Great stories about some of Chicago’s iconic foods. Some of the dishes are world famous while some are local legends that make you need to tour the town to find the original location. Photos are spot on and beautiful. Not a book to read when you are hungry or you will find your stomach trying to revolt against your boring lunch.

I had NO idea how many great foods were created in Chicago. I love the history, the story, where to find it, and if possible how to make it. This book is very engaging and can be read all at one time or 1 chapter a day. Very entertaining and I would highly recommend.

I didn’t enjoy how this book was structured and the narration of this content was kind of disjointed and had the effect of playfully attempting nostalgia. Much preferred Gastro Obscura’s approach—a better marriage of these things.

While I was disappointed to learn this wasn't a proper recipe book, I did enjoy the origin stories behind some of these interesting food combinations and meals.
I really liked the few that did tell me how to make it at home and will definitely be trying some.
This book has helped make Chicago a bucketlist location.

I received a copy via NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

4.5 stars
This was a light, easy read about all of the unique foods you can find in Chicago. Having lived my entire life in Illinois, I was familiar with all 30 of these, but it was still nice to learn about the history of each one. I also liked the recipes included for you to make your own version. I think this would make a great guidebook for tourists, as well as a nice coffee table gift for a Chicagoan in your life.
I would recommend this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Illinois Press for the ARC!

This is a very specific book for a very specific audience and while I love food writing this just wasn’t for me. I flicked through and paused on a couple of dishes before flicking on. A shame the photography is so appalling and unappetising when the layout and design has been so well done.

What a great informational book about Chicago and it’s food! There are a few things that make this book great for me. #1 - the recipes are in there, every single one of them! #2 - the places where you can find these dishes are in the book as well. So whether you’re from Chicago or just visiting, now you know where these dishes can be found.. and #3 - I love how the stories of where these unique dishes came about are included. It just adds something special to the food.

One day I will o back to Chicago and visit these places. A well done, informative, and mouthwatering guide.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

What a fabulous and delightful book! As a member of a foodie supper club, I plan on buying this for each member! It's just a delightful history/recipe book, and I so appreciate the insights into Chicago cuisine (even though truthfully I won't eat half of them!) Great information presented in a very digestible (pun intended) way. Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, and much luck to the authors!

Ever wonder the origins of the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza vs. Chicago Tavern Pizza and how to make it at home then this is the book for you. Chicago is an eating town and known for the food in the ethnic neighborhood grab and go spots. The authors interviewed owners and families to determine the birthplace of iconic sandwiches such as the Jim Shoe. Really interesting to read and the descriptions make your mouth water. They even give addresses for the restaurants where you can eat them. Even if you don't live near the suggested locations to get the menu items, the recipes and details can help you make at home.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading and drooling over this book. As well as a recipe book it also gives the history and stories behind the food. This makes the recipes more special and personal to the people mentioned.
I’m not from Chicago but if I was it would make me want to visit the places mentioned. As well as trying the food of course. The recipes look delicious.

This is a great book for people who are foodies, especially those who love to travel and explore new cities! I will be checking out some of these places next time I go to Chicago!

This is a great collection of well-known foods in Chicago. It's an interesting culinary tour of the city. The book includes a brief history of each recipe, as well as places you can still order the dish in Chicago and a recipe so you can try to recreate these Chicago classics at home. I enjoyed this and would love to go to the Windy City to try some of these dishes after reading this.

4.5 stars, taking half a star because this book does not include beer nuggets!

As someone born and raised in the Chicagoland area, and a big fan of the food scene there (though I relocated to the Pacific Northwest a few years back), I jumped at getting a copy of this! I knew going in that I would be familiar with some of the stories already but, luckily, Monida Eng goes deep into Chicago's food history and pulls out some surprised for even this local. And as a displaced local, I LOVE that it comes with recipes... not that I don't know how to make some of them already :)

Written in an engaging, conversational manner, Made in Chicago was easily and quickly devoured (wink wink), and very much enjoyed. Even though I just spent a month in the city over the holidays, I am now finding myself feeling nostalgic and homesick for it again after reading this. I just want a gyro, a Portillo's hot dog or Italian beef, tavern style pizza, and some beer nuggets (which, sadly, aren't included in this book)!

I think anyone who is a fan of food, food history, the impact of immigrants in shaping America's food history, or the city of Chicago, will enjoy this book immensely!

Highlights:
- bone-in pork chop sandwich (a favorite of my mom)
- Chicago style popcorn (another favorite of my mom's and the dish I've made most, thanks to my high school years at a local movie theater that offering it in concessions)
- flaming saganaki (and really, all of the Greek food, which is my absolute favorite! I still miss Parthenon!)
- tavern style pizza, my all-time favorite pizza. For the best, visit Pizza Villa in DeKalb, IL and order some beer nuggets to go with :) My favorite toppings are mushrooms, pepperoni, and onions. So good!

An excellent choice for Chicago residents or even visitors to the Windy City, this book serves up 27 foods that are popular Chicago dishes. Not surprising since Chicago is a multi-cultural city, the foods are from a variety of cultural backgrounds. There’s a short history of each dish, where to find it, and there are even some recipes. My favorite chapter is Deep Dish Pizza, because I’ve gobbled up Lou Malnati’s pizzas many times. They are much tastier when served fresh from the oven , so hang out in the restaurants and dig in.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the authors for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book.

One could say that every city has their signature foods, but being a former Chicagoan, I relished the opportunity to read this book. Many of the Chicago favorites that were listed brought back many fond memories of my youthful exploits in the city. Reading the background stories for these foods shows the varied ethnicities of the city and how different ethnic groups shared their food with the masses. The bonus of also having the recipes allows former Chicagoans (and anyone who wants to just enjoy good food) to eat some of their favorites wherever they are.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way this book featured these tasty bites, and many of the stories just made me want to grab a plate (or a plastic basket) and dig in. I liked the way it featured each food, the background story, where it could be found, and the recipe for attempting to recreate it on your own. The authors did a great job researching each dish, and it sounds like they had a great time taste-testing their favorites.

Before picking up this title, the main thing that I knew about Chicago food was Deep Dish Pizza. Clearly there is so much more.

This book is about that pizza and twenty-nine other dishes. Some of these include Akutagawa, Chicken Corn Roll Tamale, the Chicago Hot Dog, Jibarito, Jim Shoe, Maxwell Street Polish, Mother-in-Law and many more. This book will be so enjoyed by those lucky enough to live in, or who can travel to Chicago, or foodies in general. The pictures and text will make readers hungry. Luckily there are mentions of restaurants where the foods are served. There are also recipes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the University of Illinois Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Chicago is a food city. Once famous for its stockyards and still a major transit point for the products of America’s breadbasket, the city is home to a diverse people, a gathering of migrants and immigrants who brought a wide variety of foods from their homelands and put the necessary twists on them to make them salable to Chicagoans while using available ingredients. This book features entries on thirty foods and beverages that are products of Chicago ingenuity, be they dishes that were wholly invented in the Windy City or one’s that have a distinctive Chicago-style variant. Foodies know exactly what is meant by Chicago-style hot dogs, pizza, or tamales.

If all you know about Chicago cuisine is that ketchup on a hot dog is considered a sin, you’ll learn about some colorfully named Chicago inventions such as: “the Jim Shoe,” “the Big Baby,” and “the Mother-in-Law,” as well as many others that are more prosaically named, if equally calorically dense. One also sees the mark of Chicago’s immigrant story in the Akutagawa, Flaming Saganaki, Gam Pong Chicken Wings, the Maxwell Street Polish, and Chicago Corn Roll Tamales.

Each chapter discusses the nature of the respective dish, its influences, the [often contentious] origin of each item, where one can obtain said dish, and (for most) includes a recipe for making one’s own home variant. So, it’s mostly food history, but with a bit of cookbook, as well. There are pictures throughout, of the foods and in some cases of the location that invented or popularized each dish.

Be forewarned, while Chicago is a city that loves food, it’s not a place that’s wild about nutrition or moderate serving sizes. In fact, I feel certain that many people attempting to consume every item in this book in, say, one month’s time would drop dead of a coronary shortly thereafter (if not during.) Most of these dishes are foods done fast and served with an allowance of fat, sugar, and / or meat suitable for a family (for several days.)

If you’re a traveler (or a Chicagoan) and want to know more about quintessential windy city foods and where you can sample them, you must read this book.

As a Chicagoan and an eatie, this book was right up my alley. I loved reading the history of Chicago foods. Yes, deep dish pizza is in the book (but all real Chicagoans hate the stuff and only eat it when they are entertaining out of towners) but so are REAL Chicago foods like the Jim Shoe, giardinara, jibaritos and more. YUM. I love that you get the history of each food as well as a recipe (for some) and 3 restaurants in Chicago where you can enjoy the food. Part history, part travelogue, and a whole lot of fun.

This one was so much fun! If you are from Chicago, like to travel, just like food, and if you like Chicago food then this is the book for you! Most of the eats are ones you’ll recognize but then there are a few that you won’t. Each of the thirty food items have a short history and then where you can get it, as well as a recipe to make it yourself and a full color image. It’s like a very digestible history book and a cookbook combined. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!