Parisi’s Drive-In

I’ve lived in Garfield Ridge for 30 years (eating there easily 3 times a week) and in that time Parisi’s has had 3 different owners. Parisi’s was once the place to go for a quick take out and sit by the park. They had the best hot dogs, polish, maxwell style polish, chilli cheese dogs and fries. Their chilli is still good but the beef is dry and flavorless. They used to have a big poster touting Vienna beef products but it’s no longer hanging there and sadly I believe they no longer use the quality Vienna products of the past. Rick is the latest owner. Rick, I’ve loved eating at Parisi’s for 30 years, but the quality of the aforementioned products has really gone downhill. The hot dogs are no longer red as in red hots, but now a dismal beige grey. The 2 mopes you have working there, especially when your not there, are going to ruin your business. They screw up orders left and right, leaving off toppings requested, adding toppings not requested. Gone are the personalities from the 80’s and 90’s like Laurie, who despite her age showed enthusiasm making up orders. Your current counter help look like parolees from the Cook County jail work release program, who take no pride in their work or in trying to get order out correctly. And sadly, as other reviewers have noted, they really need to take a class on food handling. I really hope you’ll read this review and bring back the quality of food and service you’ve had in the past. I would like to be a regular again.

I’ve been a customer since 1957! Great Family owned drive in with Great Food. Even though we moved out of the area years ago, We still go back for «Hot Dog Wednesday»!!

A Staple In The Community.
I’ve Been Going Here Since I Was A Kid Ordering Beef Sauce. LOVE THIS PLACE.
Rick Is A Generous, Humble, Caring Good Man Who Employs Neighborhood Kids At This Place And He Is As Friendly As You Can Get With Him Being A Business Owner.
The Italian Beef-​Rocks!
Italian Beef Combo-​Rocks!
Fries-​Rock!
Classic Chicago style Hot Dog-​Rocks!
Italian Steak Sandwich-​Rocks!
Do You See A Pattern Here, Everything Is Good, Tasteful And Priced Appropriately.
Clean Environment, Amazing Food, Courteous Staff & Professional Demeanor Make This Place A Favorite.

Not as good as I remember as a kid, but still solid. Their Chicago style hot dogs are great, albeit small. Still love the gravy bread and those fries after all these years. The soups are always a crowd-​pleaser. I am pretty sure they use frozen beef for their Italian Beef sandwiches, which makes them not my favorite. It’s a cash only, divey hot dog stand, so not much else to say. As kids we used to dip the fries in the soft serve ice cream… so try it!

I used to come here as a kid when I needed to eat after playing basketball for hours at Hale Park down the street. I haven’t been here in almost 8 years and today I had a sudden craving for Parisi’s. Well, you know I always follow my cravings and drove from the north side of Chicago to come get some food. I ordered a cheeseburger, gravy bread with mozzarella cheese, and a bucket of fries.
A m a z i n g.
Reminded me of when I was a kid and it made it that much better to fulfill my cravings. Def need to come here more often!

Good for getting a quick lunch/​munch on the go, but not an everyday thing (ice-​cream/​sweets, ok, but not hotdogs or burgers).
The place seems a bit outdated, and that should be fixed.
The burgers and hotdogs here are kind of dry… But the fries are just wonderful.
The service is decent, but not spectacular.
Over all, just another mini spot to have a food break.

As I said last time, I have been here for as long as I can remember. I came today for a small lunch. I had a vanilla shake. It was rich and the flavor was great. I also had fries with cheese. A small bowl of cheese is good enough. The cheese is good, and the fries were tasty and good flavor to it. It’s only a walk from my house. The service is good. If the guy with the glasses is there and your kids are there (forgot guy’s name), he might give you cookies for your children. They don’t have a lot of employees, and they are the same almost every year. That is why it takes a little bit of time for your food to be ordered. I will be coming back.

Great food. Friendly workers. Great place to stop in the summer for their soft serve ice cream and shakes!

Half the fun of ball games at Hale Park was getting Parisis after. Love their burgers and their fries are the best, crunchy on the outside and soft in. Whenever I’m craving a good burger, I pass Mickey Ds and Burger King and head right to Parisis. I did not grow up out here, but my kids did, and we all love the place. It’s an old fashioned, neighborhood hamburger, fries and shake place that are quickly disappearing in this city. You can’t go wrong.

I’ve been heading to Parisi’s for years. My first visit was in 1977 that I can remember. Not many things have changed here since that first visit and I assumed that was for the best. It wasn’t.
I understand the nostalgia here and that my first visit here was with my grandmother who’s been gone almost 20 years. Same windows, doors, mesh screens, grill… just all the same.
This time was our first visit this year and I’m not including the good and bad visits we had in years past as we need to focus on their current quality and service.
We had an awful small cheese fry order! Less than 20 total fries and cold solidified cheese. We popped the cheese in the microwave for 20 seconds and ended up with the same cold solid cheese encased by a melted plastic cheese cup. Disgusting. The Italian Beef with red sauce and sweet peppers had tasteless beef and the cheese burger was just a ¹⁄₈^th lb patty (weight not listed anywhere on paper or board menus) that was much too flat and over cooked. Our meal was useless.
The guy handling the food without gloves (as many cooks or chefs would if ONLY handling food) was also the guy who took our money and gave us change. Imagine the germ transfer to the food. A huge city health code violation.
Their order window is OK but the pick up window sucks where they don’t call a number or your name, just one food item from the order and hope no one else waiting ordered the same thing. This hasn’t changed for years and is logistically ridiculous in my opinion. I’ve seen many people pay and leave with the wrong order.
Only real strong advantage here is that it’s a block south of the large Hale public park and rec center and has a huge amount of parking. Many other hotdog/​burger stands in our area can’t say these things and this place is lucky they have a great location as they would have long since gone out of business. I think I’ll wait a bit to try them again.

Nothing fancy here. It’s literally an indoor window where you order and pay on one side and pickup on the other. It’s a neighborhood staple for hot dogs, beef sandwiches, and ice cream cones in the Summer. I’m pretty positive it’s cash only and they have a small counter inside to eat at.

Was at Parisi’s today for the first time in a loooong time. I live in the neighborhood but Im always busy eating out everywhere else.lol.ANYWAY, I had totally forgot about how good their ice cream and milkshakes are. And I just looooove their Italian steak sandwich. Perfect place to eat on a nice summer day. Im sure I’ll be back. And as far as the décor goes, I dont mind it. Just glad they’re there serving up those sandwiches and milkshakes to go
with it!

I have been going to Parisi’s since I was a kid going to Hale Park to swim (back when they had Girls Days and Boys Days). I have since moved to the burbs, but go there every chance I get. Luckily my family is still in the neighborhood. Fries are the BEST! Freshly cooked to order which is why you might have to wait a few extra minutes. Red sauce sandwich is the best. even as adult. My kids are teenagers and have brought their friends to Parisi’s to eat. It’s a neighborhood establishment that has been around forever.

Parisis is the best. Their Italian steak sandwich with red sauce is amazing, you must try it! They’re milk shakes are also very tasty. The place is old, they’re clearly not trying to impress anyone and they don’t have to!!! The food does that for them. As for the people who work there, they work in either very hot or very cold conditions because the place doesn’t have air conditioning… Cut them some slack!!! Go to Parisis! Support small businesses!!!

I never ever would have known this place existed if my best friend had not showed me. I was skeptical at first but after trying a hot dog and cheese fries I was hooked. Even my dad had never tried this hidden gem and he’s lived in the city most of his life. They’re cheese is different from everywhere else in the neighborhood and everything is made to order so it is a nice change.

Grew up off 63^rd and this was a part of my childhood. I love the breaded Italian steak sandwich n milkshakes !! Large fry is a LARGE !!!
Long live Parisi’s

I grew up near this hot dog stand. I moved away and still stop here for my dog, beef sauce and fry. The banana shake rules and the beefs are outstanding.

Two words: PARISI’S FRIES.
The only downside I have is that they only accept cash and sometimes it feel likes forever before you get your food.
But definitely get a bag of their Fries.

Maybe it is because I have coming here for years but I love the food here. Here is what I would recommend:
hotdogs, italian beef, italian sausage, itslian steak sandwich, hamburgers, ice cream, ice cream shakes and the fries!
Yes it’s greasy and it’s not the healthiest but it is delicious. Most people get the food to go but there is a counter there where you can stand and eat your food.
When I am hungry or in a rush I will always go here for some food. I would try to avoid the usual weekend lunch rush because it gets busy. But the food is delicious!
and yes the beef sauce and the red sauce bread is also pretty good.

Dirty, mediocre food, disgruntled employees, cash only, handling food with their hands, smell of garbage.
Sounds appetizing!