Chow Down Chicago: Good Eats from the Windy City

Before the Chicago-style hot dog, there was the Depression dog. A more scaled-down version of the Chicago-style hot dog with its many toppings, the Depression dog is topped with only mustard, onions, sport peppers, and sometimes relish. It comes on a plain bun and is usually served with french fries that are either wrapped up with the dog or tossed on top of it. As the name suggests, Depression dogs were popular in Chicago around the time of the Great Depression (1929-1941). When looking at the origins of the Depression dog, it becomes clear that hot dogs and immigrants are closely linked. German immigrants brought sausage to the United States, and hot dogs became a popular street food in all major American cities that had German immigrant populations. The name “hot dog” was coined around 1890 and came from claims at the time that immigrants ate dogs and cats. (History repeats itself.)   During the Great Depression, vegetable cart owners in Chicago would sell hot dogs and fries wi...

Most people know the nursery rhyme "Hot Cross Buns," but lesser known is just how far back in history these treats go. Since ancient times, hot cross buns have been a way to celebrate faith, spring, and new life.  Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans offered small round breads with cross symbols to their gods and goddesses. Depending on the celebration, the cross symbolized the four seasons, the four quarters of the moon, or the horns of the sacrificial ox. In Greece, these ceremonial breads were called boun , which is where the word "bun" comes from. Pagan Anglo-Saxons baked crossed cakes to honor their goddess Eostre, who was celebrated with a springtime festival. Some elements of this festival were later adopted by Christians as Easter. In 1361, Christian monk Brother Thomas Rocliffe of St. Albans, England, developed a recipe for what he called "Alban buns" and distributed these crossed buns to the poor on Good Friday. Now the buns took on a Christian ...