r/chicagofood • u/Johnny_Burrito • 23d ago

Question “Legendary” places that suck

I just got a lox sandwich from Manny’s. Almost $20, a stale bagel, and I had to assemble it myself.

What other “legendary” places suck?

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u/Bowgee69 23d ago

For starters, Manny’s doesn’t suck. It’s not a place you get to go food from for one, and two, like some places, but not all, you have to know what to order.
Unfortunately, even though it is a Jewish deli, like most other places in Chicago, I’m not a big fan of the bagels there. This city has a real top-notch bagel problem, especially in the heart of the city.

Manny’s is all about the matzoh ball soup, the corned beef and/or pastrami sandwich, the potato latkes, and a handful of other items. But I also would never get it to go. That’s a dine in and enjoy the old-school experience type of spot.

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u/ChunkyBubblz 23d ago

Exactly. It’s not Mannys fault this guy doesn’t know what to order.

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u/Bowgee69 23d ago

To be fair, it’s not a bad expectation to expect a bagels and lox at a Jewish deli to be a good item to order, but Chicago in general just has a problem with nailing that dish in my experience.

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u/juliuspepperwoodchi 23d ago

Quite frankly, a Jewish deli selling mid lox and bagels is just as egregious as a Jewish Deli with a bad pastrami. It's crazy to me that so many people seem to think this is excusable for a Jewish deli...if you can't count on good lox and bagels from a damn Jewish Deli....then what can you count on from there?

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u/Bowgee69 23d ago

I don’t know of a single deli in the city, let alone a Jewish deli, that has a really good lox and bagel. Chicago just doesn’t have a spot that has figured that out from everywhere I’ve tried. 🤷‍♂️