Tag: Italian Beef
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Buona Beef Meatballs Review – In Chicago Area Grocers
Buona Beef Meatballs Review Buona Beef is a local Chicago restaurant chain, started about thirty years ago. They have been on an expansion tear recently, and it seems like they are popping up on a regular basis. As well, they have a few of their products in the grocery stores now. The chain specializes in […]
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Buona Beef Grocery Review
I’ve written a lot about Chicago’s Italian Beef sandwich. The easiest way to explain it to those not familiar is to say it’s a highly seasoned French Dip, but the “Dip” part is not on the side but involves dunking the entire sandwich in au jus (only if desired). You can read my explanation of […]
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Buona Beef Restaurants Review – Chicago area
About thirty years ago, Chicagoan Joe Buonavolanto Senior had a notion to open a restaurant serving Chicago specialties – Italian beef and sausages, hot dogs, ribs, sandwiches and pizza. He took a 2nd mortgage out on his house to finance it, and did some of the initial construction with his own hands. Today, the third generation […]
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Kojaks Review – Cary, IL
One of hundreds (thousands) of independent “hot dog” (for lack of a better description) stands, Kojaks, in the Chicago NW suburb of Cary, serves satisfying Chicago staples, cooked to order, at value pricing. Dogs, sausage, burgers, gyros with the proper side dishes, and an expanded menu that includes items beyond what most of its competitors […]
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Pastrami Dip Recipe
I first heard of, and experienced the “pastrami dip” at a West Los Angeles icon, Johnnie’s Pastrami, on Sepulveda near the Culver City border. It’s a favorite corner of mine, also home to “Cinco de Mayo” (formerly Lucy’s #2) a Los Angeles style Mexican fast food stand open all night. I used to sit there […]
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Vienna Beef Italian Beef Kit
I’ve written a ton about Chicago’s iconic specialty, the Italian Beef sandwich. I’ve looked at different brands to prepare at home, as well as a number of restaurant offerings. Check all those posts out here. Today we tried Vienna Beef’s home version of the preparation, beef and gravy frozen in a tub. Spoiler. Any of […]
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Chicago’s Iconic Sandwich – The Italian Beef
Like most locally-specific foods around the US, whether it’s the first coney island style hot dog, or the first pizzeria in America, the origins of Chicago’s iconic sandwich – the Italian Beef – are difficult to sort out. One story has it that Italian immigrant workers in Chicago’s stockyards brought home tougher cuts of meat, […]
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Italian Beef Sandwich – A Chicago Icon
If you’ve walked around Manhattan, you’ve surely seen a pizzeria with some variation of the word “Ray’s” on the sign. The first Ray’s Pizza opened in Greenwich Village in the 50s, the owner eventually opened a second location which he later sold. The new owner retained the name, and subsequent sales and openings have created […]
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Mike Ditkas Italian Beef Review
Mike Ditka, ex professional football player, ex NFL coach, has been on a licensing spree lately; in addition to his restaurants, Ditka is now rivaling Donald Trump (including questionable hair) for an expanding product line: wine, steaks, cigars, and now Chicago style foods. I don’t know shit about football; the closest I ever came to […]
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Barrington, IL – Couple of Stops
As my daughter approached grade school age, we looked around the spacious San Fernando Valley for a facility adequately challenging for her – having found none, and with daily smog alerts that made it nearly impossible for children to play outside, we packed up the house and went in search of Norman Rockwell-ville. After a […]