At a small deli in KC I once had a reuben made with kielbasa. Not bad, but talk about a meal that sticks with you!

BR wrote:

YourPalWill wrote:. . . the coffee shop variety is the Phoenix Restaurant at Cumberland and Lawrence. Griddled, melted corned beef magic with russian dressing and indsutrial fries on the side.

Will, I hope you mean Thousand Island dressing . . . do you??? Since I too work in the O'Hare area, I'm curious to give this a try.

But my favorite Reuben is hands-down Manny's. It's everything a Reuben should be -- plenty of kraut, dressing, cheese, excellent corned beef and crispy, buttery rye toast. Don't be afraid to ask them to make you one from scratch because sometimes they have pre-made ones that look a bit old.

yes, that's a throw back to my days in New york where Thousand Island dressing is called Russian. I certainly don't mean that bright red tart and tannic studff that Kraft sells in a bottle.

Actually, we love the Rueben at the Chicago Brauhaus....pretty famous in the neighborhood...it's got an extra something (a mild sweetness to the corned beef)...perfect balance with the kraut and mustard.

Orange (the brunch place) in Roscoe Village serves a tasty plump Reuben on Marble Rye as part of their dinner menu.

As promised up thread, I hit The Phoenix for a Rueben to-go. I was please to be able to order the sandwich, sans "industrial fries" or their cost. I was also thankfully asked if I wanted thousand island or horse radish. I asked for, and received, both on the side, along with a little good coleslaw.

I sat at the counter, awaiting my order, pretending to read the anorexic Sun-Times, and enjoyed the banter of the staff, who gossiped and argued, as if I was not there. While it sounded quite dysfunctional, and even rude, it helped pass the time. Cost $7.55.

Returning to my lair, I was quite pleased. The sandwich was well constructed -- ie, everything wasn't just piled up in the middle. The top rye was crisp, the bottom inevitably, somewhat less so, having steamed itself a bit. The end result was just what I wanted and more than I expected. Usually, I have found, corned beef from the typical greek breakfast joints to be the kind that you pick our of your teeth for hours afterwards. Not so here. I'd say its the best Rueben for the direct area and look forward to the next one.

This restaurant is in my neighborhood, and I've had several unremarkable breakfasts here. I now plan to return and see if they offer any other gems. Well, after I order the Rueben six or seven more times.

Phoenix Restaurant
8349 W Lawrence (SE corner with Cumberland)
Norridge, IL
(708) 453-8100

-ramon

I gotta give some praise here for the Reuben at the Cozy Corner Restaurant at the cozy corner of Milwaukee/California.
They say they make their own corned beef and I believe it. It's sliced thin enough, never too chewy (I've had corned beef that has the texture of radial tires), grilled perfectly, crunchy sauerkraut, a good amount of cheese and the best fries on the block, too! Besides having one of my favorite Reuben sandwiches, they also have the best diner breakfast in town. It's one of the few places that I would gladly wait 30-40 minutes for a table on a weekend morning.

Frances' deli 2552 N. Clark. See if I lie.

kuhdo wrote:Frances' deli 2552 N. Clark. See if I lie.

I don't know if you lie, but for my tastes, I feel the sandwiches at Frances' are completely mediocre, reuben included.

Let me second Jim's suggestion of the Country House. I think the Clarendon Hills location has slightly fresher ingredients and better atmosphere, but Lisle is good as well. Haven't been to the Geneva location.

http://www.burgerone.com/

As you can tell from the URL, they're excited about their burgers as well (good, but don't hold a candle to Kuma's or even Moody's on a good night).

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

kuhdo wrote:Frances' deli 2552 N. Clark. See if I lie.

I don't know if you lie, but for my tastes, I feel the sandwiches at Frances' are completely mediocre, reuben included.

I don't know. Hard to believe anybody ever had the combo pastrami/corned beef Reuben at Frances' and found it even a little, let alone completely mediocre. There's clearly lots of different tastes around these parts, but if you had the same thing I did, and that was how you felt, we clearly like different things.

Katie wrote:I had a surprisingly good reuben the other day at, believe it or not, the American Airlines Admiral's Club in Terminal 3 at O'Hare airport. Granted, my reference space could not be more limited -- this was the first reuben sandwich I ever had in my life. Less than halfway into it I concluded that I have been a complete idiot and wasted most of my life so far. Where reubens are concerned, that is. I might have redeemed myself in a few non-reuben ways in the past 40-some years. But I digress.

It was surprising not only because I always thought (despite my mother's pleading and prompting) that I woudn't like reuben sandwiches (for the simple that sauerkraut screams SOUR to me), but also because, you know, many of you at least, what kind of sandwiches you usually get at the airport -- too much bread, too little flavor, costing way too much money.

I confessed my sin to reuben-lovers-in-the-know at my destination, and they said that the sauerkraut was the key. I presume they mean it should not be anywhere near as sauer as the name implies.

Next stop on my reuben fact-finding mission: Burt's Deli in Libertyville. I'll report back.

Something I learned growing up in the heavily German-based population of Northeastern Wisconsin - sauerkraut should always be rinsed in fresh water at least once or twice before heating to rid itself of some of the "sauer"-ness. Makes for much better flavor, IMO.

I grew up with a rueben loving, New Yorker at heart, father, who would sneak corned beef / pastrami / every chance he got. His cardiologist and my mother would kill him if they ever knew how many times he would take me to Manny's on the guise of me "needing new shoes from Chernin's."
Anyway, I'll probably lose any shred of cred I may have had, but I really like Rueben sammiches, HOWEVER the corned beef/pastrami is just too big of a sodium overload for my tastes.

I've heard it called a Rachel before, but I generally ask for a "turkey" rueben whenever I get a Rueben jones.
-Grilled Rye (preferably dark, without seeds)
-REAL roasted turkey. (No meat jello, thankyouverymuch)
-Sauerkraut
-1000 island (the only use I can think of for this otherwise vile substance)
-Swiss cheese. PLEASE no noveau twists on the cheese. (Ram brewery and Bennigan's are using a sharp "Vermont Cheddar" that doesn't melt properly - too stringy, and throws the whole sammich off track.

Examples of these done right:
Depot Diner

Market Square in Wheeling or Buffalo Grove on Dundee near 83. Theirs are pretty much perfect. Two+ inches thick - EASILY.

Little America Diner Just W of 83 on Central in Mount Prospect.
I'm sure there are more. Real turkey is generally the key for these.

I know the rueben purists will cry fowl*, but it takes a little bit of the artery clogging out of the equation, and I honestly do like them better.

* Oh come on! It was a little funny.

Seebee-

More shocking than you liking a Rachel with turkey is that your Mom bought your Dad's excuse about going to Chernin's to buy you new shoes.

aschie30 wrote:Seebee-

More shocking than you liking a Rachel with turkey is that your Mom bought your Dad's excuse about going to Chernin's to buy you new shoes.

And every time they'd get home and Dad would say, "We just couldn't find any that fit!"

Shoes not fitting never stopped a sale at Chernins.

Interesting that so many refer to the reuben as a New York sandwich. Personally, in my nearly ten years of living there, I cannot recall having a memorable one in that town.

I recall a Trib/ST food section article from many years ago that attributed the birth of the Reuben Sandwich to a hotel in, I believe, Omaha sometime in the 1930's.

Reuben's Restaurant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_Restaurant

The History of The Reuben
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/ ... ndwich.htm

The NYC vs Omaha debate rages on!!

I like to think that the Reuben was invented in NYC because I find it hard to believe that a Russian Jew in Omaha created a sandwich made out of either Pastrami and/or Corned Beef and Dark Rye in Nebraska, of all places, in the 1920s

iblock9 wrote:The NYC vs Omaha debate rages on!!

I like to think that the Reuben was invented in NYC because I find it hard to believe that a Russian Jew in Omaha created a sandwich made out of either Pastrami and/or Corned Beef and Dark Rye in Nebraska, of all places, in the 1920s

I have no idea where the Reuben might have originated or whether Jews in Omaha would have had access to corned beef and rye. But it doesn't seem that farfetched to me that they would.

According to Wikipedia (that august source):
"The first Jewish settlers came to the city [Omaha] shortly after it was founded in 1856. The most numerous Jewish immigrants were from eastern Europe and Russia. They arrived in waves of immigration to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."

I thought a Rachel sandwich was subbing coleslaw for the saurkraut?

Tried the duck reuben tonight that sundevilpeg mentioned upthread. While it is certainly not your typical reuben, it was extremely satisfying.

Duck, cranberry cream cheese, saurkraut, emmenthaler, on marble rye.

The first bite was a tad bizarre and almost too sweet. But the second, third, and all subsequent bites were extremely satisfying. Just the right blend of salt, tang, savory, sweet, and bread. Frites and garlic aioli satisfied as usual.

Washed it back with a Wostyyntje Mustard Beer and Poperings Hommelbier. All in all, a delightful evening.

Seebee, if you want it exactly the way you describe, you really need to try the version from Milk & Honey on Division.

It's not on dark rye, but it is really great bread to go along with a perfect blend of the other key layers. Plus, the chips that come with it are sometimes still warm from the fryer.

Try it and see if it meets your exacting standards...I like my turkey reubens the same way you do, and this one is awesome.

comradelaura wrote:I have no idea where the Reuben might have originated or whether Jews in Omaha would have had access to corned beef and rye. But it doesn't seem that farfetched to me that they would.

According to Wikipedia (that august source):
"The first Jewish settlers came to the city [Omaha] shortly after it was founded in 1856. The most numerous Jewish immigrants were from eastern Europe and Russia. They arrived in waves of immigration to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."

I was, sadly for me as i have a lame sense of humor, joking . I am Jewish and also have relatives in Nebraska so I was aware that there are indeed jews in fly over land. I simply found it amusing that the perfect storm of sandwich inspiration occured in nebraska rather then new york where the corned beef, pastrami and rye bread are more famed

Tried the duck reuben tonight that sundevilpeg mentioned upthread. While it is certainly not your typical reuben, it was extremely satisfying.

Duck, cranberry cream cheese, saurkraut, emmenthaler, on marble rye.

The first bite was a tad bizarre and almost too sweet. But the second, third, and all subsequent bites were extremely satisfying. Just the right blend of salt, tang, savory, sweet, and bread. Frites and garlic aioli satisfied as usual.

Washed it back with a Wostyyntje Mustard Beer and Poperings Hommelbier.

Excellent call on the mustard beer! My dining companions all made faces at its...unusual, shall we call it, nose, but I found it to be the perfect foil for the sweetness and saltiness of the sandwich. And those frites......mmmmmmmm!

All in all, a delightful evening.

Same for us. A most excellent birthday celebration!

Allow me to throw one more Reuben into the ring.

The SideStreet Saloon on the corner of George and Greenview does a very good Reuben. It's my favorite, but I haven't tried Manny's, so guess I better reserve judgment.

I've gone to this place off and on for about 10 years, and have always enjoyed the place. The same owners and bartenders are still there after all this time, and the food is pretty consistent. The Reuben here is an open face affair that needs to be consumed with fork and knife, but the portion is generous and good.

As a little Reuben aside, I once ordered the Reuben here and was happily eating away, when the owner (Norm) took notice of my plate. Next thing I know, there is a completely new and beautiful Reuben sitting in front of me, free of charge. Seems he was not happy with the way the cook prepared the sandwich and wanted to make amends where none were needed. I mention this just to make note that the owner takes the consistency of his items seriously. This is no Hopleaf. It is a very local neighborhood hangout with comfort food and drinks. Sometimes I need that.

Thanks for th heads up on the Side Street reuben. I've been going to the place for about five years now, always opting for their great (and great value) bar burger.

It's almost impossible to pass up that 1/2 pound burger for $3.50 on Fridays and Saturdays. I'm on my way there now. I did a search and didn't see any other mentions of this place in the forums. It's a neighborhood gem. Funny, now that I look at the online menu, I don't see the Reuben. I'll have to investigate this today.

http://www.sidestreetsaloon.com/enter.asp

I mentioned the Sidestreet burger briefly in the Burger Burger thread about a week ago.

Was at Manny's for lunch today and had the reuben. It was huge and delicious . . .


Reuben sandwich and latke from Manny's

=R=

I remember fondly Rueben's from Rueben's Deli on Touhy, just east of Crawford in Linconlwood. Towards the end, Rueben, who was in his 80s, took quite some time to make the sandwiches, but they were always perfect. I miss ya!

-ramon