Al’s Beef

My friend from work goes in here everyday and gets a cup of ice, because they do have the best ice. But today, a man working there refused to give her a cup of ice she was willing to pay extra for. He said there is «no policy» on it and would have to give everyone a cup of ice if he gave her one. WHICH DOESN’T SEEM THAT BAD. Disappointed by the way it was handled. Won’t be going there.

Continuing my exploration of «Chicago» food, I find myself and a friend at Al’s beef late on a Sunday afternoon. The only people there besides us is a guy on business from Alabama and a family from the suburbs. Having never been to Al’s, I went with the Italian beef and also had to get their take on a Chicago dog.
First the beef… with the beef.
It was stringy, sloppy and just about as mediocre as food gets. Saving grace was the hot peppers. If you need to do the «Italian» aka «fatso» stance, then somethings wrong with your technique. There wasn’t enough meat to fall out.
The dodgy dog…
Watching my neighborhood Al’s associate fish a hot dog out of the bath with the most perplexed look didn’t spark my appetite as it should. At once point she opened up the bath, looked apprehensively at the dogs before shutting it. A few deep breaths later and not a muscle moved, she opened it again and grabbed a dog. You know what this means right? Diarrhea is on the way!
They get one star for being clean, and another because the Diet Pepsi was nice and fizzy.
Portillos ftw.

I sometimes treat myself with an Al’s beef but I mainly go here for the BBQ fries.
Which I highly recommend, it has the right mix of salt, BBQ sauce and the fries are always cooked just right.

Really love coming here great service and fresh and tasty food the beef, burgers, hot dogs fries are always amazing!

We visited Chicago from out of town and ate at Al’s. Excellent and felt like an authentic Chicago experience. I just wish someone would franchise them in Utah

Been here many times! This Al’s beef rocks. Im a glutton for punishment. Combo, wet, cheese, red sauce, sweet and hot peppers! Cheese fries on the side! The cast loves it and we appreciate the phone in order and delivery service when we need some grub when were filming on the mean streets of Chicago!

The food was great and the Service was fast. great fresh fries As well, I’ll definitely go back.

The restaurant gave my delivery person the wrong order– I ordered a rather large lunch order for my office and we received one sandwich and one fries. I don’t understand how mistakes like that can be made– we had to wait a whole extra hour for our food and were inconvenienced by the restaurant’s poor mistake.

So naturally the boyfriend has to check out the Manly sandwich, piled high with meat and dipped in it’s gravy. Let me say– I am more of a gourmet sandwich kind of gal. The all meat sandwich just doesn’t appeal to me– but it is a Chicago staple so naturally I had to sing my teeth in. It was really a disappointment, the beef was lacking flavor and seasoning. The peppers were non existent (they charge you extra by the way) and the Au Jus was bland. Defiantly not worth a second round.

Wow. I ordered the big beef with cheese and peppers with fries along with a regular drink and it only cost me $ 16.01. All you could taste was bread because of the very little beef they put on. For $ 16.01 I expect at least a sandwich that is filled like another other beef sandwich. Obviously Al’s has become all about greed and not quality. I will be taking my business to Portillo’s.

If the heartless souls who run Al’s Beef have one gram of compassion they will take this concept nationwide. Everyone in America needs Al’s Beef. It would destroy Arby’s.
An Italian beef, for the uninitiated, falls into the great pantheon of Sandwiches Made of Finely Sliced Beef. Think «French Dip, with hot peppers and pre-​dunked,» and you’re close. I got the Regular Beef (the middle size) with one ladle of «gravy» and hot peppers, and it was plenty juicy. You can also get two ladles, or completely submerged. Whatever floats yer gravy boat.
Oh…the ‘gravy’ is more like a broth. Not thick but very flavorful.
I also got the house chopped salad, which has a great mix of veggies and meat.
Go here.

I felt bad enough as it is cheating on Portillo’s, but felt relief when I confirmed Portillo’s is better. I had a coupon for a $ 1 beef sandwich with the purchase of fries and a drink. With the coupon I found the price to be reasonable for the combo meal ($ 7.55). Without the coupon I totally would of felt ripped off paying $ 12.50 for a mediocre meal.
The beef was not flavorful and actually had a funny after taste to it. Don’t even get me started on the fries. I’m the type of person that likes to eat as is, so having to add salt to the fries was disappointing. Even then they weren’t that great.
I have high expectations when it comes to my beef sandwiches, so Portillo’s it is for me!

Came to Chicago to visit fam and Al’s beef sandwich was in the top list to chow.
So I finally have to taste «the best beef sandwich» in the world. Surely not disappointed with what I’ve tasted. Tender, juicy meat, sweet pepper (dip it in its own juice)!

I stopped into Al’s Beef for lunch and had an enjoyable meal.
Décor: It’s your pretty standard «fast food» place: there’s a long counter, where you can kind of see them making your food, where you order at one end and pick up at the other. There are a bunch of tables in the next room and some bar seats along the windows, and the lighting is decent enough. It’s pretty clean as well.
Bathroom: unknown
Staff: The cashier and the food-​preppers were fine — not overly friendly but quick with their tasks.
Food: I had a Big Beef, extra juicy (a solid-​sized sandwich and tasted pretty well) and a hot dog (not sure that it’s Vienna Beef but it was pretty good) that came wrapped with fries (fresh cut and enjoyable). Everything was warm/​hot and tasted fine — certainly hit the spot for what I was looking for. Their water cups, however, could be a bit larger… it’s probably the smallest plastic cup I’ve ever see (slight larger than a double-​shot shot glass).
Value: The prices are about what I expected.
My meal was enjoyable but not better than The King (Portillo’s). I’d come back again, but I won’t rush back anytime soon.

Yea it was OKAY! I’ve heard so much about this place and how good etc etc it was like just a fast food joint. While it wasn’t terribly horrible it was underrated for sure. As an out of towner I expected it to be lines out the door based in the hype. Again it wasn’t bad. Got the small beef w the hot peppers w the French fries!

Friendly staff, good food.
Those are really the only things I care about when going out to lunch in the West Loop. The only thing I don’t like about this place is the wait time to get the food. It can get pretty crowded in there during the week for lunch. But… good things come to those who wait. So I’ll keep waiting for my yummy roast beef sandwich and chili cheese fries.

Lean in, get it hot & wet, and enjoy one of these Windy city staples. I enjoyed this sandwich very much and I think you will too.

So, I came to Chicago for the July 5 Grateful Dead finale. I read a great deal about this spot in advance and was determined to go. And even though I learned from friends after the fact that there might be better «Beef» spots, I am thrilled that I went to Al’s.
I memorized what to order in advance. Regular beef, no cheese, hot peppers and grilled onions. Dipped. Large fries.
My lunch was epic. A fabulous sandwich, spicy, dripping with the famous gravy. Fries were some of the best I have ever had. Because I knew I had a three mile walk back to my hotel after the show and because I didn’t know when I might return to Chicago, I had a second sandwich!
Are there better spots in Chicagoland? Don’t ask me, I’m no expert. I’m from Jersey. What I do know is I walked out of Al’s with a full belly and a big smile. Isn’t THAT what it’s all about?
Hope to return one day.

I’ve never been so disappointed in my life with an Italian roast beef sandwich. I understand that it’s supposed to be greasy, fattening, and ect. We got ours dipped, so it was even more artery clogging.
It went downhill when we got lukewarm reception by the guys behind the counter. The delivery guy was arguing loudly with the cook. I ordered two beef, a drink, and a large fry. It came to over $ 20. The fries were burnt, the sandwich was disgusting and had no taste, and it was just a nauseating experience. I couldn’t find a shred of cheese in my sandwich. I’ve had good beef. This is NOT good beef. I would have been better off with McDonald’s.

Confession– I’ve never been to Al’s beef before! I’ve always heard they were Portillos competitor, but I wasn’t really interested. I’m not really into Italian beef. Portillos food is NOT ALL THAT. My coworkers all voted against my choice (pizza) so Al’s is where we went!
Walking in the line was out to the door. I thought «Damn this might be a mistake!» I didn’t want my entire break to spent waiting to get food. They handled that line very well! Props to whomever manages that place.
When I walked in I said I wanted to order something small because I didn’t want to be falling asleep after lunch. My fata$$ quickly threw that notion out the window as soon as the cashier said «Can I help you?» I blurted out buffalo fries, and a nacho cheeseburger. So much for small! #GoBigOrGoHomeB*tches
The fries– Holy Sh*t. Those fries are going to be a problem for me. They are GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! (I can feel my pants getting tighter as I type this!) they have some killer fries which in my opinion blows Portillos fries away! My burger however was kind of a letdown. The sign calls this sandwich a nacho cheeseburger. I could karate chop whomever came up with the name of this burger. I got a burger with regular sliced cheese, diced onions, and jalapeños. That’s just a cheeseburger with jalapeños baybee call it for what it is. Al’s is doing entirely too much with that deceptive advertising! #Fail #Ya’llPlayTooMuch
The burger was okay. It was even better when put some of the buffalo sauce on my burger from my fries! I’ll have to request my burger to be made that way next time cuz as is the Nacho burger was a bust in my opinion!

I can’t wait to try out more!