Although good fortune has led me to live in a number of cities, states (emotional and physical), and regions, at heart I'm a Chicagoan. There was nothing more fun than growing up in a city resplendent with ethnic foods and neighborhoods. When I went off to college in Missouri and saw that the campus map included an area called Greektown, I thought, "Oh great, I can have a gyro and souvlaki there." Boy was I disappointed when all I saw were huge creepy mansions and an even creepier guy peeing on a front lawn. So, needless to say, I am more than happy to blog about a Chicago original--the Italian beef.
Allegedly created by Al's Italian Beef, the premier beef sandwich purveyor in Chicago's Italian Taylor Street neighborhood, the Italian beef is a soggy, savory and soul-satisfying sandwich. The beef is prepared by first roasting it in a salty, garlicky broth, then it's cooled down and sliced thinly. The beef is roasted to a medium-rare creating a slightly pink color. The sandwich bread is a chewy, almost tough, bread that sops up all the juices without completely obliterating the bread. Did I mention this sandwich is a little on the messy side? Italian beef is sometimes topped with peppers, giardiniera or cheese, but the real treat is that your sandwich can be dipped in the jus, in case the endless layers of beef aren't enough to satisfy your fix. You may say, this sounds like a sandwich at Arby's or Lion's Choice. I simply say to you: "No freaking way." Italian beef is such a local delicacy that it's really difficult to find outside of Chicago and its suburbs. I've been disappointed many times when a restaurant boasts and Italian beef and all I get is a hot roast beef sandwich.
The second best part of going to Al's or Scala's or any other beef place is watching people eat it. Most of the time, beef sandwiches are enjoyed on short rows of counters as there is often more people than seats waiting to enjoy one. Now, I'm a sucker for a neatly dressed table with proper cloth, chargers, soup spoons, fish forks, butter knives, miniature shrimp tridents, and so on and so forth. BUT, there is something satisfying about enjoying a hot, dripping sandwich while standing up, and that is the best part of the Italian beef sandwich.
If the home cook were to try to make this you would need a lot of time and patience. You would have to prep your sirloin or top or bottom round in a slow cooking broth, pop it in the fridge, get out your industrial slicer, slice the beef, put it back in the broth, find some hearty bread, build a counter in your kitchen tall enough to eat the sandwich and enjoy. Okay, you don't need the counter, but you can definitely make it a bit healthier if you stick to a moderate portion of beef slices and serve it with a whole wheat bun and roasted peppers. You may want to skip the cheese and the giant plate of fries that tends to accompany the sandwich!
Happy Eating!
1 comment:
Looks amazing! Nice write-up.
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