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We have been meaning to try Jay's just never got around to it. Thanks for the reccomendation.

Yeah I still have Jay's (Narragansett location) in my starting five for the All-Beef Team but I didn't hate Mr. Beef & Pizza last time I had it which was just last month. I hadn't been in some time either and from what I remember I liked it better this time around. It's got a little more spice kick to it than most beefs from the gravy more so than the peppers and they don't skimp. The beef was tender and didn't resist. All in all it was good but not great enough to crack the best of the best. I still only get combos from Johnnie's though so I wouldn't bet on theirs being better.


Beef with hot

Mr. Beef & Pizza
3917 N Harlem Ave
Chicago, IL 60634
(773) 283-7444

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Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing

It appears that Mr. Beef & Pizza opens at 10:30 on Saturday. I think I just may have a little "brunch" before I head over to Riviera for a memorial Will Special.

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The cake is a lie

I've previously plugged Portillo's as the best Italian beef in my neighborhood, but my husband brought home a Portillo's IB sandwich (from the Vernon Hills restaurant) that was The Worst Thing I've Eaten Lately. All of the meat was overcooked crumbs from the bottom of the pot, not one single decent piece of meat in the whole sandwich. Looked worse than dog food, and was no pleasure to eat (I ate less than half of it and tossed the rest). He got it from the drive-through at about 9 pm. Note to self, from now on, at that hour of the night, go in to the restaurant to get an Italian beef sandwich, so I can see it before I take it home. Or get something a little less neglect-proof, like a Polish sausage.

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"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

I have yet to try Portillo's Italian beef but they do make a tasty Italian sausage.

Well, I went to Mr. Beef and Pizza at my brother's insistance on Saturday and it was great. The meat was as tender as any beef I can remember, and wow, it might have been the biggest beef sandwich I've ever had. It was absolutely over the top packed with meat. There was literally too much meat in the sandwich, so I took off a lot and ate it on it's own because the meat to bread ratio was way off. It was a little bit salty, but had a nice beefy taste. The hot peppers were decent, could have a been a little hotter. The frozen food service fries were a waste of stomach space, but again, enormous portions. My brother is now 2 for 2 there and he loves it. I will definitely be back, but next time I'll split one here and try Jay's too. Thanks for chiming in Da Beef.

As far as Portillo's beef goes, it's always been one of my favorites. I'm sorry, I don't care if it's not hip to like it. Everyone I know loves it. Yeah, once in a while it can let you down, but overall, it's solid. And in Highland Park, we don't exactly have a lot of beef options. So a trip to Vernon Hills usually means Portillo's for me. I worked down the block from the Addison Portillo's for 15 years, so I'm partial to them.

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Hate to say it, but if I'm not in the vicinity of Al's Beef/Taylor St. (which to me is the gold standard), I would just as soon buy the 1# or 2.5# beef pack at Portillo's & construct a beef to my tastes. I don't think I've ever bought a ready-made beef there.

It's amazing how consistently good that beef pack is, and how far it stretches into 3" or 6" sandwiches. The accompanying pail au jus has what we call the 'fat plug' sitting on top, and frankly the juice is plenty tasty without it. Portillo's sweet peppers are fine if lazy, but their giardiniera can definitely be substituted by homemade or store-bought. When their Italian bread is freshly made it's as good as Gonnella, but more often than not I'll stop at a store as a replacement. Only one caveat--do NOT let the beef simmer in the juice for more than 5 minutes--it will toughen & not be nearly as tender.

Kudos to Portillo's for getting it right.

If it's gonna be a throwdown between the Itailian Beef chains in Chicagoland, I will choose Buona Beef over Portillos by a slim margin. I like their bread a little more and their beef is very consistant.

Oddly enough I really don't care for Buona sandwiches in the shop but I really like to do as jnm123 says and bring a couple pounds home to heat up. For some reason it's much better (at least to me it is).

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The cake is a lie

Had a chance to finally stop at Carm's out in Tinley Park this past week, had a beef with giardinaire on the side so I could sample both seperately. Have to say it was one of the better beefs I've had in a while...the beef was tender and well spiced with a faint bit of heat. It was a nice size with a good amount of meat, but not overstuffed. The giardinaire was good, with a mix of peppers celery, etc and tasted like some beef juices/fat had been incorporated. I'll definately be back soon.

Just a couple bad pics:




Carm's Beef
17801 S Oak Park Ave
Tinley Park
708-444-4272

Caught me looking for the Like button.

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"Make Lunch, Not War" ~ Anon

This thread should be sub-titled "One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure."

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What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

As long as this thread is kicking around this week, I'll mention that I tried Portillo's combo for the first time and would rank it in my top tier. Just the right amount of gravy and a perfectly cooked sausage complemented some very solid beef.

I'm going to take this stinky bait, hook and all.

I'll admit I'm not intuitive enough and can't read your mind. Care to explain to us your mysterious and veiled post? What exactly is "trash"

Sure. There are all kinds of posts from people who went to the same restaurant where one of them loved it and the other thought it was awful.

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What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?

As long as someone elaborates on what, exactly, it is that causes one to like/dislike a place, differing opininons can be useful. A professed "dislike" of Johnnie's Beef, for example, can thus be useful in discounting that reviewer's opinions on most other matters of taste.

We stopped off at Pop's Beef for a pound of beef, loaf of bread, juice and hot peppers. What an unexpected treat! The beef was very "beefy", the fresh bread I'm guessing Turano, 2 pints of not overly spiced juice and the freshest giardenera I have ever had at a beef place. It was busy at an off time of day, clean, and the employees were nice.
They have a few locations in the burbs.
I'll be back!

Pops Beef and Sausage
623 West North Avenue
Elmhurst, IL

OK, so I am a bit slow, but I have never had a beef from Al's #1. I was in that general area today and thought that I would try it. It was a decision between Al's or Ramova Grill for lunch. I lost-I chose Al's. In the seemingly endless television exposures accorded to Al's, they show the owner and the interviewer de jour holding monster sandwiches and making a big deal about the size, content and wetness/sloppiness of the sandwich. For 10.08 I was served a combo wet, with hot and fries. I thought I was a Johnnie's, for I was served a skimpy, little tea sandwich with a small link of virtually tasteless sausage and a few shreds of beef. The fries were cold, limp just about at the awful stage. While the place was packed, the service people were very nice and accomadating, but the lunch, unfortunately, was a large scale letdown. This site has alerted us to some truly great beef places. Unfortunately, all the tourists and fellow first timers I saw at Al's today will think that what they ate is a real, Chicago style, beef sandwich. Their, and, my loss. I should have picked Ramova Grill.

It definitely is. To say it's not a real Chicago-style beef seems pretty ridiculous to me. It's a very distinctive and somewhat polarizing rendition, though. And yes, prices have risen greatly at Al's (as with Johnny's, etc.). A regular beef sandwich is no longer close to a good value. Too bad you didn't like it. It's definitely my fave but I do go there a lot less than I used to.

=R=

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Twitter: ronniesuburban

I have heard the criticism about the size and cost of Al's IB before and it is true - not a big sandwich and not cheap. But I never heard the other two complaints - that they did not fill the roll with beef and sausage, and that the sausage was tasteless. Fries are usually good, but not great. Haven't been for a bit so I guess it is time to go see if this is a trend (and I need to visit Mario, too). Whose sausage do you like?

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d
Retired, gone fishing, and exploring my curmudgeon within

I saw this driving down Halsted Street the same day I stopped in at D&D Foods.


Kind of hard not to stop in, ya know?

I was very tempted and pulled in the lot and pulled out my iPhone. I looked the place up on google just to get a feel for it and I find it mentioned in a few old LTH Beef-A-Thon threads as well as in an old Tribune Article (you have to be a member to read all of it) from 1993 where Pat Bruno reviews his favorite stands for Italian sausage. I decided I would stop in and see where they were at today. I didn't like the fact it was listed as Marnell Pita Drive In online or that when I went in, there was alot of Mexican food offerings on the menu. However I did like the fact they had on old school chimney where the smoke from the charcoal grill would go similar to that which they have at Enzo's also in Da Heights.



Well I don't know why, but I ordered just a beef with hot as opposed to a combo or just their sausage. I wanted to see how it compared to the rest and score it I guess. The old school Drive In sign and fact they have the charcoal grill inside with the chimney to be seen outside are about all that was good on this visit. The beef was awful (I didn't eat but a bite) and for some reason, just like at Enzo's, when you ask for a "beef with hot" they give you sport peppers as opposed to the real stuff. Old timers from around this way wouldn't be happy. I'm not sure but I assume due to the lettering on the drive in sign, that they still make their sausage. So if theres ever a next time I'd try that. Maybe it's just past its prime. Too bad.


Should of got the sausage, score one for the team who doesn't understand why anyone would like an IB

Marnell Drive In
849 S. Halsted St
Chicago Heights, IL 60411
(708) 754-1164

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Smokin' Chokin' and Chowing

I've had co-workers who occasionally work in Tinley Park rave about the beef at Mickey's Gyros. Never been myself, but I live on the NW side.

I work in the loop and other than Luke's the only other place I've tried is Bombacigno's J & C Inn. Both beefs were meh, but I liked Bombacigno's cottage fries.

thick - Next time you're in the area, go a bit farther down on Taylor and hit up Patio. I agree with you on Al's for the most part, but Al's is a polarizing beef stand. I'm not exactly a fan, but it has its moments (when paired with Mario's Italian Lemonade on a hot summer day). The Patio is my go-to for beef on Taylor. The quality of the beef itself, in addition to the reasonable prices and portion size make it a no-brainer for me.

I tried the combo at Panozzo's in the South Loop this weekend. The sausage was excellent, as I would expect from Panozzo's. The beef was tasty, but it seemed closer to pot roast than the traditional sliced beef you find on most sandwiches around town.

My main complaint is that the sandwich was not served with giardiniera. I know that Panozzo's makes their own hot and mild giardiniera in-house, so I'm not sure if this was an oversight or if you just have to ask for it on your sandwich.

I'm guessing you have to ask, just like you do at most other places serving IB.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Sounds like Marnell's has changed hands, and gone downhill. It was never much better than a middle of the road beef for me, so it is not a great loss. As you noticed, DB, the building has been the main attraction for as long as I remember.

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d
Retired, gone fishing, and exploring my curmudgeon within

I agree - Patio has a great beef sandwich and is a much better value in price and size than Al's. However, in my opinion, Al's is nearly unbeatable when it's on point, when I have the $$ to burn , and their fries are also some of the absolute best around. Patio serves are frozen mid-size fries. Another plus is that you can sit down on a stool at the Patio. Al's is stand, eat, and get out in 10 minutes flat (or eat somewhere outside like on your trunk).

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Another Patio fan here. Personally, I don't go for the fries, which as Ram4 points out, are nothing special. I also like Al's. They are not the same and also not mutually exclusive in my book. Al's does have some tables outside if you want to sit and eat your beef.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Fries? What fries? (Seriously, I don't remember the fries from any of these places, so I can't say anything. Plus I generally do not order fries with any of my sandwiches anywhere, so if it doesn't come with the beef, I wouldn't know.)

The thing about Al's is that the gravy/jus has a very particular flavor to it, too, which is polarizing. It's a bit different, with hints of nutmeg or mace or something like that. I don't dislike it, but I have to be in the mood for it. So, it's not just about the portion size and the price.

I enjoyed Pop's too. I could taste the beef without a heavily seasoned juice taking the taste away. As a matter of fact, Pop's is my new go to place.