Al’s Beef

That was a first and last for me. I was craving a beef sandwich but didn’t want to go all of the way to portillos (and forgot about the place at Chicago/​Grand) so I tried this place. I got a small beef wet with hot peppers and fries to go. When they handed me my bag I asked to make sure there were hot peppers on there. Kid just shrugged and said he thought so. Get home — sandwich is juicy but not sloppy so that was good. No hot peppers or giardinare. There was some red pepper flakes in the juice but that is not what I consider hot peppers. The fries were actually good but the did not have ketchup to go. Never seen that before. So wasn’t crazy about the beef sandwich but what topped it for me was the counters were very dirty. I was only at the pick up counter and the counter where the drinks are and they were just filthy. The place only had two tables of customers so there is no excuse why an employee couldn’t have wiped those down. Like I said — will not return.

my original lunch plans were changed up and i decided to walk around Wicker Park to find a spot to eat. decided to try Al’s as i had never had their Italian Beef. ordered a regular with sweet peppers (I got hot, but that’s ok) with an order of loaded french fries. sandwich was good, probably should have ordered it with cheese… needed a touch of salt. fries were good.
staff was friendly and fast. they also made sure that the tables were clean and that trash was piced up. ++

Showed up to redeem my $ 1 mini-​beef sammie this week. I asked for it dipped, it came dipped, with tasty fries and a soda that made the total price about $ 7. While this is a little steep given that I basically got a three-​inch sandwich, this was surprisingly just enough food for lunch and the beef was just as perfect as I am used to from the original location plus a second one that I hit at the Western/​Diversey/​Elston intersection last year. And at this location, they cater, just in case I want to do damage in a mass scale!

Pros
Fantastic big beef sandwich with cheese and hot peppers
Wet, but not too wet.
Tender!
Neutral
Blue cheese buffalo fries
Cons
None that can come to mind
Overall: I would definitely recommend this to a friend.

Owner is incompetent, service and food is less than satisfactory and highly priced. I believe in supporting small business, however after getting sick that changes everything. Business shouldn’t cut corners at the publics safety.

WARNING: This Establishment does NOT serve Al’s Beef-​style food!!! I went to this franchise seeking a traditional steamed Vienna Beef frankfurter day before yesterday. I was shocked to discover that the frankfurter was between warm and tepid, which made me suspect that it was not steamed immediately after being removed from the freezer but, instead, thawed out and heated ad hoc. My suspicions were confirmed when I encountered grill marks on the hot dog as I ate it. Moreover, the bun was so stale it was crunchy.

I love LOVE Al’s Beef. They are of course second place to the incomparable Portillo’s Hotdogs though. Happy this location exists and pretty darn close to my best friends apartment. Which just means I can stuff my face-​hole with Italian beefs all damn day. Anyone who comes here needs to get their chili cheese fries, they might give you a heart attack from looking at them but they are a mess of delicious. Usually we order pick up and the food in ready within 10 mins.
Don’t forget to ask to have your beef dipped. :-)

I’m getting on the bandwagon with likening the beef sandwiches here! I left work and wanted to grab a quick bite to eat. This place was easy to get to for a takeout order. I just parked across the street and put my blinkers on. I got a regular beef with hot peppers and regular dip. There was also shredded cheddar cheese. It was so yummy! It was the perfect amount of gravy. Any more and the bread would have been falling apart. The cashier was helpful in explaining to me the different types of dips. I do recommend getting the cheese because it adds some great flavor to the experience. However, it’s delicious without it. There’s lots of bench seating here and the wait time was about 5 or so minutes.

I really like Al’s beef. This is my second location I’ve been to and I’d have to say I may of liked this location better then the wrigleyville location. This one gave you big slices of beef while the wrigleyville one seemed to give you the bottom of the barrel of the beef. I mean don’t get me wrong I like the little pieces of beef packed in the bread but if I’m paying 9 bucks for a beef sandwich I’d prefer the bigger slices. It looks better to the customer. The fries here are awesome as well.

Truth be told, I rarely eat fast-​food anymore, but every once in a while I get a craving. Today it was for a burger. Nothing fancy. I wasn’t looking for one of those outrageously expensive ones with so many toppings (you know, fried egg, pork belly, truffle, etc. yuck!) that it pretty much negates the whole point of eating the actual patty. Just give me a decent burger and some crispy fries and I’m happy.
Enter our friendly neighborhood Al’s Beef. This one is only a couple of blocks away from home, so I decided to try it. In my opinion this is one step up from McD’s and BK, but my burger topped with Gorgonzola was nicely char-​griddled and with a decent amount of cheese on a fresh bun, and the fries were hot and slightly crisp (I am very particular about my fries. I like mine thin and very crisp!)
My only complaint is they forgot all of my toppings when I told them just to hold the onions and I did not feel like returning just for that, so I kind of feel like I paid too much for what I got. I know the toppings don’t add much to the cost, but I guess it’s just the principle. If you tell me I am going to get mayonnaise, ketchup, tomato, lettuce, & pickles and I don’t, I feel like I got gypped, you know?
Staff is friendly and efficient, the location looked clean and organized, and my food came out in about five minutes. Good for a quick, cheap lunch ($ 10.00 and change for a burger with cheese, small fries, and a fountain lemonade) in a neighborhood full of other expensive options, so I will let you be the judge. I will probably not return anytime soon.

This is also for the Wabash location too.
Do you know what makes getting comic books on a beautiful warm day in Chicago better? Al’s Beef! The location on Milwaukee wasn’t crowded so I could order with ease. Their beef with a lemonade and fries, forget about it. SO GOOD. Friendly staff and affordable. A great place to have lunch and then continue on shopping and checking out Chicago.
I only wish you could have a location here in Portland, Or.

Went to Al’s Italian beef through the wicker park sidewalk food tour had an absolute blast food was great people friendly place was clean bathroom actually had paper towels

Amazing Food!!! Service, Everything!!!
I decided to stop inside after seeing a lot of people eating by the windows. First thought I had as I walked in was «this place smells wonderful». All the employees greeted me with a warm «Hi» With an already drooly mouth and big smile, I proceeded to the register where I was greeted by a beautiful young woman with a great big smile. She looked very young and she was just so cheery. I was totally at ease. I ordered, and as soon as I took a seat my food was done. I was in shock. As I opened up my beef, the smell gave me goosebumps and that first bite was heaven. Delicious and juicy to say the least! The fries were nice and hot and not too salty. Mmmm. The employees were all around very sweet. The boss of the place was instructing his employees. A very sweet man as well. I felt like such a boss walking out. Still had the smile I had on my face when I walked in, but this time it was bigger! Definately coming back!!!

Like warm tissue paper. I feel nauseous. Staff was nice enough and the place looked clean but the sandwich was incredibly underwhelming.

This branch is by far the worst one I’ve ever been to. I got an Italian combo the sausage was hard as hell there was barely any beef on the sandwich it’s a shame how this branch is operated. I love Al’s beef I’ve never been to a bad one until now…

Beef was not what it’s cracked up to be. Costs me $ 10 for a beef sandwich that barely had any meat.
Check out Pop’s Italian Beef or Portillos instead. Better, bigger, cheaper, what else can you ask for.

Boyfriend saw this place on Man vs Food, so naturally we had to try it. We came for the Italian beef, but ended up loving our classic Chicago even more.
The Italian beef was alright. Coming from Philly, we were expecting some more substantial meat, but the quality was very minced and the portion was small. W liked the concept of dipping the sandwich, and they definitely had the right bread for it.
The hot dog was on special on Monday with a little order of fries for $ 5. The dog was perfect, aside from an over abundance of mustard mixed with the onions and sweet peppers, which may have spilled over the side in mid-​bite. Eat with caution.
Restaurant was clean, staff was polite but not friendly, an overall decent experience, but nothing special in a town where so much is.

Everything you can expect from Al’s-Beef if you have been to any of their other locations. Considering there are not too many fast-​food hot-​dog/​Polish stores in Wicker Park (unlike the plethora of Taco Joints), this place is a savior. This place is also conveniently located close to all the bars and nightlife on Milwaukee Ave. No complaints, so far so good.

It just wasn’t very good. The meat was totally disintegrated and didn’t have much flavor. I normally like Al’s and many other Italian Beef establishments, but this one didn’t seem to be hitting the mark. I also ordered fries and when I got home, I learned that apparently I ordered cheese fries. They were so soggy that I was bummed by the whole meal. Wrong order and bland meat made for a disappointing meal. When I was there, the place was clean, so that’s good. However, I don’t plan to go back.

Look, we’re not rebuilding the wheel here. It’s a beef/​burger/​dog joint. Will it change your life? No. Will it save you from very bad things happening after a full day of drinking at the Pride parade? Yes.
Bro. They deliver. I can’t even tell you how happy it made me to order a burger, fries and an orange fountain drink (!) via Grubhub, especially after I’d tortured my body all day drinking an obscene amount of blueberry vodka and Crystal Light lemonades and not eating. The result was one Hot Angie M. Mess. Food was needed. Stat.
The Grubhub delivery was pretty quick and the delivery guy was nice. While the burger was quite delicious, the fries were pretty bad. Very undercooked and soggy. I don’t know, man. I just don’t think delivery fries really hold up well in general, but these were a huge disappointment.
Is the burger a game changer? Nah. I mean, it’s yummy and greasy and horrible for you. It’s just what you need after a huge day of boozing or if you’re nursing a hangover. But is it anything I haven’t seen before? Not really.
I’d suggest just going to the restaurant, though, because delivery fries aren’t the best.