Type | Sandwich |
---|---|
Place of origin | United States |
Region or state | Chicago |
Main ingredients | Bun, kielbasa, onions, yellow mustard, optional sport peppers |
A Maxwell Street Polish consists of a grilled or fried length of Polish sausage topped with grilled onions and yellow mustard and optional pickled whole, green sport peppers, served on a bun. The sandwich traces its origins to Chicago's Maxwell Street market, and has been called one of "the classic foods synonymous with Chicago". [1]
This sandwich is widely said[ by whom? ] to have been created by Jimmy Stefanovic,[ citation needed ] a Macedonian immigrant [2] who took over his aunt and uncle's hot dog stand in 1939 (now called Jim's Original) located at Maxwell and Halsted in Chicago's old Maxwell Street market district. [3] The Express Grill, which is located right next door to Jim's, advertises itself as the "Original Maxwell St. Polish" on its marquee, although it arrived after Jim's and serves almost an identical menu. [4] Due to their virtually undivided storefronts and 24-hour service at the original Halsted Street location of both stands, Jim's Original and Express Grill had an added element of confusion for the casual observer not attentive to the change in signage a matter of feet in distance. Despite the competition, the Maxwell Polish sausage sandwich soon grew to be one of Chicago's most popular local offerings, along with the Chicago-style hot dog and the Italian beef sandwich.
Due to the University of Illinois Chicago's South Campus development the Maxwell Street market district was razed and the two stands moved in 2005. After decades of coexisting at the intersection of Halsted and Maxwell Streets, the two have relocated their side-by-side competition a half block east onto Union Avenue, adjacent to the Dan Ryan Expressway on-ramp at Roosevelt Road. [5]
Maxwell Polish are a staple of hot dog stands and today are found throughout the city and suburbs, including at restaurant chains such as Portillo's [6] and Brown's Chicken, [7] and is available at most sports venues in the area serving concessions. Most of the 24-hour stands (such as the original Express Grill and its neighboring competition, Jim's Original) also serve the pork chop sandwich popularized alongside the Polish sausage sandwich during the days of the old Maxwell Street market. [8]
As of September 2021, the Jims Original stand announced that they will be closed from 1-6am due to pressure from the landlord, UIC over "neighborhood safety reasons". [9] [10]
The main feature of the sandwich is the sausage, which is widely available in grocery and specialty retail stores throughout the Chicago area. It is typically marketed as the "Maxwell Street" variety, which is a Chicago-specific variation of kielbasa distinguished by it being typically more seasoned and made from a combination of both beef and pork. [11] The two largest manufacturers of this particular style of Polish sausage in Chicago are Vienna Beef and the Bobak Sausage Company. [12] [13]
The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.
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A sausage sandwich is a sandwich containing cooked sausage. It may consist of an oblong bread roll such as a baguette or ciabatta roll, and sliced or whole links of sausage, such as hot or sweet Italian sausage, Polish sausage, German sausage, North African merguez, andouille or chorizo. Popular toppings include mustard, brown sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, steak sauce, peppers, onions, sauerkraut, chili, and salsa.
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Kielbasa is any type of meat sausage from Poland and a staple of Polish cuisine. It is also known in other world cuisines; in American English, the word typically refers to a coarse, U-shaped smoked sausage of any kind of meat, which closely resembles the Wiejskasausage.