"I think they were closed by the Hillside Building Department, but I'm just taking a stab at it.
Oh relax, it's just a little humor. (Yes, VERY little.)"

I can use a little humor on a Friday like today.

Prior to the posting of the "Closed by order..." sign, the location was giving off those tell-tale signs of a death spiral. Just curious if anyone else had been there lately who had concrete information if this is a temporary or permanent closure.

chainey wrote:"I think they were closed by the Hillside Building Department, but I'm just taking a stab at it.
Oh relax, it's just a little humor. (Yes, VERY little.)"

I can use a little humor on a Friday like today.

Prior to the posting of the "Closed by order..." sign, the location was giving off those tell-tale signs of a death spiral. Just curious if anyone else had been there lately who had concrete information if this is a temporary or permanent closure.

A call to the Hillside number yields a live answer from "Carms Warrenville." Oh, I was looking for Carms Hillside. "Carm's Hillside is closed." Permanently? "Yes."

Thanks.

Funny this thread should re-surface, just now. I noticed that the previous discussion was on the relative "value" of different beef joints. Yesterday, i stopped at Al's for the first time in a long time. I ordered a beef with the juice on the side. I do that often at beef stands when I have to drive home, so the beef won't get soggy before I have a chance to eat it. I was told that juice on the side would cost $1.40 extra. True, it came in a 12oz coffee cup, but I had no use for 12 ounces of gravy for a single sandwich. I asked if they had the little clear plastic cups that they put giardinera in, which they did, but they would not sell me less than the 12 oz cofee cup of juice. When I cancelled my order, I got nasty dagger eyes from the employees. I have been eating at Al's since I was about 14 years old (one of my best friends lived around the corner). This was the first time I asked for juice on the side, and the last time I will set foot in Al's. Along with the skimpy $5 beefs, the $2 french fries that taste like rusty old cans, this was the last straw for what was once a great Chicago institution.

I had a pretty good beef sandwich for lunch today at the River North Portillo's location. I should have ordered the sandwich "wet" instead of "dry," though, but the beef was very good quality (the juice would have added to the flavor) and the bread was crusty and maybe the best "fast food" bread I've had in a long time (well, not quite as good as those Labriola bread rolls at Xoco).



About Al's: The Al's we remember from years ago is dead and gone - at that original Taylor St. location. What's there now is unrecognizable, to me. Some of the franchised outlets are pitiful, also, from what I've experienced.