3 Worst Rated Illinoisan Foods

This open-faced sandwich is a specialty of Springfield, Illinois, where it was originally invented. A horseshoe typically consists of two slices of toast topped with two meat patties or slices of ham, french fries, and a cheesy sauce. Originally, it was served on a hot metal plate known as anvil, with ham and fries representing the horseshoe nails, hence the name. There is also a variety of this sandwich called a pony shoe sandwich, which is half of a regular horseshoe portion. The sandwich was invented in the late 1920s by a chef named Joe Schweska at Leland Hotel in Springfield.Expand

Named after the Mount Vesuvius volcano near Naples, chicken Vesuvio is a specialty of Chicago's Italian-American restaurants. The dish is made with chicken on the bone, potatoes, olive oil, white wine, garlic, and oregano and finished with green peas. Lemon juice is also often a common ingredient in chicken Vesuvio recipes. In Chicago, this cooking technique is sometimes applied to other foods as well, like steak Vesuvio, pork chops Vesuvio, or even just Vesuvio potatoes. Although the origins of this Italian-American classic remain unknown, some speculate that chicken Vesuvio got its name after the fact that adding wine to the oil causes the dish to smoke like a volcano, while others suggest that it might have been popularized by the Vesuvio restaurant, which operated in Chicago in the 1930s.Expand

Stuffed pizza is an American pizza that started its way to popularity in Chicago a bit later than the deep-dish pizza, with which it shares many similarities. It has a more solid and smooth crust than the deep-dish pizza. The dough is also a bit drier and sweeter. The pizza is topped with a generous amount of cheese and various other ingredients such as vegetables and crumbled sausages. The next thing that goes on top is another thin layer of dough (hence the name stuffed pizza), usually with slits cut into it so that it lets moisture out while it cooks. And finally, the pizza is topped with tomato sauce before baking.Expand