Richies Beef And Sausage...Since 1959

I like to think that ive tried over 50% of the beef sandwichs here in Chicago and most of those spots are ones that have been recomended by many different people through the years, its a survey ive been doing since I ate my first beef at Jays when I was just 7 years old. From that day foward I have been a fiend for italian beef. So as I was driving along cicero today I noticed a sign that looked really old school that said "Richies Beef and Sausage" since 1959. I got really excited b/c I thought I had tried every beef spot I need too, and this place looked like a classic old school chicago stand that had been through alot but thats part of what made it so appealing. So I quickly did a u-turn and rode back towards it and parked. Much to my dissapointment they were closed due to illness for the day. I got a look inside and from the looks of things I def. think its a place to try and I will be going back as soon as I have a chance. Has anyone ever been here? If so how is it and does anything stand out? They seem to serve the usual Chicago Style stand food. Any help? Its located at the corner of Cicero and Iowa. Thanks.

Richie's sounds interesting...unfortunately about 1800 miles from me right now!

Hey, welcome aboard...as you may be aware of, italian beef is one of the favored topics here. WIth your background, let's here about your thoughts...how do you like them, and more importantly, who serves the good ones in various areas of Chicagoland? Thoughts on mom and pop places vs the chains?

I, too, have driven by this place and have been tempted to stop in but it is in the middle of a demilitarized zone so I have not yet done so. Which actually got me to thinking: are there any top-notch food joints in certain areas of the city that might not be the safest?

You're kidding.

One place that comes to mind is a fried rice spot on the east side of Cicero Ave just north of Harrison.

Very good fried rice (for it's style) and super taco's to boot.

rdstoll wrote:I, too, have driven by this place and have been tempted to stop in but it is in the middle of a demilitarized zone so I have not yet done so. Which actually got me to thinking: are there any top-notch food joints in certain areas of the city that might be termed the "ghetto" for lack of a better word?

There probably are better words, actually.


If by "top-notch" you mean "delicious," and/or "run by really good people" then there is an incredible diversity, way too many to list. Check out this post from Aaron Deacon.

If by "top-notch" you mean "five-star," (or whatever) well, I'm not the expert in those kinds of places, but restaurants are usually pioneers in gentrification. I'll let someone else cover that, though.

Well I finally made it to this little shack today and got to try their beef. This was exciting for me b/c I have tried pretty much every worthy beef spot this city has to offer and with this place being around since '59, I thought it deserved a shot at the title. Unfortunatley the beef was only average, I have had worse but nothing stood out and it wont shake up the top of the charts, where Johnnies, Jays and Chickies still sit. Give me some time and I will finally post my document that chronicles every beef ive eaten in this city and surrounding suburbs since I started eating beef 15 years ago. It will include the good (Pop's on Kedzie and Duke's in the 'burbs) the bad (Gioio's and whats the beef?) and the just plain ugly (Beefee, worlds worst beef). In all I have tried over 50 places. Stay tuned.

Johnnies Beef
7500 W North Ave
Elmwood Park, IL 60707

Jays Beef is on Narragansett just north of Montrose. Although people have blasted this place, im convinced their holding a grudge and not rating the place based on beef, it melts in your mouth and was my favorite growing up and I have been back since and it is still just as good.

Chickies Beef
2839 S. Pulaski

Da Beef wrote:Jays Beef is on Narragansett just north of Montrose. Although people have blasted this place, im convinced their holding a grudge and not rating the place based on beef, it melts in your mouth and was my favorite growing up and I have been back since and it is still just as good.

I'll support your point of view about Jay's. While I'm willing to concede that Johnnie's has some virtues beyond what Jay has to offer, I think that Jay's beef is darned near as tasty and a much better value. Beef is almost as good, maybe a little chewier, and I prefer their giardinara to pretty much anyone's [there's a lot of fresh celery in it, which I think significantly adds to the flavor of the mix]. There may be a franchise difference; all of my praise is directed at the Jay's you mention on Narragansett.

My preferred order is a "beef, sweet, extra hot, no oil". YMMV.

Giovanna

I grew up eating Marnell's (Chicago Heights) beef sandwiches. They were much better in the late 80's - then they sold to someone else and it wasn't the same. Now I live in Napa Valley, Cali and I can't find a decent beef sammie (or pizza for that matter - Aurelio's in Homewood spoiled me for life). Later this month I'm hosting a Bears (me) vs 49'ers (DH) party and want to serve Ital. beef, does any one have a good recipe? I tried to search this site for one, but I've not been sucessful (I'm not sure I know what I'm doing). Any hints, tips or leads would be helpful!! Thanks!! GO BEARS!!!!!!!

Lots of recipes here on the web but I haven't been able to perfect it yet. Our local Sam's Clubs here in SoCal have italian beef in trays...Papa Charlie's brand. With the right bread it can be pretty good and reasonably priced. Portillo's and a few others offer it by mail order from their websites as well.

In NoCal, there is a place in Vallejo that's supposedly pretty good but I haven't tried it, and I know there's another place in Dublin or Pleasanton (City Deli or something like that) that I tried that was ok. THose places would probably do a big tray for you...maybe even some sausage for a combo as well!

Go Bears!

Thanks RSM Bob. Vallejo is very do-able, do you know the name of the place? I'd gladly go and report back!! I bought Papa Charlie's when I lived in Iowa, I should check at Costco - thanks for that thought!!

Here's some info on Gumbah's in Vallejo for you. Looks like it gets some very good reviews from people.

http://www.chefmoz.org/cgi-bin/detail.p ... 10&start=0

http://www.yelp.com/biz/UPvSQe4XkM1W3Gu ... rce=google