Bon Appétit ranks top 8 Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago

Is your favorite on the list?

Buona Chicago's Original Italian BeefPhoto byThe Buona Companies, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

(CHICAGO) You may be wondering, what does a writer for a national magazine know about Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago? However, Bon Appétit, the cooking and food magazine, has a series that features local experts sharing their iconic favorites.

This week, Best in Town, tackled Chicago's beloved Italian beef sandwich. Read on to find out which Chicago restaurants made the list.

Chicago's Top 8 Italian Beef Sandwiches (according to Bon Appétit)

#1: Al's Beef - multiple locations

#2: Scatchell's - 4700 W. Cermak Road, Cicero

#3: Johnnie's Beef - 7500 W North Ave, Elmwood Park

#4: Portillo's - multiple locations

#5: Buona Beef - multiple locations

#6: Odge's - 730 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago

#7: Budacki’s Drive-In - 4739 N Damen Ave, Chicago

#8: Kasama - 1001 N Winchester Ave, Chicago

You can find the full article here.

How to order? Wet, dipped, or dry? Sweet or hot?

If you're new to Chicago or just visiting and you'd like to try an Italian beef sandwich, there is a proper way to do it.

First, specify if you prefer sweet (bell peppers) or hot (giardiniera).

Second, order your sandwich in the following way: wet, dipped, or dry. The beef is cooked until tender in a beef broth known as au jus, or gravy, and you need to specify how much gravy you want on your bread.

Wet: The beef is pulled from the broth and piled on the bread with all its juices. Usually, the server will spoon a little extra gravy on the bread.

Dipped: If you love your sandwich drenched in gravy, ask for it "dipped." This means the server will literally dip your entire sandwich back into the broth. Your crust should stay lovely and crusty on the outside, but the insides will grow fluffy and thick from the juices.

Dry: This one makes no sense to me, as the gravy is one of the best parts. However, some like their sandwich dry. This means the server will pull the sliced beef out of the au jus drip dried, so as little juice as possible winds up on your sandwich.

Important: Order gravy on the side for take out

Most importantly, unless you like it dry, eat your sandwich on-site, or you will bring home a sloppy mess. Or, if you want to eat your sandwich as takeout, no worries. Just remember to ask for the juice on the side. Then pour the gravy over the sandwich yourself.

As for cheese, don't do it. Cheese doesn't belong on a proper Italian beef sandwich. This isn't a Philly cheesesteak after all.

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