Question: We would very much appreciate the recipe for the Creamy Garlic Dressing served at the Berghoff restaurant in Chicago. We'd love to see this recipe in your column soon, as it's the best we've ever had. We'd like to duplicate it at home.- Donald A. Secker & friends,
Northville, Mich.
Answer: Sandwiches were free, but a stein of beer cost a nickel at Chicago's Berghoff Restaurant in 1898! This promotional gimmick was the brainchild of Herman Berghoff Sr., who used the restaurant as a showcase for the Berghoff All-Malt Dortmunder Beer made in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Today's fare includes hearty American and German food served in the restaurant, while a unique stand-up bar, known as the Cafe, serves hand-carved sandwiches of beef, corned beef, turkey, tongue and smoked pork.
The multistoried vintage restaurant is actually two buildings joined together. The taller of the two, known as the Potter Palmer building, is an architectural landmark built of granite and marble topped by an ornate cast-iron facade. The lower level seats 750 diners, while upper floors provide space for in-house beef and fish butcher shops, a bakery and even a woodshop for maintenance of restaurant furniture.
Walk about five blocks from Berghoff's to the Chicago Options Exchange on LaSalle Street to view the "traders" in action. "Traders" currently pay $340,000 to purchase a seat that conveys the rights to trade options on more than 550 stocks, including IBM, GM and GE as well as stock index options. The visitors gallery is free to the public and offers a good view of the various trading pits with video monitors. On a good day, trading is frenetic, especially at the opening and closing of market.
Garlic lovers will relish this thick, creamy salad dressing, which is infused with fresh minced garlic and enlivened with a dash of Tabasco and Worchestershire.
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RECIPE
GARLIC DRESSING
2 cups mayonnaise
14 ounces sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Vigorously whisk, blending until ingredients are smooth. Chill before serving. Makes 4 cups.