I apologize for not reading your entire post. Frankly, I had forgotten about The Patio but I have to admit I’ve had my fair share of Italian beef there as well and I will admit it is an excellent choice. Maybe it isn’t as flashy or well known as Al’s but my memory agrees with what you said about it.
What Al’s has going for it (other than they do put out a really good beef) is their gravy is unique. It’s a lot more nutmeg-y or clove-y or something in that ballpark of fragrant spices. There’s definitely more going on there than your usual Italian seasoning blend. For me, it’s a little too aggressive, but I can see how if you love it, no other place will do. My main beef cough with Al’s is their pricing. I mean, bless them for being able to charge as much as they do. I would, too, but for a beef, it’s pricey for the size. Their “big beef” is what I would consider a standard size sandwich, and is $7.25. Same size sandwich at Patio is something like $4.50.
This probably doesn’t count as close to UIC, but what the hey. My absolute favourite Italian Beef joint in Chi (and I patronized many back in my IIT days) was Ferro’s on W. 31st & S. Wentworth. They also had the best Italian Ice ever!
If you’re by UIC you have to stop in to Tufano’s. The people are super friendly and the food is great.
If you’re looking for a drink Little Joe’s is a great neighborhood joint and it’s literally a block from Al’s.
For a different experience stop into Fontano’s, also in the neighborhood for a really good sub and pick up some great giardinera from the deli to bring home.
Just so you know you’re a short walk to Greek town. I think Chicagoans tend to take it for granted until they go out of town and realize there are actually places in the US that don’t have fantastic Greek food at dirt cheap prices.
If your willing to go just a bit further north you’ll hit the hot Fulton Street Market district, home to places like The Girl And The Goat, Haymarket Brewery, and The Publican.
I work at IIT, and have eaten at Ferro’s, but had never tried their Italian Beef. On the strength of your post, I checked it out for lunch today. Not bad, very tender and thinly sliced beef, and perfect bread, but the flavoring is just a bit too bland for my taste. I’ll stick with Al’s as my vote for The Best.
I once went on a beef crawl and sampled six of Chicago’s finest beefs in a day. This was the playoff championship final of four or five beefathons and so the list was pretty carefully put together. For me, Johnnies was the best but I can’t really steer anyone away from Al’s ON TAYLOR, either. Yes, it has some kind of weird pumpkin pie spice going on but it’s unique and not at all overwhelming. Of course, Al’s is much easier to get to from UIC, too.
Johnnies 7500 W North, Elmwood Park
Chickies 2839 S Pulaski (Now closed)
Pop’s 10337 S Kedzie
Uncle Johnny’s 500 W 32nd
Al’s 1079 W Taylor
Patio 1503 W Taylor
Chickie’s is (or maybe was, see below) my favorite, along with Johnnie’s.
Chickies on 2839 S. Pulaski is not closed. They reopened under new owners in April or May of this year. Their beef is decent, but it’s not quite the Chickie’s of old.
However, the original Chickie’s owners opened up a Chickie’s in Hillside. I have not yet been there to compare, but it’s supposed to be the same recipe. It’s at 1801 S. Wolf Road.
It’s been at least ten years since I’ve lived in Chicago, sounds like they may have slacked off on the flavor!
I was there last week - a very strong contender for the area! No Johnnie’s but VERY good and the fries were decent. They also happen to be open till 10:30 during the week in an area that pretty much shut’s down at 9:00, and open till 12:00 on the weekend. Prices are fair as well.
This thread has given me some new places to try on my next work trip to the Loop! Thanks all!
The original Chickie’s had my favorite fries and one of the few natural casing hot dogs in the area. Even though it was my preferred beef in the city, I would just as likely order the hot dogs & fries, because they were so damned good. The new Chickies orders at the Pulaski location changed their hot dogs to skinless. 
I asked why, and the new owner said he didn’t like the snap of natural casings. Oh well. To me, a Vienna dog is not worth having unless it’s the natural casing version.
Looks like the OP has been pretty much answered so I don’t feel too bad about this hijack.
Up in post 14 I linked to a site that had a recipe. I tried it this weekend and it was great. The only part I messed up is that I couldn’t find a top sirloin roast, but found two nice top sirloin steaks that added up to almost 4 pounds. Unfortunately I somehow forgot to adjust the time… well, I did but a little later than I should have, so my meat was medium well rather than medium rare.
The juice was great, and I did find some buns that worked well.
One thing I was confused about originally in the link is when it mentions pouring juice on the bun is says “don’t burn your hand” and I thought how would you do that… I’ll be using a ladle. So, there I am holding my nicely cut bun in one hand and a ladle of hot juice in the other hand… pour it on the bun… it quickly soaks through the thin “hinge” and guess what… very hot hand… D’oh.
Awesome. Now this thread’s got me in the mood for some homemade Italian beef. I think I saw the local grocery having a sale on top round, so I’ll have to go out and make me some.
Hijack: I was at Vie Restaurant in Western Springs today for their “Whole Hog” class, and heard their chef de cuisine ripping on another of the chefs for putting too much clove in their previous attempt at Italian beef. Had to chuckle as I thought of this thread.
Ha. Clove is one of those spices you really need to be careful with. A little goes a long way. That said, I do love the taste of clove, especially with pork.
Speaking of, Spud, you might also want to try the Italian beef recipe with pork shoulder or sirloin roast instead of beef. I do that variation sometimes and I might even like it better than Italian beef. I kind of go the Philly roast pork route with it, and top it with fried broccoli rabe/rapini and aged provolone. Delicious!
Do you still make the juice with beef bouillon? We can get really good pork here so I think this would be fun to try. I often use pork loin for sandwiches… I can see spicing it similarly and having a good broth could make a good variation on this.
What I do is cook the shoulder to about 140-145 or so, let it rest overnight in the fridge, slice, and then for the jus, I tend to use chicken broth instead of beef (and whatever drippings I have left from the pork), but it really doesn’t matter that much.
OK, here’s our plan:
- Definitely, without a doubt, go to Al’s.
- We will make an effort to go to any others mentioned here as we are able to do so.
- I will be trying to make some of this glorious stuff at home!
That sounds like a more-than-reasonable plan.
Just let us know your address and when it will be ready!!!