Mac and Min's (formerly Jerry's West Loop) [Closed]

I started a new job two weeks ago in the West Loop, which is fairly unexplored territory for me...when I come to this neighborhood, it's with a specific destination in mind, so I've never done much exploring. My new office is literally a block from J.P. Graziano, so that's always an option. As I was trying to decide between a fourth trip to Graziano in two weeks or some disappointing grocery store sushi from Dominick's, I remembered the place my manager took me for lunch on my first day: Mac and Min's.

He asked me if I wanted to go to Jerry's, I said sure...I'd heard of that place, with their 6,000 sandwich options (some of them good). However, when we got there, we saw that it was now Mac and Min's, specializing in po' boys and muffulettas. I ordered a quarter muffuletta, which was totally decent...t'wasn't no Central Grocery muff, but for a quick workday lunch in Chicago, it was fine - decent bread, good meats & cheese, okay (somewhat bland) olive salad. I regretted asking for "everything", as the lettuce, tomato, and onion kinda took away from the muffuletta vibe.

Today, I went for a half blackened trout po' boy, and was quite pleased. The fish was cooked very nicely - tender, flaky, perfect blackened crust - and was generous in quantity. The aioli had good flavor with just the slightest bit of heat, and was judiciously applied so that the sandwich wasn't dry, but also wasn't a sloppy mess. The lettuce, tomato, and onion were fresh and crisp, and didn't overstuff the sandwich. My only complaint is that the bread was a bit too crusty, which resulted in each bite squeezing the fillings out the side of the sandwich. The sandwich looked pretty small when I first unwrapped it (especially for the almost-$10 price), but it ended up being pretty solid & filling.

All in all, Mac and Min's will most definitely not be replacing J.P. Graziano as my go-to sandwich place...however, it's not too shabby, and I'm not mad at having it as a lunchtime option.

Mac and Min's
1045 W Madison St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 563-1008

Edit: updated URL

Thanks, I'll have to check this place out. Website is here.

geno55 wrote:Thanks, I'll have to check this place out. Website is here.

Thanks! Apparently my Google-fu is weak today

I'll update my post.

Having worked in the west loop for the past five years, I had quickly encountered Jerry's but grew so frustrated by the slowness of the service I ceased going there. I only have a 30 minute lunch break and it would often take longer than 30 minutes just to get a sandwich to go.

I tried Mac and Min's when it first opened. Same deal. I entered at 12:25 on a weekday, despite being the fourth person in line it took until 12:35 to place my order, which I received at 12:55. Never again. My order was an oyster po'boy. The oysters were so buried in batter it was impossible to identify them, and the sandwich was over dressed in a spicy sauce that completely overwhelmed it.

For other options in the area there's Jubilee Juice at Halsted and Randolph which has decent sandwiches and an array of smoothies, Tomato Head Pizza on Randolph at Morgan that has a good slice and a drink lunch special, the various Greek Town options, and Bari's is only a short drive away, you can order ahead or even have them deliver.

We tried to go here this week, but it was closed. Glad to hear it was good though!

I would also recommend San Marino deli (over the highway on Lake, so a bit of a walk but so worth it!). Definitely my favourite quick lunch option in the West Loop. The sandwiches are much better than Grazianos. I usually get a Turkey Uno or Caprese panini; very tasty. They also have very good gelato/sorbet (another thing west loop is lacking in).

trpt2345 wrote:Having worked in the west loop for the past five years, I had quickly encountered Jerry's but grew so frustrated by the slowness of the service I ceased going there. I only have a 30 minute lunch break and it would often take longer than 30 minutes just to get a sandwich to go.

The original Jerry's was great when it first opened; quality meats and breads and very creative daily specials. The owners, Marc and Mindy, were very hands on, and kept their artistic/hipster staff under control. Even though it was usually busy, it was pretty efficient and often worth the exorbitant price. After they opened their second location on Division Street, the Madison St. store became the red-headed stepchild and both the quality and the service suffered, while the prices went skyward.

They sent out a strange e-mail about a month and a half ago, indicating their decision to close Jerry's on Madison, ostensibly because their lease was going to expire in a few months and the landlord wanted way too much for rent. In the next sentence they talked about their desire to open a Cajun/Creole restaurant and their love of New Orleans, hence Mac & Min's.

I don't know why they'd open a place to close it again in a few months; maybe they're experimenting to see if people like it, and will re-open in a new location later. Maybe they got a better deal with a riskier concept (doubtful).

I can't speak to the quality of the food other than its expensive. I did get a $4.00 French Press Coffee with Chicory which was poorly prepared and incredibly weak. I might stop by and try a Po Boy when my next pay day comes along, but I'm in no great hurry.

radiator wrote:The original Jerry's was great when it first opened; quality meats and breads and very creative daily specials. The owners, Marc and Mindy, were very hands on, and kept their artistic/hipster staff under control. Even though it was usually busy, it was pretty efficient

Not. The first day the new school opened in the west loop-June 23, 2005-someone on the staff who was a fan of Jerry's took us all to lunch there at noon. It was a 90 minute hell before everyone got served. It was never efficient in any meaningful way. And it never improved. Every single experience I had there, except at off hours-say, four p.m. on a Monday-was fraught with exceptionally poor and slow service. And the exorbitant prices made it very simple to take the extra hike to Bari's where the sandwiches were better, larger, and far cheaper in a way quicker time frame. If you rely on lunch business you have to get the product out way faster than Jerry's or now Mac and Min's is apparently capable of to survive. I generally don't like to be negative about places but this place really deserves it.

That's too bad about your experiences with slow service. Both times I've gone, I waited no more than a few minutes to order, and 5-10 minutes for my sandwich to be brought out to me. Hopefully my run of good luck will continue, because if I have to sit there for ages like you did, I'd probably be pretty down on the place too.

trpt2345 wrote:

radiator wrote:The original Jerry's was great when it first opened; quality meats and breads and very creative daily specials. The owners, Marc and Mindy, were very hands on, and kept their artistic/hipster staff under control. Even though it was usually busy, it was pretty efficient

Not. The first day the new school opened in the west loop-June 23, 2005-someone on the staff who was a fan of Jerry's took us all to lunch there at noon. It was a 90 minute hell before everyone got served. It was never efficient in any meaningful way. And it never improved.

I started going when they first opened in the early 2000's, and stand by the fact that they were once relatively efficient. There were plenty of times I encountered lines to the door and opted for something else, but for the most part, especially in those early years, it didn't take me more than ten minutes tops.

Here's the e-mail I referred to in my previous post. They actually had a year and a half left on their lease.

We have good news and bad news. The bad news is that this will be the last week for Jerry’s at our original location, 1045 W. Madison. Aside from a press leak a week ago, we are now letting our loyal email list know first. We recognize that with the open 3 years ago of the big Jerry’s in Wicker Park that our beloved original has paled in comparison and that some of you have felt neglected. We have lamented this and have tried to bring many of the recent innovations to Madison Street; however, with only a year and a half to go on our lease, and with a recalcitrant landlord, we have been unable to convert Madison to the full expression of Jerry’s with wait service and craft beers.

We also know that Jerry’s is a relatively high-priced sandwich shop, often difficult to justify without the full amenities found at big Jerry’s. So, in conclusion, with it’s closing we are acknowledging that our Madison Street facilities are not a good fit for a Jerry’s. We do hope that someday in the future we can bring a Jerry’s back to the west or south Loop.

Now, for the good news . . . . We have had another sandwich idea on our drawing board for some time and will shortly reopen as something new and different. As you have no doubt observed, we are big fans of New Orleans/Louisiana and offer Creole/Cajun specials from time to time. So, our new baby will be a New Orleans-style po boy shop with a wide array of po boys, muffulettas, gumbo, oysters (later), among other things. Prices will be lower and all po boys will be available in halves or wholes.

We will close over this coming weekend for some patching and painting and will open next week either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending upon how the paint is drying.

Thanks for your long time support and, until we meet again soon,

Mark & Mindy

I liked the part about their recalcitrant landlord......

Had a very mediocre experience and Mac and Min's this afternoon. Stacking a muffuletta to comically high proportions doesn't make it taste any better. The bread was all wrong and the olive tapenade was lackluster. I know I shouldn't be holding it up to Central Grocery standards, but for the price, I'd expect a bit better.

I also tried some of the shrimp po-boy and while better than the muffuletta, it's easily bested by a few other Chicago iterations, especially Local Option's

Ralph Wiggum wrote:it's easily bested by a few other Chicago iterations, especially Local Option's

Here's where you made your mistake: you shouldn't compare Mac and Min's to other places around town, you should only compare it to other viable lunch options within a 3-to-4-block radius. Much less disappointment that way.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:Had a very mediocre experience and Mac and Min's this afternoon. Stacking a muffuletta to comically high proportions doesn't make it taste any better. The bread was all wrong and the olive tapenade was lackluster. I know I shouldn't be holding it up to Central Grocery standards, but for the price, I'd expect a bit better.

I also tried some of the shrimp po-boy and while better than the muffuletta, it's easily bested by a few other Chicago iterations, especially Local Option's

Had this exact meal at Mac & Min's yesterday afternoon. Agreed on the bread (way to tough and chewy), but I thought the meats on the sandwich were quite good (even if the thing was stacked entirely too high). Not a destination-worthy sandwich, but certainly good enough if in the neighborhood. My wife had the shrimp po-boy, which I'm assuming was good because I was unable to score a bite.

I have to more or less echo what some others have said about Mac & Min's, where I had lunch recently. 2 sandwiches I tried were both ok -- and portions were generous -- but nothing I ate here really evoked New Orleans (where I once lived) for me . . .


Fried Shrimp & Oyster Po' Boy, dressed
Fried stuff here was excellent -- hot, light and crispy -- and the overall sandwich was tasty but the bread was definitely too hard and chewy to emulate a NOLA-style po' boy. Also, "dressed" doesn't typically include red onion but it does at Mac & Min's.



Muffaletta
Possibly a great sandwich in its own right (though, not necesarily so in my book) but in no way a muffaletta. The bread, amounts/types/cuts of meats and olive salad were all wrong. For example, there's a 1/4" thick slab of ham in there and that 'just ain't right.' Sometimes -- far more often than is actually demonstrated in the culinary world -- less is more. This sandwich suffered from meat-flation. The true identity of the sandwich was totally obliterated by inaccuracies and excess.

I liked several aspects of this place. It's cozy, clean and comfortable. The staff is friendly, ingredient quality is high and portions are large. If I'd never been to New Orleans, maybe I would have dug it more. But the menu says that 75% of the food is "straight-forward authentic" and that claim created a strong expectation for me that, unfortunately, went largely unfulfilled. According to their menu, the other 25% is "just us riffing on the cuisine." I can respect that -- we are in Chicago, after all -- but if the po' boy and muffaletta aren't authentic (neither were the red beans & rice, which was actually a red bean and rice soup), I have to wonder where the authenticity even begins.

I was excited to try this place and I'm glad I did. I could see going back and maybe grabbing a turkey sandwich if I were in the neighborhood. But after this experience, I don't consider Mac & Min's a destination, at least not for New Orleans cuisine.

=R=

I stopped by today and got a small fried oyster/shrimp po boy, a small gumbo and some bread pudding. The small is over 8 bucks but surprisingly filled me up. The french bread is decent and not too dense but I still felt there was too much bread. There was a decent amount of lightly dusted Shrimp/Oysters, and I got it with everything (dressed) and substituted creole mayo over the reg mayo. It was satisfying but lacked that special something to make me want to come back. The gumbo was a let down, very few pieces of sausage and nothing else in there besides rice and celery. As much as I hate Heaven on Seven at least they have a decent gumbo which blows this one away. The bread pudding surprisingly was pretty good, and they gave me a lot, but then again it's just bread really, they gave me a small container of caramel with it. At a total of 20 dollars for my 3 items, I think the price points here are a bit too high, if you get a large sandwich it will run you a bit over 13 dollars. The service was friendly and they got my order out to me pretty quickly, but authentic cajun/creole this is not, and so I guess I will have to continue to drive far south to lagniappe to get the authentic stuff. Chicago is pretty desolate for Cajun/Creole imo, as most places that claim to be only offer a slight hint of real new orleans authenticity.

Stopped in and got the muffaletta, I wish I had read these reviews prior because I agree exactly with the other reviews:
The bread, amounts/types/cuts of meats and olive salad were all wrong
This sandwich suffered from meat-flation
Agreed on the bread (way to tough and chewy), but I thought the meats on the sandwich were quite good (even if the thing was stacked entirely too high). Not a destination-worthy sandwich
Etc.

Lesson learned, never order anything, anywhere without doing a quick search of LTH first.

I was very pleased with my #13 funky po' boy, pounded chicken thigh and breast well-blackened and served with good cheddar, generous slice of avocado, and chipotle jam. The chicken was moist and the sandwich was well balanced between spicy and sweet. It was a mite dear at $9 (the oft-overlooked Jubilee Juice has a nice charred chicken sandwich at $6, though I recommend the Buffalo preparation) but definitely filling. I like the revamped space. Country bacon and fried green tomato sandwich or a muffaletta (requesting half meat and double olive salad) are next on my list.

Specials this week that were not on the online menu (I'll know now to ask in advance when placing a phone order) were file gumbo and two types of duck sausage.

I continue to dig Mac and Min's - andouille gumbo was very tasty yesterday, cavatappi mac and cheese mild but fresh and good, and and their Peruvian rotisserie chicken po' boy was elegantly spiced and well trimmed, if very slightly dry. They have reduced Sunday hours, but continue to remain open reasonably late on weekdays for that corridor. I've never had anything but very fresh bread, and the medium sandwiches ($10-13ish) are more than enough food for a light dinner and substantial lunch the next day.

We like their bacon, which is thick cut and intensely (edgily so) salty and smoky, but balances out just right on those sandwiches involving it, like the fried green tomato sandwich or the thick-cut fresh turkey and avocado. They handle and package orders by phone well. I haven't tried the muffaletta or fried seafood po boys yet, especially since Italian Superior and Big and Little's exist.

Closed as of last month:

After 15 years at this space, and our lease coming to an end, we have closed. We appreciate the support of our loyal fans. We hope to see you at Jerry's - Wicker Park. We will be bringing many New Orleans touches there from our little experiment that was Mac & Min's. Do note that Jerry's has extended its delivery zone south to Lake Street. Thanks again and see you down the road.