Chicago's Little Italy Comes With Extra Cheese

April 10, 2009 at 9:01 AM | by BS | 0 Comments

Chicago's Little Italy doesn't get as much travel play as some other Lit-Its, mostly because its West Side location is a bit of a hike from most of the downtown tourist sites (and because you can get a decent deep-dish pizza in just about any neighborhood here).

But that can be a good thing, since it means Chi-town's Little Italy, while gentrifying, isn't quite as commercialized as places like NYC's Soho-fied Little Italy. Just don't looks for a Roman-style pizza bianca � this place is less concerned with being genuine Italian than reveling in its Italian-American-ness, with heaping portions or pasta, super-cheesy pizza, and garlic, garlic, garlic. A couple of our favorite stops:

Lunch: Yes, the legendary Fontano's Subs is a chain with locations all over Chicagoland now, but you still can't beat this original Polk Street outpost, where it's worth waiting on the perpetually long line for mile-high subs stuffed with cured Italian meats and cheeses.

Dessert: The "Original" Ferrara Bakery hasn't changed much since it opened in 1908, which is just fine with the legions of passionate fans of their tiramisu and biscotti.

Culture: For a different kind of museum, baseball fans won't want to miss the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, aka shrine to Joe DiMaggio.

Related Stories:
· Delizioso! San Diego's Little Italy, Just Like Mama Used To Make [Jaunted]
· San Francisco's Little (and Little-er) Italy [Jaunted]
· Chicago travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Zol87]

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Tags: Little Italy / Restaurants / Food Travel / Dessert / Sports / Baseball / → All Tags