I was there on Friday around 6:00. It was expensive. The service I received was very courteous - I was, however, the only customer in the place.

I was satisfied with the beef. It was large and very generously filled and covered with five or six pieces of sweet peppers. I actually was surprised at how generous they were with the peppers. I did not note any off flavors that I could not attribute to their rather unique red giardineria, which I happen to like. The fries were done competently, but were nothing special. I did feel the bun was too chewy.

Overall, it scratched the itch, but was not at the level of the places typically mentioned as board favorites.

bw77 wrote:I was there on Friday around 6:00. It was expensive. The service I received was very courteous - I was, however, the only customer in the place.

I was satisfied with the beef. It was large and very generously filled and covered with five or six pieces of sweet peppers. I actually was surprised at how generous they were with the peppers. I did not note any off flavors that I could not attribute to their rather unique red giardineria, which I happen to like. The fries were done competently, but were nothing special. I did feel the bun was too chewy.

Overall, it scratched the itch, but was not at the level of the places typically mentioned as board favorites.

I have not had Max's, but the consensus on here seems to be the name should be changed to Max's Infamous Italian Beef.

Slightly off topic, but are pepper and egg sandwiches still available every day at Max's?

>>Kman wrote:
Pepper & Egg is a regular menu item at Max's. My wife can't get enough of these - they are all made to order there vs. being scooped out of a tray of pre-scrambled eggs. The finished product is almost omelet-like in nature, with the peppers folded into the egg. It's more time consuming but I think it's worth the wait. My wife's standard order is to add mozz cheese and hot peppers - it's pretty tasty. Nice people, too. >>

tarte tatin wrote:Slightly off topic, but are pepper and egg sandwiches still available every day at Max's?

Yes.

In a terse message via email and on social media, Max's Italian Beef abruptly announced today that it is closing on Nov. 1.
The message read: "On Saturday November 1st Max's Italian Beef on Western Avenue will be closing it's (sic) doors. Please help us celebrate 35 great years!"

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20141029/BLOGS09/141029733/maxs-italian-beef-closing-after-35-years

Not that surprising. The beef itself was never much to be noted, though admittedly, the arguably offensively named Ghetto Fries were a guilty pleasure and a great fast food option.

Royal Lichter wrote:Not that surprising. The beef itself was never much to be noted, though admittedly, the arguably offensively named Ghetto Fries were a guilty pleasure and a great fast food option.

I dunno. I wasn't a huge fan but whenever a place closes after 35 years in business, it's a bit of a surprise (at least to me). I will miss those ghetto fries though, it's probably been at least 5 years since I had them.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Royal Lichter wrote:Not that surprising. The beef itself was never much to be noted, though admittedly, the arguably offensively named Ghetto Fries were a guilty pleasure and a great fast food option.

I dunno. I wasn't a huge fan but whenever a place closes after 35 years in business, it's a bit of a surprise (at least to me). I will miss those ghetto fries though, it's probably been at least 5 years since I had them.

=R=

Agreed. While my initial IBeefs from Max's were disappointing I persevered and mostly had pretty good experiences. Wasn't ever going to replace Johnnies but was much closer to the house and provided a solid product. Also enjoyed having the tubs of pretty good jardiniere sitting out on the tables. Besides the various loaded fries options (they expanded beyond just the ghetto version) they also did a really topnotch pepper and egg sandwich. Each one made to order in a skillet and folded almost omelet style into the roll. 35 years is a long run, sorry to hear they are closing.