Good beefs/dogs near 90, good lunch in Armour Square?

I'm driving from Wisconsin to catch an Amtrak on Saturday, and would like to find a good Italian Beef and hot dog (preferably at the same place) within striking distance of Interstate 90 (suburbs or city, doesn't matter). Bonus question: I'll be staying 1 night at a friend's place near Halsted and 27th, what's a good lunch option within walking distance?

ROMA'S
4237 N. Cicero Ave,
Chicago, IL 60641
773-725-5715
http://www.romaschicago.com/

For your Armour Square / Bridgeport lunch, Gio's is a short walk and Andorka's is a long walk, but neither is open on Sunday.

Johnnie's Beef/Arlington Heights location. A second outpost for what is arguably the city's best Italian Beef Sandwich. The only caveat; the Hot Dogs play second fiddle here, so if you're looking for a solid two-in-one you may need to keep looking.

EDIT: Silly me, I forgot about Bob-O's on the northwest side. After Johnnie's, my second favorite Italian Beef Sandwich, plus they serve a very good Hot Dog, and Hand Cut Fries. Just slightly more than a mile south of I-90 on Irving Park.

Buddy

Johnnie's Beef
1935 S. Arlington Heights Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
(847) 357-8100

Bob-O's Hot Dogs
8258 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago, IL 60634
(773) 625-9840

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:
EDIT: Silly me, I forgot about Bob-O's on the northwest side. After Johnnie's, my second favorite Italian Beef Sandwich, plus they serve a very good Hot Dog, and Hand Cut Fries. Just slightly more than a mile south of I-90 on Irving Park.

Buddy

Yes. Bob-o's is the perfect recommendation. Both dogs & beef are top notch there. Owned by the same folks that own GNR Rand Redhots.

If you don’t mind overshooting Union Station by a mile, Al’s Beef is quite close to I-90. Probably my favorite Italian beef anywhere (and absolutely my favorite giardiniera), plus a surprisingly good minimally-dressed, naturally-encased Vienna served with great fresh-cut fries. Walk across the street to Mario’s Lemonade for dessert. Three of the very best examples (four if you include fries) of Chicago’s street foods right there.

Some good eating not far from 27th & Halsted. Home Style Taste and Northern City (both serve Dongbei-style Chinese) are close to 31st & Halsted. Walk a few blocks west on 31st for Korean-Polish fusion and hyper-local Marz beer at Kimski (960 W 31st). I haven’t been yet, but at the very least it will be interesting. If you want to round out your beef-n-dog Chicago diet with a breaded steak (very Bridgeportian!), you can do a lot worse than Mangia Fresca on Archer. Gio’s offers one as well, though I haven’t tried it. Plenty of info here on all except Kimski.

I second the nod to Johnnie's on Arlington Heights Rd for beef. Bonus is that it's not much further than a Glenallen Hill homerun away from the expressway. Important note: Cash only.

Kman wrote:I second the nod to Johnnie's on Arlington Heights Rd for beef. Bonus is that it's not much further than a Glenallen Hill homerun away from the expressway. Important note: Cash only.

Another nod in agreement to Johnnie's; my new Oasis from the Jane Addams Hwy construction.

Thanks for all the info, that was precisely what I needed. Just to clarify, I'm driving straight from Wisconsin to Bridgeport, and then in the morning catching the train. I'm gonna try Al's on Taylor (that is the preferred location, yes?) this time, and Homestyle Taste for dinner. Not sure on tomorrow lunch. I will try a different beef option when I roll back into Chicago in a couple weeks. Bonus question: Any good grocery stores near Halsted/27th? I need to stock up for a 2.5 day Amtrak voyage.

There's a Cermak Produce right on 29th/30th and Halsted, east side of the street. Not the biggest, but the produce is typically alright and they have a good enough selection of things Mexican, Asian, and Greek. Their tzatziki is tops, for whatever odd reason. We are also partial to the tamale lady out front, hers have a nice kick and her champurrado is not too sweet.

In addition to the nearby eats mentioned by Rene G, I'd also suggest Freddie's for a breaded steak, or Kathy De's if you don't mind a walk (about a mile from you). Mangia Fresca's is good enough, as is Freddie's, but I've liked Kathy De's the best so far. Also, the Depot on 31st for a porkchop sandwich is an excellent lunch.

I suppose I should start a thread on Kimski as well--I've eaten most all the menu so far. I'm mostly pleased with the expansion to the bar, doubling the tap list and more than doubling the seats and space. The food is certainly tasty, but some things are a bit too expensive for what you get. The polish is worth its price, as is the pancake, but the kimchi fried rice seems puny for the cost, as do the "potskis." Specials run the gamut from awesome (bulgogi cheesesteak) to the meh (a pseudo-bimbimbap kind of salad thing...I think?). Definitely worth a visit, but stick to beer and polish and maybe one other thing, just to moderate expectations. For me, Pleasant House Pub can't open soon enough, much as I still love Maria's and don't mind Kimski...

Just remember that Al's is pretty much a get in/get out and eat fast situation. Johnnie's in Arlington Heights at least has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. For a more relaxed pace, Johnnie's gets my vote. But Bob-O's is pretty solid overall too. At Johnnie's I order my beef "dipped with a fork" because in recent visits when you say juicy or dipped, it's just not enough.

I ended up eating a dog/fries and sharing a beef with hot with my SO at Al's on Taylor. Very good. I was intending to do Homestyle Taste for dinner, but my local friends diverted us to Ed's Potsticker House, where we had cumin lamb, crispy chicken, and one of the best scallion pancakes I've ever had. I ended up shopping at Cermak Produce without seeing the above post, it was fine except for the pre-spoiled guacamole which I had to throw out. Oh well.