Excellent book reference! Incredibly detailed entries makes this a great book resource for food bloggers (and anyone interested in food in general). Would make a great gift idea.

As a Chicagoan foodie I really enjoyed reading this book. The introduction is a very good overview of what makes Chicago food special. It is a short history of the city and the evolution of the food. The Encyclopedia entries are informative and include lots of historical photographs. Chicagoans will recognized most of the entries. Those unfamiliar with the city will begin to understand why Chicago is a top food city now hosting The James Beard Awards. Anyone with in a interest in the history of food and the city of Chicago will enjoy this book. A perfect gift for any foodie.

A complete guide to Chicago food and few recipes to try on..........

Specialized encyclopedia that can be of use for anyone interested in the food industry of Chicago & its history. This will also be of use to anyone researching Chicago and the food industry. I can definitely see myself using this in one of my translation projects.

This book consists of an introduction with an overview of the history of Chicago's food scene. Then there are a lot of entries, 260 pages full, sorted alphabetically for easy access. The sources for each entry are included under the item, so you won't have to flip to the back to find further specialized reading. Also included are Appendix A, an overview of the period kitchens, dining rooms, and recipe resources in Chicago, and Appendix B which provides an overview of U.S. salaries and prices from 1890 to 2015.

CHICAGO FOOD ENCYCLOPEDIA by Carol Mighton Haddix, Bruce Kraig, and Colleen Taylor Sen (University of Illinois, Sept. 15) has already gained positive reviews from Richard Melman and Rick Bayless. Its introduction includes a nice timeline of related food events (e.g., the first Taste of Chicago) and text summarizing different time periods (e.g., Speakeasy era) in Chicago's food history. Although filled with facts (such as Chicago was the world's fastest growing city between 1830 and 1890 and there are 19,000 restaurants in the Chicago area today), the majority of this book consists of rather short encyclopedia like entries (e.g., Ann Sather, Baby Ruth Bar, Ballpark Food, Jewel-Osco, William Wrigley Jr. Company); many have some suggestions for further reading. Also included are two appendices: one with a list of local historic homes (often with tours or recipe archives) and one with price comparisons over time. There is an extensive list of contributors who supported the three knowledgeable editors (Haddix was the Chicago Tribune food editor from 1980 to 2011), and a selected bibliography. We will have a copy of CHICAGO FOOD ENCYCLOPEDIA in the library soon since it will be of interest and use for classes due to the local focus.

Such a well done encyclopedia! I really enjoyed being able to learn about Chicago's food scene from so many different aspects, particularly the history of Chicago and food. As a frequent visitor to the Windy City, this gave me so many new ideas of restaurants to visit and foods to try! Beautiful, excellent book.

The Chigao Food Encyclopaedia is an absolute delight for anyone interested in food or social history. I was kindly offered an advance review copy and it's proved a fascinating insight into an area with an amazing history.

I'm a UK reader, but there's so much information, I began to feel that I was really getting to know the city, despite never having visited. The introduction is informed and packed with a timeline story of the settlement and development of the area and environs. It makes it easy to understand how so many diverse influences, cultural, industrial and social , shaped the way the population and city grew.

The book is set out in alphabetical order, so it's ideal to dip into. As with any well written encyclopaedia, I found it easy to drift from one subject to another as my appetite was whetted time and again, not only by numerous recipes, but by the subject matter. It's extensively illustrated with amazing photographs and diagrams. It's easy to navigate in electronic version, but to be honest, this is a book which I would suggest is best enjoyed in hard copy. It's one to refer to and enjoy over and over again. In summary, I've learned so much and browsing the content is a pleasure. Well written with extensive source reference, a total delight.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

Great for cookbook fanatics. Beautiful illustrations.

It is, quite literally, an encyclopedia of some Chicago food facts. This is the kind of book you'd want to pick up in a waiting room and flip through.

A few thoughts from someone who has lived in the suburbs of Chicago for most of her life:

I had no idea atomic cake was just a Chicago thing. I need to travel more, and eat more cake in other places.

Also, explains why there is a gyro place every 50 feet in my neighborhood (I do not live in a Greek neighborhood) and I couldn't find a good gryo anywhere when I went to college out of state.

I'm also sitting here ruminating on Italian beef and paczkis and what a wonderful world this is.

Notably absent: Chicago style hotdogs and a good BBQed hot link.

This is a specialized resource original of its kind. It brings in everything regarding with the history of Chicago’s cuisine. The uniqueness of Chicago’s cuisine comes from the combination of foreign influences and Chicago’s life. This results in creative dishes that are a delight to experience. As the editors explained it, this Chicago Food Encyclopedia is a powerful resource for both food scholars and Chicago’s visitors. Some nice features of the resource are the pictures and other illustrations; readers can get a clear idea of what it is being described. For example, there is a picture of a test kitchen from the 1920s, so readers can see what these kitchens (used to test new recipes) looked like almost a hundred years ago. Other great extras are the timeline in the introduction, the appendixes at the end of the book with additional information, and the index. I am glad the publishers added these details because they really enrich a resource such as this.

Encyclopedic, incredibly-detailed, comprehensive look at all things related to food in Chicago. Key personalities, machine inventors, manufacturing gurus, ethnic immigration history and cuisines, night life, supermarkets, food festivals, restauranteurs, food fads, and more--it's all here, organized alphabetically (with relatively few redundancies for a work of this size). Learn the Chicago history of deep dish pizza, malted milk, Cracker Jacks, and exponentially more in this one-of-kind tome about Chicagoland's gastronomic development. A must for Chicago foodies and a fun read for history buffs and all those who like to eat.