Ricobene’s

In 1946, Italian immigrants Rosario and Antonia Ricobene opened a Chicago restaurant selling sausage sandwiches, tamales, and a handful of other items to supplement the income they made from their fruit and vegetable truck. In the 1970s, three of their sons took over the restaurant, and in 1976 they decided to add a sandwich to the menu that would become their signature item: the Breaded Steak Sandwich.

The sandwich has since become one of Chicago’s most legendary foods – often imitated, never replicated. To make this Italian-American icon, USDA Choice skirt steak is tenderized, hand-breaded with a special blend of Italian seasonings, fried, dipped into slow-simmered savory red sauce, tucked into a fresh-baked roll from Chicago’s famed Turano Baking Co., and topped with melty mozzarella cheese and giardiniera (the city’s signature zesty, spicy relish). One bite and you’ll understand why USA Today called it “The Best Sandwich in the World”!