2025-07-24
4 分钟The Economist.
Pilsen, a gentrifying neighbourhood on the southwest side of Chicago,
is a regular spot for visitors hoping to eat interesting food.
Until it was cancelled this year, the local Mole Festival,
held each spring, drew hundreds of Mexican food fans.
Mole is a savoury chocolate sauce.
Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants have spilled over from nearby Chinatown.
Another excellent place to eat is the Pleasant House Pub.
At this spot, patrons can order starters of scotch eggs,
Welsh rarebit, curry on chips or chicken balti pie.
Dessert includes sticky toffee pudding.
To wash it down, there is a cask ale brewed locally.
The Pleasant House, which opened in 2011 as a pie shop,
was founded by Arthur Jackson, the American-born son of a Yorkshire bricklayer.
Mr Jackson says he and his wife Chelsea hadn't originally planned on making much of his British heritage,
but wanting to offer something original,
he realised that he had never seen a British-style savoury pie on offer in America.
As recently as 2018,
a misguided writer in the New York Times felt able to make a joke about British food being largely porridge and boiled mutton.
Yet opinions have shifted so much that sober Americans are seeking out British food of their own free will.