Mama's Pizza (Coplay, PA) - Cheesesteak

On November 6, 2018, I went to find some homemade pierogies at Kornfiend's Market (about 4 miles down the road from me) that are made by a local church.  They usually deliver to the market on Tuesdays.  This is the first time I was able to make it there on a Tuesday and was able to buy three packages of a dozen pierogies before they sold out.  While there, I stopped into Mama's Pizza to have a cheesesteak.  You can check them out HERE.

Similar to my pizza shop cheesesteak yesterday, this sandwich came with fries.  Pickles were served on the side.  White american cheese was melted on top.  Onions were cut a little finer, but roll was soggier.  I would give it a 3 star rating due to less meat in the sandwich and too much juice.  An average cheesesteak worth trying if in the area.  I believe it was priced at $6.99.

While there, I had an A-Treat Birch Beer.  Has been a long time since I had one of them.  That flavor of soda seems to be local to the area.  For those of you who do not know what birch beer is, you can read about it HERE.  I have not had the red hue or white color birch beer in a much longer time and will need to find some of that one day.  A-Treat is a local soda brand who was out of business for a few years recently, and then purchased and back into distribution.

DiFiore's Pizzeria (Neffs, PA) - Cheesesteak

On November 11, 2018, I went to DiFiore's Pizzeria for a cheesesteak.  They are located about one mile from my house.  You can checkout their website HERE.

I had one of their lunch specials which was a small cheesesteak and fries for $7.99.  The sandwich was similar in size (8 inch roll) to the one I had at the Tavern a week or so ago.

This was made with the tomato sauce on top of the meat and then white American cheese melted across the top with a pickle spear served on the side.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, you will see many different variations of the cheesesteak throughout the Lehigh Valley.  I will give this one a 3.5 star rating too.  Good Lusitania roll.  And, close to my house for a quick break from work for lunch.

Greg's West End Tavern (Allentown, PA) - Cheesesteak

I have decided that since I will not be in the Chicagoland area for several months (I think?) that I would add the Eastern PA style beef sandwich, the cheesesteak, to the blog.  For those of you who may not be familiar with what a cheesesteak is you can check it out here.

My first entry is from Greg's West End Saloon in Allentown, PA.  You can visit their website here.

A few of my cousins asked me to come out and meet them today for a few beers, some college football, and some lunch.  At $5.75 this is a decent sandwich with a nice flavored beef and a good mix of cheese in with it.  I ordered it with everything which is meat, cheese, sauce, peppers, and pickles.  Like the Italian beef, you will see quite a few variations of this sandwich across the Lehigh Valley area of PA and even greater when compared to the Philadelphia, PA area. I will give it 3.5 stars at this point as it was better than average pub food, but not quite up there with some other restaurants, pizzerias, or standard cheesesteak shops.  It did hit the spot after several beers and a first dip into food for the day in the early afternoon hours.

I was never at this place before.  Great little pub with a nice atmosphere, lots of TVs for Saturday college and high school football watching, and a friendly bar staff.  I will go back again.

Portillo's - Summit, IL Part 2

So, tonight, October 17, 2018, I was able to swing back by Portillo's to rectify the situation of not having a beef n cheddar for too many years.  Wow!  I should have added some hot peppers, but boy was this tender.  I am going to go with a 4.5 star and put it on par with Johnnie's.  Peppers and more beef may have got it close to a 5 star.  Not sure what it was, but this was probably the most tender Italian Beef that I have had there.  Glad I was able to swing by before I head back home later this week.  Well worth the trip.

And, I am going to break my unwritten rule, and put a non Italian Beef sandwich on here.  I love the Polish sausage with grilled onions and mustard at Portillo's so I had to get one of them too.  The sweetness of those onions is unbelievable and I love the snap of the grilled Polish sausage.

The Patio - Bridgeview, IL

On October 16, 2018, I visited The Patio in Bridgeview, IL for an Italian Beef sandwich with a friend and co-worker, Jim.  This is yet another place I have been to regularly over the last 15 years.  Check out their website http://www.patioribs.com/ .

The Patio is #14 on the best of list in the Chicagoland.  I ordered this with hot peppers and cheese, but they either forgot the hot peppers or skimped on them as I don't have a good memory of them being on the sandwich and I was just there today.  This was heavy on the mozzarella comparative to the other establishments that I have tried so far which I quite liked.  It made it a closer resemblance to some cheesesteak places in the Lehigh Valley that melt the cheese on top of the sandwich.

I'm going to give them 4 stars for a decent amount of beef on the sandwich with a nice flavor that had a hint of spice that I think was more on the juice in the beef than the hot peppers (if they were there).  They didn't dunk here, but it did have a decent amount of juice.  Not quite at the level of Johnnie's so you didn't have to be as careful eating it.

Duke's Drive In - Bridgeview, IL

On October 9, 2018, I visited Duke's Drive-In for only the second time in 15 years as it is right down the street from where I work.  John and I have been out to lunch together probably over 1,000 times and have talked about going here frequently.  You can check them out here.  It is mostly outdoor seating at this location which has an exterior similar to what you may have seen on Happy Days for those old enough to remember that show.  That is probably why I have not been there too frequently because it is usually too hot, too cold, too windy, or precipitating here in Chicago.  But on this day, it was beautiful Fall weather and I could not have picked a much better day to visit there for lunch.

I ordered the sandwich with hot peppers.  This is the first location where they were freshly cut jalapeno peppers that had a nice crunch to them.  It was a great change of pace on the sandwich.  Duke's is #5 on the Chicagoland best of list.  Now I know why.  I give them a 4.5-5.0 star rating right now as it has been the best I have had to date.  It by far had the most meat in the sandwich and was by far the most tender.  For some reason, the fresh jalapeno's didn't have much kick to them which was a slight disappointment.  Maybe there is something to be said for the oil in the giardiniera served by others that gives it a special kick in heat.  You also had to sit away from the table to eat this sandwich as this sandwich was dunked.  What is dunked you may ask?  Well, that is when they take the sandwich and dunk it in the au jus before wrapping it and serving it to you.  BTW, the french fries are great here and the serving is enormous.  God, I still can't believe I have only been here two times.  Will definitely be heading their for lunch more frequently going forward when in town (and the weather is nice).

Johnnie's Beef - Arlington Heights, IL

On October 2, 2018, I did the double dip...I had an Italian Beef for lunch and dinner.  Dinner was at Johnnie's Beef at their location in Arlington Heights as their location in Elmwood Park that is ranked #8 in the Chicagoland area does not have seating.  You can visit their site here...Johnnie's.

Joining me on this visit and at some point hopefully a celebrity writer here on occasion was my buddy MXV.   You can check out his top notch music blog here.  The Punk Vault has tons of concert and album reviews and features his great photography.  Please check out his site.  Johnnie's is possibly his favorite Italian Beef location and it did not disappoint.  Up to this point, it was the best one that I have had.  You had to sit back from the table to eat it so that the juices didn't drip all over your clothing.  I ordered this one with only hot peppers and no cheese this time.  The beef itself has great flavor with a hint of hot spices and is quite tender.  I am going to give them a 4.5 star rating right now.

Beefy's - Chicago, IL

On October 2, 2018, I had an Italian Beef at Beefy's in Chicago...https://www.beefyschicago.com/.  Again, this is another place that I have visited frequently with a friend and co-worker, John,  as it is relatively close to work and is a short distance from the Portillo's I also posted about.  Beefy's didn't make the cut on the best in the Chicagoland either.  As you can see, my normal order is usually with hot peppers and cheese.  I may need to mix it up one day and show you what sweet peppers are in Chicago.  This may be one of the safest places to eat in the area as there usually are Chicago policemen having lunch there.

I am going to give Beefy's a 4 star rating.  The beef has decent flavor, has some tenderness to it, and it has a decent amount of meat on the sandwich.  BTW, this place has a good double cheeseburger too.  And my buddy Earthdog would be a big fan of the pizza as he would remember it being very close to what we used to eat at the Congress Theater during Riot Fest!

Nick's Barbecue - Burbank, IL

On June 27, 2018, I had an Italian Beef sandwich at Nick's Barbecue in Burbank, IL near my work location.  You can check them out here.  Nick's is another one of those places that I have been going to for the last 15 years, but mostly because it is close to work.  Unfortunately, Nick's did not make the cut on the best in the Chicagoland list.

The sandwich I had was ordered with hot peppers and cheese...mozzarella.  Their giardiniera usually has a good kick and is a nice accompaniment to the sandwich as is the cheese.  The beef is not as moist as it is at other places and you can see in the picture that they could add a little more to the sandwich.  Even though I go there frequently, I am giving them a 3.0-3.5 star range.

Portillo's - Summit, IL

Back on March 12, 2018, I had an Italian Beef Combo at the Portillo's location in Summit, IL - you can visit their site here...Portillo's.  One may ask, what is an Italian Beef Combo.  It is Italian beef with an Italian sausage stuffed in the bun underneath the beef.  Portillo's is #16 on the list that I have mentioned in my original post.  They have locations in 5-6 states and probably over 30 in the Chicagoland area.  They are by far the most common location for an Italian Beef across the Chicagoland area because they have so many locations.  I will give them credit.  Their sandwiches are consistent from location to location.  I have been eating these sandwiches for 15 years.  You have the regular, the big beef, the beef n cheddar croissant (which I have not had for many years and need to rectify soon), and the combo in both regular and big beef sizes.  This place has become the standard for me because I have been there so many times.

So, the Italian Beef Combo pictured came with hot peppers which is the local Giardiniera which you can read about here to find out what it is.  I think I also ordered it dry which means the sliced beef was not dunked in the au jus prior to putting on the sandwich.  I have since outgrown that style as I have learned more about these sandwiches the last few months.  Their beef is flavorful and slightly tender, and as I said earlier, has become my standard.  I am going to give them a 4 star rating right now.  That may change after visiting some other locations and making it back to Portillo's.  I will be a tough grader so you may not see a 5 star rating around here.