Phi Delta Theta Fraternity - Ohio Theta Alumni

09/01/2026

First Thursday at MadTree this week at 6:00.

08/21/2026

Someone channeling Uncle Don and Essie

City chicken is a Northeast Ohio staple that contains no chicken at all. It is cubed pork, sometimes pork and veal, threaded onto a wooden skewer, breaded, browned in a pan and then baked or braised until tender. The skewer is there to make it look like a drumstick.

The name comes from the Depression era and the decades around it, when chicken was expensive and pork was not. Poultry was still raised on a small scale and priced accordingly, while industrial pork was cheap and plentiful in a region full of packing houses. Working families in Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown and the mill towns along the Mahoning Valley put pork on a stick, breaded it like a cutlet and served it as the Sunday centerpiece.

Eastern European immigrants carried the idea and made it their own. Polish, Slovak, Hungarian and Croatian households across the industrial belt of Ohio and western Pennsylvania all claim it, and the recipes vary from family to family in ways people defend seriously.

The method is consistent. Cube the meat about an inch. Skewer four or five pieces. Dredge in flour, then egg, then seasoned breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs. Brown all sides in a hot pan, then finish covered in the oven with a little liquid so the pork stays tender rather than turning to leather. Mashed potatoes and gravy on the side, always.

Butcher counters across Northeast Ohio still sell it pre-skewered and ready to bread, which tells you how alive the tradition remains. Ask for city chicken in a grocery store in Cleveland or Youngstown and nobody blinks. Ask for it in Columbus and you might get a blank look.

What makes it interesting is the inversion. The dish exists because chicken used to be the luxury item. Now pork loin costs more per pound than chicken breast at most stores, so a food invented to save money is arguably the more expensive option today.

Nobody in Ohio makes it for the economics anymore. They make it because their grandmother made it, and because it comes on a stick, and because it always did.

08/07/2026

Great group tonight at First Thursday

08/04/2026

Hi Brothers, first Thursday is this week at MadTree. Come join us.

06/29/2026

First Thursday at MadTree this week at 6:00. Happy 250!!!

06/17/2026

Phi Delta Theta’s Chapter Challenge is officially underway, with chapters across Phi Delt Nation competing for the top spot in donor participation and dollars raised. Every gift counts, and every donor moves your chapter closer to earning additional leadership funding that directly supports scholarships, chapter programming, and educational opportunities. And all gifts move Phi Delt to be greater for the next class of Phikeias!

Participation drives everything, so whether it’s your first gift or your fiftieth, this is your chance to show up for your chapter and help put them on the leaderboard.

Give on June 17 →

Maybe it was the first time you walked into the chapter house and realized you had found your place. Maybe it was a brother who pushed you to lead when you didn’t think you were ready. Or maybe it was an opportunity you wouldn’t have had otherwise—a leadership program, a scholarship, or a conn...

06/05/2026

Good crowd tonight for First Thursday at MadTree tonight.

06/01/2026

First Thursday this week at MadTree not Hearth. See you there at 6:00.

05/07/2026

First Thursday tonight at 6:00 at Hearth Brewing.

05/03/2026

First Thursday this week!!!
We are having it at Hearth Brewery with significant others invited.
We will be upstairs like last time. Hope to see you there.