Ajs Burgers and Beef

I’m not going to write this review to flex my extensive knowledge on Italian Beef and Chicago street food. There appears to be a lot of the «I grew up in Chicago so I know how it’s supposed to taste» reviews. Well… I grew up eating food. I know what tastes good and what tastes like dog butt.
Now that I’ve spelled out my credentials, let me talk portions and price point. I actually did a project about it for a class. I was perplexed when I read a review claiming it’s expensive for what you get. Dogs are sub $ 4. Burgers are sub $ 7. Fries are sub $ 4. It’s an extremely competitive price to other burger places in town (namely a burger place about 5 men). And you get a stupid amount of food for that price. Their burgers are ¹⁄₃ pound patties, their fries come in small or a very generously portioned large. Their dogs come with toppings a plenty. TL;DR their food is the same price per ounce in terms of burgers compared to 5 Guys, but their burgers come in larger portions.
What sparked this review was my order of the Italian Combo (an Italian Sausage placed inside an Italian Beef) and it’s roughly a 1lb sandwich after the toppings. I spent $ 10 for food that will fill you up quicker than powdered potatoes and a gallon of water. To drive the portioning point home, they were recently visited by a competitive eater on her way to compete against Kobayashi. Whaddup.
Their Burgers. Oh man… the burgers. Third pound face fisting burgers. Hand pattied, broiled and grilled on a toasted bun. If your mouth hole isn’t getting moist and ready for a burger bukakke of toppings you have a disorder. They have a plethora of custom sauces and cheeses to add to these manwiches. On top of the standard veggies (favored by the women) and real cooked and chopped bacon (favored by men). There’s a damn near infinite combination of topping to craft your very own sensual food experience.
Their fries are always crispy and warm. For the less creative folk there’s straight cut fries. But because it’s 2015 and technology rules they also have a lattice cut (waffle) fry if you’re feeling froggy. And those come seasoned with a secret seasoning (I can only imagine a cocaine based powder) that’ll have you coming back for more. Ya that fries are a bit greasy… but that gets thrown out the window when you walk into a food palace owned by 2 dudes.
If you’re a Purdue local, they have the best delivery deals. Cheap gyros, awesome chicken, and awesome fries. Their delivery speeds are 2^nd only to the Melinium Falcon. And their open till 3am most nights, unheard of in the Burger Industry.
If you want cheap and fake food go to McDonalds. If you want real food that’s competitively look no further than the Meat Temple that is AJ’s. Seriously.

For t most part AJs is a good place .they delivered late to town I mean late .it’s a good thing. t burgers are always good… love the funnel cake fries… but t only thing I don’t like is the Italian beef… is small n expensive… t bread not toasted don’t help it… nothing like Chicago Italian beefs…

Delicious burgers and fries, especially loaded fries. Friendly staff, really nice homey atmosphere.

I only ever get AJ’s after midnight, but it ALWAYS hits the spot. Their delivery is fast and their food is good quality with plenty of toppings. I love the option for grilled onions over raw.
Bonus points because my delivery guy walked through so many spider webs to get me my food, that you could see them separate from his body like velcro as he emparted the sandwich bag to me. We were both hilariously heebie jeebie about the whole thing for 2am.

Ordered sandwiches for takeout. They reversed the toppings on them (bbq on a burger and mushroom and Swiss on chicken reversed to bbq on the burger, etc). Found out too late of course. Scraped bbq off burger but it was horrible. Weird chemical taste. Wouldn’t get a burger there again. Grilled chicken is ok. There are definitely better places to eat on campus.

I’m a native Chicagoan and a huge fan of Italian beef. AJ’s kept me sated while at Purdue University and prevented me from taking spontaneous 2.5 hour drives to get a taste of home. I can’t say much more for the joint. It provided a taste of home and tided me over until I was able to get the actual thing, while being nothing spectacular in of itself.
AJ’s occupies a small store front that had close to 5 businesses in it while I was at Purdue. It seems that AJ’s is going to be its final occupant because the business has stuck around and done well at this location.
The space is very narrow. The whole restaurant feels like you are eating in a hallway, as a result. The walls are plastered with images of Chicago and Chicago sports. They are clearly trying to sell the brand and hype the food as being Chicago style.
AJ’s has Italian beef and Chicago style hot dogs. They are not the same quality compared to a neighborhood shack or dog stand, but they get the job done for little old West Lafayette. I highly recommend asking for sweet peppers on your beef. Do not ask for ketchup if you opt for a hot dog, go back to New York. The menu also hosts funnel fries, which are essentially funnel cake dough in the shape of fries and dusted with powdered sugar. This menu item is probably the only thing executed extremely well. I highly recommend giving them a shot, despite a small portion size.
Buyer beware, the food is very expensive for what you are getting with small portion sizes. The food can also be inconsistent between visits. Sometimes my beef and cheddar was drowning in cheese, while other times there was little to no cheese present.
On the grand scale of Chicago food, AJ’s has the style down, but it falls flat overall with bland au just and processed cheese. The food is greasy and feels like a concession stand and not in the charming Chicago streets way. I frequented AJ’s while at Purdue because sometimes I just really needed a beef and cheddar and didn’t care about quality. If you really want a taste of Chicago, you may be better off using the money to drive 2 hours north.

I’m born and raised in Chicagoland. I’ve had my share of Italian Beef and Chicago dogs and know how it’s done right. Today was my first visit to A.J.‘s. I was looking forward to some decent Chicago food from what seemed to be a place that was truly Chicago-​style. Boy was I wrong.
I was the only customer there at 1:20 P.M. today. I made my order to eat-​in. The beef and especially the dogs were overpriced. Their prices were higher than most places in Chicago for the same food! Italian Beef and fries for $ 9.18? Really? It’s a better deal to get Portillo’s shipped to you in one of their meal packs!
After twelve minutes, yes TWELVE minutes, I was told they were making me a new Italian Beef sandwich because the first one fell apart. Seriously? I counted at least five employees working there. I was the only customer in the store. I waited another couple of minutes until I received my food. No apology from them for the essentially fifteen minute wait. Ridiculous.
The beef was quite bland as was the au jus. Certainly not what is expected for a decent Italian Beef. The sweet peppers were in a plastic cup on the side and very cold. Peppers are never served on the side (always on the sandwich) nor cold in anywhere in Chicagoland. The serving size of the beef was very small, especially for the price.
I had high hopes but high prices, terrible service, and bland food made it a very bad experience. I won’t be returning and will not recommend to friends. Go up to Portillo’s in Merrillville if you want real Chicago-​style food. Don’t waste your money at A.J.‘s… for anything on their menu…

The food was really good I had a double gcb add bacon and waffle fries my wife had a gyro with regular fries we also had mac and pepper jack cheese bites we went on a Sunday evening it was not very busy but they still managed to get our order wrong twice they forgot the fries and gave me the wrong burger after fixing the problem we really enjoyed our food. Definitely get the pepper-​jack mac n cheese bites.

My hamburger had beef in it, and the fries were good. The sign on the place said AJs (easy to locate), and the address online matched the store. Got home, was able to eat the food. 5 stars, served it’s purpose.

As a Chicagoland resident for my whole life, it’s like ordering up a little slice of home while I’m still at school. Great beef sandwiches and burgers. Still have to try their dogs, but I’m sure they’re good.

Ok the food is good and I really enjoy it every time I order, but this new minimum delivery fee is absurd. I mean you can’t even get a typical burger, large fries, and a drink without falling short of the minimum delivery fee by about $ 3. Then you have to sit around trying to find some other random item just to meet the minimum fee. Coming .05 cents short of the minimum is really annoying too.

Loaded XXL fries are awesome. Great to stop here late at night with friends. One $ 12 order of these is enough for 4 people. It’s basically a pizza box filled with crispy waffle fries topped with chili, cheese, ranch, and jalapeños. Add gyro meat or bacon for $ 1 each.
Burgers are alright. They’re a little dry but they’ve got good toppings.
Gyros are good but a little small.
Chicago dog is good!
Cool restaurant atmosphere and good location. Friendly service!
Get the loaded fries.

Good food and decent prices. This place is owned by a couple of Purdue grads who decided to open a burger joint together. I’ve been there a couple times and their food was delicious. I had a gyro the first time and was impressed by it so I decided to give them more business by taking a group of people there to eat. We ordered everything from their Italian combo to burgers and chicken sandwiches. Everybody really liked what they got. The burgers were a good value at roughly $ 6. They were ½ pound patties and came with plenty of options for toppings. The meat was juicy and served on a good tasting bun. The bun wasn’t your traditional tasting bun and is hard to describe but it tasted unique and was good. The waffle fried were seasoned well. I liked the fries a lot and would go so far as to say they’re the best fries around Purdue. My only complaint is that they cook their burgers medium so you have to remember to ask if you don’t like some pink in the patty. This place reminds me of Five Guys but since it’s locally owned and not a chain, I’d rank AJ’s above Five Guys for best burger at Purdue. I would highly recommend giving this place a try.

Delicious sandwiches, open late.

AJ’s isn’t going to win any awards for being healthy whatsoever but why did I even bring that up, right? My «go to» is the crispy or grilled chicken bacon ranch with buffalo sauce. The bacon, cheese and everything else on this decently sized sammich is perfectly filling. The waffle fries are never soggy and always have a nice crunch! If you have asthma or a problem with smelling like a smoked meat pit when you walk out of there you may want to abstain. For some reason they don’t like to properly ventilate their restaurant and all of the smoky goodness swirls around the place like something out of a Cheech and Chong movie. All in all… I love this greasy spoon!

Not sure how I’ve never heard of this place since I’ve lived in lafayette all my life, but after a co worker challenged five guys to them I knew I had to try it out. The menu is pretty ridiculous because its not just a one stop shop, so you can’t get bored at all. I chose a gyro and waffle fries while the boyfriend had a gyro burger. To say the least we devoured our meals. Between the awesome friendly staff members and the food, we’ve added this place to our list of must have. Bonus they’re open late and deliver!

I came for the first time today and wow! The food was great! My girl had the classic gyro and waffle fries and I had the gyro burger and funnel cake fries with powdered sugar which I devoured! It is a friendly and fun place to enjoy some awesome lunch and fun dinner options! It is open late at night which is a huge plus and don’t forget they deliver! I highly recommend checking this place out! It is right on Chauncey hill right next to jimmy johns!

My friend ordered AJs, and he was nice enough to give me a bite of the burger and some of his fries.
I liked it so much that I ate there 3 times over the following 24 hours.
every burger i tried was perfectly cooked. the french fries are the best in the city. the delivery is fast and friendly.
Unfortunately, AJ’s is slightly pricey for a burger joint. Cheeseburgers run about $ 6. Also, the location is awkward. One more thing i like about ajs: they staple their bags shut, so you know for sure the delivery guy isnt snacking on your fries or anything.
update:
1÷28÷14. after a year of great food and service, i had to bump this place up to 5-​stars. they have never once made a mistake with my order. the food is completely consistent. im impressed. AJs is a 5-​star burger joint

As a lifetime Chicagoland native, I can attest these guys got the Chicago dog down almost perfect. Chicago dogs are as much art as they are food.
Overall, they’re like a mini Portillos. Fries are awesome. Burgers are great, although I find them a little dry sometimes. Had an italian combo once, eh, I’ll skip that. They even got pizza puffs, probably the only place in town that serves up those heavenly crispy treats.
I only go there for lunch. Atmosphere is OK, it’s in a little bit of a weird location, but they recently moved closer to campus from about a third of mile away. Ventilation is a bit lacking, smoke often fills the place during lunch, but it doesn’t bother me.
Service isn’t the speediest, but then Michelangelo didn’t paint the Sistine Chapel overnight. Employees are extremely friendly. Once asked a manager a question about ingredients in something, he went and ripped the ingredients panel off a box in back to let me read it for myself. Hilarious.

Heaven on a college campus!
Waffle Fries, Waffle Fries. With cheese. With chili. Yess sir, that’s what it’s all about.
Oh and their burgers and hot dogs are good too.
Four stars for being a great spot for a late night snack. A lot of the menu items are cheap and serving size is generous.