Chicago may be famous for its deep-dish pizza, but its Italian-American food culture goes well beyond a slice of pie. By the early 20th century, the city was home to one of America’s largest Italian communities, with immigrants from Sicily, Campania and other regions settling in neighborhoods like Taylor Street, opening grocery stores, bakeries, delis and restaurants that would help shape the way Chicago eats today. It’s a history that’s personal to me. It’s where my mom’s side of the family first landed when they immigrated to America, and where so much of my own relationship with food began.
A childhood filled with Italian beef sandwiches soaked in their own juices, spicy giardiniera piled onto just about everything, enormous plates of pasta swimming in red sauce, and thin, crispy tavern-style pizza cut into squares. This wasn’t simply Italian food transplanted to America. It was generations of families taking what they knew, making do with what they had, and creating something entirely their own.. Recipes and traditions adapted over generations, becoming as much a part of Chicago’s identity as of its Italian roots.
More than a century later, much of that history can still be found in the city’s family-run bakeries, neighborhood delis and old-school Italian-American restaurants, alongside a new generation of chefs bringing their own interpretation of Italian cooking to Chicago.
Here are the places I keep coming back to, and the ones I always recommend to friends visiting Chicago.
Courtney in Chicago
BAKERIES, DELIS & SANDWICHES
D’Amato’s Bakery
A family-run bakery on Grand Avenue that’s been around for generations. The bread is excellent, and so is the Sicilian pizza bread. Come for a sandwich, pick up a cannolo, and take some bread home while you’re at it.
Bari
Conveniently located right next door to D’Amato’s, so you might as well visit both. An old-school Italian grocery with a proper deli counter. The Italian sub is the thing to order, packed with cold cuts and all the trimmings.
Courtesy of @tempestamarket
Ferrara Bakery
Open since 1908, Ferrara is one of the oldest Italian bakeries in Chicago. Cannoli, cookies, cakes and pastries fill the counter. It’s the sort of bakery you remember going to with your grandparents, even if you didn’t.
J.P. Graziano
Four generations of Italian grocers, going strong since 1937. Today, most people come for the sandwiches, and with good reason. Order an Italian sub with giardiniera. There’s usually a crowd around lunchtime. Good, kind people, great food.
Tony’s Deli
An old-school Italian deli in Edison Park. Sandwiches, cold cuts, prepared foods and plenty to bring home. A good stop when you’re hungry and haven’t thought about what to make for dinner.
Lucia’s
A small neighborhood Italian spot where I’d happily spend an entire afternoon. Get a bowl of minestrone and a sandwich. Nothing complicated, just a very good lunch.
Tempesta Market
A salumeria and sandwich shop known for its house-cured meats. The sandwiches are substantial, and the selection of salumi is worth a look even if you’re not staying for lunch. You’ll probably leave with something for later.
Publican Quality Meats
Go hungry and order the porchetta with marinated fennel and giardiniera verde on focaccia, or the Italian sub piled with cured meats and provolone.
Courtesy of @monteverdechi
PASTA & ITALIAN DINNERS
La Scarola
An old-school Italian-American restaurant where the portions are generous and the dining room is usually lively. Order the Filet Vesuvio, a glass of wine and settle in for some people-watching.
Monteverde
Sarah Grueneberg’s West Loop restaurant is one of my favorite places for pasta in Chicago. You can watch the pasta being rolled and shaped in the dining room. The menu changes, but there’s always a reason to order more than one pasta.
Tortello
A pastificio in Wicker Park where the pasta is made by hand, right in front of you. You can watch the dough being rolled, cut and folded into tortelli while you wait for your order. The stuffed pastas are particularly good.
Dimmi Dimmi
A lively Italian spot in Lincoln Park. Come for a salad, a plate of pasta a slice of thin crust and a bottle of wine. Especially good for a date night that doesn’t need to feel like an occasion.
RPM Italian
For a slightly more glamorous night out. Fresh pasta, an extensive Italian wine list and a dining room that fills up with people dressed for dinner.
Viaggio
Old-school Italian-American cooking, with portions to match. The meatball salad is a favorite, followed by a big bowl of pasta. You won’t leave hungry.
Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap
Family-run since 1930 and still one of Chicago’s great neighborhood restaurants. The menu is full of Italian-American staples, but I come for the lemon chicken. It’s the kind of place where you wouldn’t be surprised to find three generations of the same family having dinner.
Courtesy of @tortello_pastificio
PIZZA, PIZZA, PIZZA!
Chicago is famous for deep dish, but that’s only part of the story. Thin crust or Tavern-style pizza, with its thin crust and square-cut slices, is just as much a local tradition. It’s the pizza you’ll find at neighborhood gatherings, bars and family dinners all over the city.
Lou Malnati’s
If you’ve never had Chicago deep dish, this is a good place to start. The buttery crust is what people come for. Order the sausage pizza.
Pequod’s Pizza
Famous for its caramelized cheese crust, with those dark, crispy edges that form around the pan. Get the sausage and onion pizza. It’s rich, so come hungry.
Pizzeria Uno
Open since 1943 and widely credited as the birthplace of Chicago deep dish. It’s a tourist stop, yes, but also a part of the city’s food history.
Courtesy of @freddieson31st
Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company
Come for the Pizza Pot Pie, which is exactly as excessive as it sounds. A bowl filled with cheese, tomato sauce and other ingredients, covered with dough and flipped onto your plate. The Mediterranean Bread is also worth ordering.
Pizz’Amici
For tavern-style pizza, thin and crisp with a good amount of cheese, great salads and small plates. Cut into squares, as it should be. A welcome change of pace after a few deep-dish dinners.
Pizza Boy
A neighborhood favorite in Edison Park. The kind of pizza place you go to on a Friday night when nobody feels like cooking.
Freddy’s Pizza
Out in Cicero, Freddy’s is part pizzeria, part Italian deli and part gelateria. There are prepared foods, pizza by the slice, sandwiches and plenty of Italian specialties. Get a slice, browse the counter and finish with gelato. It’s worth going out of your way for.
Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna
The kind of pizza where you tell yourself you’re only having two slices and somehow end up eating half the pie.
Courtesy of @ricards.bar
CHICAGO CLASSICS & A LITTLE NOSTALGIA
Mario’s Italian Lemonade
A Taylor Street summer institution that’s been serving Italian ice since 1954. Open seasonally, with a line that seems to get longer as the temperature rises. Get lemon italian ice and eat it while walking around the neighborhood.
Mr. Beef on Orleans
One of Chicago’s best-known Italian beef shops, made even more famous by The Bear. Order the Italian beef dipped, with hot giardiniera. There should be enough juice to make eating it a slightly messy operation. Say hi to Chris the owner for me.
Richard’s Bar
An old Chicago bar that looks and feels much as it probably did decades ago. Nothing fancy, and that’s part of the appeal. A drink here is a good way to end an evening in the neighborhood.
