Chicago Southland Cuisine: Pizza, Farm-to-Table, Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Sweet Treats and more.

Chicago Style Hot Dogs

What is a Chicago-style Hot Dog?

All-beef frankfurter on a steamed poppy seed bun topped with:

Yellow mustard
Chopped white onions
Neon green sweet pickle relish
Dill pickle spear
Tomato wedges
Pickled sport peppers
and a dash of celery salt

Never, and I mean NEVER, ask for ketchup on your hot dog!

Where can you find a good Chicago-style Hot Dog?

We would argue that you cannot find a bad hot dog anywhere in the Chicago Southland, but it’s worth checking out these places:

• Boz Hot Dogs (Hazel Crest, Lansing, Steger & Thornton)
• Don’s Hot Dogs (Orland Park)
• Joey's Red Hots (Justice, Orland Hills, Orland Park & Riverdale)
• Nicky V’s (Oak Forest) 
• Nicky's The Real McCoy (Alsip)
• Portillo's Hot Dogs (Crestwood, Homewood & Summit)
• Widen’s Hot Dogs (Orland Park)

To build a proper Chicago-style Hot Dog, click here.

Farm-to-Table

Farm-to-Table refers to restaurants that source their food as locally as possible, use hormone-free meat products and non-GMO plants in the production of your meal. Being in the Midwest in the winter is a unique challenge and our farm-to-table restaurants will source only the freshest ingredients. The Harvest Room (7164 West 127th Street, Palos Heights) goes out of its way to create fresh recognizable dishes made with local, organic or organically raised ingredients from area farmers when possible. The restaurant opened in early 2013 and has been receiving rave reviews ever since.

Check out this video on the Harvest Room!

I Atey Pizza

They say Chicago Style Pizza is royalty. What they don’t know is that in the Chicago Southland, it’s KING! Rich’s Pizza Joint in Frankfort offers a unique perspective into Chicago History with award winning pizza that strays from the path of convention. Offering a four cheese blend with garlic butter sauce in lieu of the traditional marinara, the I-Atey boasts a new style of crust aptly named the Chicago 2 Flat. Two Layers of thin crust with melted cheese in the middle will deliver your taste buds into a frenzy of deliciousness. All hail the king indeed.

Pizza

From thin and thick crust pizza to the classic Chicago-style deep dish, the Chicago Southland has a variety of pizza offerings. Aurelio’s Pizza (18162 Harwood Avenue, Homewood) is a Chicago Southland classic. Opening in 1959 in Homewood, Aurelio’s is one of the best examples of Chicago pizza. If you happen to visit the original location in Homewood, be sure to ask for your pizza to be cooked in the old oven, trust us! Aurelio’s also offers gluten-free pizza. Beggars Pizza (3524 Ridge Road, Lansing) is housed in a renovated theater and features live organ music on Tuesday and Friday nights. 

Popcorn

Looking for a popcorn fix? Check out one of the Chicago Southland’s finest popcorn and confectioner shops!

• Frankfort: Kernel Sweetooth
• Hazel Crest: Popper-Razzi Gourmet Popcorn
• South Holland: Popacorn Popcorn

Of course, don’t forget about a Chicago classic, a CheeseCorn and CaramelCrisp flavor mix, the Garrett Mix, at Garrett Popcorn Shops.

Rock n Roll McDonald's

Rock out with your Big Mac at a unique Rock n Roll McDonald Diner in Olympia Fields. They have a set schedule of bands throughout the week and most Wednesdays you can hear Steve Lydell singing a variety of music from the 1950s to the 1970s. Country music with your fries on Thursday will make you kick your boots. Sing your best impression of, “I’m Lovin’ It” on Friday night when a DJ hosts karaoke fun. They just recently started offering table service with a hostess on Saturdays and Sundays from 9AM-1PM. The most popular menu item is the new Strawberry Hotcakes, which is rare to the area and is a platter of hotcakes with strawberries, cherries and whip cream. Saturday night has a variety of entertainers, which are updated in the store each month. Take a picture with the Elvis statue to complete your fun trip to McDonald’s. The music and food will certainly make this a Happy Meal!

Sweet Treats

It’s been said by the Travel-Supreme-Beings-That-Be, when you’re on vacation, calories don’t count and it’s OK to eat SWEETS. So it’s completely fine to indulge in Chicago Southland sweets, since you’re traveling. All things in life should be as fabulous as the delicious treats from Fabulously Sweet Creations in Markham. Choose from Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Pops, Gourmet Apples, Cake Pops, Popcorn Favors and more to fix any craving. If you’re searching for sweet gifts, they make custom-made chocolate covered Oreos or visit their Chocolate Printing Boutique where they can put full color, edible photos, logos and text onto milk and dark chocolates or Belgian Truffles. Maybe fix the craving with a delicious frozen treat or shake at Culvers or Sonic Drive-In with various locations throughout Chicago Southland. Andy’s Frozen Custard in Burbank and make custard fresh every single hour. Since they’re open all year round, you can grab Strawberry Shortcake Custard in the spring or you’ll love the Cookie Casanova in the winter. Life is short, eat dessert first! And that’s just for starters…

Additional Sweet Spots:

• Creamery Ice Cream Parlor, Frankfort & Orland Hills
• Cunis Candies & Ice Cream, South Holland
• Gayety’s Chocolate & Ice Cream, Lansing
• Kernel Sweetooth, Frankfort
• The Plush Horse, Palos Park