Chicago: Mr. Beef

Somehow CK's boyfriend's craving for Asian morphed into a craving for Italian beef.  More than a little random, but I wasn't about to turn down the chance check out Mr. Beef:

Part of the holy trinity (the other two being deep dish and hot dogs), every Chicagoan has their own opinion on where you can find the best Italian beef sandwiches in town.  Mr. Beef is a name that comes up often.

Nothing fancy in this joint, which is fine by me:

We toyed with the idea of sharing a sandwich for all of three seconds before we decided to each get our own.  Here's my Italian beef sandwich, dipped, with sweet peppers:

A soggy sandwich might not sound very appealing, but trust me, it's AWESOME.  The mess is definitely worth it.  Mr. Beef isn't stingy with the meat and I respect that.  A lot.

Because a sandwich by itself is never enough, we also got us some sides.  Fried mushrooms:

Fried cheddar cubes:

And onion rings:

Though a bit overpriced at $5, the fried cheddar cubes were my favorite.  I could have gone without the mushrooms.

I've had Italian beef sandwiches at two places now, Mr. Beef and Al's.  As hard as I try, I can't compare the two.  Why?  Because I simply can't remember how Al's sandwich tastes.  I blame it on old age.

Besides, I wouldn't be comfortable making any kind of judgment call until after I've gone back to both a few more times.  Gotta be thorough, you know.


Mr. Beef
666 N Orleans St
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 337-8500