Awesome Combination

Made in Chicago is an awesome combination. It's a travel guide, history book and cookbook all rolled into one. Add some great photographs to that and you have a real winner! The collection includes many of Chicago's iconic foods that reflect the wonderful variety of cultures of the city.

Having lived most of my life just thirty minutes outside of Chicago, I spent many hours and days in the city. One of the things I've always enjoyed the most is trying the different foods that the city is known for. The authors have flawlessly taken those foods and provided their histories, recipes and some wonderful pictures which make this such a wonderful collection. Whether you're a foodie, a Chicago traveler, or just plain curious, this book is definitely for you. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are voluntary and strictly my own.

A fun book of food and facts with great photographs.

Everything in this book is a Chicago made food. Each chapter includes the history of the dish, which was surprisingly detailed, plus a list of restaurants you can go to to try the dish, and some have the recipe for making the dish at home. Overall, a fun book to read.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

I have never been to Chicago and never eaten much of the food in this book. But what a fun book it is. I lived reading the stories and all the information. As I love food and love knowing where the recipescome from this was a perfect read for me.

But for me it was just that. A fun read but I won't use any of the recipes. Although I found many of them interesting they are not the type of food I would eat on a regular basis.

As I said it is fun to read and very interesting.

What a fun book! As a chicago native I was surprised at all the history of these foods! I really enjoyed reading through the origin stories and truly appreciated the attached recipes. This is a fun local book that I can see popping up in local boutiques downtown!

Unable to access this one in the formats its given on Netgalley so sadly will not be able to review but look forward to picking this one up,

I received a free copy of, Made in Chicago, by Monica Eng; David Hammond, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. A book about Chicago food, what could be better. From burgers to breaded steak sandwiches chicken vesuvio, to Chicago mix popcorn and so much more. This book tells you the history behing the food, the best places to get the food, and a recipes to make it at home. MMMM so good.

What a great look into Chicago history and restaurants. This provides a historical look at some of the most iconic recipes of the Chicago area as well as a way to bring those favorites home to introduce the foods of Chicago to your neighbors. This provides a great historical perspective and recipes. I would recommend this for those loving the city.

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher and author for the opportunity..

*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.

When you think of Chicago food, a few things probably spring to mind; hot dogs, deep dish pizza, maybe a beef sandwich. And you'd be right of course, these are all iconic foods of the area. But apparently, there are so much more.

This book takes you through thirty of Chicago's homegrown dishes (or influenced from outside and made their own) and the history and possibly origins of all of them. Each of the thirty also has a recipe included, and a listing of places where you can get to as close to the original as possible to try if you're in visiting.

I learned about a lot of new things in this book (and want to try many of them). From the plethora of different types of beef sandwiches (it was a stockyard town, makes sense), to a syrupy-sweet lemonade, it's definitely not a book to follow for when you're on a diet. I liked learning some of the history behind the dishes as well; although sometimes it could get repetitive (indeed I think I saw one paragraph that was completely copy/pasted from another dish). But I think most people will use this as a reference rather than sitting down and reading cover to cover as I did.

I'm certainly prepared for any trip to Chicago now!

Review by M. Reynard 2022

OMG!!! I am hungry now. Really interesting read about the food of Chicago. I will be going there soon and now I know a few places to eat. Great information. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

As a foodie I loved this book! I would love to visit Chicago I’ve day…I hear the food is amazing! This book made that easy for me to learn abt some of the must see spots to check out!

Go beyond deep-dish with a portable guide to neighborhood favorites

Italian beef and hot dogs get the headlines. Cutting-edge cuisine and big-name chefs get the Michelin stars. But Chicago food shows its true depth in classic dishes conceived in the kitchens of immigrant innovators, neighborhood entrepreneurs, and mom-and-pop visionaries.

Monica Eng and David Hammond draw on decades of exploring the city’s food landscape to serve up thirty can’t-miss eats found in all corners of Chicago. From Mild Sauce to the Jibarito and from Taffy Grapes to Steak and Lemonade, Eng and Hammond present stories of the people and places behind each dish while illuminating how these local favorites reflect the multifaceted history of the city and the people who live there. Each entry provides all the information you need to track down whatever sounds good and selected recipes even let you prepare your own Flaming Saganaki or Akutagawa.

Generously illustrated with full-color photos, Made in Chicago provides locals and visitors alike with loving profiles of a great food city’s defining dishes.

My parents just moved to Chicago and i have heard a lot about the food. This book is not just a cookbook. Rather this is the history of food in Chicago, where to buy, and occasional recipes. Perfect gift for any foodie!

Having been to Chicago many times I was thrilled to enjoy this book with quite a few places that I have visited in the past. Its a nicely laid out book with just enough information and detail to figure out where you want experience the fantastic food described,
I highly recommend this for any foodie or anyone that wants to discover the amazing culinary world of Chicago.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.
Such an interesting book ! I am not from the US and never been to Chigago but I was curious to discover the food and see if I heard of some of it. That was a complete discovery and a good learning opportunity for me. I would like to go there and try the food in the suggested restaurant but unfortunately that is not really something you can do on a regular basis. That would have been amazing to have a recipe to try at home for all the food in this book on top of the discovery of the stories behind them. Don't get me wrong there is some of them but only for a few..

As we head out to Chicago for an early Christmas visit, it was wonderful to see this book pop up as available to read and review...I have my eating pants all packed and ready,
Smartly presented, this book, even if you live in Chicago, will get you eating at places you may have only heard of. and dreamed of eating at. The recipes given are a bonus and don't look too difficult to make.
I will proudly put this in our travel section and recommend it to patrons, with extra notes after I return from our trip.

Sometimes cookbooks come out that are simply fun – they don’t have basic recipes, or aren’t there to teach special cooking skills. But these books are often ones that are good for gifts, or in the case of Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites a book of iconic foods from a location that may mean something to us. For those who dare go to Chicago (with the horrific political and crime climate), this book is delightful. There are many of us have spent a fair amount of time in Chicago, and have sampled the luscious dishes in the book.

Anyone who is planning a trip to Chicago will want to pick up this book and make sure they seek out the places where they can taste these different dishes that aren’t really found in other cities.

After each recipe, there is a recipe for making the dishes at home. This is helpful and the recipes are easy-to-follow and can be easily made by both beginning and seasoned cooks. There are also excellent photographs of every recipe. Even those who have never been to Chicago and tasted these dishes will be intrigued and will want to make them at home.

All told, this is not a serious cookbook, but it is a fun one to include in any cookbook collection. Cooks will have a enjoyable time getting acquainted with Chicago food and making it at home.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Opa!!! This is a wonderful book that gave me a taste of home!

The book was co-authored by two serious Chicago foodies. Monica Eng is a reporter for Axios Chicago, cohost of the Chewing podcast and worked at the Chicago Tribune where she was nominated for five James Beard Awards for writing. David Hammond is Dining and Drinking Editor for Newcity/Chicago magazine and regularly writes foodie stuff for the Chicago Tribune.

The authors take a look at the beginning and the history of some of the Windy City’s favorites, which are not haute cuisine. These are the foods loved by locals that define the Chicagoland foodscape. Yes, Italian beef and Chicago-style pizza and hot dogs are found in other regions, but you can’t export the ambiance of a Chicago beef or hot dog stand. And is the rest of the U.S. ready for Tom Tom Tamales, bone-in pork chop sandwiches or pizza puffs?

For me, this was a nostalgic look at some foods of my past, which I really miss! Anyone who has relocated from the area will enjoy this book. If you are traveling to Chicago, bring it along so you can experience some of the places outside the usual tourist-recommended eateries.

As for recreating them at home, it's never quite as good as the original. Pepper and egg sandwich is easily, but I guess it needs a flattop grill. You can find Vienna beef hot dogs here, but the bread isn't the same. As for tamales, I realize it is profoundly at odds with what is generally accepted here in Phoenix for a tamale, but there is something about a Chicago-style tamale boat with sauce on it that just takes me back!

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Oh, if I only had this book a week ago while we were visiting Chicago for a week! At least I have it for the next trip….I don’t really consider myself an ex-Chicagoan (my daughter still lives there in Malört-loving Andersonville and is a brewer at one of the city’s premier craft breweries; she was also part of the internet movement to have Apple add the hot dog emoji— with mustard only — to their collection), but since we went west 25 years ago, every trip back is a food pilgrimage. And, yes, Lou Malnati’s deep dish and Portillo’s or Vienna Beef hot dogs and Italian beef are usual staples. Eng’s and Hammond’s book goes further — into the unique neighborhoods that make Chicago a true smorgasbord. I had lived in Lincoln Square near New Greektown (flaming saganaki and gyros) and German cuisine. Growing up, you just don’t realize what's truly local until you can’t find it anymore (pepper and egg sandwiches around Lent? Make your own).

I really loved learning the origins of foods that were selected for the book and I had no idea that Shrimp deJonge and Chicken Vesuvio had Chicago origins (and, like Italian beef, are unknown past the Rockies). I guess I also assumed that gyros didn’t start in Chicago (since we have places like Mad Greek around). I’m keeping the recipes for Akutagawa and Taffy Grapes on hand for the next get-together with Chicago relatives.

The book is beautifully illustrated and organized. The photography is just scrumptious. The red headlines under the separate sections break up otherwise long stories into digestible ones. And the checkerboard border on the page edges remind you of the paper food tray liners you get with fast food.

But you missed pierogis! Time to explore the Polish neighborhoods of the North Side.

Also, there’s an excellent reason to write a sequel about local desserts (we had a Chicago mix ice cream bar at Pretty Cool Ice Cream and bought blueberry pierogis from Alexandra’s Factory Outlet). Eli’s cheesecake!

All in all, a great book, a quick read (but hold onto it as a reference during food-hopping), a great gift for Chicago foodies, and a reason to start ordering stuff from Taste of Chicago to quell my hunger pains. 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to University of Illinois Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review