While deep dish pizza and Chicago-style hot dogs are the dishes most closely associated with our city, we'd argue that the Pizza Puff is a more quintessential delicacy. Produced by locally-based Italco Foods Products, a mixture of pork sausage and mozzarella cheese is wrapped in a flour tortilla and deep-fried until the exterior is crisp and the interior is molten. You'll usually find Pizza Puffs on the menus of Chicago hot dog stands and pizzerias, but Bridgeport restaurant Kimski is using the local cuisine in an interesting new way.
Inspired by his go-to order at Bridgeport hot dog stand Johnny O's, Kimski chef Won Kim created the Puff Daddy burger—which uses two Pizza Puffs in place of buns—and served it at one of Publican Quality Meats' weekly Burger Nights earlier this summer. The burger's beef patty is topped with cheddar, spicy kewpie mayo, onions, pickles and butter lettuce, making for some extra-crisp bites when its all sandwiched between two golden-fried tortilla pockets. Miraculously, the flavor of the Pizza Puff filling doesn't overpower the other toppings—it merely adds savory sausage and cheese flavor to this greasy creation (make sure you grab extra napkins).
While the Puff Daddy hasn't joined Kimski's permanent menu, the indulgent dish has occasionally been featured as a special. If you're interested in conquering this caloric monster, pay close attention to Kimski's Instagram—the restaurant usually features its nightly special on its account and, with enough demand, the Puff Daddy will likely make a comeback.
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