Chicago
Guided tour · 2 hours
Chicago: Gangsters and Food Tasting Walking Tour
Taste some of Chicago's most iconic foods while walking through one of the Prohibition Era’s most fashionable and notorious gangster-ridden...
from$75Check dates
History
Elote (corn on the cob) and esquites (the same flavours in a cup) crossed from central Mexico into Chicago via Pilsen and Little Village paleterias and pushcarts in the 1980s. The cup format took off because it was easier to eat on the move: corn cut from a grilled cob, butter, mayo, cotija, chilli powder and lime juice, scooped with a spoon. By the 2010s the elote cart became as much a part of the Chicago summer streetscape as the hot dog wagon. Wrigley Field added a stand in 2018 and the AT&T Plaza outside the United Center followed. La Michoacana Premium and the carts along 26th and 18th Streets are the canonical references; the Wrigley cup is the visitor's gateway.
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Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.
Boston
Guided tour · 2 hours
Boston: North End & Little Italy Food Tour with Local Dishes
Choose a 2-hour express or 3-hour full Boston food tour. Taste clam chowder, arancini, brick oven pizza, cannoli, and more while exploring the North...
from$86Check dates
Charleston
Guided tour · 2.5 hours
Charleston: Small Group Food Tour, Savor the Flavors
Experience the flavors of Charleston with the help of local guides. Delve into over 300 years of culinary history as you taste your way through the...
from$111Check dates
Key West
Guided tour · 3 hours
Key West: Cuban and Caribbean Food and Cultural Walking Tour
Discover the Cuban and Caribbean influences on Key West food and culture. Enjoy a small-group tour with stops at 5 locations including tastings.
from$90Check dates
Common allergens: Dairy, Egg
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 6 ears fresh sweetcorn, husked
- 60g unsalted butter, melted
- 100g mayonnaise
- 60g Mexican crema or soured cream
- 100g cotija cheese, crumbled
- 2 teaspoons Tajin or chilli-lime powder
- 1 teaspoon ground guajillo or ancho chilli
- 2 limes, in wedges
- Sea salt
Method
- Heat a grill or grill pan to high. Brush the corn with melted butter and grill 8 to 10 minutes total, turning, until kernels are charred in patches.
- Stand each ear in a bowl and run a knife down to cut the kernels off in sheets. You want about 700g cut kernels.
- Mix the mayo and crema. Toss the warm kernels with half the mayo-crema, then divide between four cups.
- Top each cup with another spoon of mayo-crema, a heavy shower of cotija, a pinch of Tajin, a pinch of ground chilli, salt and a squeeze of lime. Eat with a spoon.
Tip from the editors. Char the corn hard, even past 'a little burnt'. The smoke flavour is half the dish.
Where to eat elote in a cup
Elote in a cup in Chicago
La Michoacana Premium ★ 4.8
La Michoacana Premium in Chicago is the Pilsen paleteria on 18th Street with fresh-fruit paletas, elote in a cup, raspados and mangonadas at a painted.
TryPaletas, elote in a cup, raspados
TipOrder the elote in a cup with Tajin and butter; pair it with a tamarind paleta for the after-walk down 18th.
Big Star ★ 4.3
Big Star in Chicago is the One Off Hospitality taco room at Six Corners on Damen, with an outdoor patio, a frozen margarita machine and tacos al pastor.
OrderThree al pastor tacos, a frozen margarita, chips with the smoky tomato salsa.
TipThe patio queue is long in summer. The walk-up window pays out a perfectly good takeaway dinner in five minutes.
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