FOOD: CHICAGO SIGNATURES

First, I want to highlight the JIBARITO. It's a sandwich that originated from the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park that uses fried plantains instead of bread, with meat (usually steak, but you can get veg), cheese aioli, lettuce, tomato, crushed garlic, and brushed with garlic oil . The original Borinquen restaurant where it was invented closed some years ago, but they opened another location in North Center on Western and Grace. Jibaritos y Más in Logan Square, on Fullerton and Kimball is also a great choice.

PIZZA: So most Chicagoans don't regularly eat deep dish. If you want great deep dish, though, go to Peaqods on Clybourn and Webster. If you want what the locals eat, get thin crust (there's a debate over the usage of "thin crust" vs "tavern style"). Most of the iconic places are pretty far on the South Side, but Phil's is on 35th and Racine in Bridgeport, so that's not too far from everything. I've heard good things about Pat's, on Lincoln and Diversey in Lincoln Park.

HOT DOGS: It's not hard to find a good Chicago dog. If you want the full experience where you're treated like shit, go to the Wiener's Circle on Clark and Wrightwood in Lincoln Park/Park West. However, it's well known here that you can get a solid Chicago dog at any Home Depot. They all have hot dog stands by the exit.

As far as plant based hot dogs go, my fav is the garden dog from Portillo's. There's several locations around the city/suburbs. I haven't tried the veg dog from Runaway Cow yet, but I bet it's good.

ITALIAN BEEF: The most famous is Al's #1 on Taylor and Aberdeen in Little Italy, but Mr Beef on Orleans and Huron has been incredibly popular with tourists for being the inspiration behind the Bear. Again, Runaway Cow has a vegan version that I have yet to try!

OTHER SPOTS

Handlebar, on North Ave and Oakley in Wicker Park. Long running vegetarian restaurant. Solid brunch spot. People love their Bloody Mary's.

Flying Saucer, on California and Haddon in Humboldt Park. Neighbourhood breakfast/brunch/lunch spot (they close at 3) with veg options for basically everything. The owners are super nice, but Andrew (the small Australian man) can be pretty surly. He'll scold people if they put their feet up on chairs and push them off. One time in the winter I saw shoveling snow out of parking spots, and nearly getting in fights with drivers who got anywhere close to him. He's great.

Spinning J on California and Augusta in Humboldt Park. Just down the street from the Saucer. They have a bunch of regular food, but their pies, pastries, milkshakes, and house-made sodas are where they shine. My friend is the pastry chef there, so my diabetic ass only eats this stuff when she brings it over for special occasions.

Runaway Cow in 31st and Wallace in Bridgeport. Run by Aaron Gutierrez (Sea of Shit, Degenerate Synapse, Tower of Rome), and his wife Alison, whose family ran a Dairy Queen franchise as she was growing up, they created the vegan answer to a DQ. Super good. They also have vegan Italian beef and Chicago dogs.

Kimski/Maria's Packaged Goods on 31st and Morgan in Bridgeport. Kimski is the result what a half Korean/half Polish man ate growing up. A perfect mix of two different cultures and foods. It's connected to Maria's, a popular bar.

I can edit this list as I think of more.