by Steven Doyle
Considered one of the best sandwiches in America, the Italian Beef is certainly hard to beat. The sandwich is made up of thin slices of seasoned roast beef, dripping with meat juices, on a dense, long Italian-style roll. The bread itself is often dipped into the juices the meat is cooked in, and topped off with Chicago-style giardiniera (called “hot”) or sauteed, green Italian sweet peppers (called “sweet”). The origins of the sandwich date back to 1938 when Al Fererri conjured it up to serve at weddings in Chicago. Meat was scarce, and the thin slices went a long way.
Over the years the Chicago family moved a tiny stand through out Little Italy, and settled at its current location, 1078 West Taylor. Al’s Italian Beef is legendary in those parts and across the states where Chicago expats compare interloping sandwich makers to their beloved original. Continue reading
