Connie's Beef

--Got Beef? Italian Beef
a chibbqking production

Welcome back as we try to keep it going and remember to get the 'beef with hot' scores rolling. Today we head to Elmwood Park which is the home to one of the heavyweights in the beef game. Back in the day in Chicago there was an old beef place called Connie's Beef located at North and Narragansett. A couple years back Connie's decided to reopen in Elmwood Park on Grand avenue at 75th street. The current owners family took over the old Connie's in the 70's and then it shut down for a while and now it's back located in an old fast food building. I stopped in, oh maybe a year or so back and was happy with what I got.


Grand avenue in Elmwood Park

So they say these are all the original recipes from the original Connie's which was loved by many back in it's days at North and Narragansett. I thought the beef was the best part to this sandwich and that's a good thing. Mine was very tender and the type that doesn't fight back when you take a bite out of it. The gravy was above average but the peppers didn't quite do it. On top of the fact there barely was any it seemed to be just sliced jalapenos with red pepper flakes mixed in. Maybe there was more to it and I just got a little tablespoon full with certain ingredients missing. What sucked about there being a small amount of peppers was the fact they don't skimp on the beef. Many don't like the King of Beef's in Elmwood Park because of that. Overall I liked Connie's and am glad to have them back as purveyors of homemade Italian beef in Chicagoland. A nice option to have as your local beefing hole.


Beef with Hot from Connie's Beef

Rating Scale 5/5

beef: 4
bread: 4
gravy: 4
hot peppers: 3

Score: 15/20

Connie's Beef
7501 West Grand Avenue
Elmwood Park, IL 60707
(708) 452-6500

Johnnie's Beef

Got Beef? Italian Beef
a chibbqking production


Johnnies beef in Elmwood Park

Ask 100 Chicagoans what there favorite place for a beef is and more than half will say Johnnie's. Located in Elmwood Park its a straight shot down North ave where it sits at 7500 w. North ave. Rain, snow, sleet or shine, there's always a line of people at Johnnies for a beef, hell they even got a security unit. Johnnies is the most consistent of all beef slangers and so it is probably #1 on my list for that reason. When it comes to regional sandwiches, the IB is King, it Bruce lee's the competition. Johnnies is the holy grail. Sure there are bigger IB sandwiches out there but they dont melt on your tongue like these do.

I don't care if Jay Leno loves Mr. Beef, he lives in NY, he knows as much about a good beef as I know where to get one of those dirty hot dogs from the carts in NYC, but that's for another day. Yo Jay! next time your in town go here and thank me later, if the only burger I ever ate was a double cheese from McDonald's than I would think those are good too. Get it? good. If you have to choose one greasy roadfood type place to eat while in Chicago then this is the place. It's the holy grail/Wrigley field of all beef shacks. It gets no better than this.


beef with hot from Johnnie's

Rating Scale 5/5

beef: 5
bread: 5
gravy: 5
hot peppers: 4

Score: 19/20

Johnnie's Beef
7500 W North Ave
Elmwood Park, IL 60707
(708) 452-6000