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WHERE TO EAT The best Italian Beef in the world (according to food experts)
1
Recommended by Steve Dolinsky and 8 other food critics.
"Top 10 Italian Beefs in Chicagoland: Portillo's - The texture was nice and soft, and the “juicy” lived up to its billing – my sandwich was totally wet, allowing me to taste the oregano in every soggy bite."
2
Recommended by Adam Richman and 4 other food critics.
"Classic Italian beef, giardinera, peppers -- stuff you can find in other sandwiches but Al's does it their way. Absolutely outstanding. Rich and on the spicy side and not greasy at all."
3
Recommended by Steve Dolinsky and 7 other food critics.
"A hot giardiniera of carrots, sport peppers and cauliflower is arranged over a messy, juicy, thinly-sliced, perfectly seasoned beef sandwich, containing that perfect ratio of bread to beef to peppers."
4
Recommended by Steve Dolinsky and 3 other food critics.
"They still use top sirloin here, roasting in-house, cooling, then slicing extremely thin each day and letting it bathe in the richly-flavored jus – which was among my favorites in town (I had written down “yum” in my notebook)."
5
Recommended by Michael Gebert and 3 other food critics.
"The top 10 Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago: Tony’s Italian Beef - They’ve got all the cop-food South Side specialties; they also put cheese on a beef if you want, but we’ll ignore that."
6
Recommended by Michael Gebert and 3 other food critics.
"What is a surprise is that the beef itself is so good -- its got a thicker cut of quality beef in a nicely-seasoned gravy, all on a sub roll that seems to hold up longer than the typical Gonnella roll... a wise choice in a place that only sells to-go."
7
Recommended by Michael Gebert and 2 other food critics.
"The top 10 Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago: Roma’s Italian Beef & Sausage - Friendly, new owners run it now, but the beef recipe -- like the decor -- goes back to the crusty original owners in the '70s, and has lots of good spice to it."
8
Recommended by Andy Kryza and 3 other food critics.
"The 31 Best Sandwich Shops in America: Blues City Deli - This place spreads never fudges the quality. There’s a taste of Chicago in the succulent Italian beef."
9
Recommended by Steve Dolinsky and 1 other food critic.
"The 31 Essential Italian Beef Joints in Chicago: Jay’s Beef - Mine arrived steaming hot, smooshed into a a soggy Gonnella loaf oozing with oregano and spices; the beef was as shredded and tender as Scatchell’s, but with more umami/savoriness like at Buona."
10
Recommended by Michael Gebert and 1 other food critic.
"The top 10 Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago: Hot Dog Station - They've got quality beef and sausage, lots of bright spice flavor in the gravy, and peppers grilled by hand before they go on your sandwich. The beef is shaved but retains integrity, not boiled into stringy mush. And unexpectedly given its name, it's the Italian beef where that effort pays off the most."