The Original Nana's

--Got Beef? Italian Beef
a chibbqking production

We're back and today we got a cross post from @chibbqking. Do you ever have those days when you just want both a Italian beef and a dog? But not just any old of each? Legit representations! Well if you do I got the spot for you as today we head to the Northwest suburbs. You can ride all the way along Irving Park Road which is quite the ride for finding many different offerings of ethnic cuisine as you cruise it for miles on end from the lake all the way west past O'Hare. Once you get to the village of Streamwood you'll come across a spot which I consider to be the best place to get a good juicy beef and hot dog together.


a longtime locals favorite in Streamwood, IL

I randomly found Nana's one day a few years back when taking a summer roll down Irving Park Road. As I can remember it's colorful sign letting you know they do Italian beef and sausage as well as Vienna Beef Hot Dogs along with a packed parking lot had me inside in no time. They've been around Streamwood since it was a sleepy little community back in 1973. It says alot that there still there today because plenty of eating options exist today but Nana's remains King. Originally owned by the daughter of Gene (from Gene & Jude's) and now Mike DiSilvestro. They perfected the art of the Chicago style depression dog aka the Minimalist dog with fresh cut fries. More on the story of Nana's and their hot dogs HERE.

The Original Nana's famous Hot Dog with fresh cut fries

Over here at 'Beef With Hot' our focus is on the Italian beef so today we focus on Nana's offering of this signature Chicago sandwich. They make their beef in house and it's the best part to the sandwich I would say. It's sliced thin and comes in the perfect consistency as far as tenderness and the gravy is full of flavor too with high amounts of seasoning inside. You have the option for a mini beef in case you want to have one of their famous hot dogs too and the bread does not suffer from being served on a mini roll. This is one of the better beefs I've had and the same can be said for their hot dogs which are great as well. Thus making Nana's the best place to get both. Check it out.


The Original Nana's beef with hot

Rating Scale 5/5

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

Score: 16/20

The Original Nana's
1102 East Irving Park Road
Streamwood, IL 60107
(630) 289-2226
Website

Brando's Beef

--Got Beef? Italian Beef
a chibbqking production

Around sometime last year I was informed of a newly opened beef spot in Berwyn called Brando's. As many Italian beef focused food stops as Chicago has there arent tons that focus on da beef that open up. Many and most of the stands that have already been reviewed on here have been around a while. When a new beef place opens up it tends to be franchised Al's or maybe a Pop's or Buona. I had Brando's on my mind since I was informed about it but never made it until just last month. Lets take a look.


A newly opened instant favorite beef shack in Berwyn

Brando's is a family run business that feels like they've been there forever. The staff was joking around and obviously enjoyed each others company and there was a family there for dinner and a few regulars who came in and took orders to go. Brando's menu includes other options like pizza and whats supposed to be a very good meatball sandwich but this being my first visit I was there for the beef. I went with my usual beef with hot and also an order of the fries which came with heavy praise from those who had already been. What took me so long? I thought this was one of the better beefs I've had of late. The gravy had depth to it (wasnt from a can or a bag) and the beef was excellent, made in house and finely sliced, it melted on my tongue. Those were the best parts to it while the bread was very good and the peppers were ok. I doubt they make the giardinera on site but it didn't detract from this classic example of a Chicago style Italian beef sandwich. If they can be consistent it's gotta be considered one of the best.


Brando's Beef with hot and fresh cut fries

Rating Scale 5/5

beef: 5
bread: 4
gravy: 5
hot peppers: 3

Score: 17/20

Brando's Beef
6838 Windsor Avenue
Berwyn, IL 60402
(708) 788-2333
Website

Tore's Italian Beef

--Got Beef? Italian Beef
a chibbqking production

Its back into the city limits for our next stop which is to a place I first went to years ago and that's Tore's Beef. Located in Avondale on good old Western ave its been around for some time but I believe changed owners over the years too. It was actually years in between visits and wasn't until I started this here site that I had a reason I needed to go back. Its your typical Chicago beef stand with a pretty extensive menu ranging from pizza to hot dogs but today its all about the Italian beef.


a popular stop with city workers

Tore's makes their beef in house and is a popular stop with the blue collar crowd with the Italian beef being the most widely ordered item. I would consider it a must to get fries with your beef sandwich at Tore's because they do an excellent job with them. I really liked Tore's when I used to get it now and then back in high school and then hadn't gone there for a few years up until a couple months ago. As noted above there are some other good menu selections to be had but today its all about the beef, I'll feature Tore's again one day and take a look at the other items.


Tore's fresh cut fries are the real deal

On my first trip back things didn't go as smoothly as I would of hoped. The fries remained the same but my beef came without the hot peppers I ordered on it and I was taking it to go but also knew I would be back. I was checking to make sure it hadn't gone totally downhill and aside from them forgetting my hot peppers it wasn't as good as I remembered but it was also very worthy of being scored over here at beefwithhot. So I made a return visit a week or two later and ordered my beef with hot for dining in and took my mental notes upon finishing. Well the beef had the potential to score a 4 but like the previous time it just wasn't tender enough but did have good flavor. I thought the hot peppers were pretty good as well and the bread and gravy were the stronger points. The best thing were those fries and I did enjoy a few with some beef wrapped around them. All in all it was good but nothing great in the hunt for best beef in Chicagoland.


beef with hot from Tore's

Rating Scale 5/5

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

Score: 14/20

Tore's Italian Beef & Pizza
2804 North Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 486-2600

Novi's Beef

--Got Beef? Italian Beef
a chibbqking production


Novi's Beef (Berwyn, IL)

There are a few scattered mentions of Novi's beef throughout the 'net but nothing specifically about it so im going to document it here on the "official Italian beef board of Chicago" for those curious.Novi's has been at their location in Berwyn since the 1960's and is a favorite stop for many eaters in the area. I first tried Novi's when I randomly spotted it taking the old route 66 route down Ogden and immediately gave it a try since I had not heard of it which is rare for me.

Nov's does a decent homemade beef, not bad, just not special. In my opinion it's similar to the beef served at Tore's but still not better. The gravy has a nice little spice kick to it. The problem I had with Novi's was their homemade hot peppers, which are bad, sorry but they are. You only get a little tiny cup (which they charge for) when you order a beef with hot. Why cant they just put the peppers on the beef like everyone else? its better that they didn't though because these were some of the worst homemade I have had. The fries are some of the best I have tasted and by the looks of the burgers and dog's of others, they may be the way to go here. Novi's also seems to do a popular catering business and they did have some nice deals on catered buckets of beef with bread and everything else you need.


Novi's beef has some of the best fries in Chicagoland

Rating Scale 5/5

beef: 3
bread: 4
gravy: 4
hot peppers: 1

Score: 12/20

Novi's Beef
6746 Ogden Ave.
Berwyn, IL 60402
708-749-0895
Website

Max's Beef: Since 1957

--Got Beef? Italian Beef
a chibbqking production

Max's has been doing Italian beef in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood for over 30 years. When you cruise along Chicago's Western ave, the longest street in the world, your going to find some Italian beef joints. Max's is one of the more well known along the street. Anyplace that has been around that long has to be doing something good and have a loyal following. You know that Max's does. First lets start out with the menu. Max's has an amazing menu selection that can take care of everyones taste palate. Max's does all the usual Chicago beef & dog stand foods and most are homemade and they have more than a few unique items as well which is also a plus.


Max's on Western ave. (Chicago, IL)

Max's has a unique beef and with this comes the argument of whether or not it is on peoples favorite's list. Max's has a very unique gravy that is a dark distinct red and loaded with garlic and other spices giving it a very unique flavor. One thing you have to give love to Max's for is the fact that they have a big tub of homemade peppers that are also unique that rest on each table. I for one hate when places charge extra for peppers. They are a part of a IB so add them into the price of the sandwich if you have to but they should come standard and not be extra. With all that said I am not a big fan of the giardinara at Max's, it is too oily for me and not green enough. The beef is also unique and I am also not a big fan of that. I think that Max's hasnt changed his approach which I cant knock anyone for but it just taste's like what a real old school beef would taste like before they had the machines to slice it up thin. It seems they havent changed their recipe to improve what a beef has progressed to. The meat is sliced medium and not thin and it gets a little rubbery sitting in the gravy all day.


Max's will allow you to order their signature gravy so you can have it with anything

I am not wasting anyones time with places I think you need to avoid at all costs. Therefore Max's gets love here on my site or else I wouldn't bother with it. Try a beef if you dont like it then you know that this isnt your style in the future. Just make sure to get an order of Ghetto fries. These are potatoes topped with barbecue sauce, raw onions, cheese, beef gravy and giardinara. Sounds good? it is. You can be sure ill have a fried out special coming soon.


Max's famous "ghetto fries"--Deal with it alderman.


Beef with Hot from Max's

Rating Scale 5/5

beef: 2
bread: 3
gravy: 2
hot peppers: 3

Score: 10/20

Max's Italian Beef
5754 N Western Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 989-8200
Menu

Chickie's Beef

-Got Beef? Italian Beef
a chibbqking production

Chickie's beef at 28th and Pulaski is a locals favorite that still remains deep under the radar. It also happens to be one of my favorites and the home of the best giardinara in the city. This is a beef shack that is relatively unknown to those who love themselves a good IB and I cant figure out why that is. They recently went under new ownership to a family of longtime customers and they have wrinkled out the kinks that come with starting a restaurant and are at full strength. The IB here is a favorite amongst Streets and Sans workers so you know its good. It is also on my starting five all Chicago-beef team. Now you really know its good.


The old beef shack at 26th and Pulaski (Chickie's)

I'm not saying Portillo's is awful but if you think they have the best beef in Chicago you haven't been to Chickie's or almost any of the other round-ups throughout this site. Most good beef stands are nowhere near downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. This means your going to need to venture out if you want to understand why the IB is king of all the regional sandwiches. Chickie's is a good place to start if you disagree with that statement.

The beef at Chickie's is of course homemade and cooked and sliced perfectly but what puts them over the top is the gravy and hot peppers. The gravy has the deepest most rich beef flavor of all the stands around town and the homemade hot peppers are loaded with jalapeños and celery creating a neon color that is really, really pleasant to my eye. The fries are also the best set of fries served at any beef joint around town. They are very, very similar to the now gone Fazzio's in Lincoln Park (RIP) that was the place that made me love beef like PETA made Pamela Anderson love tofu.


Chickie's top notch fries

Brought to you by chibbqking


beef with hot from Chickie's

Rating Scale 5/5

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

Score: 18/20

Chickie's
2839 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60623
(773) 277-2333

Brought to you by chibbqking