If you don’t know what you are looking at, you soon will…and while you are at it, gaze upon this:
Time to take you to Big & Little’s, a successful Chicago restaurant made famous by “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.”
You can see they advertise their appearance on the show – the power of TV has been good to Big & Little’s – as well as really fun food – when I lived in Chicago I went there many many times, and I wanted to share some of their great food with you!
Behold The Soft Shell Crab Po’Boy!
Let’s get started with the Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy! It’s a beauty! They bring it to you opened up…nicely toasted bun with some great aoili-style spicy sauce on one side, a nice crunchy lettuce on the other…
After a moment to appreciate the beauty of the presentation, it’s time to get serious about eating. You slap the two sides of the sandwich together – as best you can because it is a HUGE piece of soft shell crab, which DOES NOT want to behave:
Big & Little’s has a variety of side dishes, and I got the large portion of cajun fries to go along with the sandwich – you can also get truffle fries and even pork belly fries:
Grab that po’boy in your hand, squeeze it tight and you are on your way to soft shell crab heaven:
Time To Get Deep-Fried!
I’ve warmed you up with the Po’Boy, but now it is time to get serious. That’s right, let’s get right to the point: Big & Little’s has a beer battered, deep fried burger!
Take one more look: that is a deep-fried hamburger patty sitting between sauce, cheese, lettuce and tomato and yes, it looks a bit – well, DAUNTING is a fair word:
Just like the Po’Boy, they bring the deep=fried cheeseburger separated, so it really isn’t scary at all when it arrives:
It is up to you to close it, size it up and stare at the goodness in your hand:
When you bite into the burger, you have a nice crunch outside, while inside the meat is juicy – very good flavor and the condiments all work in a nice balance.
Ketchup, lettuce and pickle complete the package, a very nice flavor – do you need the patty beer battered and deep fried? Well, NO, but it is and that’s great too! Now, let’s move on to a dish I grew up with in Seattle:
BIG & LITTLE’S FISH AND CHIPS!
I love fish ‘n’ chips and am always looking for a reason to order it – and they gave it to me here!
Let’s get right to it:
THAT IS ONE BIG PIECE OF FISH!
I gazed that this monster of a fish and saw that it was too big for the plate:
I, of course, had to have it with an extra tartar sauce – they make theirs with a bit of sweet tang to it…
The batter was soft and flaky, allowing the flavor of the fish to come through…and it’s a whole filet of fish, not some sort of “pre-formed” bits of fish – and it was delicious!
Since I love seafood, there was more to come on another trip:
BIG & LITTLE’S SHRIMP AND CHIPS!
Big & Little’s also offer what they call the best fried shrimp in Chicago – and while there may be better, these are outstanding!
Behold Big & Little’s Shrimp and chips – these guys are delicious: big, meaty and coated nicely…not too much, just enough to hold in all that shrimp goodness…if you like shrimp, you can’t go wrong with this dish:
This dish is filling, there are lots of shrimp, and plenty of fries to go along with them – in fact, all of the portions at Big & Little’s are ample:
I always order an extra tartar sauce – don’t tell Alex – and it’s a nice and tart, slightly “pickle-y” flavored sauce…
As I’m eating one day at the counter, I gaze up at the board above me – yes, even at this bad angle you can see that they have “truffle fries”, as well as a variety of fish tacos – AND YES, THEY DO HAVE SALADS AS WELL – but c’mon, one look at the po’ boy list and one thing hits you right in the eye:
That list on the right is for Po’Boys, and yes, they have one with PORK BELLY!
BIG & LITTLE’S PORK BELLY PO’ BOY!
The Po’ Boys are really outstanding here and this one is incredible:
First, behold the fried pork belly: because there is A LOT to take in…the sandwich shows up closed – well, as closed as it can be with so much pork belly stuffed in the middle:
This is an awe-inspiring sandwich: first, it has a lot of pork belly…the bun is nicely toasted, and there is lettuce, fresh crisp pickle AND a great spicy aioli sauce…
While the pork belly is nicely crisp, it also has a soft interior, very warm and juicy…and it is of course pork belly, so it is full of flavor:
As you can see below, the pork belly makes room for a nice amount of pickle, lettuce and aoili for a perfect blend of goodness in every bite:
This is a delicious sandwich. Yes, it’s pork belly – I know…and I’m not a Doctor, but I’m sure a case can be made about how healthy this may or may NOT be for you…
But I see some green in there, so you have to rationalize just a bit: and celebrate just how much great food Big & Little’s serves up every day!
They were always nice when I went in, and obviously I didn’t order all of these great dishes on one visit – it was one of my favorite places to visit in Chicago, including on that had:
The World’s Best Fried Bologna Sandwich!
Yes, it was – and I had it at a great restaurant in Chicago called Au Chevalier, which also serves a bacon cheeseburger to die for:
Click here to see more of their menu!
I also made a recipe by an acclaimed Chicago Chef as part of my “52 In 22” cooking challenge last year:
This was a delicious Lasagna that Chef Rick Tremonto made to honor his Mom!
Click here for the whole recipe!
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Pictures, Food Travel, Recipes, Restaurants, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
be still my. heart attack!)
This restaurant definitely earned its place on national TV. If I lived in Chicago, I would be eating the soft-shell crab po boy every week.
I remember that place from the TV show. I would have to try the pork belly first, as I love pork belly! Not sure about the deep-fried burger, that one should come with a paramedic on standby! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.