Michael’s Beef House

There’s no minus stars cause I will give them a minus five. worst place to come and eat. summer no air conditioning, freezing no heater except for them… owners from Korea what can you expect they even charge a extra bag of ketchup and u have to ask for it cause they don’t put any, who wants fries with no ketchup, beef sandwich extra for the hot peppers. the food it’s not even all that beef from 3 days all black u can tell. just if u go there make sure u get on their behind. Pinches taka takas.

In short, good, but too grisly. The fries were okay, I’ve had better. Decent ambiance. There’s better out there, and else where’s where I’ve eaten since.

I really really love the food here but the owner of this establishment is so rude with a bad attitude! I usually get their Italian beef special with hot peppers and cheese fries, so good! Just wish this lady was more pleasant, that’s why they don’t get more than 2 stars from me.

I wish I could give this place zero stars. The owner may be one of the rudest ladies of all time. She’s loud, obnoxious and her English is extremely choppy. Food isn’t bad at all. It’s mediocre hot dog stand food. They charge for EVERYTHING. Sauce, refills etc. it’s sad. For the food my rating is higher but the lady isn’t very pleasant to deal with. I won’t be returning. Only positive is they have ESPN on the TV.

It’s unfortunate, because we really liked the food, we did… but we didn’t like the way we felt a short time after. Clearly something is going on in the preparations and/​or cooking of their food as a lot of others have complained of sickness.
It’s not likely that we’ll be returning.

It’s changed ownership (I guess?) since I fist started going here, but the formula is still the same. Good, not great, sandwiches accompanied by heaping mounds of fries.
Ample seating inside, big screen television for viewing pleasure … small parking lot but never a tone of cars in it.

OK. Not great. Gyro was tasty but not as good as Mickeys. Good location with on site parking.

We call it «salmonella roulette» cause you’re always risking food poisoning when you go there. The food is gross, the place is dirty and the women behind the counter is rude. On a positive note; they have a TV tuned to ESPN. Stay away

I was in search of a hot dog on a Sunday on my way to Oak Park. My usual standby, Frannie’s on River Road was closed, so I was looking for an alternative (other than Gene & Jude’s). Michael’s it was — first time I had been there in probably 10 years or so.
This place used to be a bastion of fast food activity when it opened and for a few years after — so much that at one point they expanded. But, alas, no more — just a few people in the place on a Sunday afternoon and the condiment holders that had nothing in them at the tables are sort of a testimony to a place that has settled into mediocrity. Same with the menu signs with black-​outs on some discontinued items.
I did see a «dog deal» — two hot dogs, fries and a small drink for $ 4.99 — not a bad deal at all. I was about to upgrade when I thought, «I’ll be dining in — I’ll just get a refill.» So off with my order I go and as I step up to the soda machine there’s a sign, «Refills 50 Cents». No thanks — tell me upfront when I order or don’t bother at all. I’ll deal with what I have.
The hot dog was a «Red Hot Chicago» product on an nondescript bun — pretty ordinary. The fries were decent, fresh cut and fried to order — not too hot when I got to the table either — thumbs up on this.
Mickey’s over on Harlem Ave is a better option. It’ll probably be another 10 years or so before I go back to Michael’s — just no compelling reason to return.

Havent been here in a while. Love their half grilled chicken1 Nice bbq sauce. Their belly buster is pretty good too. They give you a lot of fries/​i jusy wish They’d knock a dollar or 2 off of their prices!

Michael’s is great for a tasty Italian Beef sandwich. Very competitive pricing with daily specials. Their staff will recognize you by you third visit and definitely note your absence once your a true regular. Located on the northern edge of Oak Park, bordering the Galewood neighborhood, Michael’s has had plenty of competition from the likes of Buona Beef and Connie’s etc., but because they serve a great product, they have survived. Almost forgot to mention the Italian Ice. My favorite is Blue Raspberry, Pineapple is a close second. If I come home with either, I better have a Watermelon for the wife!!!

I’m getting a test run at Exit Chicago on Thursday nights (very late). Since it has no food, I have to find somewhere else to either eat, or take something out for there. One Thursday, I decided to try another venue on west North Ave. As other Unilocalers have indicated, there are lots of options for italian beef on this section of North Ave.
Michael’s is now the easternmost stand. (A beef shop formerly at 6266 W. North moved to a plaza on Harlem Ave. in Elmwood Park, but subsequently bit the dust.)
I opted for the italian beef dinner plate. This includes french fries, but not peppers (+ 39¢), and no drink. I ordered the beef hot and wet. I got it that way.
The beef was good. It was in the range of being slightly chewy, but being able to be incisored and ground by the back teeth in my mouth (and hopefully yours). The peppers were a mix of capers, celery, some carrots, and a couple of green olives. It wasn’t overbearingly hot. The fries were OK. I used ketchup for most of them, but that was more a personal taste option. YMMV. The italian beef is the ‘daily special’ on Sundays, when you can have it with fries _​and_​a soft drink for $ 6.99. There are specials on Monday-​Thursday with: Polish sausage ($ 5.99); Gyros {?!} ($ 6.49); ½-​lb. hamburger ($ 6.49); & chicken breast ($ 6.99), respectively.
I’m going to scribe about the meta element I seem to notice here on Unilocal.Some of these low, negative ratings for Michael’s come from reviewers whom it seems know nobody else on this site. Putting up a picture doesn’t totally solve my quandary as to whether they are _​real_​. (On Twitter, spammers use bogus head shots like they’re going out of style. I am not stating I think _​they_​are spammers, but I have the heuristic belief they’re trying to game the operation here. Maybe they _​do_​work at McDonald’s.)
I’m giving Michael’s a four-​star rating for being a solid value for the money. I will eat a beef here again to see if it can be elevated.
There is a TV here subscribed to basic cable. When I was here, it was tuned to ESPN, so I would be guessing which corporation provided the service. In any matter, there is no available wi-​fi network.
Transit options: Being on the edge of Chicago and Oak Park, there are more options. But Pace buses from the south on routes #318 & #311 have more limited hours of operation and longer headways. You probably will wind up on the #72 North bus, whether east from Harlem, or west from Austin or Ridgeland. It runs all the time when this is open.

This used to be the best beef in the world circa «95,» but it has fallen completely off. Greasy, under-​seasoned, greasy, overpriced, and more greasy! It’s got to be under new management b/​c there’s no way in hell they’re using the same recipes from when I was a kid.

Deliciousness all around. When you’re looking for a Portillo’s-like place, this is it. Hot dogs are good. Fries are fresh and taste like the potatoes were peeled the same day. Efficient service. Only thing that’s bogus: 50 cents for refills on sodas.
Overall food value was good — Two hot dogs, two fries, two sodas, gyro sandwich and a pizza puff for a little over $ 16.

It is not a beef house of any sorts, but they have a great hot dog special and the service is always super polite (sometime weird because the cooks stare at you as you order… creeps me out). I like this place, but used to love it when they paid attention a bit more to their food. It is ashame that sometime their fries are not even cooked. It really ruins the experience. Also, it’s sometimes a difficult task to get into and out of this place, so be careful!

I use to love going to Michaels — awesome portion size for a good low price. The beef was the best but within the last year or so the restaurant has changed management and so went it’s quality.
It’s so sad because Michaels use to be packed all day and now you’ll be lucky to see a single sole come in and order food.
The quantity is much less when ordering the italian beef special and the food just does not taste the same. I will not be shocked if this place closes in the next year or so.

I’m still trying out places in the new neighborhood. Still looking for the best thin crust pizza and a decent no-​frills cheeseburger, that’s not from a fast food chain.
So we tried Michael’s Beef House. Ordered up the Italian Beef sandwich and the cheeseburger both with fries (deluxe!).
First off the Italian Beef — it was good, very tasty, not too salty, and had big hunks of green pepper. Not the small pieces like they use at Johnnie’s. Don’t get me wrong, I heart Johnnie’s. And if you’re comparing the two — they are both winners. They are just different. The bun or Italian bread was fresh and decent size so it didn’t fall apart or become too soggy.
The cheeseburger was big and charred. Not char broiled, but charred on the grill. Now I love the char taste, but my dining companion thought it was overly charred and didn’t like it. But I thought it was very tasty, had a good amount of cheese and had a nice portion of lettuce and tomato.
The fries had a great flavor, but they were super soggy. I’m not sure if that was due to us taking it home to eat (it was very cold out that night) or if they are always soggy.
I’ll add that the service was fast, not un-​friendly but not friendly either. They did say thanks when handing over our order — so I guess that’s their shot at customer service. The eat-​in area was big and clean and they had a big screen TV.
Verdict: Very close by so I’ll try it again, and ask for the fries to be cooked a little longer.

Was going to stop at Johnnie’s but the line was too long so settled for this spot.
First off, the Italian ice was lacking sweet, tart lemon flavor. The beef was OK. I’ll give them credit for the giardinara which was top notch. Fries were kind of soggy.

I’m just rating the Italian ice. I’m vegan so the options here are limited.
I think the Italian ice was basically like a snow cone. The flavor was very artificial, and tasted as fake as the blue color. Granted it was blueberry, but still. I’ve had better tasting popsicles.
Despite being so close, I think I’ll go somewhere else for my Italian ice fix.

Italian Beef Crawl Stop #3:
Out on the west side of Chicago they really know how to do up their food. That being said, we directed our bus westward in search of the perfect Italian beef sandwich. On the longest leg of the beef crawl, we loaded up on beers and took the long drive out west to Elmwood Park to get all the way to Michael’s Beef House. We hooked a left and landed the bus smack dab in the middle of the parking lot.
Having called in advance, the restaurant did us a favor and blocked off all of their booths for us to sit in. There were a few other people eating inside, but we ended up taking over the place and ordering a vast quantity of Italian beed sandwiches, some hot and wet, some dry and sweet and all other variations.
As the sandwiches rolled out, I noticed that their giardiniera peppers didn’t look like stock type of hot peppers! I love when places homebrew their own hot peppers and Michael’s Beef House looked like they popped some cauliflower in it along with some other yummy and spicy veggies! My sandwich was hot and wet and was so wet that I could barely pick it up from the hot juice that was all over this sandwich. When I’d take bites, some pieces would fall off but they were so good I could not resist picking up more pieces and finishing my sandwich.
Overall excellent juice, great peppers but watch out with ordering it wet, it will be piping hot and fork is probably advisable!