You really want to go with the double dipped. There is quite a big difference in taste. There ok single dipped but you tend to taste the bread to much. When they are double dipped, both the bread and beef blend in with each other. It can be a little messy but you can use a fork.
I would not recommend eating one that isn’t dipped. I also hate when places have the beef too thick. The beef should be like shavings. I prefer Gonnola bread rolls over Turranos too. Both breads are good though.
Yes, yes, yes, and yes! That’s why you see businessmen hunched over the counter, with their ties tossed over their shoulders. And a HUGE stack of napkins.
Agreed, except this “double dipped” business is new to me. But, yes, it’s messy, it’s wet, and it almost–but not quite–fall apart in your hand while you’re eating it. That’s the beauty of it. If that doesn’t appeal to you then, no, you won’t like Italian beefs.
Eating an Italian Beef is kind of like sex: If it isn’t messy, you aren’t doing it right.
Please pardon me for repeating myself, I know
it’s bad form, but I really must.
Rubino’s Italian Imports. Tinley Park, Il.
This video features a breaded steak sandwich, not the beef, but trust me.
Really
If you are anywhere near Hollywood, and want a thin cracker style Chicago pizza go to Villa Rose Pizza on SR 7 tween Taft and Johnson St. But Italian Beefs? No! they sell philly cheese steaks! good but not as good as Sonny’s Famous Steak Hoagies…
I definitely want to give Portillos another shot, but Al’s sounds really good too. And from what you’re saying Al’s is a little more strongly flavored, which I might like a little better.
Off-topic: Son in law took us to Beggars for some deep dish pizza. It was pretty small, smaller than a medium here, but as thick as 3-4 pizzas stacked on top of each other. Very good sauce and cheese and just the right amount of toppings (I think we got a supreme or deluxe or something). It was a very tasty pie, but it’s the only one I’ve tried. How does it stack up for you Chicagoans that have been there?
I’ve been to Villa Rose (years ago) and remember that it was really good but different…didn’t realize that it was Chicago style, as I’ve only had deep-dish.
Sonny’s I’ve been to a few times…great sandwiches, and not Philly either.
Two places I did try an Italian Beef were Fat Lou’s on Hallandale Bch Blvd (just ok), and The Burger Freak on Powerline & McNab (better). Haven’t tried Hot Dog Heaven’s version, which has mixed reviews. I think some folks lower their standards because they’re desperate.
A Chowhound post mentions two places on in Ft. Myers: Chicago Dawg House, and Giovanni’s Italian Market, with the valid argument that there are more midwesterners on FL’s west coast.
Note to madmonk…take previous advice and go to Al’s on Taylor Street. After your sandwich walk across the street for the best Italian Ice you’ll ever have at Marios’s.
I’m a big fan of the burgers there (the double is awesome) and they have great pickles. Plus the history of the place can’t be ignored (CHEEZBORGER CHEEZEBORGER CHEEZBORGER!)
Here’s a list of locations. There’s one at Navy Pier and one at O’Hare (plus one in DC, apparently).
It’s funny, I always avoided Billy Goat when I’m in Chicago because I assumed that it was unique once, but now is just a tourist trap. Maybe I’ll have to check it out.
I’m in the Quad Cities (Moline, IL, to be exact) and Italian Beef is a regular menu item at most places here.
I was hoping someone would mention Martino’s. The owner is a very good friend of mine.
It receives its fair share of tourists, of course, but I don’t really think of it as a tourist trap. I used to hang out there all the time in the mid-to-late-90s and early-to-mid 00s, mostly with folks who worked at the Trib or Sun-Times. It’s a down-to-earth joint with a bit of a blue collar tavern vibe to it. You don’t really find much in the way of hipsters here. It’s not a trendy joint, but it is on the Chicago tourist trail, so you’ll get your out-of-town clientele, as well. It’s a reasonable mix of people, and I was born and raised in the city on the Southwest Side, and I feel perfectly at home at the Goat.
And, yes, if you get a cheeseburger, it must be at least a double, if not a triple. The bun is a kaiser roll and a bit more substantial than a typical squishy fast food hamburger bun, so you need a bit more meat for it to work out. And the patties are thin, something around ten to the pound, I would guess. I think it’s a very average burger and nothing to write home about, but it tastes just perfect when eaten at the Goat.
Well, thanks to this thread, I just had to go to Al’s and have an Eye-talian Beef for lunch. Yum!
This was the one on Elston and Western (lots closer to my house); not quite as good as Taylor Street, but close.
Hey hey hey now…we’re not from Eye-taly.
Well, that’s how my big I-talian family says it, so I do too.
(my real name has lots of syllables and ends in a vowel)
They’re going to put one in the Yorktown Mall food court in Lombard, as well. They recently renovated and it’s got a big “Coming Soon” sign.
Somebody told me that they went to a place in Iowa that had the best Italian beef he ever had. We always wanted to go on a road trip for this but never did. I don’t talk to the guy much anymore but I wish I had gotten the name of the place. It could have been in the Illinois part of the Quad cities too though.
Really? So far two of us never heard of it. Where are you from?
Also, another “huh” from me on learning that giardinera was a thing in a unique American context.