Jason "JayRodChicago" R.'s Profile

The self-proclaimed king of hot dogs in Chicago, Portillo's, is a staple that has marketed its brand from Chi-town to the West Coast. I remember ordering a couple of hot dogs from there once or twice, but always opting for a Vienna dog from a small local stand. Now, it was time to put the big P to the test with its beef. The result? Quality beef that fell victim to mass production.

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I try to stay away from chain-like businesses when reviewing Italian beef sandwiches, but this one came highly recommended. So, I bent the rules and I'm glad I did.

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I just had to try Palermo's Italian Beef sandwiches simply because it is home to the best pizza on the south side of Chicago. I ordered my usual - beef sandwich, dry with giardiniarra peppers. They heard my entire order - especially the dry part.

Palermo's pizza is made with a sweet sauce. People either love it or hate it. Personally, I love it. There is no other like it in the areas I've lived. So, I assumed their beef would be top notch. I was wrong.

The taste was banquet beef - you know, the beef you have when the family gathers 'round for a party. I was waiting for my Aunty Rosie to whip around the corner and toss me a card stuffed with money as I ate this. The beef was loaded with meat, which is a great thing.

The problem: about half way through, I felt I was biting into thin slabs of dry leather. My mouth is usually soaked from the saliva generated by a good pile of giardinierra peppers, but not this time. The beef was real dry. The bread was fine, the size was OK and the giardinierra peppers were forgettable.

Needless to say, I'm sticking with what Palermo's does best - pizza.

I have about a month and a half worth of reviews piling up here thanks to my friends on Facebook who suggest beef sandwich places to try on the south side of Chicago. Afterall, I'm the South Chicago Authority on beef sandwiches.

After tasting Parisi's beef sandwich, I knew this one had to be moved to the front of the pack to help warn as many people as possible in these rough economic times. Save your money. I've tasted bad - this is worse.

I ordered a beef sandwich, dry with giardinierra peppers - my standard sandwich as defined at http://www.JayRodChica.... When I said dry, I didn't mean for the meat to be dry, as it was. I meant do not dip the bread. When I asked for giardinierra, that means I should taste the juices - if not the mixture - in every bite. It doesn't mean toss some on top to make it look colorful and pretty! And I won't even get into the bread. There has never been a more true statement than a previous reviewer's post that there is definitely better italian beef in the neighborhood.

If I was starving, I probably wouldn't even get a sauce bread, which is what they serve for the low-budget customers. Stick to whatever else you sell, Parisi's, but do us all a favor and correct your Italian beef recipe!

Monica's Pizza, located on 65th and Pulaski, does their beef sandwich to perfection.

Don't let their strip mall location deceive you - this restaurant knows how to make a true Chicago beef sandwich. Their tough Turano bread is toasted once around in their rotating pizza oven. Their beef is usually a generous portion of non-banquet tasting quality. The amount of giardeniarra peppers is always on the mark, slithering through a mound of beef and tackling spicy-craving taste buds to enormous satisfaction. Order an open-faced sandwich to dine-in and usually you get a little more. However, the carry-out sandwich is of the same quality and still a great bang for the buck.

Monica's Pizza has a long-standing record of getting my order right and the taste of their beef sandwich truly defines a superb south side sandwich. In all honesty, if I didn't have medical concerns, I'd have Monica's beef sandwich dry with giardenierra peppers all three meals of the day.

Tony's Italian Beef has man's best made sandwich in its name for a reason, but not a five-star reason.

In one of the largest, most-value-for-the-cost slice of hard bread, Tony's heaps on a generous portion of beef on your sandwich and doesn't pre-weigh the meat, like you'll find in most places that care more about a dime than they do a genuinely satisfied customer.

I went in there with a semi-complicated order for two sandwiches. After all, we had two picky beef sandwich fans who wanted it their way. The order was perfect.

As I sat down and unwrapped the footlong sandwich, I noticed that the natural juices of the sandwich had made my once dry sandiwch a wee bit soggy. I wasn't too picky that day. I wanted to bite into this neighborhood staple.

A part of me, which is reflected in that gray star up above this review, was disappointed. I knew Tony's had a hearty type of "beef stew" taste to its meat so I expected that. What I was disappointed in was their less-than-generous helping of giardiniera peppers. My ideal sandwich has one of the world's greatest condiments hidden among the mounds of beef. This sandwich had a big serving, a slight beef stew-like taste and a small helping of giardiniera. Overall, it was a better-than-good sandwich, but my quest to find the best continues.

My reviews stick strictly with Italian Beef sandiwches. I've been called the Authority of South Side Beef Sandwiches and I take pride in that.

SO, with that said, here's my review of the beef sandwich at Windy City's.

Windy City Hot Dogs has become a staple in this south side community. The hot dogs are delicious, the gyros are very generous and the service is superb. The hamburgers/cheesburgers mirror too much the south Chicago King of the Greasy Burger - Jackie's, on Pulaski Ave. So, that brings me to the beef.

The first time I ordered it, they got the order wrong. Not a good sign. As usual, I ordered a beef sandwich, dry with giardiniarra peppers. I got it soaked. Big boy not happy. BUT, I ait it anyway. Hmmm, like the taste if it wasn't falling all over my plate the wrong way (through the bread). So, in an unprecidented move, I gave the place a second shot. Reason being they have delicious and affordable food otherwise, so maybe I caught them on a bad day.

I went back and stressed DRY as much as I could. I got my beef sandwich dry, but the meat was the scraps -- the bottom of the barrel. It was terrible!

There was something about that first beef that I still enjoyed, but if you can't get my order right and serve me a quality beef in two attempts, more attention is needed to detail!

I review based on the italian beef sandwich. I ordered a 6-inch beef sandwich, dry with Giardiniera peppers. I always do from every Italian beef sandwich place I go to.

As I walked in, I saw that they bottled their own Giardiniera peppers. "Hmm," I thought. "Must be good."

I was mistaken.

Though the meat had an OK taste, the peppers were weak. Very weak. The bread was soft, as well -- another bad sign for me. After the clerk tried to upsell my soda, I left there with about four used napkins -- the only good sign of the meal. I feel if a business owner knows anything about beef sandwich lovers, he knows they like to get a bit dirty with the sandwich. Again, the only good thing at Fontano's.

Located on Jackson Boulevard in downtown Chicago and near a college campus, that's precisely what the sandwich made me think of -- a 3-in-the-morning post-college binge drinking experience.

No thanks, Fontano's. I'd rather make it myself.

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