Tore & Luke's Italian Beef ever reviewed?

I was driving up Rand Road in Arlington Heights yesterday and passed two Tore and Luke's italian beef shops. Have not seen them reviewed on here and was wondering if anyone has been there. I know there is a Luke's downtown and I think there may even be a Tore's Beef somewhere...don't know if these are related with the ones I saw in AH.

I love the Luke's downtown. They take their beef seriously, and I put it right there with the "fake" Al's and Mister Beef in the trio of beef joints I frequent for lunch downtown.

Torre's is pretty basic (the one on Western/Diversy)... I've had it before, good enough if it's close.

I used to live around the one at Rand and Hicks. A very decent italian beef with good fries. I even took Evil Ronnie there a while back, he pronounced it "adequate". I like their beef (Scala's) but in our book nothing compares to Al's on Taylor. This is a good substitute, however when you're cruising the "burbs". They also serve the largest bag o fries you'll ever see.

the luke's downtown is (or at least was) owned by a relation to the owners of the Tore and Luke's' in arlington heights and palatine. while the downtown luke's is not bad, the beef, fries, and soda combo at Tore and Luke's (which used to be named "Luke's") in the suburbs is, imho, hands down the best in chicago or the surrounding area.

there's also a luke's in or ner tomah, wisconsin, but it's not that good, and i can't recall if they're related to luke's or Tore and Luke's.

I've eaten at the one at Rand and Willow/Thomas, and I'll second the "adequate". Haven't found one I care about in that neighborhood, and there's three choices: Tore/Luke's, Nikko's, and the little hot dog stand on the west side of Rand. I prefer Nikko's only for the old-style ambience, and thicker fries.

No better, but cheaper, is Heffy's, a few blocks away at Elmhurst and Cam McDonald Rd.

Better, but more expensive is Photo's and Arnie Salerno's at Wolf and Kensington. A/S is marginally better (toasted roll, f'rinstance), but at $5.50, not a daily eat.

Working south is Gyros Factory at Wolf just south of Central, which is pretty good, and reasonably priced.

We did visit one of the original Tore's, if it is the same place. I have noted they are franchising/expanding, and opened one up on LaGrange in Orland Park (I think). Anyway, we went there on Beefathon III, reported on here: http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=21449#21449.

Nothing wrong with their sandwich at all, as it says, but not really a great sandwich, either.

No, we did not try Luke's.

the beef, fries, and soda combo at Tore and Luke's (which used to be named "Luke's") in the suburbs is, imho, hands down the best in chicago or the surrounding area.

Foo d - am I correct in understanding that this is the best beef you have ever had? Just out of curiosity, have you tried Johnnies, Al's, Chickies? We are probably getting ready to finsih with the creme de la creme beef tasting (one last sampling to compare the best), but we could add a few to be sure we are not missing any great ones - so is this a great sammy?

I put it right there with the "fake" Al's

hey ab, by fake do you mean one of the franchised places? We have one in N'ville, but since I heard they served wraps I have not been able to cross the threshold. I suppose I need to get over that.

It's hard to track all the Luke's-related places. I think they are run by members of a large extended family. Previously (June 26, 2005) on another thread http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2931&highlight=lukes I posted:

For what it's worth, the Luke's empire continues to grow. Besides the Lake Zurich and Lake Bluff outposts, they have now gone across the country.

An old friend who is an ex-pat residing in Arizona told me this week that Phoenix has a Luke's which he describes as pretty good for IB and Chicago-style hot dogs.

I've also seen references to Luke's in Wauconda and in Mundelein. I was only at the Lake Zurich place a couple of years ago. It was pretty good.

George,

do you know what the relationship is between Tore's & Luke's? Seems kinda weird that they are combining names when both are IB places.

There's a Luke's just up the street from me on Elston, but I have never been. It just doesn't have the right "look". Maybe I should go anyway.

George R wrote: I was only at the Lake Zurich place a couple of years ago. It was pretty good.

I believe that rest was sold a while back and no longer a Luke's.

dicksond wrote:George,

do you know what the relationship is between Tore's & Luke's? Seems kinda weird that they are combining names when both are IB places.

Another wierd thing is that in front of the AH location is a big sign that says PIZZA.

dicksond,

a few notes -- first, tho i've tried plenty of beef joints, i've not yet made it to Johnnies or Chickies. i'm anxious to go to both. a friend of mine who has the same affection for (the nw suburban) luke's as i do has been to johnnie's, and he told me that he didn't think it was as (the nw suburban) luke's. al's and mr. beef, 2 popular places, did not impress me. imho, al's on taylor had the best tasting beef, but for the money they charge for it, you ought to get more than 3 bites of sandwich. i kid as tothe amount of food . . . but not much.

second, it's the beef, fries pop trio that i really love about (the nw suburban) luke's, which is not to say that the sandwich itself isn't great, because i think it's as good or better than any other place i've been. the more than ample sandwich has lotsa great tasting meat and that fantastic (at least i think so) bottled hot giardinera and it's nice and soggy. the near pound of fries they serve you are prefectly done, and the pop is good and sugary. to boot, not that any beef sandwich will break the bank, but the bill for the trio about equals the paltry sandwich at al's or mr. beef, by itself.

lastly, it's sad that there's name confusion, but i think they luke's/tore and luke's did it to themselves. far as i know, there are only three of the luke's (now tore and luke's, if i'm not mistaken) that i know and love, and i believe that they're all in palatine and arlington heights.

dicksond wrote: hey ab, by fake do you mean one of the franchised places? We have one in N'ville, but since I heard they served wraps I have not been able to cross the threshold. I suppose I need to get over that.

Well, my lunch "beef partner" doesn't like to go to the Ontario Al's. He considers it an affront to the name. I'm sure plenty of people here would agree. However, when push comes to shove, he does humor me and we still go fairly regularly. I think the fries are fantastic, and the giardinera is the same as the main location - fennel-laced perfection. I think the big difference here is that it doesn't approach the flavor of the beef itself, but I still like it as much as Mister Beef and Luke's - I hold all three in high regard. Not on Al's Taylor levels, but they are my favorites down here by far.

I had a beef at the Taylor location last week that just put all other beefs to shame. This happens everytime I go to Taylor, so I don't even like to compare other beef stands to the Italian Beef Mecca.

That in consideration, I think the Al's on Ontario makes a very good sandwich.

thanks for the info, ab & foo d. still not clear on the relationship between Tore's, Luke's, and Tore & Luke's, but I guess that is not surprising. Sort of like the Vito & Nick's or Chickies and Chickies II stories I expect when we get into it.

Now, foo d, it is a race as to whether you make it to Johnnies to compare or I make it to Luke's first. That is a race I would be happy to lose, since Luke's is a haul from N'ville. My guess is Steve Z will report back first, tho.

dicksond wrote:My guess is Steve Z will report back first, tho.

You are correct about that. I am reporting that I am semi-illiterate, since the Luke's I was referring to turned out to be Duke's. I drove over there today for lunch and decided to pass since:

A) It was not Luke's and
B) The place still doesn't look quite right.

dukes has two locations. i've been to the dukes on central and (i think)foster and it's fair to middlin'. the sausage is not very good. the meatball sandwich is bordering on awful. but the beef itself is passable.

the place does indeed have kind of a strange feel to it. it's set up like a diner, with a counter and stools, but it's got a fast food type menu.

I am certainly glad we cleared up all the confusion on Duke's, even if it appears to have only existed in Steve's mind.

elakin wrote:dukes has two locations. i've been to the dukes on central and (i think)foster and it's fair to middlin'. the sausage is not very good. the meatball sandwich is bordering on awful. but the beef itself is passable.

the place does indeed have kind of a strange feel to it. it's set up like a diner, with a counter and stools, but it's got a fast food type menu.

It's Central and Elston. I'm glad to hear that my Chow Spidy Sense is not failing me.