Al’s Beef

…and they’re closed… less than a year after I wrote this review. They closed in early 2012.

Al’s has had a sign up for the past month and a half that says «Closed for Repairs» whether or not it will reopen remains a mystery.

I’ve lived in Chicago for 15 years now and I finally had my chance to try Al’s Beef. I went with a beef and hot giardinera. The roll was sorft enough, but very generic, it didn’t have a unique flavor about it. The beef was stringy, I prefer a sandwich where I know I’m eating beef. But the big disappointment was the giardinera. I’d heard that it was homemade, so I was excited to try a different take on it. It’s just hot celery. Hot to the point where it overwhelms the rest of the sandwich.
But I want to be fair, so I’ll throw in a few positives… Free refills, a lot of napkins, and I’m glad I only ordered a small beef… I’m gonna stick with Portillo’s.

Some up to date info. I drove past this location today May 1^st it appears this location has gone out business. CLOSED at 1pm no llights on. Perhaps all the negative/​bad reviews took its toll.

I am surprised that this place is not getting better reviews. the Beef& sausage is just like the ALS in the city. Suburbanites don’t know good city food if they don’t like this place! The fries are real, the know how to make a dipped beef like nobody else, and it is supposed to be messy! Go here for an Al’s fix, you won’t regret it.

I have never seen a beef sandwich that appears to be shredded beef, it looks like you are being served the bottom of the barrel, it should be sliced and resemble Italian beef to be called Italian beef. Very expensive for low quality food. I have only been there once but that was too many times. There are much better alternatives than this place. Very dissapointed…

Son and I dropped in for a quick dinner here. We both tried the dipped 8″ Italian beef ($ 6.95 and $ 0.45 adder for peppers), which was decent and tasty, but a bit on the oily side. The large fries order was also decent and may have been the biggest fries order I’ve ever seen, for $ 2.95. Minus ½ star for the dining room, which was neglected with several dirty tables. No excuses for this, as it wasn’t busy at all.

The foodie definition of insanity probably sounds a little like this: coming back to a bad restaurant over and over again and hoping for a different result. I guess tonight you could count me in as temporarily insane.
For starters, it was 8:30 and they were shutting down the place, even though the sign on the door said they were open ’til 9. That was fine, except this time I got a beef sandwich dipped, so I had to eat it in my car. With jus dripping everywhere.
Fortunately, I had an epic abundance of napkins in the console, but unfortunately, my pants are going to have to go through the wash. Worse, the food was just bad.
To their credit, the fries aren’t horrifically greasy. They’re fresh and fried pretty well… not really crispy, so the texture isn’t quite there.
It’s the sandwich I have problems with. Dipped, the jus adds a nice brothy flavor that completely, and I mean completely, disintegrates the bread. While the meat is itself disintegrating into an unappealingly textured mess. I asked for sweet peppers. I saw them. I didn’t taste them.
I don’t know what beef did to deserve this fate, and I cannot possibly imagine why anyone would think this beef is the «best in Chicago». While I was still sitting in the parking lot wiping the jus off my hands, someone turned off the lights in the parking lot. Which I thought was a fitting end to this disaster, because at this rate the lights will soon turn off at Al’s for good.

For a beef, there are a few other places I’d go first. Namely, Johnny’s and Portillos. It wasn’t bad, but I’d rather get a beef elsewhere.
If you like your beef a little more dry, this place isn’t for you, because dipped seems to be the standard way of serving it (which was fine by me).
That said, the fries were really good, fresh-​cut and not overdried from too long in the fryer.

I’m honestly surprised by the shitty reviews this place has.
Their chili cheese fries are awesome. Terrible for you, but WORTH IT. Especially if you throw some jalapeños on it.
I am a fan of their burgers and chicken sandwiches. Big, filling, and I love the char grill flavor. Filling enough to share with another person.
I have not been to another Al’s location, so I can’t compare the beef sandwich, but they’re ok. We don’t go to Al’s for their beef sandwiches, just for the fries, hamburgers, and chicken sandwiches.
If you take it for what it is, a little hot dog and fries place, it is above average.

Yuk… The food was just ok, the portions were embarrasing and the service especially the manager was horrible.
We couldn’t wait for this place to open… uggg.
Can’t wait for it to close… Yea
Now they have a sign hanging outside… bigger sandwiches (more bread i’m sure) What a joke…
We wouldn’t eat there again if it was free…

After Al’s closed in both Warrenville and Addison I was driving down County Farm Rd and happened upon this place. I was happy, I thought of Al’s as one of the best beef sandwiches out there with delicious fries.
First off, let me tell you, this place is a bit expensive, almost $ 10.00 for a 4 inch mini beef with sweet peppers, fries and a medium pop. The fries, were more like half cooked. Disappointing. The beef was okay but not like I remember it being.
Service was pretty crappy, the girl working the register was chomping on the gum (with her moth open like a cow, mind you) so loud, I could barely hear myself think. Not attractive at a restaurant. Too a while to get the food, with only one order in front of me.
I’ll give it another shot, but why do they keep opening and closing these? There has to be a reason…

Disappointed.
I was looking forward to having the famous Al’s Beef in the neighborhood, but no doubt about it this location brings shame to good ol’ Al. The best part about my trip was the fries. Unfortunately, I only got about 9.5 of them with my Chicago dog. The dog itself was about the size of a crayola marker too. Teeeeny.
And the beef. Ohhh, the beef. It was mushy… the meat was mushy. The most uncomfortably textured beef I’ve ever tasted. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was… bleh.
My mom summarized our experience pretty well with ‘well, that was a waste.’ This place has got some work to do if it wants to keep the Al’s Beef name.

My beef tasted like what I imagine cigarette butts with peppers to taste like. A shredded, regurgitated mess. Some truly nasty crap. I was really pissed off after excitedly finding this place.

I’ve been a fan of this place forever, especially their hot giardiniera which is the best I’ve ever tasted. It’s also red which is probably part of the reason it tastes different and better than anything else out there. They use the best bread, the slice the beef paper thin and the «jus» is delicious. The Italian Beef is probably my favorite sandwich of all time and Al’s is fantastic. They also have incredible fries that are fresh cut and they give you a ton of them. This is a fantastic addition to Carol Stream.

I loved Al’s in Chicago, but this place? Shouldn’t have that name on the building. The food was blah, the beef was salty. Go to Portillos. Hell, go to Jewel across the way and buy the frozen beef. Oh and if you feel the need to get food… order a side a fries if you get the hot dog. You barely get any.

Al’s Beef… more like Al’s Queef. They claim to be America and Chicago’s #1 Beef, but they must be dreaming. I’ve lived in the Chicago area my whole life and never tried Al’s. I wasn’t missing anything and am somewhat upset that I had to taste that disgusting food. I ordered a regular beef with hot giardiniera and fries. The service was fast and I zipped through the drive-​thru and was on my way, which was good because I was starving. I got home and started to unwrap the sandwich and noticed that this was shredded beef not typical Italian beef slices… weird. The giardiniera was also ground up in tiny bits like relish. The sandwich tasted nasty. Beef was flavorless and just tasted like meat. The giardiniera was not tasty or hot and had a curry flavor. Why the curry flavor, I have no idea. The bread was fine. The paper that the sandwich was wrapped in was stained red/​orange as well… could it be from a curry spice? Overall, very gross and nothing like the Chicago Italian beefs that I’ve grown to love. The fries were the highlight of the meal and were crispy and fresh.
I will not go back to Al’s and urge everyone else to think long and hard before being subjected to the toxic waste. Do yourself a favor and experience real, good-​tasting, Italian beef from Buona, Johnnie’s, or Portillo’s. If you are in Chicago and consider Al’s an authentic beef sandwich, you are mistaken.

NOTE: The four stars are for the Italian Sausage and Fries.
Went back to Al’s and already there is improvement. I tried the combo this time. I love the italian sausage here! So good. Has a great spicy kick to it. The bread is fresh, the fries are crispy. And the beef is good. I prefer Portillo’s or Johnnies beef, but I’m glad this place has come to the neighborhood and I will def return.

They just opened at this location. Good beef, but the regular sandwich is a little on the small side. Ordered it «dipped» but sandwich was not to messy to eat with my hands, which is a good thing. Fresh cut fries are another winner! Crispy and very tasty. My son had a hot dog and fries, which he said was pretty good.