I Found the Beef – A Review of Buona Beef’s Italian Beef
By Jesse | August 23, 2010
Italian beef is the quintessential Chicago fast food. Yes. More than pizza or hot dogs, both of which of “Chicago-style” equivalents. There’s no “Chicago-style” Italian beef. There’s just the Italian beef. And I’ve never seen one outside of the Chicago area.
I recently stopped at a Chicago area chain specializing in the Italian beef, Buona Beef. They are a family owned chain specializing in Italian food around Chicago.
Buona Beef is a step above the typical fast food restaurant. I was struck by the cleanliness and modern decor. I always associate Italian beefs with the dreaded Chicago messy fast food/hot dog stands.
The counter features the daily specials elegantly laid out on plates.
I enjoy seeing all the specials, but am always slightly creeped out by the displays. Is the food real? Plastic? Artificially preserved? A took a closer look and discovered that this time, the food truly was real.
In my mind there was only one option for me to order. The Italian beef. I ordered the medium with both hot and sweet peppers, fries and a drink. The service was quick and friendly. They even brought my sandwich out on a plate.
It was hard to believe this was a medium. It was a big sandwich. The Italian beef “juice” was leaking through the wrapper before I even got it open.
The sandwich was solid. The ingredients were obviously high quality, the beef tender, and the combination hot and sweet peppers complimented the meat well. The hot peppers were giardiniera mix, a Chicago area staple. I’ve never been clear on what exactly “sweet” peppers are, but these looked like a mixture of yellow and green peppers, that had been soaked in vinegar and sauteed .
Italian beefs are served on an Italian style white roll. They have a chewy, processed texture like a cheap sandwich bun from the grocery store. Buono Beef’s was no exception and fit the bill perfectly.
I did not get my sandwich “double dipped”, a process of dipping the sandwich roll back into the beef juice. Personally I don’t recommend going this route. It’s a heart attack waiting to happen and between the peppers and the beef, these sandwiches are wet enough already.
Buono beef’s fries were nothing remarkable, the kind of french fry you find at most chain restaurants. I’m not saying they were bad, just not remarkable.
I struggled to put this whole sandwich down. I can’t imagine anyone needing to order the large. Save yourself some money and minutes off your life and stick with the medium or the small.
Overall, Bueno Beef is a good stop if you’re looking to get your Italian beef on in a chain-like suburb-style setting. And if beef is not your thing, they’ve got plenty more on the menu.
Subscribe to Fast Food Reviewed
August 24th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
I loooove Chicago Italian Beef sandwiches!! It blows my mind that they haven’t caught on like the Cheesesteak has. Where I live, nobody makes anything close, unless you count a Fench Dip as being the same, which it’s not. I can only do the next best thing, make them at home. Still, it’s hard to find Giardiniera in Virginia, so my version can’t even be considered a true Chicago Italian Beef. The family loves my version though, and it’s a hit with friends as well. I just call them a Raider Nation Beef since their authentic.