Foods of the NFL: Chicago Bears

Giordano's Chicago-style deep dish pizza (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If there was ever a city that I wanted to visit for a culinary crawl, Chicago is at the top of my list. 

Deep dish pizza is hands down the most popular culinary gift from the Windy City. It is made up of a thin crust pulled up the sides of a tall pan. Toppings are typically layered as such:

• cheese
• meats
• veggies
• sauce
• more cheese

Definitely not a pizza for the faint of heart or anyone on a diet! If you would like to make a Chicago style deep dish pizza, the Food Network has a great recipe to try. Don't have the time to make one? Visit the local Uno Chicago Grill and indulge.

Italian Beef sandwiches date back to the 1920's or 30's and are believed to be the creation of an Italian immigrant named Pasquale Scala. The sandwich consists of thinly shaved roast beef piled high on an Italian style roll and topped with giardiniera (a pepper relish). The sandwich is often dipped in the jous that the meat is cooked in. While not 100% authentic, this recipe gives a great starting point to making homemade Italian Beef sandwiches.

Related recipe: Giardiniera

Chicago style hot dogs rarely use ketchup. Instead, they are often topped with yellow mustard, onions, peppers, celery salt, tomato, dill pickles and sweet relish. These dogs are often served on poppyseed buns.