Al's Italian Beef

Al's Italian Beef
169 W. Ontario St.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: River North
Al's Italian Beef website

The third restaurant featured on the Chicago episode of Man vs. Food (Lucky's and Gino's the other two) is Al's Italian Beef, another historic Chicago staple that has received a bunch of accolades and recognition over the years.


If it's good enough for Man vs. Food, we figured we should give Al's a shot. I don't consider myself an expert on Italian beef, so I'm not one to say whether this is the best Italian beef around. I got my sandwich dipped and topped with both sweet and hot peppers. While the sandwich is delicious, it is sloppy and messy as hell, but I guess that is expected. Jenn got the veggie sub, which was possibly the only vegetarian option on the menu. We also got the cheese fries, which were tasty yet dangerously artery-clogging.

Italian Beef and Cheese Fries

Veggie Sandwich

Al's Italian Beef is good fast food, but not great. Al's is greasy, messy, fattening food, but hey, isn't all fast food? Despite this, it is still a Chicago staple and worth a visit or two. We give Al's Italian Beef a 7.6 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 7.7
Value: 8.2
Atmosphere: 7.0
Customer Service: 7.4
Overall: 7.6

Wishbone

Wishbone
3300 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lakeview
Wishbone's website

We haven't really been out for breakfast that much in Chicago yet. Well, our search for our new favorite breakfast place did not take long.


Our good friends Brad and Lindsey told us we NEED to go to Wishbone for breakfast. So we did. And we were not disappointed. Our first indication that we would not be disappointed was the fact that it was crowded on a cold, snowy, sub-zero morning. I figured I would have a hard time choosing what I wanted for breakfast, but as soon as I saw the words "Crunchy French Toast", I knew I had to get it. Crunchy French Toast is french toast dipped in corn flakes and they were excellent. The crunch of the corn flakes and the soft chewy texture of the french toast worked well together. Jenn got the corn cakes: pancakes made from corn meal, fresh corn and scallions and served with a sweet red pepper sauce. Jenn liked the fact that this unique take on the pancake was not a typical breakfast food. She especially liked the red pepper sauce, which was sweet yet zesty. She also got a side of cheese grits which she loved.

Crunchy French Toast

Corn Cakes and Cheese Grits
Wishbone is a great place for breakfast or brunch and as we noticed when we were there, is very family friendly. The portions are huge and the prices are very reasonable. We are definitely coming back for more! We give Wishbone an 8.9 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 9.3
Value: 9.0
Atmosphere: 8.6
Customer Service: 8.7
Overall: 8.9