Best Food in Chicago: Deep Dish Pizza, Chicago Dog, Birria and More

Chicago is, among many other things, a serious food city. Not in the white-tablecloth-and-hushed-tones sense — though it has those restaurants, and the Alinea post covers that territory — but in the sense of a city where the deep-dish pizza is worth an argument, where a birria taco from a hole-in-the-wall earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and where a hot dog stand has been verbally abusing its customers for decades and the customers keep coming back. I ate my way through as much of it as a single trip could accommodate, often ordering one dish at two restaurants rather than sitting through a full meal at one. These are the dishes that stayed with me.

Tzuco

Tzuco is the creation of chef Carlos Gaytán, the first Mexican chef ever awarded a Michelin star for his restaurant, Mexique. After Mexique (which was also located in Chicago) closed, Chef Gaytán returned to Mexico with a promise to make his way back to Chicago.

He returned one year later and opened Tzuco. The name Tzuco is short for Huitzuco, Gaytán's hometown in Mexico. Gaytán has brought his hometown, authentic, Mexican cooking to Chicago and patrons and critics are noticing. Tzuco, which opened on September 16 (Mexican Independence Day), 2019, has since earned and held a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction.

Pescadilla

The pescadilla is not a quesadilla. The name is a declaration of difference: this is a squid ink tortilla — deep, almost black, with a slight oceanic sweetness that the squid ink contributes — stuffed not with cheese but with a spicy fish filling of tomato, onion, garlic, fresh thyme, and avocado salsa.

The filling is warm and assertive where the cheese of a traditional quesadilla would be mild and yielding. The tortilla is thicker than you expect, substantial enough to hold everything without becoming the focus.

Tzuco Margarita

The margarita made with cucumber and elderflower arrived alongside it, and the combination was one of the most coherent pairings of cocktail and dish I experienced in Chicago.

Bar Mar

Bar Mar is the creation of Chef Jose Andres, who is most famously known for his restaurant, Bazaar Meat. I had the chance to eat at Bazaar Meat in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was incredible. The website accurately describes that restaurant as the "James Beard award-winning chef’s wild and wonderful celebration of the carnivorous."

Bar Mar ("mar" is translated "ocean" in Spanish), is Chef Andres' ode to seafood, and is described as "a true celebration of the bounty of the sea."

Paper Plane

I opted to dine at the bar, instead of in the dining room, because the place is called "Bar" Mar after all. I ordered a Paper Plane to celebrate Chicago, the city where this cocktail was created, according to the bartender. The drink, which is named after the M.I.A. song "Paper Planes," has taken flight and is now popular far beyond Chicago's borders.

Next, I decided to order the octopus, because hanging over the bar, and directly above my head, was a giant, glowing octopus. It was as if it, and Jose Andres, were not so subtly telling me what to order.

Pulpo en Aceite y Ajo

La Mariscadora Octopus with Garlic Oil, Pan de Cristal

The octopus was both tender and crispy and the garlic sauce and garlic oil complemented both the meat and the potatoes beautifully.

The Wiener's Circle

The Wiener Circle serves up classic, Chicago-style, hot dogs either steamed or char-grilled. They also serve up a major attitude. The Wiener Circle is famous for its combative and downright hostile service. In fact, their sign reads, "Now open for delivery and curbside abuse."

Do not come here without a sense of humor and a thick skin. This infamously rude hot dog venue has been visited by many celebrities including Jack McBrayer and Cuba Gooding Jr. Some, like Ed Sheeran, have even taken up residence behind the counter, serving up hot dogs to customers. Despite his best efforts, Sheeran's service was criticized by the establishment for being "too proper and friendly."

Char Dog

The Wiener Circle's culture aside, the best reason to go there is the remarkable, classic, Chicago dog. You might be wondering, as I was, "what is a classic Chicago-style hot dog and how does it differ from your standard hot dog with ketchup, mustard and relish?"

I learned that a Chicago dog starts with a hot dog nestled in a poppyseed bun, topped with fresh tomato, onion, sport peppers, a pickle and celery salt.

I am a believer! I much prefer the fresh tomato to processed ketchup, the poppyseed bun to standard white bread buns and the spicy, sport peppers and fresh, whole, dill pickle to sweet relish.

Pequod's

Pequod's has been serving deep-dish pizza since 1970 and is a staple of the Chicago deep-dish pizza story. If you are a fan of FX's The Bear, I am sure you have heard of it. I heard about Pequod's growing up, as my mom told me stories of it being the first deep-dish pizza she had eaten.

Pequod's was named after the whaling ship in "Moby Dick" by the original owner, Burt Katz. The only indication of this today, is the signage featuring a whale wearing a thong. I'm sure Melville would (not) be proud.

Pepperoni and Sausage Deep Dish Pizza

Deep-dish pizza is, before anything else, an argument. Chicago has been having it since the 1940s, when the first version appeared at Pizzeria Uno, and the argument has not been resolved because it cannot be resolved — deep-dish is either a pizza or it is a casserole, depending on your position on the matter, and reasonable people land on both sides.

What is not in dispute is what it is: a high, thick crust baked in a round, steel, oiled pan, the ingredients layered in reverse order from conventional pizza — cheese first, then toppings, then tomato sauce on top. It is similar to a pie in construction and similar to an event in experience. A Pequod's deep-dish takes 45 minutes to bake. This is not a casual meal.

If all of that isn't making your mouth water, Pequod's adds another layer: a caramelized crust. This crust was created by Katz several years before he opened the original Pequod's in Morton Grove. For those of you who have had deep-dish pizza, you may be picturing a biscuit-like crust. That's where Katz makes his departure once again. The crust he created is more foccacia-like.

The cheese is rich and gooey, the tomatoes are bright, the meat is savory and the crust is both crispy and doughy. And all that said, my words do not do it justice. Just give it a try if you are in Chicago.

Birrieria Zaragoza

Birrieria Zaragoza is a casual, hole-in-the-wall restaurant that has indescribably good birria tacos. Michelin agreed when they gave this restaurant, with a tiny menu, a Bib Gourmand distinction.

Birria is a slow-cooked meat recipe that originated in Jalisco, Mexico. The result is fall-off-the-bone, juicy, tender, sweet, spicy, and savory meat, that is served in a warm, tortilla and then dipped in consommé.

Birria can be made with various kinds of meat including beef, lamb or goat. At Birrieria Zaragoza, goat is the only offering, and that is not a problem, because this was some of the best goat I have ever eaten.

The goat is not the only story though. As you can see, the hand-made tortillas are made to order and pressed on a mesquite wood press. The consommé is made with tomato broth and without any meat drippings or fat. My taco is hanging out in the corner, waiting to be devoured, but still incomplete.

Taco de Birria

Shout out to the chef who came over and personally constructed my taco to have what he called the "perfect ratio of meat to condiments." It might not look like much, but when meat is cooked this well, you don't need back up dancers. Simply put, this was the best birria taco I have ever eaten.

Blue Door Kitchen and Garden

Blue Door Kitchen and Garden is located in an old mansion in Chicago's Gold Coast and is one of Chef Art Smith's seven restaurants. Aside from being a restauranteur and a two-time James Beard Foundation winner, he also served as Oprah Winfrey's personal chef for ten years.

At Blue Door Kitchen and Garden, he focuses on Southern delights such as fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and macaroni and cheese, as well as seasonal farm-to-table dishes such as purple potato gnocchi. If you're looking for comfort food in a comforting setting, this is your spot.

If weather permits, I recommend sitting in the courtyard patio.

Blue Door Ranch

Corazon Blanco, Lime, Cucumber Soda

Fried Chicken Benedict with Pork Braised Greens, Sausage Gravy

The fried chicken Benedict at Blue Door is a dish that operates in the specific register of Southern comfort food done with genuine skill. The chicken itself — one piece, perfectly fried, the crust shattering cleanly, the meat inside still moist — would have been enough on its own. Alongside it: pork braised greens with the particular depth that comes from long cooking in pork fat, a fried egg with a yolk that ran when broken, and sausage gravy ladled over everything. Chef Art Smith spent ten years feeding Oprah Winfrey. Looking at this plate, I understood why she kept him around.

A small bird landed on my table at Blue Door Kitchen while I was eating this. I took it as an endorsement.

Chicago fed me better than I expected, which is the best thing a food city can do. The six dishes above represent one approach to the city's culinary range — one dish wonders, ordered strategically across multiple restaurants. The Michelin-recognized restaurants (Kasama, North Pond, and Avec) are covered in the next post. And Alinea — the restaurant I had been planning to visit for a decade — is the post after that.

The complete Chicago travel guide — covering architecture, parks, food, art, and Alinea — is here.