Franchise Rant!

I had the worst Al's Beef out on IL-83/busse just past mt. prospect, (dont know which suburb technically it was but it was close to wood dale. Having been used to the Al's beef on taylor in the city I was shocked to discover that the Al's out in the burbs at that location was horrible, I could barely finish my Beef sandwich, it the meat itself was so stringy and falling apart as if it had been placed in a slow cooker for years! The sweet peppers were too mushy and lacked any flavor and the hot peppers were also very bland. After this horrible experience I had to go directly to the Original Al's beef off taylor st in the city to get this bad taste off my mind. I simply do not understand how a relatively simple item such as an Al's beef sandwich can be messed up at a different chain/franchise location. Do they let the beef sit around more because of less traffic? Do they have different cooking methods? Simply incomprehensible to me...

Also, to go further with this franchise/chain rant I always have to convince out of towners that visit me that UNO and DUO downtown have the best deep dish (my opinion) which they scoff since they have tried pizzeria UNO before but not at the original location. How different could it be, they ask? I have to explain that at the original you have to order and wait close to an hour while they make it from scratch and how the crust is so delicately crispy on the outside but yet a bit pasty on the inside, anyhow after I convince them to check it out they are all pleased and tell me they never knew UNO could be that good due to their past experience at their local UNO chain back home.

Of course, you know that Pizzeria Uno and Due downtown no longer have anything to do with the sadly franchised Pizzeria Uno you see across the country. Does anyone know if the franchise agreement with the Boston-based company that owns the Pizzeria Uno franchise has any quality control stipulations? I'm guessing not.

Are we 100% sure that Uno Chicago Grill is completely unaffiliated with Pizzeria Uno and Due? My understanding is that it still owns both of them, but that changes to the menu at the chain locations aren't enacted at the two original locations.

A search for Chicago locations on Uno's website lists not only Pizzeria Uno and Due, but also Su Casa. And, of course, the four chain stores and the O'Hare stand.

I know it was originally started as a franchise agreement, but I think I learned a while back (probably here) that that had changed.

Wasn't aware of an Al's in MP, Des Plaines, Elk Grove, or Woodale. Travel through there every day. Exactly where is it?

Well, I turned left on busse from algonquin rd in mt prospect, and went 3.5 miles to thornton, it was right before thornton so I don't know what suburb that is on busse/il-83. Check it out sometime if you want and let me know what is up with that place, hopefully you have a better experience than me.

Al's Beef
1100 Route 83
Bensenville, IL 60106

Just north of Thorndale.

It's shares a building with a Dunkin' Donuts. No further comment.

well i'm not suprised.

the Al's right in downtown (river north) has been *absolutely terrible* the two times i went to it.

[quote="magpie1140"]Al's Beef
1100 Route 83
Bensenville, IL 60106

Just north of Thorndale.

It's shares a building with a Dunkin' Donuts. No further comment.[/quote] I'll bet i know what you want to say. LOL. I'll stay away.

FoodSnob77 wrote:I had the worst Al's Beef out on IL-83/busse just past mt. prospect, (dont know which suburb technically it was but it was close to wood dale. Having been used to the Al's beef on taylor in the city I was shocked to discover that the Al's out in the burbs at that location was horrible... I simply do not understand how a relatively simple item such as an Al's beef sandwich can be messed up at a different chain/franchise location.

Also, to go further with this franchise/chain rant I always have to convince out of towners that visit me that UNO and DUO downtown have the best deep dish (my opinion) which they scoff since they have tried pizzeria UNO before but not at the original location....

I have not had a good experience with Al's Beef in the suburbs, either. The sandwich was horribly salty and the meat tasted like someone had marinated it atop a salt lick the likes of which you see deer in forest preserves standing around. Given the recommendations I had been given about this fantastic sandwich, it was quite the disappointment and I am hoping to keep an open mind for the future if I try a downtown branch.

As for Pizzeria UNO/DUO, I lament that the Rt 59 Naperville branch closed over a year ago. My first experience with Chicago pizza after moving here from the West Coast happened there, and while it isn't the authentic original branch, the deep dish was superb. I enjoyed it thoroughly and the food was always very good for a franchise place when I went. I do not know how the franchise is elsewhere outside of Chicagoland but I figure if I have to make the hike to another branch I might as well visit downtown's original.

Out of towners have definitely had positive things to say for Pizzeria UNO/DUO and Giordano's, but not Gino's East.

Lilya wrote:Out of towners have definitely had positive things to say for Pizzeria UNO/DUO and Giordano's, but not Gino's East.

Hi,

We take our out of town guests to Lou Malnati's, they all seem to enjoy it. I like their veggie deep dish pizza, but many guests request sausage, and that is good too.

As a bonus, if they really like the pizza, they can order it online to be delivered to wherever they live.

Here is the web site, http://www.loumalnatis.com/