As I’ve mentioned before, my thing to do when we are on a trip out of town, is to try and have a meal at a restaurant I’ve seen on a Food Network or Travel Channel show. One of my favorite shows is Man Vs. Food, which starts its second season in a couple of weeks.
So, I was going to Chicago. Host Adam had been to Chicago. My path was clear. Well, actually it wasn’t, since most of my Chicago meals were spoken for, for one reason or another. I did manage to walk by Gino’s East, while we were shopping on Michigan Avenue. Pizza wasn’t really my goal though. What I wanted was one of those crazy Italian beef sandwiches that they dunk, roll and all, into an au jus solution before serving it to you. To be found at Al’s Beef.
I was not able to make it to the original location, or even one of the downtown franchise locations, but we did manage to stop at the one in Shorewood, IL, on the way out of town. This location is a dual restaurant of sorts, hosting Al’s Beef and Nancy’s Pizza. The pizza side wasn’t actually open – a sign said to order from Al’s side.
It was easy to order, since we knew what we wanted, although if you didn’t, the menu has all kinds of wraps, sandwiches and burgers, as well as the beef sandwich.
I ordered the six inch “Regular Al”, with provolone cheese, hot peppers and I wanted it dipped, for sure. We also got an order of the Buffalo Bleu Fries. The order included another sandwich and a couple of chicken strip kid’s meals.
Prep was quick. The order was ready in about 5 minutes for pick up at the far end of the counter.
Verdict on the beef sandwich, an A- . The best part was actually everything but the beef. The soggy roll was saturated with the beef juice mixture they dunk it into. It wasn’t as messy as on the show, where you need to eat standing up leaning over the counter so stuff can fall on the floor, but it was severely juicy. The dipped bun was great with the melted provolone – melted to just the right consistency. I do like a bit of a kick, and the fresh homemade hot giardiniera was great. It’s a mixture of hot peppers, flakes, celery, and other goodness that contrasted well with the mild cheese. I thought it was a little heavy on the celery, but as a first timer, what do I know? You can also get cheddar cheese, or sweet peppers (regular green). The downer ( just a bit ), was the beef. I thought it was a little on the dry side. You would have thought being dipped it would have picked up some moisture, but the swim was so quick, maybe it didn’t soak through.
What gets an A+ was the Buffalo Bleu Fries. Fresh cut, skin on fries, nice and crispy, covered with wing sauce and blue cheese. Nothing fancy, but really delicious. I don’t normally order loaded fries anywhere because of the heart attack risk (!), but these just sounded like they’d hit the spot, and they surely did.
Thumbs up for Al’s Beef – locations around Chicago.
