Eli's Cheesecake is a cheesecake

Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit , pastry or sponge cake. They may be baked or unbaked...

 company based in Chicago, Illinois. Eli's original plain cheesecake, which has been called "Chicago's most famous dessert", is made of cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a butter shortbread cookie crust. The company also makes cheesecakes with chocolate and caramel.

History

During the late 1970s, Eli Schulman developed the original plain cheesecake as a dessert for his Chicago steakhouse, called Eli's: The Place for Steak. The cheesecake represented the restaurant at the first Taste of Chicago

Taste of Chicago

The Taste of Chicago is the world's largest food festival, held annually for ten days in Grant Park, in Chicago starting the Friday before the 4th of July and ending the Sunday after . The event is the largest festival in Chicago...

 in 1980, and it eventually became the festival's most popular dessert, with about 2 million slices sold as of 2005. Eli's: The Place for Steak closed in 2005, but the cheesecakes are still being produced for customers throughout the world at a 62000 square feet (5,760 m²) factory in Chicago's Dunning

Dunning, Chicago

Dunning is one of 77 officially designated community areas of the city of Chicago, Illinois. Dunning also is a neighborhood located on the Northwest Side of the city.The neighborhood is home to the Eli's Cheesecake factory....

 neighborhood.

Eli Schulman's son, Marc Schulman, runs the cheesecake company. His father died of a heart attack at his home on Lake Shore Drive

Lake Shore Drive

Lake Shore Drive is a mostly freeway-standard expressway running parallel with and alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan through Chicago, Illinois, USA. Except for the portion north of Foster Avenue , Lake Shore Drive is designated as part of U.S...

 on May 8, 1988.

Accomplishments

Eli's has made cheesecakes for two American presidential inaugurations. In 1997, they made a 2,000 pound cheesecake for Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

's inauguration ceremonies, and January 2009, they produced a 500 pound cheesecake for Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

's inaugural ball.

On June 27, 2009, Eli's Cheesecake made a 2,000 pound cheesecake to commemorate the Burnham Plan

Burnham Plan

The Burnham Plan is a popular name for the 1909 Plan of Chicago, co-authored by Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett. It recommended an integrated series of projects including new and widened streets, parks, new railroad and harbor facilities, and civic buildings...

Centennial, as well as the twenty-ninth anniversary of the Taste of Chicago and Eli's Cheesecake.