poppy seed bun, then it's the tamale covered in chili sauce. I asked for everything on there. That gives us tomato, looks like relish and onion, and inexplicably, we have this massive slice of cucumber also involved. I don't understand this sandwich, but I'm not going to lie, I'm excited for it. This is just absolute insanity. I mean, look at this thing. Okay, this is a messy beast, so we're going to get into it. Let's give it a go. Okay. Yeah, look. It's not bad. Is it insane? Yeah. I feel like the tamale is just going to be a lot of filler that you're getting in there, but this is nuts. I got to try a little bite with the cucumber here. Okay. Yeah, look. Does it need to exist? No. Am I glad it exists? Yeah. This is absolute ... Here, get a little closer for me here. There's no other way to describe it except for absolute insanity. I read online that this may be called a mother-in-law sandwich because it's so messy and complicated. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what I read on the internet. Okay, so a couple of facts about this thing, four bucks, cash only there. Let's get another bite here. Okay. The chili's doing the big work. Uses Chicago-style tamales. I read that online. I don't know the different styles of tamales, but apparently this is a Chicago-specific tamale. I love the American-ness of it. I love like a Polish dude learned this from a Lithuanian dude, and it's got Mexican food inside of an American item with the chili dog. This is just absolute insanity. It's America at its finest. It's everything I love about the fact that we live in a country that allows immigrants from all over the world to come in. Hopefully we continue to do that, and then we see what comes out the other end. This fun melting pot existence is part and parcel of what I love about America, and I think it's really cool. Yeah, I'm glad I checked out. Is it my favorite item that we've had in this Iconic Food series? No, it's not. I like it. I don't love it. I'm going to be honest with you guys, fun to eat, fun to say I've had, but not my favorite thing on the list. Most foods on this list are particularly amazing, but hey, we've still got a ton of great more fun food items to get to, including maybe my favorite hamburger in Chicago. One of a handful of what I consider to be perfect hamburgers in Chicago. We're going to get to that later today, but first, we've got another classic Chicago item to cross off this list. Let's go grab ourselves a Pizza Puff. All right, let's cruise. And now we're headed to feast on a Chicago staple. Technically, we're about to snag a Panzerotti, but just about everyone in Chicago knows them by their other name. We're on our way to get a Pizza Puff, and I'm not sure how many people realize it, but the Pizza Puff was invented and is still produced by the Illinois Tamale Company. Yeah, you heard that right. Chicago's favorite Italian treat was created by a tamale company, and one that was founded by an Iranian Assyrian immigrant. Alicia Shabazz started the company in 1927 after making money as a kid rolling tamales for a push cart at the rate of one penny per tamale he rolled, but Alicia was industrious and eventually ended up buying out almost every push cart in the city before eventually founding the Illinois Tamale Company. But it wasn't until the 70s that Alicia's grandson, Warren Shabazz, invented the Pizza Puff in an attempt to help the company compete with an emerging Chicago Italian population in the midst of a pizza craze. Now these beauties are sold all over the city, so where are we going to get one? Well, if this series is about icons, then it only makes sense to head to the North Lawndale neighborhood and to the oldest continuously operated hot dog stand in Chicago. We're headed to Dave's Red Hots. If I count up the months that I've been sitting down here, it wouldn't add up to the time I spent with you. All right, legendary spot, we're about to head into Dave's, you can see their signage over my shoulder there. Let's cruise on in. Founded in 1938 by Russian immigrant Dave Kaplan who first tried his luck with a cigar store and then a candy shop before finding success with a hot dog stand, this place is an institution. In 1971, it was sold to the Fountain family that's been running it ever since. You take one look at the inside of this place and you know it's got stories to tell. The last time I ate here, I talked to a woman who had been going there for over 60 years. This is that type of neighborhood establishment. This is Dave's Red Hots, and this is a great place to celebrate a great Chicago food like a Pizza Puff, a delicious flaky hand folded pastry filled with pizza sauce, cheese, and if you're me, you're getting the one with Italian sausage. Just like Dave's Red Hots, it's simple, but it's a classic. And here we go ladies and gentlemen, the Pizza Puff. Let's bust this bad boy open. Oh yeah, come on, look at that. Look at that. That is just delicious. All right, let's bring it in. All right, time to feast. I think this is a delicacy. I had a friend disagree with me last night, I was telling about this, someone who you actually see, a surprise that's coming later in the video actually, a gentleman coming to join the video, but he's not a fan of the Pizza Puff. I got the beef, that's what I always go with. Let's get into this. You know, amazing. I mean, look, I'm partial to Hot Pockets, so to get an elevated Hot Pocket, that's what essentially I feel like this is, I love it. Super, super, also Dave's crushed it with this, they killed it. Perfectly deep fried. Don't get a microwave in my opinion, I'm all about the deep fried move. These are great. $6.25 there, but which seems expensive until you realize it's because it comes with the old sack of fries. It's a big old thing of fries. Pretty good, classic fries, not my favorite, but not bad. That is a lot of French fries to be quite honest with you. Not going to get too much of the French fries because we have such a big day of feasting, but this is great. I also just think it's so interesting, the pizza puff coming from a tamale company kind of blows my mind. Alicia, I don't think I'm saying that right, but it might be, Alicia, the guy who invented the, well, he started the company, the tamale company. He came over to this country in 1898 and then to have his grandson invent this. Believe it or not, actually it's a fun fact I found out about, these were invented during the 70s Chicago deep dish pizza craze. Boom, the pizza puff was born. Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, that is just damn good pizza puff. Mm, it really is just like a way better Hot Pocket. They have a couple different flavors, I think there's a cheese only, a beef and a pepperoni, I always go beef. Dave's damn near perfect, I mean, crispy, fantastic, goodness, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm. And how cool, the oldest continuously run hot dog stand in the city. And in one of the most famous hot dog cities in America at that. I'll tell you what, I'm one happy camper after that. That hit the spot. Now we're gonna keep the train rolling, but we're one step closer to me revealing what I consider to be one of the perfect burgers in Chicago. I can't wait to take you guys there, but first, you guys talked about it a ton in my video that showcased the Italian beef. I know I chose the OG spot, now I'm taking you to my favorite beef spot for a different delicacy. We're heading to Johnny's Beef, where legends are born. And now we're off northwest past the birthplace of Hemingway and the offices of Frank Lloyd Wright. We're headed to Elmwood Park and to Johnny's Beef. Founded in 1961 by Johnny Redos and now owned by his son-in-law, Frank Stompanato, they make my favorite Italian beef, but that's not what we're here for. We're on our way to try the beef's bastard cousin, the Italian Combo. Alright guys, Johnny's Beef, legendary spot. Let's pop on in there and get ourselves an Italian Combo, huh? Johnny's Beef, almost always a line and never a disappointment. You can look at this place and tell it's going to be good. A classic sign, quick counter service, limited seating. There's just no chance a place like this is going to be bad and you certainly can't go wrong with the Italian Combo. And the most American move I can think of, Chicagoans took their classic Italian beef sandwich and answered the question, what if we add more meat? That's right, you take a messy, delicious Italian beef, which had Johnny's roast for four hours in juices and Johnny's mother-in-law's seasoning before being put in the fridge overnight so they can slice it extra thin. Then you take their amazing charbroiled Italian sausage and you slip that in there and what do you have? One of the best god damn foods on the planet, the Italian Combo. Oh my gosh. Now this might not look like much to you guys, that Italian sausage right there, the Italian beef on top, but to Chicagoans this is God's gift. I mean this is truly an incredible delicacy. What do we got on here? I got a little bit wet. This is the Italian beef, some hot peppers, an Italian sausage all mashed into one. Talk about American. I mean, unbelievable. All right, we got to get a bite of this guy, huh? Mm-hmm. Oh my God. Wow. I'm sorry I have to bring you in for this. That is phenomenal. I have never had their Italian Combo. I've read many times that it's one of the best, if not the best. They're already one of my three perfect Italian beefs in the city. That's really good. You know who's got an underrated Italian Combo? Clark Street Dog. Swear to God. Not known for their beefs, damn good Italian beef, damn good Italian Combo, and they got a bar in there. Think about it. All right, I got to get another bite of this. Oh, I love it. Mm. Man. The Italian sausage has a little kick to it, and obviously the hot peppers have a little kick to it. I mean, I know this doesn't make sense to non-Chicago folk, but the soggy bread, I swear to God, it's something so perfect about it. Mm. And to be able to walk out the door this Combo, which is a good something, I mean, you're going to be feeling fine after this, $9.23, and that's after taxes. I just think in today's day and age, with today's prices, that is tough, ma'am. All right, we got to get one more bite in here. Mm. Oh, ma'am. Johnny's beef was worth the drive, ma'am. I don't come out here too often, maybe like, this might be like six or seven time out here, but it's worth it. And I know I mentioned this on the way in a little bit, but if you're looking for fun stuff to do out in this area, Frank Lloyd Wright's office is here, also Hemingway's childhood home, which I think also you can do a tour of that, but there's some really fun stuff to do around here. The last time I came through here for this vlog, it was closed, like randomly it was closed that day, and there was a dude who got out of his car and was like, oh, man, I just drove here from Iowa for this Italian beef. Damn. So, Johnny's is closed because it's Memorial Day, which is fine. We're going to find something else. But this poor gentleman who just pulled up, he drove from Iowa, and it's closed. Imagine that. Iowa. He was so bummed out. I'll never forget that. I think about it all the time. Johnny's. God, well done. That is just so freaking good. I'm going to take a few more bites off camera. I got to somehow save room because I've still got two amazing sandwiches. One, we're still inching our way closer to one of the perfect Chicago hamburgers in the city. And then two, the place we're headed to right now, let's cruise, we're getting a famous Chicago delicacy sandwich. We're going to go slam an E-Burrito. Let's cruise. God, this is so good. Now, we make our way north and west to a restaurant that got its start in Humble Park, but now lives in Chicago's North Center neighborhood. We're headed to Burrincan. Started in 1996 by Juan Figueroa, who came to the U.S. in 76, and after a couple of failed liquor stores and restaurants, opened the place that brought the E-Burrito to Chicago. Supposedly, Juan read an article in the Puerto Rican newspaper, El Vaquero, about a sandwich invented by Jorge Munez after he ran out of bread and decided to use fried plantains to make a sandwich. Juan loved the idea and started making a steak version at his restaurant, and the E-Burrito sandwich took off. I love that Burrincan is still ran by the same family and is still serving the same delicacy they popularized in the U.S., albeit at a new location. Now, let's go check this place out. Alright guys, here we are at Burrincan. Let's go get ourselves some fried plantains. Time for some E-Burritos. Let's cruise on in. Located at 3811 Northwestern Avenue, this newer build doesn't have the older look of most of the classic spots I've taken you to on this series, but just because this place doesn't scratch the classic itch I love so much, doesn't mean it isn't a place I'd love to grab a drink at. They've got a great bar I wouldn't mind grabbing a beer at, and they don't seem stuffy, which because of the way I look and dress is my usual biggest turnoff to a restaurant. But we're not here for the ambiance, we're here for the food, so let's get into it. I miss you, rather that would leave my brain. Okay ladies and gentlemen, look at this. On the E-Burrito dudes, what you're seeing right there, that's fried plantains. This is an amazing dish, we got the OG, the OG is made with steak, it's got tomato, it's got cheese, it's got lettuce, it's got garlic sauce, and yeah, it's like a Chicago original. Technically invented in Puerto Rico, but popularized in the states. Let's chomp away guys, huh? Oh yeah, there's so much to love about this. One, it's a garlic lover's dream. Two, it's unique. I mean I've had fried plantains before, but never as a sandwich bread, it's brilliant. How cool that's like, basically this is a Chicago food. The garlic is so good. Is it the greatest steak in the world? No. Is it the greatest sandwich in the world? Also no. But is it freaking awesome and delicious? Yeah. If you haven't tried one of these, you need to. I want to go to the OG spot. They don't serve my favorite E-Burritos in the city, they're just, are the OG spot. So there are ones where you can get better quality steak and stuff, but this is really good. Especially if you are a garlic lover, my lord. 11 bucks for this, before tax, so not bad, it was like $12.43 or something like that. Not a bad price. Now why do we have this in Chicago? A lot of people probably don't know this, Chicago is the second most Puerto Rican outside of Puerto Rico. And we're the only city, we're the only place in the country with a designated Puerto Rican neighborhood. And because of that, we have the awesome E-Burrito. And do you want to try the real OG? Because this was technically popularized in the US, not invented in the US, it was invented in Puerto Rico. But Plantano Loco, the place that originated this in Puerto Rico, is still slinging these, you can still go snag one. So if you really want to go get the OG OG out there in Puerto Rico, if you want to go to the stateside OG, head over to Borinquen. I always want to say Borinquen, but I guess it's Borinquen, Borinquen, am I saying that right? I'm probably butchering that. These are great though. The plantains have a nice consistency, it's kind of like, I don't know, if you've had fried plantains before, you'll know. It's got a little bit of a crispness to it, but also still some softness in there. They've got a good flavor profile, and they work great as a vehicle, as a bread if you will. I've said this a couple times in this video, but a garlic lover's dream. And that place has a cool bar. So go in there, it's a sit down spot, grab yourself a couple of drinks, have some fun, enjoy the day. Man, this day's flying by, this is so crazy. Again, shout out to the Patreon supporters, they're the reason I can make videos like this. And now, little surprise for you guys, we're off to one of my favorite hamburgers in the city. I am a huge, huge fan of this special type of cheese, that's your hint. And we're gonna go snag and pick up my homie AJ, if you're a long time viewer of the channel, you know AJ's been in a ton of vlogs, he's actually never been to the next spot we're going to. It's one of his like, cross it off the list, dream spots to go to. I told him I'd pick him up on the way, so let's go snag AJ, and then yeah, we're gonna go get an awesome burger. Let's go cruise. Hello! Ready for some Paradise Pop? You better believe it, finally, it's only been like six years in the making. Alright, Paradise Pop we go, let's cruise. Now we're continuing our way northwest to the best place to eat near O'Hare, and boy are we getting something good. We're heading to snag a Merck's Cheddar Burger from one hell of a legendary spot. But real quick, to get any of you Philistines up to speed with some Merck's Cheddar education, if you haven't heard of the glory that is Merck's Cheddar, it's a soft aged sharp cheddar that tastes like heaven and makes everything better. It all started in 1938 when George Merck opened his own homemade sausage and cheese business after selling his dad's cheese door to door for a few years. He opened three spots before losing it all and going back to the drawing board. But having that never quit attitude that we love here in the US, George kept pushing and then in the 50's he developed Old Salem Butter Churn Cheese Spread and changed his business forever. It may have gone through a few rebrands before it became the Merck's Cheddar we love today, but at it's core it's the same cheddar spread George invented and it's one of the most delicious cheeses you'll come across. Which is why it's no surprise that by the 70's they were selling 60,000 pounds of cheese a month. So where are we going to get this legendary cheese? We're going to what might be my favorite place to sling it on a burger, we're headed to Paradise Pop. Alright guys, one of my favorite spots in the city, Paradise Pop. Let's feast on a Merck's Cheddar Burger huh? Let's cruise. Founded in 1982 by George and Tony Manos after their dad saw the building for sale and phoned them up, this place has been slinging delicious food for decades. You can get to it in less than 10 minutes from O'Hare, they'll toss you your food fast and you better believe it's going to taste amazing. They've got a lot of great items on their menu but today we're here for their Char Cheddar Burger. Oh my god, AJ's already dug into his, how do you like, this is your first bite of Paradise Pop. The real deal. The real deal right? It's actually one of the rare places that's worth the hype. It is worth the hype and it's all about the Merck's Cheddar, Merck's Cheddar is so freakishly good, it's one of my favorite things on the planet, one of my favorite things I discovered in Chicago. I don't know if it's like a Chicago thing, I want to say it's kind of a Wisconsin thing maybe but it is freakishly good. Alright let's get a little bite here, mmm, man, for a simple burger that's not a smash burger, I'm a smash burger psycho, this is about as good as it gets for a simple burger. Something about the Merck's Cheddar too that works in tandem really well with the flavor of the meat. I don't know what it is but on this particular burger it's substantial. And just a little shack, you can't even go in there. I love it, it feels like the type of place that would be cash only even though it's not. One fun fact for you guys, this isn't about Paradise Pop, this is about Merck's Cheddar. When the Merck's Cheddar guy first started a business he was like selling cheese. How about this for a move, he painted a number one on the left side of his delivery van and a number two on the right side. So as you went around, he only owned one van but he had people thinking because they would see van number one, one way, van number two, the other. He had people thinking that he was more successful than he was. Is that not hysterical dude? I think it's so funny. Would you consider this one of Chicago's perfect burgers? I think there's a handful, maybe somewhere between five and ten perfect burgers in Chicago. I would agree on that number and yes, this is in that number, absolutely, and definitely for the price too. Yeah, under ten bucks out the door? It's unbelievable. This place really is fantastic. Like he said, it's worth the drive. If you're flying in or out of O'Hare and have a rental, it's my favorite move is coming here after O'Hare. It's an awesome move. Make sure you're subscribed to the channel. I've got more videos coming out every couple weeks usually. I got a bunch of stuff in the bank. I already have a Denver video, I travel to Denver and back. That video I've already finished. It's already out for my Patreon folks, support me on Patreon if you can. I love you guys. I'll see you guys later. Peace! Can we talk about the migratory patterns of the gray whale swimming up from Mexico and passing by our town in April? Not unlike our neighbors, need a vacation in Gainesville when the highways turn to veins and all our cars turn into blood cells. I swear there is a point...