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]
Maxwell Street Polish
Polish sausages, with the accompanying onions, on the grill with mustard and sport peppers in containers to add.
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.
Maxwell Street Polish for sale in 1993Maxwell Street Polish Hot Dog Stand in service at 4:00 AM in 2008.
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 sign at the original Express Grill location on Halsted
Price list at the Express Grill
The menu at Jim's Original.
Sausageedit
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]
See alsoedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maxwell Street Polish.
^Clark, Sandy Thorne. (2006-6-26), "Getting a taste of Chicago: City's signature flavors have tourists and locals lining up for more, more, more", Chicago Sun-Times, S1.
^Zeldes, Leah A. (2008-10-22), , Chicago Sun-Times, archived from the original on 2008-10-23, retrieved 2016-03-24
^Fuller, Janet Rausa (2005-09-19), "Rival Polish sausage stands are heading home; New locations near UIC designed to emit less onion odor", Chicago Sun-Times, 6.
^Knowles, Francine (2004-07-2). "Brown's Beefs Up", Chicago Sun-Times, 53.
^Eng, Monica; Leroux, Charles (2004-10-01). "The Original Maxwell Street Market", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
^"End of era: 24-hour Chicago hot dog joint will close overnights at landlord's request". www.audacy.com. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
^Esposito, Stefano (2021-09-03). "Jim's Original, home of the Maxwell Street Polish, told it can no longer stay open all night". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
^Zeldes, Leah A. (2008-10-22). , Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original 2010-08-19 at the Wayback Machine on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2015-10-31. "A lightly smoked, Chicago-born sausage that's a cross between kielbasa and a natural-casing hot dog, typically made from a finely ground or emulsified mixture of pork and beef, strongly flavored with pepper and garlic, and usually served grilled or fried on a bun and covered with fried onions."
The survivor: Jim's Original accepts no imitations.
Lazic Deli/Harczak's Sausage Company has been making their own Polish Sausage since the 1950's and uses it for their Maxwell Street Polish Sausage sandwich.
April 30, 2024
maxwell, street, polish, consists, grilled, fried, length, polish, sausage, topped, with, grilled, onions, yellow, mustard, optional, pickled, whole, green, sport, peppers, served, sandwich, traces, origins, chicago, maxwell, street, market, been, called, clas. 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 Maxwell Street PolishPolish sausages with the accompanying onions on the grill with mustard and sport peppers in containers to add TypeSandwichPlace of originUnited StatesRegion or stateChicagoMain ingredientsBun kielbasa onions yellow mustard optional sport peppers Jim s Original at its current location on Union Avenue circa 2010 Contents 1 History 2 Sausage 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThis 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 nbsp Maxwell Street Polish for sale in 1993 nbsp Maxwell Street Polish Hot Dog Stand in service at 4 00 AM in 2008 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 nbsp The sign at the original Express Grill location on Halsted nbsp Price list at the Express Grill nbsp The menu at Jim s Original Sausage editThe 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 See also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maxwell Street Polish Chicago culture Hot dog variations List of hot dogs Maxwell Street Depot Polish Boy The Wieners CircleReferences edit Clark Sandy Thorne 2006 6 26 Getting a taste of Chicago City s signature flavors have tourists and locals lining up for more more more Chicago Sun Times S1 Zeldes Leah A 2008 10 22 Tis the Seasonings How Do Local Polish Butchers Elevate Sausage to an Art Form With Generous Use of Spices and More Chicago Sun Times archived from the original on 2008 10 23 retrieved 2016 03 24 Jim s Original website Retrieved 2008 10 27 Express Grill News Fuller Janet Rausa 2005 09 19 Rival Polish sausage stands are heading home New locations near UIC designed to emit less onion odor Chicago Sun Times 6 5 places to 2008 01 18 SouthtownStar T04 Knowles Francine 2004 07 2 Brown s Beefs Up Chicago Sun Times 53 Eng Monica Leroux Charles 2004 10 01 The Original Maxwell Street Market Chicago Tribune Retrieved 2016 03 24 End of era 24 hour Chicago hot dog joint will close overnights at landlord s request www audacy com 2021 09 02 Retrieved 2021 09 03 Esposito Stefano 2021 09 03 Jim s Original home of the Maxwell Street Polish told it can no longer stay open all night Chicago Sun Times Retrieved 2021 09 03 Zeldes Leah A 2008 10 22 Help for the Kielbasa Conundrum Chicago Sun Times Archived from the original Archived 2010 08 19 at the Wayback Machine on 2010 08 19 Retrieved 2015 10 31 A lightly smoked Chicago born sausage that s a cross between kielbasa and a natural casing hot dog typically made from a finely ground or emulsified mixture of pork and beef strongly flavored with pepper and garlic and usually served grilled or fried on a bun and covered with fried onions Vienna Beef Vienna Beef Franks and Sausages Vienna Beef Polish Sausage Bobak Sausage Company HomeExternal links editA famous Chicago Maxwell Street Polish sign The survivor Jim s Original accepts no imitations Lazic Deli Harczak s Sausage Company has been making their own Polish Sausage since the 1950 s and uses it for their Maxwell Street Polish Sausage sandwich Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Maxwell Street Polish amp oldid 1213518785, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
