A Maxwell Street Polish consists of a grilled or fried length of

Polish sausage Kielbasa (, ; from Polish ) is any type of meat sausage from Poland and a staple of Polish cuisine. In American English the word typically refers to a coarse, U-shaped smoked sausage of any kind of meat, which closely resembles the ''Wiejska'' ...

topped with grilled

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

s and yellow mustard and optional pickled whole, green

sport peppers ''Capsicum annuum'' is a species of the plant genus ''Capsicum'' native to southern North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. This species is the most common and extensively cultivated of the five domesticated capsicums. The spec ...

, served on a bun. The sandwich traces its origins to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Maxwell Street Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee (1988). '' ...

market, and has been called one of "the classic foods synonymous with Chicago".

History

This

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

is widely said to have been created by Jimmy Stefanovic, a

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

immigrant 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. 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. 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 A Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago Dog, or Chicago Red Hot is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pick ...

and the

Italian beef An Italian beef sandwich, originating in Chicago, is composed of thin slices of seasoned roast beef, simmered and served on a long French roll. The sandwich's history dates back at least to the 1930s. The bread itself is, at the diner's prefe ...

sandwich.

Due to the

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois sy ...

'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 The Dan Ryan Expressway is an expressway in Chicago that runs from the Circle Interchange with Interstate 290 (I-290) near Downtown Chicago through the South Side of the city. It is designated as both I-90 and I-94 south to 66th Street, a d ...

on-ramp at

Roosevelt Road Roosevelt Road (originally named 12th Street) is a major east-west street in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only south of Madison Street. It runs under this ...

. Maxwell Polish are a staple of

hot dog stand A hot dog stand is a business that sells hot dogs, usually from an external counter. Hot dog stands can be located on a public thoroughfare, near a sports stadium, in a shopping mall, or at a fair. They are often found on the streets of major ...

s and today are found throughout the city and suburbs, including at restaurant chains such as

Portillo's Portillo's Restaurant Group, Inc. is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in the Chicago area that specializes in serving Chicago-style food such as hot dogs, Maxwell Street Polish, and Italian beef. The company was founded by Dick Porti ...

and

Brown's Chicken Brown's Chicken & Pasta, also known simply as Brown's Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken. It is based in the Chicago metropolitan area. History The chain traces its origins to 1949, when John and Belva B ...

, 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. 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". Image:Polish Shop.JPG, The sign at the original Express Grill location on Halsted File:Maxwell Prices 2005.JPG, Price list at the Express Grill File:Maxwell street polish prices 2010.JPG, The menu at Jim's Original.

Sausage

The main feature of the sandwich is the sausage, which is widely available in grocery and specialty retail stores throughout the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

. 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 Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

and

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

. The two largest manufacturers of this particular style of Polish sausage in Chicago are

Vienna Beef Vienna Beef Inc. is the main manufacturer of the hot dog used in the classic Chicago-style hot dog, as well as Polish sausage and Italian beef, delicacies of independent Chicago-style hot dog and beef stands. The company also produces a variety of ...

and the Bobak's Sausage Company.Bobak Sausage Company: Home
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References

External links

A famous Chicago Maxwell Street Polish sign

The survivor: Jim's Original accepts no imitations.
{{Sandwiches American sandwiches American sausages Cuisine of Chicago Hot dogs Macedonian American history Sausage dishes

History

Sausage

See also

References

External links