Onion Roll, Oak Park

Onion Roll, Oak Park

Every time I go to New York, I try to get to at least one deli. I like the way they smell (garlic, vinegar, beef), and I like the way they feel (noisy, gregarious, busy).

Despite Chicago’s sizeable Jewish population, and the fact that we’ve not only had meat packing operations within our city limits but some major corned beef processors, our city has never had a strong deli culture.

No one, not even David Sax in his excellent Save the Deli, has come up with a plausible excuse for why Chicagoland lacks anything like the range and number of delis one can find in New York City or even Los Angeles. Chicago is smaller, of course, but even so, we don't have as many delis as it seems we should.

So, we have to treasure those few we have, like Onion Roll.

For over fifty years, Onion Roll on North Avenue in Oak Park has been operating a “delicatessen and restaurant,” which in later years has shown a clear emphasis on the latter.

With a front counter that over the years has become less full of stuff, it’s the side restaurant at Onion Roll that seems to get most of the action, and the action is comfortingly predictable. The bagels are from New York Bagel and Bialy, arguably the best source in the area, and the menu lists deli regulars like salami omelet, lox, chopped liver, pastrami and, of course, Reubens.

Reubens are not hard to make, but I’ve never made one at home, usually because I frequently seem to lack one or more essential ingredients – rye bread, sauerkraut, corned beef, Swiss cheese, or Thousand Island dressing – each of which is required for this classic sandwich.

“Could I get my Reuben on an onion roll,” I asked my server, figuring this was something that, at Onion Roll in fifty years, had been asked loads of time. My server looked at me as though I’d asked her to shine my shoes before lunch, and warned, “Well, they won’t be able to close it,” so I quickly rejoined, “Well, on second thought, I’ll just have it the way you usually serve it.” She seemed relieved.

“Our Famous Reuben” is usually served open face, which makes a lot of sense. One unfortunate step in the evolution of the New York corned beef sandwich has been that, starting around 1975, it started getting bigger and costing more, resulting in an expensive sandwich the girth of which was simply too big to fit in one’s mouth, and the volume of which was way more than an average stomach could reasonably be expected to contain. The Reuben at Onion Roll sidesteps such unfortunate developments by becoming something like finger food, with four portions mounted on two slices of rye, each cut in half, with the cheese thoroughly melted and a thin layer of kraut between cheese and meat.



This plate comes with fries (I asked for them “crisp,” and I heard the server shout to the chef, “Gimme those fries well done”), along with a shot-glass sized cup of Cole slaw (you don’t come to a place like this for the vegetables).

One drawback: the Thousand Island dressing is also served in a small side cup. I’m sure, though, that if I’d asked, they would probably have smeared it on the rye bread before cooking. Probably.

It’s not at all surprising that The Onion Roll has been around for half a century. It’s a local treasure.

Onion Roll
6935 North Ave.
Oak Park
(708) 383-2548

Since Stein's closed in Lyons I was always surprised nothing replaced it in that area. They were always busy and good, and the clientel were not all locals. I love a good deli and am bummed that Chicago is so limited. The Onion Roll has good deli and is consistent. I was a regular when I lived in Oak Park, rode my bike the two miles to make up for it! I was addicted to the corned beef on rye with a smudge of liver pate and horseradish. I rode my bike often then.
I've probably made over 5000 reubens in my day. Putting the 1000 island on the side is the way to go. The dressing becomes watery when heated and makes the sandwich wet and sloppy, with the 1000 Island taste being reduced. The customer can also control the amount, so no nagging the kitchen about too much or not enough. NOBODY likes an unhappy cook!

I can't buy the argument that Chicago is too small to do good deli. During my year long sojourn to northeast Ohio, I discovered three wonderful delis in Cleveland and its suburbs: Corky and Lenny's in Beechwood; Jack's Deli in University Heights; and Slyman's downtown. There are likely at least ten others that I didn't have a chance to discover during my brief time there. If a city like Cleveland, having experienced the equivalent of economic nuclear winter for the last 40 years can do good deli at reasonable prices, it's inexcusable that a world class city like Chicago cannot.

The difference here in Chicago versus a place like Cleveland or New York is the treatment of the corned beef. Here, the corned beef often seems to trimmed and too processed. There, corned beef is adequately fatty and delicious obviously steamed right in house versus pulled, precooked out of some plastic sleeve and placed on a slicer. There's pride in that northeast Ohio corned beef.

The open faced Reuben is a diner genre fare in New York. One would never find a legitimate deli serving such a thing in that town.

The goy will now step off of his corned beef soap box.

I'd like a good bialy.

A good deli IMO: Bergstein's. Another report shortly forthcoming.

I like the Onion Roll, which I've mentioned; I meet my nonagenarian uncle and aunt there from time to time, bless them.

Santander wrote:A good deli IMO: Bergstein's. Another report shortly forthcoming.

I like the Onion Roll, which I've mentioned; I meet my nonagenarian uncle and aunt there from time to time, bless them.

Yes, saw your mention and was surprised there was no thread devoted to this stand-by. Now there is.

I like Bergstein's, too, but it's quite a hike (though I'm sure a blessing to sdritz and others in the area).

The Onion Roll is a right by my house - it's a standard in my work-from-home lunch rotation.
The people there are friendly, the service is good, the food is top notch, and the prices are more than fair.

TooHot wrote:Putting the 1000 island on the side is the way to go. The dressing becomes watery when heated and makes the sandwich wet and sloppy, with the 1000 Island taste being reduced. The customer can also control the amount, so no nagging the kitchen about too much or not enough. NOBODY likes an unhappy cook!

I understand what you're saying, but it seems like what's needed is warm, not super hot, meat so that the dressing doesn't break down (to use a sad analogy, the Thousand Island on a Big Mac seems to retain its integrity despite the warmth of the patty). Just spooning the dressing onto the finished sandwich somehow makes the dressing feel less integrated with the other flavors.

When it comes to dressing -- on sandwiches or salads -- I'm almost always in favor of letting the chef/cook do it.

There is a reason that the Onion Roll menu offers sandwiches in 1 and i/2 size: They carve the meat like its coming off their arm: Skimpy. Good delis have good chicken broth for their soup offerings. Onion Roll cook didn't hear about that. Only game in town tho, hence it lasts in the face of no competition.

thick wrote:There is a reason that the Onion Roll menu offers sandwiches in 1 and i/2 size: They carve the meat like its coming off their arm: Skimpy. Good delis have good chicken broth for their soup offerings. Onion Roll cook didn't hear about that. Only game in town tho, hence it lasts in the face of no competition.

I couldn't disagree more.

David Hammond wrote:Onion Roll, Oak Park


This plate comes with fries (I asked for them “crisp,” and I heard the server shout to the chef, “Gimme those fries well done”), along with a shot-glass sized cup of Cole slaw (you don’t come to a place like this for the vegetables).

One drawback: the Thousand Island dressing is also served in a small side cup. I’m sure, though, that if I’d asked, they would probably have smeared it on the rye bread before cooking. Probably.

It’s not at all surprising that The Onion Roll has been around for half a century. It’s a local treasure.

Onion Roll
6935 North Ave.
Oak Park
(708) 383-2548

Does that look skimpy? Not to me. Note that there's a lot of food in the background.
They've never skimped on me. They always treat me well.

thick wrote:There is a reason that the Onion Roll menu offers sandwiches in 1 and i/2 size: They carve the meat like its coming off their arm: Skimpy. Good delis have good chicken broth for their soup offerings. Onion Roll cook didn't hear about that. Only game in town tho, hence it lasts in the face of no competition.

Onion Roll has little competition, unfortunately, but I'm not sure what you mean about the meat (you like yours "thick"? ), or how that relates to offering the sandwiches in two sizes. There is a "Spaceman" and an "Earthling" size of some sandwiches, but the Reuben doesn't seem to be one of them:



I did have the chicken soup (Friday's soup du jour), which they say is home-made, and it certainly seemed that way: meat in good chunks, carrots clearly hand-cup, hunks of cabbage in there; I liked it, but of course, YMMV.

This place was once good, and competitive with the other family Jewish Delis in the area. It exists today because there is no competition. I've had the rueben sammy-once- it was a tasteless, open faced disaster. Their other sandwiches are sliced Vienna products. Nothing particularly good. The soups are almost passable. They go thru the motions here. After all these years, the third generation feels they can coast.

thick wrote:This place was once good, and competitive with the other family Jewish Delis in the area. It exists today because there is no competition. I've had the rueben sammy-once- it was a tasteless, open faced disaster. Their other sandwiches are sliced Vienna products. Nothing particularly good. The soups are almost passable. They go thru the motions here. After all these years, the third generation feels they can coast.

I've been living in Oak Park since the mid-80's. There may very well have been "other family Jewish Delis in the area," but honestly, I can't think of any. Thick, what are some of the other ones you're referring to?

David: There were a number of good delis in the area through the late 60's/early 70's. Some names escape me but there was one at Austin and Madison, on North, just east of Austin, and the best: (Sid and Mary)Glassers at about 6818 North. Everything homemade. Terrific corned beef. Sandwiches in the Braverman's style. The aromas would grab you just walking by the place. Age, changing neighborhoods and their kids lack of interest in running a restaurant brought the local deli era mostly to an end.

I think there was a decent-sized Jewish population on the far west side until the late sixties. So the location would have made sense.

YMMV. Yup!

When young I lived within walking distance and almost every Sunday I would be tasked to stroll over to get a bag of onion rolls to go along with breakfast. On the deli side the bins would be filled, the place bustling with customers, filled with wonderful smells.

A shadow of it's former self. Makes me sad.

I do stop in about once a year to get a bowl of soup and a sandwich. Yes. I would consider the sandwich a bit skimpy comparing it to what you would get from Manny's or Bergstein's and what is with the reluctance to serve the sandwich on their namesake onion roll? The broth in the soup a little weak. Not strong enough to chase away a good cold.

With just a little effort this place could be awesome (the market is there) but like it was said they are just coasting.

Panther in the Den wrote:The broth in the soup a little weak. Not strong enough to chase away a good cold.

When you find the broth that will cure the common cold, please post about it here.

Happened to be next door to check out the opening of a favorite hotdog stand but that is a story for another post on another thread.

Since I had a second lunch planned I decided on just a bowl of soup.

(Kreplach, Matzo Ball and Noodles)

Perfect! Nice strong broth and add-ons perfectly fresh and tasty. Be aware that to get Kreplach it is a few minute wait as it comes from the deli side and is warmed per order.

A recent visit by one of our very own...

https://mobile.oakpark.com/Dining/Blogs ... nd-Fatty-/

Over 40 years ago, I worked part time for Polk Bros at the warehouse on North Avenue in Melrose Park. Lots of great places to pick up a quick lunch those days: Gene & Jude's, Russell's, Johnny's, and the Onion Roll. My fav was the Onion Roll and a hot pastrami on an onion roll was always my choice. Haven't been back since May 1987, when the Polk Bros warehouse burned to the ground and I went to work part time for ABT in Niles.

I'm happy to see the Onions Roll is still going strong and I need to revisit the Onion Roll in the future.

CSD