Right on the list with Chicago’s most famous foods — deep dish pizza and hot dogs, is Eli’s Cheesecake — the original Chicago-style cheesecake, created by restaurateur Eli Schulman, 43 years ago in his restaurant’s kitchen.
Eli’s will celebrate National Cheesecake Day by passing out free cheesecake all over town Friday, July 28th through Sunday, July 30th and offering 43¢ slices at their bakery (in honor of the bakery’s 43rd birthday) all weekend long.
Cheesecake single serve slices will be passed out throughout Chicago at these locations: Eli’s Cheesecake Bakery (northwest Side), Seneca Park/Lurie Children’s Hospital (north side), DuSable Museum (south side), Chicago History Museum (Lincoln Park) and more. Follow on Twitter @ElisCheesecake to see where we are! Eli’s will also donate desserts to the medical staff at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Northwestern and Lurie Children’s Hospital and Chicago’s first responders.
Here’s a little appetizer:
43 years ago, Eli Schulman declared cheesecake to be the signature dessert at his legendary Chicago steakhouse, Eli’s The Place For Steak. It was there that he dreamed up a new way to make cheesecake: His unconventional fast and hot baking method resulted in the creation of “Chicago-style” cheesecake, a beautiful caramelization on the outside and a creamy consistency on the inside, baked on an all-butter shortbread cookie crust.
Eli’s, frequently referred to as a Chicago food icon, has become a symbol of the City, creating giant celebratory cheesecakes for many of Chicago’s big moments, such as Illinois’ Bicentennial, Taste of Chicago’s Birthdays, City of Chicago Birthdays, Hamilton the Musical, White Sox World Series, Second City 50 Years of Funny and the inaugurations of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, President Barack Obama (both) and President Bill Clinton (both), to name a few. A third-generation family-owned business, all Eli’s desserts are handmade and decorated in Chicago!
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