[Photographs: Nick Kindelsperger] Roma's Italian Beef & Sausage 4237 N. Cicero Avenue, Chicago IL 60641 (map); 773-725-5715 The Short Order: Perfectly executed Italian beef and Italian sausage combo. Want Fries with That? Fries are standard. Want Ketchup? Maybe for the bland fries. Roma's Italian Beef & Sausage is, shall we say, a tad unassuming. Without the pomp of Susie's Drive Thru or the sass of Al's Italian Beef, it's easy to quietly drive by this stand along Cicero Avenue on the northwest side of Chicago and not think too much about it. Italian beef and hot dogs stands are a dime a dozen in this city and initially Roma's doesn't seem like its doing much to try and differentiate...
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Standing Room Only, in which the author visits Chicago's best seatless eateries. Have at it, Nick. Chickie's 2839 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago IL 60623 (map); 773-277-2333 The Short Order: Succulent Italian beef with excellent green giardinera Want Fries with That? Absolutely. About as good as fries get. Want Ketchup? Available, but not necessary.Last week I explored Jimmy's Red Hots, a perfect example of a Chicago hot dog stand, and so this time I figured I needed to examine the second pillar of seatless eateries in Chicago: The Italian beef stand. And though there are many outstanding examples, I figured Chickie's would be a good place to start. It shows that the Italian beef may be one of the few foods...
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Though our man Michael Nagrant did a bang-up job on his eating guide to Chicago last week, the people wanted to hear his take on the best Italian beef. (How could we leave that one out?) He weighed in, complete with a metaphor to Slim Shady. (Scroll down to see.)...
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I know, with so many new restaurants opening each day and so many tasty leads to follow, sometimes I take the local food icons here in Chicago for granted. I even forsake them occasionally. But, with so many fanny pack clad tourists descending on our city in search of salad dogs, deep dish pizza, and the Italian beef, I don’t really think they need me.
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