seebee wrote:Also, I know I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer Tore's (sp?) beef sammich

Actuallt, you are not in the minority. Tore's should have been included in the finals, since it won the Beefathon it was in...or at worst tied with Max's, but for some reason which escapes me now, we opted to go to Max's and not Tore's in the finals. It is one of my favorite beefs in the City.

Just heard a funny story. I've been showing these threads to my co-workers. One of them has a father who has a grease joint. He said his father got so tired of hearing about how great Johnnie's was from one of his buddies that he bought a pound of their beef along with their bread, and giardinera, and asked the buddy to come sample his 'new beef recipe.' And you can probably guess what happened - the 'buddy' upon sampling the 'new recipe' said it was the worst beef he ever had.

Wonder if a blind tasting would provide different results - even though you could still pick the Al's orange beef out of the lineup.

seebee wrote:Just heard a funny story. I've been showing these threads to my co-workers. One of them has a father who has a grease joint. He said his father got so tired of hearing about how great Johnnie's was from one of his buddies that he bought a pound of their beef along with their bread, and giardinera, and asked the buddy to come sample his 'new beef recipe.' And you can probably guess what happened - the 'buddy' upon sampling the 'new recipe' said it was the worst beef he ever had.

Wonder if a blind tasting would provide different results - even though you could still pick the Al's orange beef out of the lineup.

In some cases it's not so much the actual recipe of the beef and gravy, but the method in which it's prepared. Usually, Johnnie's is busy enough to maintain a very constant flow of fresh beef just being warmed in the gravy. If the beef spends too much time in the gravy, or is boiled it will turn into rubber. I'm not saying this is the case, but it is surely a possibility for explaining your co-worker's situation.

Flip

I love a list...

8.3 Johnnies Beef 7500 W North Elmwood Park
8.2 Chickies Beef 2839 S Pulaski
7.9 Al's Beef 1079 W Taylor
7.6 Patio Restaurant 1503 W Taylor

7.0 Max's 5745 N Western
6.5 Uncle Johnny's Grocery 500 W 32nd
6.4 Pop's 10337 S Kedzie

Panther in the Den wrote:I love a list...

8.3 Johnnies Beef 7500 W North Elmwood Park
8.2 Chickies Beef 2839 S Pulaski
7.9 Al's Beef 1079 W Taylor
7.6 Patio Restaurant 1503 W Taylor

7.0 Max's 5745 N Western
6.5 Uncle Johnny's Grocery 500 W 32nd
6.4 Pop's 10337 S Kedzie

Call me just an average guy because my personal impression was that the beef at Patio was tops for the day, but apparently I'm in the middle of the list.

Thanks PitD, my taste buds needed that visual representation. They're now going to go dive into a McFib and wallow in their sorrow.

Flip

Had a beef at Al's on Taylor St., yesterday and it was great as well as expensive. But the fries! Ugh! Nasty, cold, greasy, mushy.

Cogito wrote:Had a beef at Al's on Taylor St., yesterday and it was great as well as expensive. But the fries! Ugh! Nasty, cold, greasy, mushy.

My wife tried the fries at Al's as an appetizer before the LTH Xmas party Saturday night. Freshly fried and hot. She loved them. Said they were the second best she's had. #1 is Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City. Fries can be hit or miss depending on customer traffic.

While I was unable to attend the Finals , the results are pretty consistent with my own experience.

One final note. Wife #1 and had I told our son that for his birthday we would treat him to a meal anyplace he wanted. I expected that I would have to pop for a steak dinner. But much as he likes steak, he announced a craving for IB. Considering we live in the far north suburbs which are, with a few small exceptions, an IB wasteland I can understand.

So last night we set out on the 20-mile drive to Johnnie's in Arlington Heights. I had some concern whether it would meet Elmwood Park standards. Happily I can confirm that the AH location is the equal of the original.

It was first rate. Our dipped IBs were rich in juicy beefy goodness. The staff was efficient. The fries were OK for the type. Even the sweet peppers were decent! We followed the IBs by splitting a combo which was also an excellent sandwich.

At the end of the evening my wife said to our son, "you're a cheap date!"

I happened to be down south, way south, this last Saturday and after a morning out in the cold a nice bowl of soup at a LTH recommended restaurant was in order.

Pops on south Kedzie just happened to be a mile or two away.

The doors were blowing off the hinges and the interior signage was flying around the place but the warm greeting of staff there warmed us right up.

I notice they had a baby beef advertised and I asked about if they had a granddaddy and she directed me to the 9" Super Beef. Mmmm.

I got it dipped with sweet and a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

The beef was very good! Nice and tender and a huge helping. I do not think the roll could of held any more beef. Soup? Average.

Another great meal thanks to LTH.

As usual I grabbed and scanned a menu...


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