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


Reuben sandwich and latke from Manny's

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I could have sworn I just read that you had the Short Ribs for lunch?

Marshall K wrote:

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

I could have sworn I just read that you had the Short Ribs for lunch?

I brought friends

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I have to make an apology here. The SideStreet Saloon does in fact no longer have a Reuben on the menu. When I asked, the two bartenders were well aware of what I was talking about. They said that they might bring it back for "special" occasions, but that it had been off the menu for a while. I also erroneously quoted the burger special at $3.50, but they have apparently raised the price to $4.50. Still, a phenomenal deal for a 1/2 pound burger and fries, IMO.

jcclark33 wrote:I have to make an apology here. The SideStreet Saloon does in fact no longer have a Reuben on the menu. When I asked, the two bartenders were well aware of what I was talking about. They said that they might bring it back for "special" occasions, but that it had been off the menu for a while. I also erroneously quoted the burger special at $3.50, but they have apparently raised the price to $4.50. Still, a phenomenal deal for a 1/2 pound burger and fries, IMO.

No need to apologize. You offered what you knew and followed it up with an update, which as much as anyone else can do.

Again, thanks!

Regards,

I was happy to see that someone else mentioned the Reuben at the Palace Grill, that's usually what I order there, and it's quite good. But Manny's version is tops, as well as the 11th Street Deli, which has been creeping up to Manny-like status in my book lately.

kuhdo wrote:Without a doubt my favorite Reuben in the city is the corned beef and pastrami combo version at Francis' deli on Clark. Really. It is. If you like Reubens you should check this one out for sure.

Their turkey reuben is a favorite of mine as well, ordered on rye of course, as opposed to their recommended Challah. But it is hard to pass up the pastrami/corned beef combo.

stevez wrote:Lured by the description:

Jefe wrote:the corned beef was fresh, moist, and had a homemade quality in both its thicker cut and pronounced brine which had a distinguishable allspice note.

I made a bee line to the Depot Diner for lunch today. Although the sandwich was nothing like the above description, the corned beef seemingly standard Vienna food service quality sliced thin, the Depot made a very good version of a Reuben on dark but soft bread. I was very glad I went.

I revisited the Depot reuben today. First, I asked our waitress what their corned beeef supplier was and to verify my conclusion, it is indeed house made and freshly sliced. Today it was delicious and juicy, though had a more pronounced coriander note than allspice, and by my specifications was cut medium thin.

Jefe wrote:it is indeed house made and freshly sliced.

I have no reason to doubt you or even that Depot Diner would make their own corned beef. I expected as much, but on my visit the corned beef was taken from a container (or maybe it was a plastic bag) and looked nothing like the corned beef on your sandwich, as you can see in the picture I posted. It was a dead ringer for Vienna on the day I was there. Oh well, I guess I must have hit them on an off day.

stevez wrote:Oh well, I guess I must have hit them on an off day.

It happens at even the best places. I do really believe in this sandwich and most of the others that the Depot has had to offer! Its all good in the hood.

Jefe wrote:I do really believe in this sandwich and most of the others that the Depot has had to offer! Its all good in the hood.

I couldn't agree more. The Depot is a real gem. As I said upthread, I liked my sandwich just fine, it was just different than originally described. I've never had a bad meal there.

We tried the Brown Sack on Friday. 3706 W Armitage. The Corned Beef Reuben was delicious. It is a hot sandwich with thick/tender slices of corned beef, sherry carmelized onions, melted swiss, & thousand island dressing, served on grilled rye bread. Four days later, we are still talking about this sandwich. It comes with your choice of apple-ginger cole slaw, potato salad or chips. The slaw is a crisp, refreshing palate cleanser between bites. There are supposed to be delicious shakes and malts at the Brown Sack, but it was too cold outside for me to try one!

stevez wrote:Be that as it may, in New York, russian dressing and thousand island are often the same thing. They seem to be unaware of the orange/red stuff that we call Russian dressing here in the Midwest, but of course they know best. We're just a bunch of prairie wankers, to hear them tell it.

Having logged my time in commercial kitchens so far back in the day that French, Italian, Greek and Yiddish, not Spanish, comprised the culinary lingua frana, I can attest that in NYC and environs Russian dressing is composed purely of ketchup and mayo. For Thousand Island dressing, add pickle relish and some extra mayo.

I'm not judging or deconstructing here, merely reporting.

PS--a visit to Manny's this week yielded intensely flavorful corned beef hash at b'fast that was enjoyable despite being very, very dry. It would never occur to me, however, to have added either Russian or Thousand Island dressing.

Steve Drucker wrote: I can attest that in NYC and environs Russian dressing is composed purely of ketchup and mayo. For Thousand Island dressing, add pickle relish and some extra mayo.

New Yorkers..

when I have made 1000 Island, or Russian dressing at home and in restaurants it typically has chili sauce, not ketchup. also minced gherkins, and not pickle relish in the 1000 Island. Also you cannot forget the chopped hardboiled egg in the 1000 Island.

jimswside wrote:when I have made 1000 Island, or Russian dressing at home and in restaurants it typically has chili sauce, not ketchup. also minced gherkins, and not pickle relish in the 1000 Island. Also you cannot forget the chopped hardboiled egg in the 1000 Island.

Nice! Mine is essentially the same, though I leave out the egg and throw in some minced gardiniera.

Though I haven't had one in 30 years Marshall Fields used to make a nice one for their Field's Special "salad." Wonder what their recipe was.

teatpuller wrote:I leave out the egg and throw in some minced gardiniera.
.

now that I gotta try.

I like a little extra "zip" in the dressing for my reuben.

Could anyone tell me where in chicago I can find a good, lean, not greasy, traditional, reuben sandwich?
Thanks

Manny's would be my first and only choice, but see the following threads for more on Manny's and other choices: Manny's Reuben and Best Reuben In Town

Eppy's on Ontario has a pretty good one, though it can be kind of inconsistent.

GardenofEatin wrote:Eppy's on Ontario has a pretty good one, though it can be kind of inconsistent.

FYI -- They closed down a few months ago.

What's Cooking? Restaurant at Lincoln Ave. & McCormick Blvd. on the N. side of the city is where I go for my consistently excellent lean-meat Reuben Sandwich. I stop by the restaurant once or twice a month to have one. I've eaten the sandwich at Manny's, but don't like that rendition as much as I like what I get at What's Cooking? (even the lean at Manny's has been too fatty for me).

What's Cooking? Restaurant
6181 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL

Bill wrote:What's Cooking? Restaurant at Lincoln Ave. & McCormick Blvd. on the N. side of the city is where I go for my consistently excellent lean-meat Reuben Sandwich. I stop by the restaurant once or twice a month to have one. I've eaten the sandwich at Manny's, but don't like that rendition as much as I like what I get at What's Cooking? (even the lean at Manny's has been too fatty for me).

Suprising, because I find What's Cooking? in both Chicago and Deerfield to be awful. The Lincoln/McCormick location was fairly decent once upon a time but imho has been circling the drain for the past several years. I can't recall having a rueben specifically at either location so I can't comment on their version. I would need a lot of persuading to return to George's to try one out.

BTW, I like the Rueben at 11 City Diner with the caveat that it is served open faced.

iblock9 wrote:BTW, I like the Rueben at 11 City Diner with the caveat that it is served open faced.

I tried the reuben at Eleven City Diner Saturday. Overall, I liked it but if it were up to me, I would skip it for the Manny's version. The corned beef was very good (not surprised because I've always liked their corned beef and pastrami), but there was only about 1/3 as much corned beef on the Eleven City version as there is on the Manny's version - and they're the same price. I didn't mind the fact that it was served open faced since the other piece of bread was on the plate (but I didn't understand that at all), although the bread/toast was a little soft for my liking. It also could have used a little more thousand island dressing but that's the most correctable part of the equation.

chainey wrote:Try Valois if you are in Hyde Park:

I had a Reuben at Valois last year. It was okay and a good deal at $4.75.





Earlier this year I had one at Jake's in Milwaukee. It was superior to the sandwich at Valois in every way and approached my idea of Reuben perfection. Note that neither sandwich comes with Russian or Thousand Island dressing (the way I prefer my Reubens).







Am I the only one who doesn't care for Manny's Reuben? They put on far too much corned beef, resulting in a completely unbalanced sandwich. Have a look at ronnie_suburban's photo above.

Valois Cafeteria
1518 E 53rd St
Chicago
773-667-0647

Jake's Delicatessen
1634 W North Av
Milwaukee WI
414-562-1272

Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli
1141 S Jefferson St
Chicago
312-939-2855

Rene G wrote:

Am I the only one who doesn't care for Manny's Reuben? They put on far too much corned beef, resulting in a completely unbalanced sandwich. Have a look at ronnie_suburban's photo

Preaching to the choir here.

T Comp wrote:

Rene G wrote:

Am I the only one who doesn't care for Manny's Reuben? They put on far too much corned beef, resulting in a completely unbalanced sandwich. Have a look at ronnie_suburban's photo

Preaching to the choir here.

I love the Manny's reuben for what it is -- high quailty ingredients, excessively-portioned, invitingly warm and served on fresh rye bread but I definitely agree that it suffers from what it isn't. It doesn't have that melty quality that takes the sandwich to the next level; where the ingredients all work together to actually make it more than the sum of its parts. Manny's reuben is not a sandwich that can be (easily) picked up and eaten by hand, which is also a negative, in my opinion. I think that with the best reubens, the ingredients combine syngeristically to create something transcendent. The sandwich is decidedly generous but still capable of being eaten by hand.

As I probably mentioned above, Seul's Tavern in Northfield makes an excellent reuben that really exemplifies the 'more than the sum of its parts' philosophy. There's probably not 1 component of their reuben that a hard-core deli afficianado would willingly seek out, yet their rendition is remarkably enjoyable on just about every level.

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Seul's Tavern
1735 Orchard Ln
Northfield, IL 60093-3432
(847) 441-8290

Since I posted my inquiry on that thread, I recently tried so called "Reuben paninis" at 6 different locations of Corner Bakery in the Chicago area.
To my greatest surprise they were not bad at all.
They were not greasy.
The corned beef was lean and there was only a couple of slices in the sandwich which were amply sufficient.
The properly grilled (through a panini press) white rye bread was very pleasant and included the right amount of caraway seeds.
The (swiss ?) cheese was nicely melted but not runny.
The dressing (1000 islands?) was subtle enough not to interfere with the general taste of the sandwich.

Its cost was more than reasonable ( $6.59)
Of course it was not the typical Chicago-style Reuben, like Manny's, with tons of meat that you have a hard time confining within the borders of your sandwich, but it was very flavorful and perfect for a quick lunch with its side of very edible chips and O.K pickle.

alain40 wrote:Since I posted my inquiry on that thread, I recently tried so called "Reuben paninis" at 6 different locations of Corner Bakery in the Chicago area.

Out of the 6 which Corner Bakery reuben panini was the best?

I will never complain about the huge amounts of corned beef that Manny's puts on their sandwiches. I simply remove some of corned beef from the sandwich until I have what I think is the right proportion of bread to cheese to kraut to dressing to corned beef. And I enjoy the extra corned beef as a side dish. The quality of Manny's ingredients make it for me.

I have to agree with Rene G on this point. I would go so far as to say that I actually prefer the typical diner Reuben to the typical deli Reuben. But, my favorite comes from my own kitchen.

The perfect Reuben, in my humble opinion, is a sum of its parts. It requires a moderate serving of perfectly shaved corned beef, a tablespoon or two of really good quality kraut, a tiny, light schmear of thousand island dressing (aka Russian for you New Yorkers), a slice of cheese on both layers of bread, all griiddled on thin buttered, preferably freshly cut, rye bread.

If I don't have the time to make my own thousand island, I prefer the really thick type that one finds in the salad dressings sold in the produce section of your grocery store. These have the right consistency to bind the sandwich, along with the cheese versus accelerating the launch of the sandwich onto your shirt or back onto the plate from which it came as a cheaper, thinner thousand island might do.

Building the perfect Reuben in one's own kitchen requires patience, a discerning sense of moderation and commitment to good ingredients.

The combination of all of those things allows the bread to crisp and the heat of the griddle to permeate the sandwich in its entirety so that the end result is this slightly gooey and savory world wonder between two buttery, crispy slices of culinary joy.

Domination on the part of any of the ingredients, results in a sloppy, sometimes wet mess rather that soaks the toasted bread rather than the toasted, complex and delicious god of the American deli and diner that this wonderful sandwich deserves to be.

Its one of the few food items of which the theme "nothing says excess like excess" is not true (Sorry, Gary).

YourPalWill wrote:Its one of the few food items of which the theme "nothing says excess like excess" is not true...

YPWill -

I agree with you and ReneG regarding the need for balance in the Reuben; an overdose of meat can be partly corrected through removal of a certain amount thereof but that doesn't correct the problem wholly, as you point out: Balance is needed at the construction stage.

A

P.S.: Regarding your line cited above, I must disagree in part: "... one of the few food items..." I firmly believe good cooking generally involves balance and restraint and I know that the key to the vast majority of traditional Italian recipes is simplicity and measure: occasional and focussed flights of excess are the exceptions to prove the rule.