While I agree the Taylor St Al's is pretty much the only one that matters, I did have a couple of very good experiences at the one on Touhy in Niles, which was a nice surprise for me since I was in the mood for Al's, but didn't want to drive all the way into the city.

Al's Italian Beef
5948 W Touhy Ave (just west of Lehigh)
Niles IL
(847) 647-1577

jimswside wrote:


combo hot & the Sun Times sports page:

saw this thread come back to life last week and my pictures of that combo Original Mr. Beef in Orland made me deadhead back for lunch. Been doing the IB here lately vs the combo liking the switch.

143rd street is one of my lunch go to corridors: ive got: Orig. Mr. Beef, Pops & Heines McCarthys , and Turks just south of 143rd on (45).

jimswside wrote:

jimswside wrote:

combo hot & the Sun Times sports page:

Holy crap! I must have this.

Jazzfood wrote:There is only one Al's. That is all.

I've had really great and always consistent beefs from the tourist trap Ontario Al's Location. Also, because it's so dang easy to speed into is another reason I frequent this location. I get on the expressway from Augusta, exit Ohio, and immediately after Wells hang a left heading north through the alley that empties out into the parking lot/drive through line of that Al's. Order a beef, juicy with hot giardiniera, pay the man, and Ontario takes me right back onto the expressway. 15-25 minutes round trip coming from UK Village, minimal traffic light encounters, and because I'm basically riding the expressway on/off ramps the whole time mostly, minimal traffic there as well no matter the time.

Seriously, this most definitely ranks up there amongst more trustworthy "beef dispensaries." (<-- see what I did there? )

I may be off my rocker, as I haven't been to the Taylor location in a few years, but the Ontario location has always been an absolute sure bet for my beef craving, at least to me and anyone I bring along with me, for many years now. But as always, this is subjective.

-B

So I'm moving back to Orland and had to stop at Mr Beef. It was better than I remember and also more flavorful than what I've been having at Johnnies AH lately.

Here are images of Italian Beef sandwiches I have had recently.
Boston's =
Brando's =
Brothers =
Buona (Berwyn) =
Hot Diggity Dog =
Hot Dog Express =
Luke's =
Michael's =
Mr. Beef (Orleans) =
Mr. D's Shish-kabob =
Portillo's (Clark) =
Roma's =
Scatchell's =

jvalentino wrote:

image.jpg

So I'm moving back to Orland and had to stop at Mr Beef. It was better than I remember and also more flavorful than what I've been having at Johnnies AH lately.

Glad you rolled in for a return trip. We will have to check out some other spots on 143rd for lunch soon. Original Mr. Beef is my top IB, or combo around. City included.

pudgym29 wrote:Here are images of Italian Beef sandwiches I have had recently.

Any standouts?

Not familiar with Brother's, but the pic looks interesting in a Debris Po-boy sorta way.

jimswside wrote:

jvalentino wrote:

image.jpg

So I'm moving back to Orland and had to stop at Mr Beef. It was better than I remember and also more flavorful than what I've been having at Johnnies AH lately.

Glad you rolled in for a return trip. We will have to check out some other spots on 143rd for lunch soon. Original Mr. Beef is my top IB, or combo around. City included.

Yes, I'll be using your recs on 143rd for awhile once we get settled.

TomInSkokie wrote:

pudgym29 wrote:Here are images of Italian Beef sandwiches I have had recently.

Any standouts?

Yeah, what did you think of them? The pictures are fine, but mean nothing without a review or comment. What's Michael's? That sure isn't Michael's from Highland Park. There are a bunch on my list to try that you've pictured here, so let's hear it.

Ram4 wrote:What's Michael's? That sure isn't Michael's from Highland Park. There are a bunch on my list to try that you've pictured here, so let's hear it.

I'm sure it's the one on North Ave. and Oak Park Ave.

pudgym29 wrote: Here are images of Italian Beef sandwiches I have had recently.
{images snipped to saved bandwidth}

TomInSkokie wrote: Any standouts?

scubachef wrote: Not familiar with Brother's, but the pic looks interesting in a Debris Po-boy sorta way.

Brothers is @ 723 W. Armitage Ave. The italian beef was good, almost at the falling apart, tender level. But what was really noticeable was the amount of giardinera it put on top of it. At some stands, for your 75¢, you get hot peppers which could fit in a soup ladle. Not at Brothers.
I like hot peppers which are not completely given over to capers. Brothers had solid amounts of sliced carrots.

Mr. Beef on Orleans is the best italian beef on the planet. Word. Sentence. Paragraph. Its gravy is savory. Its hot peppers has a lot of diced celery which doesn't clash with the flavor of the italian beef.

The Michael's is the one from North & Oak Park Aves. Its italian beef can be variable, but it's a solid choice which may rank only third for stands along west North Ave. (Buona, Johnnie's) I forget which day of the week it is, but one weekday, the italian beef (meal) is on special.

pudgym29 wrote:

pudgym29 wrote: Here are images of Italian Beef sandwiches I have had recently.
{images snipped to saved bandwidth}

TomInSkokie wrote: Any standouts?

scubachef wrote: Not familiar with Brother's, but the pic looks interesting in a Debris Po-boy sorta way.

Brothers is @ 723 W. Armitage Ave. The italian beef was good, almost at the falling apart, tender level. But what was really noticeable was the amount of giardinera it put on top of it. At some stands, for your 75¢, you get hot peppers which could fit in a soup ladle. Not at Brothers.
I like hot peppers which are not completely given over to capers. Brothers had solid amounts of sliced carrots.

Mr. Beef on Orleans is the best italian beef on the planet. Word. Sentence. Paragraph. Its gravy is savory. Its hot peppers has a lot of diced celery which doesn't clash with the flavor of the italian beef.

The Michael's is the one from North & Oak Park Aves. Its italian beef can be variable, but it's a solid choice which may rank only third for stands along west North Ave. (Buona, Johnnie's) I forget which day of the week it is, but one weekday, the italian beef (meal) is on special.

Do you have a place where you rank these? I'd love to check it out.

But...
Mr. Beef on Orleans is the best?!! Wow, myself and everyone I know totally agree that they are one of the most overrated. They used to be one of the best, but compared to the best places not even close anymore. I guess I must go back once again.

I'm going to stick my neck out for one of the Al's Beef franchises. I have long been on the Taylor St location is the one and only to go to bandwagon. I even called Al's corporate HQ to tell them why the Evanston location closed, how much it sucked and how it deserved to close.

I've gone a few times in the last few months to the location on Touhy in Niles, and I have to say every time it was great. They told me they drop every order of fries when ordered, so they are not sitting. I absolutely love their fries, which is a far cry from when the a***** at the Evanston location was putting my fries in the container ONE AT A TIME (I saw it with my own eyes) to give me the absolute minimum possible. I do have to order extra meat in mine because I feel Al's is usually a little skimpy (at any location), but I don't mind paying a little more when it's that good. So, yes I am giving this franchise the seal of approval, they have plenty of seating (I don't have to stand and get out in 5 minutes), and I don't have to schlep to Little Italy from Highland Park.

Al's Italian Beef
5948 W Touhy Ave
Niles IL 60714

Since Brando's closed late last year, we have been anxiously anticipating the opening of Bubba's Place (on Ogden east of Ridgeland). It appears to be open now and early reports from friends is it equals or surpasses what they were serving up before. I'll be swinging by there later this week to test it myself - especially when I saw they have the beef & meatball on the menu.....

stoutisgoodfood wrote:Since Brando's closed late last year, we have been anxiously anticipating the opening of Bubba's Place (on Ogden east of Ridgeland). It appears to be open now and early reports from friends is it equals or surpasses what they were serving up before. I'll be swinging by there later this week to test it myself - especially when I saw they have the beef & meatball on the menu.....

Thanks for the heads up, might have to roll over here tomorrow.

FB page with menu:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bubbas-P ... 2926499186

Ram4 wrote:I'm going to stick my neck out for one of the Al's Beef franchises. I have long been on the Taylor St location is the one and only to go to bandwagon. I even called Al's corporate HQ to tell them why the Evanston location closed, how much it sucked and how it deserved to close.

I've gone a few times in the last few months to the location on Touhy in Niles, and I have to say every time it was great. They told me they drop every order of fries when ordered, so they are not sitting. I absolutely love their fries, which is a far cry from when the a***** at the Evanston location was putting my fries in the container ONE AT A TIME (I saw it with my own eyes) to give me the absolute minimum possible. I do have to order extra meat in mine because I feel Al's is usually a little skimpy (at any location), but I don't mind paying a little more when it's that good. So, yes I am giving this franchise the seal of approval, they have plenty of seating (I don't have to stand and get out in 5 minutes), and I don't have to schlep to Little Italy from Highland Park.

Al's Italian Beef
5948 W Touhy Ave
Niles IL 60714

This location is right by my house (and next door to my dry cleaner's) so I end up stopping in every now and then. It's a good Al's location, they take care in the prep.

jimswside wrote:

stoutisgoodfood wrote:Since Brando's closed late last year, we have been anxiously anticipating the opening of Bubba's Place (on Ogden east of Ridgeland). It appears to be open now and early reports from friends is it equals or surpasses what they were serving up before. I'll be swinging by there later this week to test it myself - especially when I saw they have the beef & meatball on the menu.....

Thanks for the heads up, might have to roll over here tomorrow.

FB page with menu:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bubbas-P ... 2926499186

$0.25 for Crushed Red Pepper and Parmesan Cheese? I hate being nickel and dimed. That's the cost of doing business and a huge turn-off to see on a menu.

Kesey wrote:

$0.25 for Crushed Red Pepper and Parmesan Cheese? I hate being nickel and dimed. That's the cost of doing business and a huge turn-off to see on a menu.

I don't usually get either of those on my IB or combo so I didn't notice.

Due dilligence requires me to visit.

stoutisgoodfood wrote: especially when I saw they have the beef & meatball on the menu.....

thats a pretty righteous sandwich. - snarfed a 9" for lunch today. 8 bones and change.

think I need to give Tonini's version a try.

definitely going back for a beef or a combo

Bubbas Place
6333 Ogden Ave
#Berwyn, IL.

Still has the signage on the outside up for the previous spot... Lou's

jimswside wrote:

stoutisgoodfood wrote: especially when I saw they have the beef & meatball on the menu.....

thats a pretty righteous sandwich. - snarfed a 9" for lunch today. 8 bones and change.

Bubbas Place
6333 Ogden Ave
#Berwyn, IL.

Still has the signage on the outside up for the previous spot... Lou's

9" BAM (Beef and Meatball) hot, no cheese: 4 meatballs buried under a tender mound of IB. Reminded me of Orig. Mr. Beef in Homer.:

BAM?!! Wow, that looks like my new favorite sandwich...

Are there any other places that make a Beef And Meatball sandwich?

imsscott wrote:Are there any other places that make a Beef And Meatball sandwich?

Betting there are others, but Tonini's in Berwyn has one on the menu. Hoping to try it soon.

Called the Bruno. $6.99

Tonini's Italian Market
6950 Windsor
Berwyn, il.

Beef & Meatball is really just another version of a combo (Beef & Italian Sausage). Pretty sure any place that has a Meatball sandwich would make a B & M combo if asked.

Papa Passero's in Westmont has a pretty good one, not to mention very underrated thin crust pizza.

Papa Passero's Pizza
6326 S. Cass Ave.
Westmont IL

Is no one going to remark about Kevin Pang's Chicago Tribune 'Dining' article of 17 July 2014 about his selections for Italian Beef sandwiches?
Since I don't want to drive people to the Tribune's World-Wide Web site, I'll provide his choices in reverse alphabetical order, and link to descriptions of them.

• Tony's (4100 W. Madison St.)*
• The Patio (1503 W. Taylor St.)*
• Scatchell's (4700 W. Cermak Rd., Cicero)
• Portillo's (100 W. Ontario St.)
• Pop's (10337 S. Kedzie Ave.)*
• Mr. Beef On Orleans (666 N. Orleans St.)
• Mr. Beef And Pizza (3917 N. Harlem Ave.)
• Max's Italian Beef (5754 N. Western Ave.)*
• Johnnie's Beef (7500 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park)
• Joe Boston's Italian Beef (2932 W. Chicago Ave.)
• Jimmy's Homemade Italian Beef (7544 W. Addison St.)*
• Jay's (9732 Irving Park Rd., Schiller Park)^
• Dukes Drive-In (8115 S. Harlem Ave., Bridgeview)*
• Buona Beef (6745 Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn)%
• Bubba's Place (6333 Ogden Ave., Berwyn)*
• Al's #1 Italian Beef (1079 W. Taylor St.)%

* = Stands I have not yet visited
^ = Visited other locations of this stand
% = Visited this stand, and other locations of this stand

I am already on record that my favorite italian beef is that of Mr. Beef On Orleans; and not just because of that address. The best story I have about eating there goes all the way back to the mid-1980's, when I was an outside contractor working in data processing for Sears in the Sears Tower. I had a monthly CTA pass, and quite often, my lunches were in the Loop, or somewhere beyond walking distance. On one particular day, I distinctly remember going to Mr. Beef on Orleans, eating there, and returning to the office. When I returned, there was a buzz through the entire building. What caused it?
Back then, Burger King had an advertising campaign about "the guy who never ate at Burger King". It turned out that on this day, he ate at Burger King, and it was lunch at the Burger King in the Sears Tower. So supposedly, someone won big bucks by recognizing him, and asking him if he was this guy?
The reason I prefer Mr. Beef On Orleans' sandwich is mainly due to the balance of the hot peppers added [and that it didn't|doesn't charge extra for them ~ really, who doesn't add peppers to their italian beef? ~ it is time to include them in the base price]. It is not an overload of capers which, to me, signals the stand is trying to deflect attention from their beef and juice. It has carrots and celery.
Scatchell's is a close second for its similar treatment of the hot peppers. It also got Jeff Mauro's endorsement.
Johnnie's is a solid italian beef, and perhaps the best value of all these stands. It also got Anthony Bourdain's recommendation on his 'lame duck' (for the Travel Channel) "The Layover" show. But since he seemed to completely forget about eating something else debated here on LTHF at Burt's Place on a previous visit, I'm knocking his recommendation down one level.
The Mr. Beef And Pizza on N. Harlem is one which dad & I have eaten at on select trips back from 'big Resurrection (Hosp.)' on Talcott. This is not overly spicy, despite a noticable number of capers in them. It also gets elevated one level for having chased away the Arby's restaurant mere yards from it. But the next time, we're going to have to try Jimmy's Homemade Italian Beef.
I am not a fan of Portillo's. I thought it adopted too many policies of chain restaurants in expanding to so-many stands. But the one stand where I had its italian beef was the one in River North, and yes, it qualifies. Balanced flavor. The bread holds together.
Which Al's stands have I been to? Whew. It includes at least one that closed [the one with an ex-Blackhawks' player co-owning on Northwest Hwy. in Park Ridge]; one in a former Tore's beef stand @ Diversey, Elston, & Western; and one that opened on N. Milwaukee Ave. in Bucktown that in its most previous incantation, was a vegetarian|vegan shack. For what it is worth, I think they're all doing a pretty good job. Again, I am non-plussed by its franchising, but that cannot get in the way of the quality sandwich it purveys. Finally, the original got the big treatment from Adam Richman.
Which stands can I recommend that didn't turn up on this list?
A few months ago, I wound up at Brothers Beef, on Armitage Ave., east of Halsted. This sandwich, despite being loaded with hot peppers [it is a slight complaint - some stands give you a piddling amount of peppers for your extra 75¢], was a chompable italian beef with a tangy juice, and the peppers were not overloaded with capers.
Luke's On Harlem, although in the Vienna Beef Hall Of Fame for hot dogs, has a solid italian beef sandwich. I tried straying from it a couple of times with the breaded steak sandwich (which gets the same hot peppers). I can't recommend the breaded steak sandwich rather than that you get at Ricobene's, but the italian beef is a contender.
Mr. D's Shish Kabob on W. Diversey is on the should try list. Get it wet. (I've always said, "wet", because to me that's the opposite of "dry". Maybe it's my beer thinking.)
Finally, Roma's is the italian beef stand closest to the domicile here. It's between Irving Park & Montrose on N. Cicero. I have eaten in, and taken out. It is a rare sandwich which maintains much of its flavor even after a short drive or ride away from there. Eating in provides the extra of drinking Green River soda.

Capers?

pudgym29 wrote:[color=#a52a2a] Is no one going to remark about Kevin Pang's Chicago Tribune 'Dining' article of 17 July 2014 about his selections for Italian Beef sandwiches?

Eh, it was a valiant effort but...been there, done that.

Da Beef wrote:

pudgym29 wrote:[color=#a52a2a] Is no one going to remark about Kevin Pang's Chicago Tribune 'Dining' article of 17 July 2014 about his selections for Italian Beef sandwiches?

Eh, it was a valiant effort but...been there, done that.

And even before Da Beef's excellent compendium, we here at LTHForum did a most thorough tasting of beefs around town. Do a search for Beefathon. I think we did six regional outings, IIRC.