Al’s Beef

I kind of wondered how long it would take for Al’s Beef to close up shop after Portillo’s arrived in town. Al’s closed down a week or so ago. Their beef sandwiches as of the last few months were not as tasty as I remembered when the new ownership took over. I guess the Al’s Beef experiment is over in Scottsdale.

Thanks to Groupon, we’ve dined at this place several times. Each time, I’ve had the Beef Sandwich… here’s how I order it:
— Dry w/​Gravy on the side (Choices are Dry, Dipped, Wet)
— Hot Giardiniera Peppers (Choices are Hot or Sweet Peppers)
— Provolone Cheese (Choices are Provolone, Cheddar, Cheese Whiz)
Let me tell you that the Beef is legit here! This is an authentic Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich! The Beef is moist, full of flavor, and the Bread holds it all together perfectly. The Giardiniera is hot and spicy and makes the Sandwich even better. I like to get the Gravy on the side so I can add more flavor as needed while I’m devouring the Sandwich.
The French Fries here are awesome too. They remind me of the Fries at 5 Guys except they don’t have the spice options that they offer there. Doesn’t matter, the Fries here are excellent… and addicting.
The rest of the family loves this place too. We’re very happy to have it so close to our neighborhood.
Return Factor — 97%

In the world of Italian beef sandwiches, I am sorry to say that Al’s is not the winner… my favourite is still Portillo’s…which wins in overall taste, quality, speed and value.
I went there for lunch with my dad after shopping the nearby Home Depot… there was not a soul in there… and overall, must say that my sandwich was nothing but a greasy mess where I wish my mouth had been double in size to wrestle with this monster… and the fries were nothing to rave about either…

Transplanted Chicago area native here. In my 60+ years, I’ve had beef sandwiches all over Chicagoland, where it was the original take-​out fast food long before McD’s. I never even heard of Al’s until it was on that Travel Channel show with the slob who goes around the USA gorging on local dishes until he pukes.
I learned about their Scottsdale AZ place so I went 20 miles out of my way for a beef sandwich there last time in Phoenix. The reddish juice was the first red flag; it isn’t the norm for IB. First bite… the flavor was very weak… Strike 1. It was very greasy; highly undesireable in a beef sandwich… Strike 2. Then there was the tough, almost stale, bread Strike 3. Sorry, Al’s…you’re «out». In a blind test of Chicago IB fans, Al’s probably wouldn’t even be ID’d as Italian beef. Of all the beef I’ve ever had, I rate Al’s as mediocre to poor. So its no surprise the place has wall-​to-​wall, in-​your face «World’s Best Italian Beef» décor and life-​sized «The Italian Stance» posters. If it lived up to the hype, that would be unnecessary.
I’ll guess stick with Portillo’s; a decent IB for factory-​made, also in Scottsdale, and pine for the day that Buona’s Beef; the best chain store IB I’ve had, someday expands outside the Chicago area. Or sample some of the other places in Phoenix that claim to serve Chicago-​style Italian beef.

What it’s not. Al’s on Taylor street. Not be sue the food isn’t good. It doesn’t have a great location and it’s not a made over garage with no restroom.
What it does have is one of the best Italian Beefs in Phoenix. I get it sweet and dipped.
And the fries. If you like fresh cut fries and I do, this is the place. Whenever I’m in Scottsdale which is about once a week I drop by and say Hi to Barry and get my Chicago fix.
I also get the Jumbo Char Dog. This is one Hot Dog. While the regular dog is a natural casing Vienna Dog the Jumbo Char Grilled is as good as it gets.
I grew up on places they Fluky’s and Weiners Circle as well as Mustards Last Stand just to name a few.
My Chicago food cred is second to none.
In Chicago my Beef priority would be Al’s, Mr Beef, Luke’s and then a few real mom and pops like Roma’s or Captain Nemo’s. actually Captain Nemo’s was pretty good yet not what I would call a traditional Beef.
Anyway I digress. Just like in Chicago my first choice for Beef would be Al’s, second when I’m near downtown or Chandler it would be Luke’s and just like in Chicago the only time I would go to Portillos is when every one else that has a good beef is closed.
One piece of advice for people who have tried an Italian Beef and didn’t like it. If they had a sign saying they serve Vienna Italian Beef. That has to be some of the worst Beef and Gravy made. The thing about all the other Beef Places I mentioned in AZ is that they make their own. The only Beef I would by that is a Name Brand would be Scala. Have never seen a place in Phoenix that has it.
And is it just me or has Oregano’s gone downhill in the last year.
Al’s is still number one, even in Phoenix. just like in Chicago.

Once again, Groupon led me to a great place to grab a quick, delicious dinner! My wife and I really enjoyed the signature sandwich… which indeed is the main attraction. The hot dog and burger were also tasty, and our order didn’t take long.
I’ve already recommended this place to friends, and I have no doubt that I may see myself there again soon.

Al’s now has a $ 20 for $ 10 coupon on local dines (
). A good deal that makes it worth checking out.

I am so disappointed with my first experience! We came in as a party of 4, the last person didn’t get their meal until 15 minutes after the rest of us sat down. I ordered a polish dog — and to my horror after biting in, a huge piece of plastic! The manager offered to make me something else, but it’s a hot dog, that you cover with toppings — they aren’t paying attention, which makes me wonder, how much is really looked over.
On top of plastic, the overall customer service was lackluster. The girl behind the register was rude and you could tell she took no pride in her job.
Overall, very disappointed!

Dear Barry–
I have an observation, more than a review.
When we first moved here nearly five years ago. The only place in town to get some Chicago food was Luke’s. Then Al’s opened, but failed miserably and closed quickly. You can still see my Two Star review.
This time last year (December 19, 2011), you took over and re-​opened Al’s, making it a genuine Chicago place.
King Scott and I came by after the re-​opening and thought it was just as good as the one on 1079 W. Taylor Street,
in Chicago’s «Little Italy» near UIC, or the one on West Adams

What really knocked me out, were all the One Star, No profile Picture, One Review Unilocal’ers who wanted to dump on your (Barry’s) parade. Who knew that Chicago dogs were so competitive here in Arizona?
I myself got a bunch of «Neg-​heads» writing private messages, saying they couldn’t eat here, never had a bite of the food, but thought the place was crap. Or, the cheap-​ohs who thought the prices were too high. Geez!
I just came back from having lunch ($ 9.50) here and had a great time. I ordered the Italian combo dipped, with gravy on the side. IT WAS DELICIOUS!
I still go to Luke’s from time to time, but Barry (Al) please know, you make a good Chicago Italian Beef!
Congrats to you and thank you for persevering!
–R/​Georgie

O. M. F’ing. Gee!
It was so good, and delivery was so fast… like faster than freaky fast… it was like Roadrunner fast… or Speedy Gonzales ‘ANDALE ANDALE ARRIBA ARRIBA YEE HAW YEE HAW’ rapido, or like ‘Chip, I’m gonna come at you like a spider monkey!’ fast… and just as quickly, it was gone.
To be honest, I don’t even think the italian beef sandwich, drenched and then smothered in sweet and hot peppers with provolone cheese, even knew what hit it. One moment, it’s all safe, warm & cozy in its pot, skillet, oven… wherever italian beef comes from, then BAM! it’s whisked off on a whirlwind adventure, delivered and not even 10 minutes later swimming in tummy acid. Happy tummy acid.
To be frank (because I guess I already used ‘To Be Honest’), I have enjoyed other tamales w/​chili and cheese a *skosh* better (not bad, but not the best ever), but the italian beef sandwich today has me hooked (plus they have pink lemonade AND deliver, and that ALWAYS makes working Tygers happy).
Lots of delicious sounding stuff on the menu, I’m looking forward to trying the chicago dog and the buffalo bleu fries.
One note to the delivery driver/​to-​go order specialists/​management:
When delivering a giant mess of a sandwich, make sure to also include napkins, fork and knife. Maybe even some of those moist towelettes they give to bbq revelers. While Clinton and Lewinski may think it’s cute to have a little mess on a dress, the people I work with do not appreciate it. *
*Just kidding, no dresses were harmed during the scarfing down of this meal.*

Stopped in today for lunch. There’s a reason this place is famous. Really fantastic sandwich. I had the same sandwich that won best sandwich on that Man vs Food show — absolutely delicious.
The owners are awesome family franchisees who were friendly and accommodating. The restaurant was gorgeous and immaculate as well. For a fast-​casual restaurant, this place seemed pretty upscale and professional. The truth is, this is a very small chain based out of Chicago with only a few locations outside of IL… and only one in Arizona so far.
You can’t go into this thinking «Cheesesteak» (not that you would)… it’s a really flavorful italian beef. You also have to expect that the bread is going to get a little soggy from the meat juices. The bread they use is great and even though I let my sandwich sit for a bit, it didn’t get too soggy at all. Just soaked up the flavors a bit — only the last bit of bread at the end was a little wet.
The fries were hand cut (the owner was proud of this — as he should be), and delicious. Know that you can order your fries however you like them — regular, crispy, no salt or extra salty.
I hope they open more locations — this one delivers around the area, so that’s rad. Makes me wish I lived closer. I’m definitely going back to try a dog — haven’t had one in awhile. I just got back from a trip to Chicago too, so it will be fun to compare. So far, it’s spot-​on. The closest thing to this I can think of is Luke’s which is different. Both are good.
I really don’t understand some of the negative reviews here… this place is immaculate, everyone is nice, and the food is awesome. Italian beef might not be for everyone, but there’s something for everyone here.

This place was a disappointment.
I’m a big fan of a good Italian Beef sandwich. I was introduced to it when I lived in the Chicago area in 2001. Since I’ve moved back to AZ, I am always in search of a good one. Lately, on my way to Anaheim for a little family fun, I stop at Portillo’s in Buena Park or Moreno Valley. This is a must. Needless to say this is what I compare Italian Beef sandwiches to.
The Italian Beef sandwich at Al’s just did not compare. Not only was the beef dry even though I got it wet, but it just tasted different. It was definitely an unexpected taste for me. The rest of the family agreed too. The hype was there but did not deliver or meet my expectations for me.
To top it off, the service wasn’t the best either. It took a few times for the cashier to get the order right. And even though the order was right they still managed to screw up one of the items we ordered. Though they did rectify it. And to top it off, we ordered a «chopped» salad. The lettuce wasn’t even chopped. What? Not chopped? It’s the little things.
We ended up leaving disappointed. It was a bust for us and definitely not worth the trek from Chandler.

What to say? Meh! Although it might be 2.5 stars, but it’s for sure not 3.
One more place that I can add to my list of things that don’t live up to the hype.
Had the Italian Beef and Chicago Dog.
First the beef. You could tell the beef was pretty good quality and to my surprise there was more than enough of it for my tastes. We ordered the sandwich dipped so the good news is that it made the bread edible. Had it not been that way I expect the clearly stale bread would have been on the inedible side. As for flavor about the only thing you could taste was the dip. The beef had no discernible flavor on it’s own. Having said that I found the dip to be high on the pepper side and as such I got to taste it for several hours later.
Now the hot dog. I don’t claim to be an expert on Chicago cuisine, but I’m pretty sure a Chicago dog includes celery salt. None here… nada, zip, zero. Oddly enough that little missing ingredient makes a lot of difference. The dog also comes with fries. Now most places on the planet the fries come on a separate plate/​bag/​cup/​whatever. Not here. Fries come wrapped in the paper that contains the dog. I wasn’t digging this little innovation.
There are all kinds of signs/​posters in the place telling you about how good the sandwich is and who says so. Also on one of those TV food/​travel channel competitions the beef sandwich was named the winner for the midwest region as the best sandwich in America. As of this writing the overall winner hasn’t been named but if the beef sandwich comes even remotely close to winning, I’m going to throw my TV out the window.
This place isn’t even remotely close to where I live, but since I was in the neighborhood we stopped in. I wouldn’t make a special trip, but I might give it a try again (just to see if I can «get it») if I’m ever back in the neighborhood.

Seriously, this place is seriously good. Like, no joke good. I was shocked to be honest.
I’ve had Al’s in Chicago and this place is just as good, if not better. The place is true Chicago décor but the food… it’s where it’s at.
I’ve had the Chipotle chicken wrap, which is seriously good. The bf has gotten the Maxwell, which is his fave but has had the dogs in multiple variations and is always pleased.
Check it out.

I should have known better that since the Cubs have spring training in Arizona, there must be a Chicago eatery around. And there is one– one that I actually saw on tv once!
Thankfully it was Al’s beef.
Go up, order, and they call your order when it’s ready. I got a Big Al, w/​cheese and hot peppers– dipped. Also got a side of chili-​chese fries.
The place was big and clean, and of course, had the classic «Welcome to Chicago» slogan on the front door. I couldn’t imagine it any other way.
The sandwich was literally the best I have had. The bread was soaked but still held up as I chomped it. The peppers were finely chopped and gave it a great flavor that I cannot compare it too.
The only thing that prevented me from giving this place 5 stars was the huge Pepsi machine they had…
I think too for the price, you get a great deal.
The place isn’t limited to beef, so keep that in mind if you are looking for something else to chomp on!

************Left Disappointed —- Just As I Expected ***********
Was hopping to be impressed… little has changed.
Same-​O Same-​O with New Ownership… won’t survive either.
I’LL CONTINUE… going to Taste Of Chicago… where $ 5.68 + tax gets you a dog fries and drink.
Better yet … the Valleys best … for Italian beef and Hot Dogs
is CHICAGO HAMBURGER COMPANY on Indian School
This place is just… not up to the COMPETITION

This is a solid economical choice for lunch and a great Italian Beef sandwich. Get yours «dipped» if you don’t mind a little mess and want more flavor. The interior is also much nicer than you would ever expect from the façade. I will be back again soon…
UPDATE: I went back again this weekend — the Chicago Dog is wonderful.

Al’s Beef in Chicago was never one of my regular places that I ventured to to grab an Italian beef. There are so many other small «ma & pa» places that I pretty much passed Al’s up. That being said, I at least got to try it in Scottsdale!
I ordered a sausage and beef combo with hot giardiniera and some fries. The fries were decent — crispy and salty. The giardiniera was great, and definitely looked and tasted like it was taken out of a big pot in back rather than a big jar from a wholesale store. The beef was also tasty and definitely seemed like it had been marinating in its juices for a couple hours. Everything was pretty good until the sausage. The sausage was an alright link, but it wasn’t hot; it was cooling off. From «order up» to table to mouth is all it took, seemingly. I really like my hot sandwiches piping hot, especially when that sandwich is an Italian beef (hybrid). Shite happens unfortunately though, and at least the flavors were pretty good.
I’d give Al’s another go. It passes, but didn’t win me over.

I was up here today hanging out and was hungry for something different. I cruised past this place, slammed on my brakes, and whipped into the parking lot at a high rate of speed.
After throwing the car in park, I made a fast dash for the inside. Something you should know about me: I love a good hot dog, and this place has em!
They have a great menu selection of Hot Dogs (ALL beef too… tasty!) sandwiches and burgers… AND the prices are AWESOME! I got an all beef hot dog, with fries and a coke. Grand total? $ 5.34! Plus, you can get booze here if you like. They also have TV screens in here, and at the time, they had on some football games, which was nice.
It’s a nice place because I feel like its relaxed enough to enjoy a nice meal with a friend here, yet not to barish or uptight that you can’t relax and have a decent meal. Plus, the prices are great too! What a great way to spend a saturday afternon.
I would gladly return to this place… prices are awesome, food is great, and the place is not typical pretentious Scottsdale! wooohoooo!

There’s just something in a restaurant’s name that will lure me for a visit. Like Al’s Beef. Those words together conjure up fantastical images of hunky blue collared workers. You know the ones; they work hard and play harder, each one starving, looking to get his fill of Al’s thick juicy Italian Beef sandwiches.
In 1938, Al’s Beef opened as a food stand in Chicago’s Little Italy. The idea for the Italian Beef sandwich came during the Depression when meat was scarce. So, in order to help stretch the meat to feed more people, the roasted beef was shaved extremely thin, then made into sandwiches.
Over the years, Al’s flourished, earning accolades such as Best Sandwich in America from Esquire, Playboy and others. They were even featured earlier this year on one of my favorite TV shows, Man vs. Food, in an episode titled «Da Italian Stance.»
In Chicago, there’s an art to eating an Al’s Italian Beef sandwich. In the «Italian Stance,» the diner’s knees are slightly bent, posterior slightly up and out and elbows on the counter. This technique helps to avoid getting Al’s gravy on your shoes. It’s not the traditional gravy you might think of putting on mashed potatoes, but more like the pan drippings from the roasted beef they dunk the entire sandwich in, bread and all.
Unfortunately, all of this amazing history and media attention doesn’t seem to matter to the new franchised location in North Scottsdale. The concept here is fast casual, order from the counter, then getting your number called a few minutes later to pick up your food.
The interior was spotlessly clean, the staff relatively friendly and the concept easy, what’s not to like? Unfortunately, the food.
I started with the Big Al ($ 7.45), the 8-​inch version of their Italian Beef sandwiches. I want to eat it like Chicagoans do, so I ordered the sandwich dipped, then covered with hot giardiniera, a relish of pickled peppers and vegetables. Taking my position, with my butt in the air and my elbows on the counter top, I took the first bite. First I was amazed just how juicy the sandwich was. Then another surprise hit me – the meat was almost flavorless.
I was so disappointed that after a few bites I decided to try a Chicago Dog ($ 3.10). But the hot dog was so small and shriveled I wasn’t sure you could call it a hot dog; more like a hot mess.
There were a few highlights, including the delicious Bleu Cheese Fries ($ 4.50), perfectly cooked French fries covered with bleu cheese crumbles and dressing. Another treat was the Tamale Boat ($ 5.80), two Chicago-​style tamales covered with chili, cheddar cheese and onions.
When one of the employees decided that it was time for Headbangers Ball, playing thrash metal over the restaurant’s loudspeakers, I took it as my cue to leave.
Maybe this place should be renamed Al’s French Fried Tamale Mosh Pit? Rock on man, rock on.