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Best Italian Beef

Best Italian Beef
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  • Post #1021 - December 31st, 2024, 9:41 am
    Post #1021 - December 31st, 2024, 9:41 am Post #1021 - December 31st, 2024, 9:41 am
    Ram4 wrote:Which brings me to Portillo's (Skokie, Deerfield and Vernon Hills). When it's on point I still really like a Portillo's beef but it can be very hit or miss. It's still probably your best option around here especially if you take it home to heat up yourself.
    I've never heard anyone describe the Italian beef at any Portillo's location as hit or miss. My experience has actually been the opposite - Portillo's is the same no matter the location or the time of day. And that always made sense since it's not made on site and delivered fully cooked to the restaurants in bags. What's been inconsistent?
  • Post #1022 - December 31st, 2024, 4:21 pm
    Post #1022 - December 31st, 2024, 4:21 pm Post #1022 - December 31st, 2024, 4:21 pm
    MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:
    Ram4 wrote:Which brings me to Portillo's (Skokie, Deerfield and Vernon Hills). When it's on point I still really like a Portillo's beef but it can be very hit or miss. It's still probably your best option around here especially if you take it home to heat up yourself.
    I've never heard anyone describe the Italian beef at any Portillo's location as hit or miss. My experience has actually been the opposite - Portillo's is the same no matter the location or the time of day. And that always made sense since it's not made on site and delivered fully cooked to the restaurants in bags. What's been inconsistent?


    I agree w/Marla Collins' Husband as I've found Portillo's beef pretty consistent. Also, I prefer it as soon as the soggy dipped mess is served up. When I've taken it home for reheating, even with extra "juice", it wasn't the same.
    Where there’s smoke, there may be salmon.
  • Post #1023 - December 31st, 2024, 4:28 pm
    Post #1023 - December 31st, 2024, 4:28 pm Post #1023 - December 31st, 2024, 4:28 pm
    Ram4 wrote:
    I have two places on my try list, but neither are expected to blow me away (I certainly would be happy if they did or at least were great). Capt'n Nemo's (Wilmette) and Spiro's Deli (Glenview).


    I tried Spiro's beef about a year ago and thought it tasted better than average. Also, service was pleasant and reasonably prompt. I don't know that I'd go out of my way for it, but wouldn't hesitate to return if I were in the area.
    Where there’s smoke, there may be salmon.
  • Post #1024 - January 2nd, 2025, 3:47 pm
    Post #1024 - January 2nd, 2025, 3:47 pm Post #1024 - January 2nd, 2025, 3:47 pm
    MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:
    Ram4 wrote:Which brings me to Portillo's (Skokie, Deerfield and Vernon Hills). When it's on point I still really like a Portillo's beef but it can be very hit or miss. It's still probably your best option around here especially if you take it home to heat up yourself.
    I've never heard anyone describe the Italian beef at any Portillo's location as hit or miss. My experience has actually been the opposite - Portillo's is the same no matter the location or the time of day. And that always made sense since it's not made on site and delivered fully cooked to the restaurants in bags. What's been inconsistent?


    I reside near the Tinley Park location and it is totally hit or miss. It is often a default as it is 3 blocks from my home. To me hit or miss has to do with inconsistency in size/portion of the beef, quality of the beef (it was old and sat to long in a steamer, the quality and quality of the upcharge for hot giard and sweet pepper is always different.

    For example, on Thursday after the Bears game it was the only place open at 1030pm. My typical order is Beef, hot, sweet, and wet. The beef was cool to the touch, stringy, dry, and tough. There was one piece of a sliver of a slice of sweet green pepper, and the hot giard had a couple of carrots and no serranos. This was an awful sandwich that had no flavor and the pepper upcharges were not worth it
  • Post #1025 - January 2nd, 2025, 4:24 pm
    Post #1025 - January 2nd, 2025, 4:24 pm Post #1025 - January 2nd, 2025, 4:24 pm
    mrbrowncanmoo wrote:
    MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:
    Ram4 wrote:Which brings me to Portillo's (Skokie, Deerfield and Vernon Hills). When it's on point I still really like a Portillo's beef but it can be very hit or miss. It's still probably your best option around here especially if you take it home to heat up yourself.
    I've never heard anyone describe the Italian beef at any Portillo's location as hit or miss. My experience has actually been the opposite - Portillo's is the same no matter the location or the time of day. And that always made sense since it's not made on site and delivered fully cooked to the restaurants in bags. What's been inconsistent?


    I reside near the Tinley Park location and it is totally hit or miss. It is often a default as it is 3 blocks from my home. To me hit or miss has to do with inconsistency in size/portion of the beef, quality of the beef (it was old and sat to long in a steamer, the quality and quality of the upcharge for hot giard and sweet pepper is always different.

    For example, on Thursday after the Bears game it was the only place open at 1030pm. My typical order is Beef, hot, sweet, and wet. The beef was cool to the touch, stringy, dry, and tough. There was one piece of a sliver of a slice of sweet green pepper, and the hot giard had a couple of carrots and no serranos. This was an awful sandwich that had no flavor and the pepper upcharges were not worth it


    Agree.

    It’s kind of dumb to not understand the human element of different locations. Plastic packed beef. Mediocre. By all standards. All depends how long it suffers in their salty jus. YMMV
  • Post #1026 - January 2nd, 2025, 7:43 pm
    Post #1026 - January 2nd, 2025, 7:43 pm Post #1026 - January 2nd, 2025, 7:43 pm
    mrbrowncanmoo wrote:I reside near the Tinley Park location and it is totally hit or miss. It is often a default as it is 3 blocks from my home. To me hit or miss has to do with inconsistency in size/portion of the beef, quality of the beef (it was old and sat to long in a steamer, the quality and quality of the upcharge for hot giard and sweet pepper is always different.

    For example, on Thursday after the Bears game it was the only place open at 1030pm. My typical order is Beef, hot, sweet, and wet. The beef was cool to the touch, stringy, dry, and tough. There was one piece of a sliver of a slice of sweet green pepper, and the hot giard had a couple of carrots and no serranos. This was an awful sandwich that had no flavor and the pepper upcharges were not worth it
    If those were Bears fans working, I can't hold that particular instance against them. But it sounds like this wasn't a one-off. I'm far from a regular but my visits (all in the city and all during high turnover times) have been as consistent as any other fast food joint.

    Poor Dick Portillo. Between the apparent decline of his namesake chain to his inability to get the $32.5 million he wanted for his Naples, FL condo this year (off the market now), this might not be his year. I suspect he's not too broken up about any of it.
  • Post #1027 - January 3rd, 2025, 9:58 pm
    Post #1027 - January 3rd, 2025, 9:58 pm Post #1027 - January 3rd, 2025, 9:58 pm
    George R wrote:
    MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:
    Ram4 wrote:Which brings me to Portillo's (Skokie, Deerfield and Vernon Hills). When it's on point I still really like a Portillo's beef but it can be very hit or miss. It's still probably your best option around here especially if you take it home to heat up yourself.
    I've never heard anyone describe the Italian beef at any Portillo's location as hit or miss. My experience has actually been the opposite - Portillo's is the same no matter the location or the time of day. And that always made sense since it's not made on site and delivered fully cooked to the restaurants in bags. What's been inconsistent?


    I agree w/Marla Collins' Husband as I've found Portillo's beef pretty consistent. Also, I prefer it as soon as the soggy dipped mess is served up. When I've taken it home for reheating, even with extra "juice", it wasn't the same.
    I am going to go on a limb and say that I have probably have had far more beefs at Portillo's than most people on this site. I worked down the street from the Addison one for 15 years and probably ended up eating there at least once a week back in the day. Then we were surrounded by locations close by in Villa Park, Northlake and Elmhurst as well. It is inconsistent. I have had unbelievably bland beefs (probably as the juice is diluted from too much meat), a handful with tough meat, many were skimpy on the beef and yet I have had countless great beefs even in recent years. I live near the Deerfield location and they usually are pretty good. But I know a lot of people that will tell you they are inconsistent or worse and a lot will say they have gone downhill since Dick sold it. I don't necessarily agree (they still use a special Vienna recipe for the hot dogs, still use tallow for the fries, same beef recipe, same onion rings, etc) but the restaurants themselves don't always feel like they are run the same. But for those who don't like it, don't go. I hardly go much anymore, but I also cook at home far more. That being said, Portillo's is best when you cook/heat it up at home and you get the full flavor of the gravy. They don't even make my top 20 beef joints although if they are on point maybe they crack the 20.
  • Post #1028 - January 3rd, 2025, 10:50 pm
    Post #1028 - January 3rd, 2025, 10:50 pm Post #1028 - January 3rd, 2025, 10:50 pm
    The product coming into the store may be very consistent, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the product going out over the counter is consistent. I like Portillo's Italian beef very much, but this conversation about consistency reminds me that I am least satisfied with it when it seems the beef is mostly tough crumbs scooped out of the sauce rather than larger slices of beef. The Vernon Hills Portillos's is the only one I've visited regularly. I've yet to figure out what is the best time of day to order to get large slices of beef versus crumbs that have been floating around in the sauce for quite a while. I would add, though, that I don't think that's any different at Portillo's than at any other Italian beef place.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #1029 - January 4th, 2025, 4:38 pm
    Post #1029 - January 4th, 2025, 4:38 pm Post #1029 - January 4th, 2025, 4:38 pm
    Annerino’s. In Lockport. 7/10. Packed with sliced beef. Joliet bakery bread did not hold up to the jus. That said flavors were there , I’ll be back.

    Annerios
    110 McGregor
    Lockport, Il.
  • Post #1030 - January 5th, 2025, 6:29 am
    Post #1030 - January 5th, 2025, 6:29 am Post #1030 - January 5th, 2025, 6:29 am
    https://buona.com/plantbased/

    Don't know whether it's been mentioned here...

    For health/GI-based reasons, I had banned myself for the last few years from one of my very favorite tastes, the Chicago Italian beef. Taylor St. used to be my Mecca, either Al's or the long-shuttered Vittori's Sandwich Shop across the street.

    So when Buona a couple years ago introduced the plant-based version, I was skeptical to say the least but finally gave it a try a few weeks ago.

    First off...everything surrounding the 'meat' was spot-on. The squishy Turano-type roll. The juice (I like-a the juice, a la Hub's), a vegetable-based broth that is very much like the real thing. The sweet peppers perfect, giardiniera is for another day. All solid. And finally, the thinly-sliced seitan, from a partnership between Buona & Upton's Naturals. Damn! It works. Texture, consistency...pretty much there. And it was cool how well the seitan absorbed the spicings.

    Now--health-wise, my dietitian daughter said it's not much better than a real beef. Caloric-wise a little better. But it's not red meat. And...most important, it did not activate any GI triggers like the 'Impossible' kefta kabob had at Pita Inn a few months ago. That was bad.

    This is good, very good. Count Me A Fan, as Gary would say!
  • Post #1031 - January 5th, 2025, 10:49 pm
    Post #1031 - January 5th, 2025, 10:49 pm Post #1031 - January 5th, 2025, 10:49 pm
    jnm123 wrote:https://buona.com/plantbased/

    Don't know whether it's been mentioned here...

    For health/GI-based reasons, I had banned myself for the last few years from one of my very favorite tastes, the Chicago Italian beef. Taylor St. used to be my Mecca, either Al's or the long-shuttered Vittori's Sandwich Shop across the street.

    So when Buona a couple years ago introduced the plant-based version, I was skeptical to say the least but finally gave it a try a few weeks ago.

    First off...everything surrounding the 'meat' was spot-on. The squishy Turano-type roll. The juice (I like-a the juice, a la Hub's), a vegetable-based broth that is very much like the real thing. The sweet peppers perfect, giardiniera is for another day. All solid. And finally, the thinly-sliced seitan, from a partnership between Buona & Upton's Naturals. Damn! It works. Texture, consistency...pretty much there. And it was cool how well the seitan absorbed the spicings.

    Now--health-wise, my dietitian daughter said it's not much better than a real beef. Caloric-wise a little better. But it's not red meat. And...most important, it did not activate any GI triggers like the 'Impossible' kefta kabob had at Pita Inn a few months ago. That was bad.

    This is good, very good. Count Me A Fan, as Gary would say!


    Glad it worked for you. I tried Buona's vegan IB a few months back and was disappointed by the broth. The other parts were fine, especially the seitan "beef." They really got the texture down right. Unfortunately, for me the broth just tasted off. Nothing like the "real" IB juice. Maybe they just had a bad day. I'll try it again some time and hope for better.
    Where there’s smoke, there may be salmon.
  • Post #1032 - January 13th, 2025, 8:56 am
    Post #1032 - January 13th, 2025, 8:56 am Post #1032 - January 13th, 2025, 8:56 am
    Little Joes in Countryside continues to turn out some of the most consistent IB sandwiches around. Hit them up on Saturday for a good one. Their giard. Mix is celery heavy. Meat is always tender and flavorful. IB ,dipped, hot. Their combo is 1st tier as well

    There is a new buona beef kitty corner, lol. Imagine settling for corporate beef.

    Little Joes
    20 E. Plainfield Rd
    Countryside, IL.
  • Post #1033 - February 1st, 2025, 1:21 pm
    Post #1033 - February 1st, 2025, 1:21 pm Post #1033 - February 1st, 2025, 1:21 pm
    I’ve been putting away 2-3 IB’s or combos a week lately. Lil Joes in Countryside yesterday. Paul’s Pizza and Hot Dogs today. I hadn’t been to Paul’s since back when I worked in Burr Ridge. Was always in the rotation. Today’s 6” IB. Dipped, hot was exemplary. Tender slices of beef. Solid bread. Plentiful Hot peppers. And the gravy….Silky and top notch. Best beef I’ve had in a minute.

    Paul’s Hot Dogs & Pizza
    3044 S Wolf road
    Westchester, il.

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