Mild Sauce, Fried Hard

Mild sauce, though, is a west side and a south side phenomenon in Chicago. Served at a variety of establishments–fish and shrimp houses, chicken shacks, barbecue joints, sandwich shops, basically any place where you can order fried foods down to and including French fries–mild sauce has been a favorite at restaurants serving African-American neighborhoods since the 1950s. There, it is ubiquitous.