What’s this Chicago Lean thing you were talking about? Ah, we almost forgot. How to eat an Italian beef is an important art form, especially if you’re ordering your beefs “dipped, hot, mozz” style, so the whole affair is a gooey, dripping, delicious mess. Now, we are working under the assumption that you know how to eat a normal sandwich already, so we’re not going to go over the basics. However, many beef joints contain long, thin counters without stools, and these counters

The legend of "Jim's Original" started over 70 years ago, when a young, bright-eyed European immigrant named "Jimmy" arrived in America. Just like so many other immigrants to the city, once in Chicago, Jimmy began working at a small hot dog stand on the bustling corners of Maxwell and Halsted Streets. Jimmy worked hard, bought the stand from his aunt, and then made it literally "World Famous." He piled succulent polish sausages high on the grill and created the first Maxwe

The "Chicago Style" hot dog history began with street cart hot dog vendors during the hard times of the Great Depression. Money was scarce, but business was booming for these entrepreneurs who offered a delicious hot meal on a bun for only a nickel. The famous Chicago Style Hot Dog was born! They'd start with a Red Hot Chicago dog, nestle it in a steamed poppy seed bun, and cover it with a wonderful combination of toppings: yellow mustard, bright green relish, fresh choppe

Created on the South Side of Chicago in the Italian enclaves around the now defunct Stockyards, the classic Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich is a unique, drippy, messy variation on the French Dip. It is available in hundreds of joints around the city, and rarely found done right outside of Chicagoland (except of course here at 312 Beef & Sausage!). The sandwich was probably created by Italian immigrants in the early 1900s as they rose from poverty (and eating primarily ground