Hey, I'm Curious City reporter Monica Eng, and I'm sitting here in the bar of the Berghoff restaurant with question asker Anne-

Hi, Monica. Hey, Ann.

I met Anne at this big, old German restaurant and bar because it's been open since 1898, making it one of the last remnants of Chicago's turn-of-the-century dining scene. Anne sent in a question

to curious city about spots like this. Chicago is such a foody city now, and I was wondering if

around the turn of the century, if it was similar to that, if people sought that kind of thing out,

and what they did for celebrations and nights out. So Anne's basically asking if Chicago was already a foodie town a century ago.

And the short answer is heck yeah.

Like today, we had a bunch of great immigrant joints in the neighborhoods.

But then here in the loop, we had this other fascinating ecosystem of restaurants,

restaurants that cater to everyone, from the low-paid typist to the wealthy tycoon.

So we're going to focus in on just these loop restaurants, and I'm going to break them down

into just the six most popular types.

I'll tell you what was on the plate, but also the surprising ways gender roles, racism, food fads,

and even technology like the typewriter, shaped Chicago's dining scene back then.

See, back at the turn of the century, Chicago had like 8,000 saloons, and competition was fierce. So to keep folks coming in,

they started offering, get this, free lunches. With your beer, some places gave you a cooked

oyster. Others offered hot soup and bread. Some even forked over free liver and onions. And

people liked that liver so much that a couple of bars

went broke serving it, which kind of blew Anne's mind. That's so crazy. I mean, that doesn't

seem like the most advertising thing nowadays to have liver and onions, but I mean, I guess they had to

get people in the door. Yes, they did. And back then, liver seemed like a good way to do it.

But here at the Bergoff, they had a free lunch that would stand the test of time.

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