I've never been to Mr. Beef and as a person who moved to Chicago as a vegetarian haven't ever had Italian beef at all, but I think much of the line at that Mr. Beef could be attributed to 1) the tv show The Bear (that is the inspiration for the restaurant in the show) and 2) being in River North on St. Patrick Day Saturday. Not commenting on the quality of the product one way or the other, just mentioning some other circumstances for its popularity.

Northcenter Joe wrote:I've never been to Mr. Beef and as a person who moved to Chicago as a vegetarian haven't ever had Italian beef at all.

As an aside, Buona sells a vegan sandwich. My vegetarian wife really enjoys it. They use Upton's seitan product.

https://buona.com/plantbased/

Everywhere downtown had insane lines on Saturday including some pretty mundane places. But thanks for the price board pic. What does "all sides $1" mean? Peppers? Giardiniara?

tjr wrote:Everywhere downtown had insane lines on Saturday including some pretty mundane places. But thanks for the price board pic. What does "all sides $1" mean? Peppers? Giardiniara?

tjr,
I think you nailed it. I predict that paper napkins will soon be considered $1 “sides” and that pay toilets will soon be back.

I love Mr. Beef! I'm a beef sandwich fancier. Here's my review of theirs on Yelp. The only thing I don't love about Mr. Beef is that they do not have a washroom for customers.

The differentiator at Mr. Beef is the giardiniera. Sure, the bread is perfect, and the au jus is really flavorful, but the thing you can't get anywhere else is their giardiniera. Let me explain.
# # #
The giardiniera at most beef places is one of two ways, either the pieces are too big and overwhelm your palate detracting from the beef sandwich experience, or they are a finely chopped variety that, while not overpowering you with the size of the pieces, are just not that fresh, because so many cut ends from their fine chopping causes too much marination and then it's all kind of amalgamated. Here's where Mr. Beef reigns supreme. Their giardiniera is made in house, so it's fresh. It's not too hot. It's not limp or amalgamated. It's finely chopped, but it stands up. It's spectacular. Order the Rebecca - that's a beef juicy with provolone, hot on the side.

I finally had a chance to try Mr. Beef for the first time two weeks ago when I happened to be in the neighborhood at around 10:15 a.m. Gotta love a beef place that is open that early to serve beef. Breakfast of champions!

I ordered it dipped, hot and sweet. $9 even. Hey, that's a pretty good price these days. The beef, overall, was a 7/10. It was a little overcooked, getting slightly mealy, but not enough to distract. It was very thinly sliced, as I like it. The jus trended a bit salty, but flavorful. I didn't notice anything special about the giardiniera, but next time I go (and I will return to see if my first impression stands) I will make sure to pay closer attention.

My top three remain the same: 1) Chickie's, 2) Johnnie's, 3) Al's. Al's really should have an asterisk as it's such an odd duck that when you crave Al's, no other beef will do.

It might not be the Best Italian Beef in the world, but Luke's on Jackson is a far superior beef than Mr. Beef on Franklin in terms of downtown Beefs.

Buona’s has opened a location in Pleasant Prarie Wisconsin.

https://buona.com/

Had take out last night off the app for better prices and rewards.
As good as Johnnies or Al’s!
The giadiniera was the best I have had with olives, carrots, celery and cauliflower included!
-Richard

It has probably been close to twenty years since I had Buona. I wasn't that impressed at the time other than it was a good beef and nothing more. I used to get the $5 little buckets at Aldi 4-5 years ago before that deal ended (plus I started to tire of the product). That being said I plan on trying this location as I do go up to Kenosha now and then.

As to Mr. Beef on Orleans I was a fan decades ago, but the few times I had it in the last 15 years it has dropped off my radar completely.

Here is more or less my top 20 off the top of my head but in no order. My top five are the top and they are not in order either. I have drastically cut down on getting Italian Beefs in the last five years. I probably forgot a few more.

Mr. Beef and Pizza on Harlem (Dunning)
Mr. D's (Montclare)
Al's (Little Italy)
Chickie's (Hillside)
Johnnie's (Elmwood Park)
Scatchell's (Cicero)
Novi's (Berwyn)
Serrelli's (Austin)
Pete's Red Hots (Oak Park)
Paradise Pup (Des Plaines)
Marco's Beef (Belmont Central)
Luke's on Jackson (Loop)
The Original Mr. Beef in Homer Glen
Frannie's (Schiller Park)
Mama D's (Lemont)
Roma's (Portage Park)
Frangella (Palos Park)
Freddy's Pizza (Cicero)
Bari Foods (West Loop)
Bob O's Hot Dogs (Irving Woods)
Honorable mention for Portillo's because I still like it when they do it well and I was always a fan of their to-go packs for parties and tailgating.

I stopped at Buona beef about 5-6 months ago for drive-thru take-home. Mainly because I noticed Rainbow Cone was available. This was Lawrence just west of Harlem.

The ice cream was terrific, the beef not so much. I bought two beef’s and an order of fries, which struck me as slightly expensive

The beef was crumbly and very salty. To the point where the bride and I could finish very little. Giardinaire was good, jus salty .

Buona is a big name beef stand. Either this was an anomaly or, like Harold’s chicken, you have to pick your location.

As sacrilegious as this may sound, I really dig the beefless vegan beef at Buona. I've always had a soft spot for seitan and their stuff is really well seasoned, as is the jus. And I agree that they offer one of the best giard's in the game (olives!)

I can't speak to the actual beef, I'm sure I've had it in my lifetime, but am now curious to try it again one of these days.

G Wiv wrote:Buona is a big name beef stand. Either this was an anomaly or, like Harold’s chicken, you have to pick your location.

I've always assumed that, like Portillo's, Buona makes their stuff in a central facility, bags it, and ships it out to its stores. I haven't had it in years but unless I'm wrong or the Pleasant Prairie location has gone rogue, I'm going to generously attribute a 2:01 AM claim that it's as good as Johnnie's or Al's to be coming from a place where bad decisions are frequently made.

Jefe wrote:As sacrilegious as this may sound, I really dig the beefless vegan beef at Buona. I've always had a soft spot for seitan and their stuff is really well seasoned, as is the jus. And I agree that they offer one of the best giard's in the game (olives!)

I can't speak to the actual beef, I'm sure I've had it in my lifetime, but am now curious to try it again one of these days.

I too enjoy the seitan beef at Buona, and also the fact that some friends have one every Friday in Lent, which is the sort of dodging affront akin to eating a fondant rack of ribs.

At least in the Near Western 'burbs, we have the situation where the Buona in Berwyn is very strong (corporate adjacent, training location), and the Mr. Beef & Pizza in Forest Park abysmal, consistently overdone and stale-tasting. While Johnnie's and Freddy's are best in my book, I would and do take Berwyn Buona over the local Mr. Beef. The Forest Park Portillo's oddly can't be trusted for anything other than the beef (and incorruptible tamales), but they do seem to have that one process down, and it's the usual solid middle-of-pack sandwich.

Jefe wrote:As sacrilegious as this may sound, I really dig the beefless vegan beef at Buona. I've always had a soft spot for seitan and their stuff is really well seasoned, as is the jus. And I agree that they offer one of the best giard's in the game (olives!)

I can't speak to the actual beef, I'm sure I've had it in my lifetime, but am now curious to try it again one of these days.

It scratches the itch for my vegetarian wife. Also now available in the freezer section at Jewel.

budrichard wrote:Buona’s has opened a location in Pleasant Prarie Wisconsin.

https://buona.com/

Had take out last night off the app for better prices and rewards.
As good as Johnnies or Al’s!
The giadiniera was the best I have had with olives, carrots, celery and cauliflower included!
-Richard

Enjoyed lunch yesterday at Buona in Pleasant Prairie. Service, food, and value were outstanding!

I have had two italian beef sandwiches this week.
On Monday, I went to Al's #1 on W. Taylor and had a beef hot | wet with fries. I have a picture of that, but I am not posting it here because it might appear in another rubric on LTHF.
Earlier today, I sent myself to Marco's Beef and Pizza @ Fullerton & Austin and had its italian beef (hot | wet) and fries. There is no photograph forthcoming because I decided to not bring my camera with me today. (The camera actually went out-of-order later on Monday when arriving in Willow Springs @ Imperial Oak Brwg. But it had managed to heal by Tuesday. )
Anyhow, I'm going to blow the bugle. I felt the italian beef sandwich at Marco's was better that that of Al's on Taylor St. It was temperature hotter, and more spicy with its peppers. (But its fries are institutional crinkle-cut, although very well prepared.) I ponder if the atmosphere of the W. Taylor neighborhood influences people to rate Al's beef higher?

pudgym29 wrote: I ponder if the atmosphere of the W. Taylor neighborhood influences people to rate Al's beef higher? [/color]

I could certainly see that, especially in the summer with Mario's Italian Lemonade across the street. That's a quintessential Chicago experience right there. That said, the parts of my personality that are contrarian and cheap don't want to like Al's, but the Al's on Taylor has a very particular spiced-up flavor that no other beef stand has. It's like a melding of Italian and Mediterranean and touches of Indian spices in there. As far as I'm concerned that stand is sui generis and when I'm in the mood for Al's, no other beef will do.

pudgym29 wrote: I have had two italian beef sandwiches this week.
On Monday, I went to Al's #1 on W. Taylor and had a beef hot | wet with fries. I have a picture of that, but I am not posting it here because it might appear in another rubric on LTHF.
Earlier today, I sent myself to Marco's Beef and Pizza @ Fullerton & Austin and had its italian beef (hot | wet) and fries. There is no photograph forthcoming because I decided to not bring my camera with me today. (The camera actually went out-of-order later on Monday when arriving in Willow Springs @ Imperial Oak Brwg. But it had managed to heal by Tuesday. )
Anyhow, I'm going to blow the bugle. I felt the italian beef sandwich at Marco's was better that that of Al's on Taylor St. It was temperature hotter, and more spicy with its peppers. (But its fries are institutional crinkle-cut, although very well prepared.) I ponder if the atmosphere of the W. Taylor neighborhood influences people to rate Al's beef higher?

I had Marcos last week. I agree it’s very good. It has a guardinara kinda 1/2 way between Al’s & traditional style. If memory serves me, Marcos, once, like Johnnie’s, put the giardinara out for you to help yourself.

I do have an issue. It was notable at Marco’s & worse recently at Michael’s & just an issue generally. The bread. It all sucks. I never knew how good we had it with Gonella.

Vital Information wrote:I do have an issue. It was notable at Marco’s & worse recently at Michael’s & just an issue generally. The bread. It all sucks. I never knew how good we had it with Gonella.

I recently had a spectacular panini in Italy, followed a day later by one that was just very good. The difference: 100% attributable to the bread.

Binko wrote:

pudgym29 wrote: I ponder if the atmosphere of the W. Taylor neighborhood influences people to rate Al's beef higher? [/color]

I could certainly see that, especially in the summer with Mario's Italian Lemonade across the street. That's a quintessential Chicago experience right there. That said, the parts of my personality that are contrarian and cheap don't want to like Al's, but the Al's on Taylor has a very particular spiced-up flavor that no other beef stand has. It's like a melding of Italian and Mediterranean and touches of Indian spices in there. As far as I'm concerned that stand is sui generis and when I'm in the mood for Al's, no other beef will do.

I'm with Binko on this one. However, the hood has nothing to do with my love of Al's, but I could totally see it for other ppl. Whatever that warm spice combo (is it clove?) they have going on makes it #1 with a bullet - no comparisons with any other for me. If I'm going to Al's, I open the wallet - biggest beef you got, tell me the price later, or don't - doesn't matter. And I am super cheap. I don't think I've ever tried any of the other "Al's" - they don't look right. Too TGIMCFuntimes, bright yellow, cartoon, chain. Do they have kid's menus with 4 one syllable word crossword puzzles?

I love Al's Beef. It certainly has a unique flavor. One that you love or not. I am like some of you in the love category. I think they use some type of spice blend with allspice/mace. That is my guess.

Puckjam wrote:I love Al's Beef. It certainly has a unique flavor. One that you love or not. I am like some of you in the love category. I think they use some type of spice blend with allspice/mace. That is my guess.

Yeah, it's something in that "Christmas spice" category. Over the years I've acquired two recipes that purport to be Al's recipe. Both are a bit different from each other, and I highly doubt they are really the true recipe. They do share in common using a LOT of ingredients (both use 19.) Both of them use allspice and nutmeg. One of them uses a bit of cardamom as the last component. The other one uses cassia bark chips (aka, what is known as cinnamon in America), and a hint of clove to round that side of the spices out. So, I think we're in the general ballpark.

Speaking of Italian Beef...a recent Eater article on Giardiniera = https://chicago.eater.com/24203611/best ... -condiment

Greetings. If you find yourself near Schererville, Indiana do yourself a favor and try the Italian Beef sandwich from Pepino's: https://pepinosindiana.com/
The sandwich is only available in one size. It's about 10 inches long and stuffed with about a half pound of beef, served with any combination of red sauce, sweet peppers, or homemade hot giardiniera. Located at 2410 Ontario, Schererville, IN 46375 t.ly/vd1Xj

Favorite italian beef(s) on the north shore? Thanks in advance!

https://www.bobositalianbeef.com/

https://www.lukeslakebluff.com/

EscobarSzn wrote:Favorite italian beef(s) on the north shore? Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately the North Shore seems to be a bit of a beef wasteland and the majority of beefs are generic prepackaged recipes. I've kind of given up looking for a great beef on the North Shore.

Luke's of Lake Bluff is one I have gone to dozens of times simply because I am in the area a lot and they actually do a decent homemade beef although sometimes the meat is dry and the bread disintegrates when you ask for it dipped. My friend absolutely loves the Italian beef eggrolls there.

There was an Al's on Touhy in Niles near Skokie and I thought it was great most of the time. The original on Taylor was always a top five place for me. Unfortunately they closed a year ago. There is a Buona on Touhy near McCormick that I have not been to yet. I never cared much for Buona vs Portillo's. Herm's Palace (Skokie) has a good beef but they slice the meat too thick. 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).

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.

EscobarSzn wrote:Favorite italian beef(s) on the north shore? Thanks in advance!

I've only had it a couple times, and not recently, but I found Dengeo's beef to be excellent. Really good flavor... And at least once it was from a catering tray at a party, so it had been held for a while.

But it's hard to remember an I-beef when you see those gyros spits turning.

Big Ange in Arlington Hts has a decent beef and many other good things. Good spuds too.