The Gym Shoe: The South Side's Sandwich, Explained

If Italian beef is the sandwich Chicago shows to tourists, the Gym Shoe is the one it keeps for itself. You'll find it at small South Side sub shops, usually takeout-only, usually wrapped in paper with a pile of fries.

What's in it

The Gym Shoe (also spelled Jim Shoe) is a "why choose?" sandwich. A typical one stacks:

• Corned beef
• Roast beef
• Gyro meat
• Cheese, often melted on the meat
• Lettuce, tomato, onion
• Mayo and tzatziki-style gyro sauce
• Sometimes giardiniera for heat

All of it goes on a long sub roll. It's a deli sandwich, a gyro and a beef rolled into one, and it is enormous.

Where does the name come from?

Nobody knows for sure, and South Siders will happily argue about it. Theories include a corruption of a Yiddish word for "mixed" (a nod to the deli meats), a play on someone named Jim, and the simple idea that it's as big and beat-up as an old gym shoe. Pick your favorite; just don't call it fancy.

Why it matters

The Gym Shoe is a true neighborhood sandwich. It grew up in Black-owned and immigrant-run sub shops on the South Side rather than in restaurants that court food media, which is exactly why it has stayed under the radar for so long and why it's finally getting the attention it deserves.

Where to get one

• Stony Sub, Southeast Side. Widely credited with inventing it. Cash only, with an ATM in the waiting area.
• Southtown Sub, Greater Grand Crossing. Takeout only, no seating. Do as the regulars do and eat it in the parking lot. Fries and a soda come with your order.

See both in our Gym Shoe section.