Luke’s Of Chicago

Had the Italian beef, it sucked & over priced!

Same great food as their orig. location on Indian School but with just a touch more class and better looking clientle than the Phoenix location. Guaranteed to add a few pounds and to clog a few arteries.

Luke’s brings back all my memories of good Italian Beef sandwiches in Chicago. I have visited all three of their locations and enjoy the food at each of them. It is a family run operation and they are all great people. A Chicago delight for all of us transplants.

I really don’t get the hype around this place. Tried this out after having all the other Chicago institutions for Italian beef and I have to say this was my least favorite. I have a couple of issues, the first is the paper sticking to the bottom of the bread. Shouldn’t have to try to peel off paper that is almost glued to the bread. I also thought the Beef flavor and the dipping juice just wasn’t all that great. Fries were fine. What’s with the RC Cola lineup? I’d rank Portillo’s #1, Al’s #2, and Luke’s a distant 3^rd.

I was brought here by two friends who live in Illinois, though not exactly in Chicago proper, who have been gushing about how good Luke’s of Chicago’s iIalian beef sandwiches for YEARS! Now ever city has something it’s known for: Boston has its baked beans, New York has its pizza, Hawaii has anything with pineapple or coconut on it, and Philadelphia has its cheesesteak sandwich. Chicago has been lucky enough to have two specialty food items it’s well known for — pizza and italian beef sandwiches — which must be why they were generous enough to share one of them with the Scottsdale/​Phoenix area. According to my friends, Luke’s of Chicago was a family owned chain back in Chicago and one of the family members moved out to the Phoenix and that’s why this one exists.
Now, I’m writing this review from (Davis) Illinois, but that certainly doesn’t make me an authority on what makes for the best Italian beef sandwiches having very little basis for comparison. What I DO know is that the sandwich I was served last Monday at this particular location of Luke’s of Chicago — an Italian beef sandwich, baptized (dunked or doused in warm meet juices) and layered with sweet peppers and cheese was PRETTY FREAKIN’ AMAZING. I’m serious, this was a freakishly good sandwich, worth doing a little extra driving for. My friends assure me that this is the best Italian sandwich I’ll ever taste, and I may do a little comparison shopping while I’m in Illinois to figure out if that is indeed true or not.
We also ordered some regular french fries and garlic parmesan fries to share and I admit I am also a fan. It was 114 F in Phoenix the day we came here, not a day you’d normally be looking to eat something hot, but that didn’t dissuade us since we were on a mission. I come out to Phoenix once a year from California but this was my first experience at Luke’s, my friends went without me last year — still not sure I’ve forgiven them for that.

Excellent Chicago style Beef, thoroughly love their bread. My fave is the beef and sausage combo with provolone and hot peppers. The surrounding are very plain, so go for the flavor, not the scene. Of the 3 of the big Chicago Style sandwich joints around, Portillo’s, Luke’s, and Big Al’s, this place would be my go to for a take out during a work day lunch. Not really a sit down type of place, but the prices are kinda of high when compared to the other two listed, but probably edges out the other two in flavor alone. The bread and Au Jus and meat combination are worth it.

Being from Chicago now living in Scottsdale for the last 7 years Luke’s was our go to place when we wanted Italian beef. Were were even happy to pay the price. But the last 2 times we went the large beef appears to be the size the regular beef used to be. So we tried Al’s and not even close to the same as far as we are concerned. But to pay for a large beef and get something that looked like about 6 – 7 inches (sorry didn’t have my tape measure handy) made us very unhappy. I mean 2 beefs 2 fries and a large drink for $ 25 you can eat just about anywhere for that and would expect to get what you pay for. As soon as the newness dies down we will be heading over to check out Portilos which I have heard is excellent and the prices are great. Wake up Luke’s your food is good and usually not too much of a wait but give us what we pay for!!!

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to Luke’s of Chicago. The main reason being that they always seemed to run out of food in the evening. I happened to be out and about on business before lunch today and decided to check Luke’s out today. I haven’t been to the new location before today.
I ordered the Italian Beef sammich dipped and with sweet peppers along with a large soda for $ 10.57. They don’t have Coke or Pepsi, its RC cola here. When I opened up the butcher’s paper that was encasing my beef, there was steam rising up. My beef was hot and ready for the taking. I basically inhaled the beef sandwich because it was so damn tasty. Excuse me while I lick my chops again. Probably the best beef sandwich I have had in many years.
A couple of negatives in my opinion would be the Sox sign over by the booth by the soda machine and the price of the meal. $ 10.57 for a lunch at a fast food joint is up there in the stratosphere. I’m guessing the rent is pretty high in this area which jacks up the price for lunch.
I’m definitely a fan and will be back!

Good Italian beef and fries!!!

A little pricey, but if you love yourself a good Chicago-​style italian beef, hot dog or polish, then Luke’s is the place for you! I loved Luke’s growing up in Chicago, and I love that there’s something very similar in the valley.
The hotdogs come on a poppy seed bun. «Everything» includes mustard, tomato, peppers, neon green relish, pickle, and celery salt. No ketchup. Just like a tried and true Chicago hot dog joint. The italian beef is awesome. Make sure to include the peppers if you want it done right.
On the randomness factor. They serve RC Cola. I think Luke’s is the only place in the world, let alone Arizona, that still carries RC.

A good friend of mine told me about this place. He started drulling every time he would say «Lukes» so I though I should check it out. Luke’s most def. lives up to the hype. Great food and fast service. everyone in the place was talking about how good it was. Ive never seen so many people drulling over hot weiners all at once.

Well… I’ll give ya this much. The beef is good and the fries arent too bad either. If I were basing my review solely on this, it would be a 4 and a half. But sadly, this «One dollar sign» price logo is incorrect. If you saw a fast food place that showed two dollar signs you would wonder why, so they surely arent going to let that happen… but this is no cheap lunch, and if overpaying for a beef combo is «Chicago style», than I will stop telling people where I am from.
There isnt a person wearing a Bears jersey out there that isnt going to tell you that a beef needs sweet and hot peppers and needs to be extra juicy. I know people that will laugh at you if you dont do any of these things. But here, your base lunch sandwich is $ 6.85! Then any one of those three things (sweet peppers, hot peppers or au jus) will cost you an extra .65! So you are looking at over 8 bucks for a standard size beef sandwich before you add on fries and I really dont know anybody who doesnt order fries with their lunch. By the time I was done with the smallest fries and the smallest drink available, I was staring at a $ 13 bill for lunch. If I had brought a date with me I would be looking at a $ 26, 10 minute lunch. And my credit card receipt at the counter where I order and go back to get my order when its done shows a line for a tip. Are you guys nuts?
The place does good business though it seems, so I may be the minority in feeling the pain in the pricing. Its just that a fellow really should have some idea that this is no cheap lunch before he walks in this place… thats why I am writing this.
If money is no object and you are craving a real Chicago beef… I think you will be happy with Lukes. But I truly need to draw the line at their «Chicago style» mentality when a working class guy in Chicago couldnt afford to come here for lunch. If you want a suggestion guys… In Chicago, what I paid for the sandwich (once again, over $ 8), would have been a combo having a fries and a coke too. The average Joe cannot drop $ 13 for an average lunch. Either change your dollar signs to two $$ or do your best to offer a fair deal to a lunchtime crowd. At least I wish you would! It was a good sandwich! But not a $ 13 lunch.

GROSSLY OVERPRICED !!!
This is a Franchise … not the Orginal.
My opinion … the food dosen’t match up, to the original.
Mind you … its OK, but certainly not Great.
This location is 4 miles from my house.
I drive past them, on my way to eat at Taste Of Chicago, for my dogs.
My wife and I, usually don’t agree on many things.
However, we agree on giving Luke’s a pass.

This is one of the best lunch deals in all of North Scottsdale. They have a seriously good Polish (Maxwell st. style). They also have comfy booths and a nice relaxing atmosphere.

I’ve been here twice so far and I like the place. The first time I had the italian beef and sausage combo sandwich with Cheezy fries. Score on both of those, but way too much food.
Second time I had just an italian beef sandwich with garlic parmesan fries and I was less impressed. The garlic parmesan fries are a joke compared to the artery destroying cheezy fries as they just just their crinkle fries sprinkled with garlic powder and a little canned parmesan cheese. I’ll get the velvety cheezy awesome drowned fries again next time.
The beef in the sandwich on the second visit was a bit dry as well. Sure the bread was greasy and juicy but that can’t really make up for it. Perhaps the sausage brought extra noms to the party. Maybe it was just a bad day the second time.
They do get extra points for having RC Cola which just totally made both meals even better than the usual fountain soda fare.
Italian Combo sandwich: ⁵⁄₅
Cheezy fries: ⁵⁄₅
Italian Beef sandwich: ³⁄₅
Garlic Parmesan Fries: ²⁄₅
Clean: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅

Luke’s is a great spot for a hotdog, but what you REALLY need to get here is their famous Italian beef sandwich. This location can be a bit tricky to find, so maybe use the Dunkin Donuts as your landmark, and Luke’s is just next door to the North.
Try the fries, they are great, and make sure to add cheese to your sammie, you won’t be disappointed.

Had the beef sausage with hot peppers with small fries which cost about $ 9.
Although the portion size was big, I hated how soggy the kaiser roll was. Also, I noticed the hot dog was burnt on both ends which killed hot dog for me. Fries were fresh, but nothing special.

The Italian beef was delicious! I haven’t tried anything else but the Italian beef is better than most that I’ve had.
The bread was tasty and the au jus definitely made it better.
It is a little pricey but I’d eat here again.

A few weeks ago I wrote a review on Al’s Beef and thought I would do the same taste test with Luke’s.
We ordered the Italian Beef Combo and the double Red Hots just as we did at Al’s. The beef was tasty and the sausage was great, no surprises just as one would expect. What it wasn’t — cut too thin & a wet mush which is what we had at Al’s. Again, sorry!
The Red Hots filled the poppy seed bun and seemed twice as large. The Vienna Beef dogs snapped as you expect and had a really good taste Yes, they were boiled too, but clearly someone was watching the stove so they wouldn’t over cook.
Now, in Al’s favor their restaurant feels more Chicago-​ish, say like a smaller version of Portillos. Luke’s is definitely more southside with a lot of Chicago pictures, including ‘Bad Rex” Grossman formerly of the «da Bears».
The final tally came to just under $ 14, which seemed more than fair given the quality of the food and the portions. Enjoy!

A co-​worker of mine is often nostalgic for his Chicago days, and says that Luke’s is the closest thing he has found to a Chicago-​style hot dog in AZ. So, on this gorgeous sunny day (how can you miss Chicago on a day like today!?) off we went to satisfy a craving for some Chi-​Town goodness.
If you can survive the parking lot rodeo that is the shopping area where Luke’s is located, you are in for a treat. Italian sandwiches, subs, burgers and of course, hot dogs. This place is popular! The space is small and the line to order can stretch out the door, so get there early if you want a table at lunchtime.
I went with «The Original» — a pure beef hot dog with mustard, relish, pickle, and tomato in a poppy seed bun. It is usually served with onions and peppers as well, but I like to make fresh breath a priority and decided against those. I don’t think there was any room left in the bun, anyway. My friend had the Maxwell Street — a Polish sausage with onions, peppers and mustard. It looked pretty tempting, too. Both came with a side of crinkle-​cut fries, which I upgraded to cheese fries in order to get a heart-​stopping vat of cheese sauce for dipping. I am not ashamed to admit that I ended up dipping the hot dog in there too. So bad, but so good!
I am now going to curl up under my desk and take a nap.