Debate lights up on Twitter as New York Times features questionable Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich recipe

What's a real Italian Beef Sandwich? Chicago can tell you.

What an Italian Beef Sandwich should look like.Photo byscaredy_kat / Krista, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

(CHICAGO) The Italian Beef Sandwich is having a moment, thanks to the FX Series, "The Bear." The series follows the story of a Chicago chef who runs his family's sandwich shop.

However, this may not be a good thing as some versions of the sandwich aren't quite the same as what Chicagoans know and love.

Recently, The New York Times posted an Italian Beef Sandwich on Twitter. Check it out below.

As you can see, without even looking at the recipe, that sandwich just doesn't look right. It's not a bad-looking sandwich, but it's not Italian Beef.

The recipe itself isn't terrible. It's similar to many versions you can find online. The beef cooks long and slow in a broth and is piled atop bread.

But, transgressions include a broth lacking in spices, the option to put the meat on a ciabatta roll, and the controversial choice of adding fresh parsley sprinkled on top.

As one Twitter user said, "Lol who puts parsley ontop of an Italian beef?"

However, it's the image The Times used that caught the eye of many Twitter users that know the real thing.

As one user said, "That's not even a picture of an Italian Beef."

And another, "It's amazing to me that neither Sarah Copeland nor anyone at the NYT thought to contact some, or at least one, of the established Italian beef joints here in Chicago to get their thoughts on this photo before they ran with it. This. This. This is just insulting. Really."

And finally, one user said what we're all thinking, "You guys are just trolling us, right?"

If you're anywhere near Chicago, it's much more convenient, and probably cheaper as well, considering the price of groceries, to stop in at any of the many Italian Beef Sandwich shops and grab one ready to go. You can even find a Portillo's in four states, which will do a much more authentic job than the pot roast on a sandwich from New York.

However, if you'd like to make your own from scratch, which can be fun although an all-day process, here is an original recipe posted on Twitter.

It's from Mr. Beef, the beloved sandwich joint that inspired "The Bear." The recipe was printed in the January 11, 1990 edition of the Chicago Tribune. Check it out below. (As you can see, no parsley.)

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