Al's Beef Coming in Ogilvie Trans Center

for all those who do not go to J&C's, you will be happy to know Al's Beef is opening soon (appropriately in conjunction with a Pizza Hut) in the Ogilvie Center (named after the illinois gov who started illinois state income taxes.)
So, eat your italian beef in the food court and stay away from J&C's!

Are the franchised Al's locations any better than J&C's?

El Panzone,

Glad to see your resolution to not be so bitter lasted until the 6th.

I'm on my way to the Bergoff....

Regards,
pdaane

I wouldn't get very excited about a franchise of Al's opening. I work in Rosemont and I am near a relatively new Al's and Nancy's pizza, and another Al's that's in Park Ridge. At both, the food is average and the beef is not deserving of any positive attention. It's too bland and the hot giardinara is below average. If I can think of something on the plus side, it's that the Al's and Nancy's has a large menu with many options, but I have yet to visit an Al's franchise location that serves what I consider to be "Al's" beef.

I love Al's onTaylor but the version in th Short North/River North is not as good.

It is hard to beat the original.

Plus on Taylor you can always get the best Itl. ice any time of year.

If you want franchise beef I think Portillo's is the place to go.

I was in the food court at Ogilvie Transportation Center for lunch today and saw, for the first time, the space that Al's will occupy. It's a space to be shared by: Pizza Hut Express, Wing Street (chicken wings) and Seattle's Best Coffee.

The Pizza Hut Express and Wing Street portions of the space are open for business. Al's is slated for opening next week. I don't know about the Seattle's Best.

I expect prices to be high, even for the food court. A "personal size" pizza costs in the range of $3.99 > $4.69, depending upon the topping(s). I didn't see a menu board for Al's.

The location is behind Mrs. Fields Cookies and next to Rice Field. (what a coincidence!).

At Ogilvie Transportation Center, commuters will get a fancier food court with a new look.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

Dave148 wrote:At Ogilvie Transportation Center, commuters will get a fancier food court with a new look.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

"The new look brings a more relaxed, cooler environment, (developer/starry-eyed optimist Todd) Siegel said, meant to feel like home — or a cool place to hang out."

It's a food court, on the back end of a commuter train station. IT WILL NEVER BE A PLACE TO HANG OUT. That's what the heavily taxpayer-subsidized French Market was supposed to be, remember?

If the space will have a more "curated feel," no doubt the menus will be more "nuanced."

So, what happened to Al's?

That Al's didn't last very long- there was no sign of it in summer 2008 when my office moved nearby.

The Pizza Hut / Wing Street lasted a while, though it became a Best Pizza Express / Wings Treat in 2010:




Then it was a gyro/dog/burger spot for a bit (possibly even officially a Gold Coast Dogs). Then it was Burger Joint. Now it's nothing.

And honestly, the renovation of that food court has been pretty drastic. It's never going to be a cool place to hang out, but it's significantly more inviting than it used to be.

There is an Al's a couple of blocks from there, at Adams and Jefferson.