Restaurant Review: Chicago Loop’s Fatback + The Green Butcher offers fresh options for the workday
Where, oh where, can you find a great sandwich in the Loop to take back to the office, eat during a ride on a water taxi, or to enjoy the scenery in Millennium Park or on the Riverwalk?
Look no further than Fatback + The Green Butcher, a unique combination of sandwich shop, in-house butcher counter, and European-style specialty market in the Chicago Loop.
Created by chef Charlie McKenna and The Fifty/50 Group, it functions as a desk-to-dinner destination providing chef-driven lunches, fresh rotational salads, whole rotisserie chickens, and high-quality provisions for downtown professionals, per Timeout.
Their premium artisan sandwiches are rooted in French and Italian culinary traditions—from their signature house-roasted turkey to their best-selling steak sandwich.
What sets Fatback Butcher apart from other sandwich shops is that it bridges the gap between fast-casual convenience and chef-driven quality. As their website states, “We don’t serve standard deli meat. As an artisan butcher concept, our sandwiches feature butcher-quality, premium meats—like the shaved steak in our best-selling signature hot sandwich and the house-made spicy Italian meatballs.”
On top of their “most favorite “ list is their Jambon, piled highwith Lady Edison country ham, whole-grain mustard beurre, and pickled mustard seed, served on a demi baguette. Their most popular sandwich is their Hot Steak Sandwich featuring premium shaved steak, with a savory -sweet – peppery combination of shaved steak, melted cheese, black pepper and crispy potato chips right in the sandwich, along with soubise (onion) aioli on sourdough bread. For a hearty classic, their Spicy Italian Meatball Sub is a Loop favorite.
Other sandwiches are equally intriguing. For example, HAVE YOU EVER TRIED…a Pickle Sandwich? This one comes alive with Rotisserie chicken, salami, tangy dill pickle slaw, onion, and Duke’s mayo, all on a potato bun.
A Southern favorite, the Muffaletta, follows a traditional route with layers of salami, capicola, mortadella, mozzarella, provolone, and an olive salad, on a unique sesame pizza bianca.
Their Cochon (French: pig) Sandwich combines porchetta (pork roast) with Tasso ham, French raclette cheese, pickle vin, and spicy mustard on a garlic butter bun.
Spicy Turkey is a protein-rich roasted turkey, with white cheddar, arugula, smashed cucumbers, and Calabrian aioli, on sourdough bread.
A great vegetarian option is their Mediterranean-inspired Beet Sandwich, with roasted yellow beets, za’atar labneh (Greek yogurt with EVOO,) lemon, olive oil, and arugula, served on pizza bianca.
Salads are equally fresh and unique
They also serve Green Butcher Salads, which are are naturally high in fiber and customizable with rotisserie chicken. But it isn’t just ANY chicken… as their website notes, their Regalis Ivory Rotisserie Chicken is a “lean protein powerhouse!” Whether ordered plain or with lemon pepper, it’s the perfect clean, satisfying lunch for those focused on wellness, high-protein goals, or a GLP-1 companion diet.
Take, for example, their Tahini Caesar Salad with gem lettuce, tahini dressing, breadcrumbs, and sesame dukkah (sesame crunch). Or, their Grain Salad, with quinoa, farro, wild rice, sunflower seeds, sweet potato, fromage blanc, and pomegranate. Farm Lettuces Salad has leafy greens, candied pecans, manchego cheese, and bourbon cherries (yum!)
Fatback + The Green Butcher is located at 176 W. Wacker Drive. They also cater and deliver to local businesses. Their hours are Monday-Friday, from 10am-4pm. For orders, call (312) 448-8288 or for catering: (312) 256-2522. For more information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
