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Don’t impose your regional favorites on the rest of us
Tuesday, Apr 7, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * Block Club Chicago…
1) I have said before that a sandwich identified mainly with our largest city should not be the state sandwich. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Chicago Italian beef sammiches. (Try Roma’s. It’s the best hole in the wall joint on the Northwest Side, IMHO.) I really do strongly believe that a regional favorite shouldn’t be imposed on everyone else and that the city folks oughta back the heck off and stop constantly imposing their culture on the rest of us. /half-snark 2) I was born in Kankakee and grew up in rural Iroquois County. Before I wound up in Springfield, I lived in northwest Illinois, northern Illinois and east central Illinois. I have family in Pontiac and southern Illinois and have long traveled most of the state. I never even so much as heard of a horseshoe until I moved to Springfield. It’s a sandwich specifically identified with the state’s capital city. So, again, a micro-regional favorite should not be imposed on the entire state. That’s just silly. Plus, it’s an open-face sandwich. That’s a totally different category, albeit delicious. * So I have come up with my own proposal. Admittedly, this idea probably won’t go over well with some people, and the first half of it does require a bit of a definitional stretch. But I think this proposal best represents all of Illinois. 1) Just about everywhere I go in Illinois, I see taco stands and restaurants. Chicago and some suburbs, in my opinion, have the best tacos outside Mexico. And I know of great taco spots all over this state. But is a taco a sandwich? Heck yes! 2) Walk into any “real” diner throughout Illinois and an open-face hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and brown gravy is on the menu. It’s ubiquitous and fabulous. This is an absolute no-brainer. * Therefore, be it resolved that Illinois’ official state sandwich shall be the taco, and Illinois’ official state open-face sandwich shall be hot roast beef. Discuss. And if you disagree, I’ll just start off by saying: “Bite me.” Pun intended.
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- Marge - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:15 am:
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:16 am:
===And if you disagree===
I was not expecting disappointment at Rep Ryan for introducing a bill that serves no purpose but to divide our state further while ignoring that in Illinois we serve up a lot of very good sandwiches to be immediately subverted to tacos and hot roast beef.
I think this is much more controversial than pie and support a constitutional amendment to bar the legislature from imposing a ’state sandwich.’
If you have never stepped foot into Ricobene’s I don’t think you should be voting for or proposing this legislation. Even Maid-Rite deserves some kind of mention. This is an area of governing in which there is no right answer and one who thinks there is a right answer probably cooks their chicken in a crock pot with water and no seasoning, not even salt or pepper.
But if we are to have something forced upon us, at least taco is overly broad and robs all of our other great sandwiches the same and ‘hot roast beef’ is at least something they threw on our plate at elementary school. Hot turkey sometimes appeared around Thanksgiving too.
- Benjamin - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:24 am:
If you really wanted to spark angry discussion, Rich, you should have suggested that they make the state sandwich be the hot dog.
- George Ryan Reynolds - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:27 am:
What should the official state pizza be?
(runs away)
- Kapulet - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:29 am:
Springfield’s Bernie’s and Betty’s has an Italian Beef Horseshoe that is the best of both worlds and the best horseshoe in the world.
- fs - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:42 am:
==What should the official state pizza be?==
Maybe the pizza (generic) should be the State sandwich
- Braceville Brad - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:53 am:
The line at Portillo’s in Springfield is quite long at all hours of the day……
- Leap Day William - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:56 am:
I grew up in East Central Illinois, far away from Chicago and Springfield, yet both horseshoes and italian beef made regular appearances at my family’s table growing up. Dad was the cook and I can guarantee he spent no appreciable time in either of those two cities, let alone to the point where he would’ve developed a taste for them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All that is to say, I’m team Italian Beef because a horseshoe isn’t a sandwich, it’s a gift from the lord of fatty foods.
- TNR - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 9:58 am:
I get the idea of trying not to make a regional food an official statewide food, but the main argument for the beef sandwich and/or the horseshoe being the official state sandwich is that both are essentially unique to Illinois. They are hard to find anywhere else. The taco is most certainly not.
- Kaizen - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:03 am:
Roma’s has great fries!
- Nope. - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:08 am:
A taco is not a sandwich.
Invitation to bite you…is accepted.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:18 am:
The taco is definitely a sandwich, would vote for that. The open roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy was classic diner food, jukebox and cigarettes type of places, 24 hour joints, etc.
- Jibba - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:18 am:
They seriously don’t have open faced hot roast beef sandwiches everywhere? My world is rocked.
- Michelle Flaherty - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:24 am:
All I see is the BIMP
- Not Rich - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:24 am:
Never take food advise from a downstater
- Rudy’s teeth - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:29 am:
Gyros and saganaki would like a word. Miss the days when Halsted Street was filled with Greek restaurants…especially Rodity’s. OPA.
- TreeFiddy - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:30 am:
My group chat with the friend from Chicago and Taylorville was blowing up last night with this debate. It’s the kind of debate that almost broke up a nearly 20-plus year friendship.
- Candy Dogood - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:31 am:
===saganaki===
This is a discussion about sandwiches. Choosing a state fried cheese would be another controversial topic.
- benniefly2 - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:31 am:
A taco is a taco, not a sandwich. A Mexican sandwich is a Torta. Torta’s are delicious.
Didn’t imagine that I would be re-engaging with a “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” type discussion today. Thank you for the much needed distraction.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:34 am:
=Rich, you should have suggested that they make the state sandwich be the hot dog.=
Yes, with ketchup.
Come and get me.
On a serious note, that the legislature is spending any time on this issue just tells me how unserious they are. This is more of a newspaper survey kinda thing.
- Because I Said So - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:35 am:
Ain’t no way a taco is a sandwich.
- Socially DIstant Watcher - Tuesday, Apr 7, 26 @ 10:42 am:
Ok, but when they get around to declaring a state pet, I still want them to give my pet the title.