Al's Italian Beef
Name: Al’s Beef
Location: Chicago, IL
Meal: Italian Beef sandwich, Cheese fries, and Pepsi
Type: Sandwich
Chicago, besides being a great city of its own right, is a city torn between three culinary poster-children. You can find good support for the Chicago hot dog, the deep dish pizza, or the Italian beef being the food to best associate with Chicago. As previously mentioned, I have love for the Chicago hot dog, but for my money Italian beef is Chicago to me.
Lots more after the jump. To be fair, I’m originally from outside of Philadelphia and biased towards the awesomeness that is a Philly Cheesesteak, primarily a beef sandwich with a chewy roll. A good Italian beef sandwich doesn’t always have a chewy roll, it softens and mushes up by the time you’re done eating it. It is a sandwich that is a study in flavor: beefiness, sweet and savory peppers, hot and spicy peppers, and garlicky goodness.
The cheese fries are good, the fries in particular are fresh-cut and the cheese is every bit the manufactured gooeyness you want. This is a meal that really benefits from an ice-cold Pepsi; it cools the spice of the peppers and provides just enough bite to be delicious. If you’re going to Chicago, for the purpose of eating just go ahead now and book a return trip. There is no way you’d be able to eat all of Chicago’s best in one trip but when you’re there start with an Italian beef, you’ll be happy you did.
Italian Beef
Cheese Fries
Pepsi
