Turano or Gonella or Rosen’s - Jewel has 'em - we get the ones marked extra soft (there’s a sticker on the bag). They hold up to the beef really, really well. They have the chewy tough crust but they’re very soft on the inside.
I ate at Johnnies in Arlington Hts. today. A juicy combo sweet with a small Italian lemonade, made winter seem like it might actually be leaving soon.
There is a place in Vallejo, CA (north end of SF Bay) just outside the former Mare Island Navy Yard that actually imports their beef from Chicago.
Gumbah’s is the name.
Good stuff!
Welcome to the boards, sps49sd. I’ve moved your post into this longer discussion of Italian beef.
Now Ed…there are worse things to put on pizza. There’s cheddar cheese, for instance. I love cheddar cheese, by itself or with any number of other foodstuffs, but it does NOT belong on PIZZA!
Anyone who dares to bring me a pizza with cheddar cheese on it risks a good smiting.
Cheddar, no. Monterey Jack, mais oui!
Here in the wilds of South Florida it’s been exceptionally hard to find Chicago delicacies, but finally my search has borne fruit. We found a place in Margate that has real Italian beef, pizza puffs, Vienna beef hot dogs, and gyros! The big hassle is that it’s only open for lunch and most days we don’t have the time to get there.
While there is no shortage of New York foodstuffs here due to all the nuts rolling downhill, true Chicago food is very hard to find. If I want real deep dish and not the cardboard greasy crap that New Yorkers call pizza I have to drive to Orlando to the Giordannos and Unos there. Well, it’s only 3 hours away so it could be worse.
We’ve ordered Lou Malnotti’s and Giordannos and had the frozen ones delivered, but it’s very pricey, especially Giordannos. We’ve ordered Portillos, and that was pretty good, they even enclose one or two of those paper hats with the package.
As for the frozen stuff, we’ve been the major advocates of Papa Charlie’s down here and encourage everyone to try it so we can continue to get it. The hardest part is finding suitable bread.
As for cheese and condiments, I never recall cheese being offered, just if I wanted “hot or sweet.” And dipped, please!
I was only in Chicago from June 84 to May 85 and hadn’t heard about Italian Beef.
My friend who likes the one here (Vallejo/ Mare Island) is a Chicago native and I have to trust him, but it sounds consistent (no cheese, hot or regular peppers, messy) with the comments here.
Have you tried Chris & Rob’s (formerly Joey D’s)? I can’t personally vouch for their Italian beef, but their dogs and polishes are quite good.
I haven’t eaten there since High School (10 years or so) but I wasn’t a huge fan of their beefs. I’m not from Chicago, but I’ve been eating them since I was a kid (they show up in the oddest places here in Minneapolis). My personal favorite was at a dump called Slice of Chicago in the Midway shopping center in St. Paul. The beef wasn’t authentic (it never is) and the bread is more of a crusty french style loaf (it usually is) but damn tasty. Perfect mix of peppers and they would drown my sandwich for me (I love them that way). I’ve heard its moved further away from Minneapolis on University, but I can’t verify that. I used to always get the foot long (like I said, the bread isn’t authentic) with a sausage. For an extra buck they slapped on an 8 inch grilled sausage. For under $10 you could get a sandwich even I considered huge.
Before that there was a great dago beef at a corner store at Bloomington and Franklin here in Minneapolis. Which is odd since at the time it was owned by middle easterners (who apparently lived in Chicago for years before moving north) and is in a neighborhood that was predominantly American Indian. Last time I went there it was owned by Somali who had never been to Chicago and made a terrible beef. BTW I can’t believe someone hadn’t heard that term, every Italian I’ve met from Chicago calls them that, people must be worried about the racial insensitive nature of dago.
Steer clear of Philly Dawgz. Their beef is stringy, their rolls aren’t quite right, their cheese tastes fake and they never get them wet enough (at least not for me). Personally I think theirs is probably closer to the real deal (except the quality of beef) but growing up with the beefs I did I prefer the less authentic Minneapolis version (lets call it a messy beef).
Check out this podcast (episode #128) from Outside the Loop on WLUW-FM in which Mike Stephen and Andy Hermann interview me about Italian beef:
I just found an italian beef place in Springfield Missouri. I had it dipped, and I think that is the way I will always have it now. So there is at least one place outside the Chicago area that serves italian beef. This place also has Chicago Dogs, Gyros and thin crust Chicago pizza.
Hey, guys! Where’s the link to the original column? The only links I see are stuff by Wikipedia and Ed. And it would totally burst my bubble if Cecil was really…a bunch of random wiki editors. 
ETA: Found it: http://chicago.straightdope.com/sdc20090219.php
I should not read these threads before eating. Now I’m craving something I’ve never had! I’m going to be in Chicago this weekend, staying near O’Hare, with a side trip to Ikea and Great America. Where would be the best place, close to the hotel, to sample this delicacy? Last trip I did your hotdogs…this time I want beef!
There’s a Portillo’s in Elk Grove Village, which is near O’Hare; for details see:
Nondescript industrial location, extremely busy at lunchtime, but they’re well organized and can whip you through there pretty fast. They make an excellent Italian beef.
Good move. I can’t really belive that people put fresh tomatoes and celery salt on hot dogs. 
[sub]Although, their hot dogs are beef, too[/sub]
Surprisingly, samclem, it wasn’t that bad. And they may well be beef, but they don’t taste like roast beef, now, do they?
I had Chicagoans for customers today, so I asked their opinions on where to go, and they voted for Al’s and Portillo’s, and told me how I was going to order it, and what I wanted on it…and by the time they left the store they were starving and craving! They just could not stop raving about Italian beef. It had better be good…lol. I will report back…
Okay…reporting back. I just got home…we ate there yesterday at 4 pm (why, yes, we are old) and while the chopped salad was great, the sandwich was less than ethereal. And we both felt ill later…he because he’s allergic to chocolate and thinks his vanilla milkshake may have had some contact with the chocolate spout…and me…well, no clear answer, but I have issues anyhow, so it could have been the french fries…not really supposed to eat many. I thought it was an okay sandwich, but not worth the half-hour drive.
Next trip we try the pizza.
http://www.recipezaar.com/95534
This is the best recipe I’ve found. the secret here is to cook the meat rare. They say 30 minutes per pound. I have greater sucess with 20 minutes per pound (pouring the gravy over it and then reheating the next day cooks it the rest of the way). Invest in a meat slicer (less than $100), make double the gravy (cut the hot sauce in half) and when heating the next day heat the gravy only then dunk the meat for a minute or two to warm through. Don’t heat the meat and the gravy together or the meat will get tough. VERY close to the real thing.