Ethnic Foods

Olga’s Deli, This Is Your Media Moment

Four-story chicken schnitzel sandwich.
Four-story chicken schnitzel sandwich. Photo: Mike Sula, courtesy The Reader

Just the other day we were toodling down Irving and our better half asked if we had ever been to Olga’s Deli, at 3209 W. Irving Park. No, we admitted, just driven past it a million times, but at that moment we silently resolved to add it to our to-do list before it was suddenly gone (just the name tells you that the proprietor must be approaching retirement age, if not well past it). So we are relieved that Mike Sula had been in much the same situation before another blogger urged him to check it out— and he returned with two of the most astonishing sandwich pictures you’ve ever seen. (When you get to the blog post, click on the images to blow them up to their full screen glory.) Based on the images alone, we see the full foodie world future for Olga and her massive meat-stuffed sandwiches— LTHForum GNR, Kevin Pang profile, Time Out Q&A; on 5 ways to use schmaltz, Bourdain’s next TV visit to Chicago, serving up schnitzel sandwiches at Chow Town at Lolla ‘13, helming the BoKa Group’s new schnitzel haus on Randolph Street… Anyway, check it out, one, just to see these amazing sandwiches, two, as a reminder, that there’s always more out there to discover, and you’re probably driving by it right now. [Reader]

Olga’s Deli, This Is Your Media Moment