Personal Italian beef quest.

Will write the report when I find the menu.My latest stop in my personal Italian beef search.

Four N/NW suburb locations.I ordered it hot and juicy and received neither.When pointed out I received a cup of each.Even though I was supposed to be charged for the giardiniera they gave it to me no chatge.Beef was tasty but not salty or spicy and not shredded to the point where it sticks between the teeth..Giardiniera had a kick but not sinus clearing.Juice was both salty and spicy.Before adding juice and giardiniera the sandwich was greasy.Bread held up under the juice.The waffle fries seemed dried out and tasted to me of old grease even though we were there not long after they opened.No olives in the giardinera.The whole is better than the parts.Of the three I've had recently at Booby's,Buona Beef and Zippy's,Zippy's is my favorite.

Zippy's is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. The 'Original Cheezy Beef' won't be mistaken for an authentic Chicago style beef but it is delicious all the same.

It has been a while since my last visit but I remember the sandwich pretty well. Smallish overall size. Capsule-shaped roll with somewhat dry, almost shredded Italian-style beef bits. Passable giardiniera is available. Then, mozzarella is placed on the beef and melted in what's probably a Quiznos-type sandwich toaster. I prefer a wetter I-beef but the cheese puts back some of the moisture.

Also memorable are the wafflecut fries. Just the right crispy/chewy ratio and lightly seasoned (as I recall).

Locations


90 N. Barrington Rd.,Schaumburg
847-798-9797

830 N. Roselle Rd.,Hoffman Estates
847-885-9797

1720 W. Algonquin Rd.,Arlington Heights
847-342-9797

663 Lake Cook Rd.,Deerfield
847-480-9797

Tried the Italian beef at J T's Place.The meat was tender and not at all spiced,at least to me.The bread did not hold up under the juice.Giardinera has more of a kick than the one from Zippy's and did have an olive.Fries nicely brown and crispy to the bite although quite floppy when I picked them up.There are bottles of hot sauce and bbq sauce in addition to ketchup.And two of my favorites,Cherry Coke and Barq's.

JT's Place
8080 N. Milwaukee,Niles
847-832-5350
Mon.-Sat. 11AM-8PM closed Sun.

The latest. No, not Max's. Darn. Portillo's. Hot and juicy of course. Bread had a nice crispy crust. And it held up to the last bite. Giardinera lacked olives. Not tender nor tough meat.Greasy, juicy , no noticable taste to the gravy. At the Skokie location.

Portillos downtown had a really great beef sandwich. It was heavily flavored w italian seasoning making it different than you ave chicago beef but in a good and welcome way. the bread was great as were the fries. mr Beef fries really do suck dont they?

Never been to Mr. Beef but very few places make proper fries. Although otherwise not my first choice, Bennigan's always makes great fries. Crisp outside, soft inside and when they had the beer ketchup that was a plus.

drove by the zippy's on algonquin and it was closed. are the other 3 locs still open?

I was home in September 2007 and hit Portillo's on Barrington Road pretty hard(2 weeks I ate there about 8 times). One night I drove by Zippy's which is down the street and gave it a try. I've had worst beefs,definately wouldn't go out of my way for it but wasn't bad. Carm's in Hillside is still the BEST beef I've ever had (it's been 20 years though).
Honorable mention to Hippo's in Hoffman Estates (closed in the early 1980's) and Sandwich Italiano in Schaumburg (closed at least 28 years).
Also tried Nana's on Irving Park in Streamwood and wasn't bad but I still think Portillo's is the best beef in this part of the 'burbs (I don't care if they're a chain-damn good food!).

Dolfan_Pug wrote:Also tried Nana's on Irving Park in Streamwood and wasn't bad but I still think Portillo's is the best beef in this part of the 'burbs

I haven't had Portillo's for comparison, but I liked Nana's beef; the meat is good and juicy -- not dry meat in juice as so many places do. I also like that they'll make mini beefs, so you have room for a beef and a hot dog.

They do good dogs and excellent fries in something of a Gene & Jude's vein: A skinny, natural-casing Vienna, Nana's dog with "everything" comes on a plain bun with mustard, plain relish, onions and the fresh-cut fries on top. If you want peppers, tomatoes or celery salt you must ask for them. (Ketchup can be had by request, too, so they're not really like Gene & Jude. Also, they have seating -- nine Formica booths.)

The fries are terrific, cut on-site from fresh potatoes and fried crisp and dark.

Nana's also offers thick, delicious shakes and malts, including banana and strawberry versions flavored with real fruit, each crowned with a swirl of whipped cream and a wafer cookie. Soda pop comes from Pepsi, but they also have bottled Berghoff root beer and Green River.

Nana's Hot Dogs
630/289-2226
1102 E. Irving Park Road, Streamwood

BrendanR wrote:Zippy's is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. The 'Original Cheezy Beef' won't be mistaken for an authentic Chicago style beef but it is delicious all the same.

a beef, hot with cheese from Boston's has always been one of my favorites.

OMG! I had to take a Vytorin after just looking at the latest picture. What is Boston's location (for research purposes if my cardiologist is reading this )

romas on cicero in chicago has never disappointed. the place smells like disinfectant though.

tori's at division and elston in chicago is surprisingly good. full pieces of beef with a nice mellow flavor.

als beef on taylor in chicago is outstanding. i don't care at all for their many franchises. but the home base beef has a nice nutmeg flavor.

a good bun is key
mealy meat sucks ass
too much celery makes hot peppers pointless
cheesy beef should only be a treat

One great thing about Zippy's is that you can get the beef (cheezified or not) on garlic bread. Maybe not traditional, but still really good.