JT's Genuine Sandwich Shop

New place just opened on Elston about 20 feet south of Irving Park. Featuring sandwiches from the Midwest, place is exactly what this neighborhood needs.

Tried it last night and it was really really good. I went with the fried chicken sandwich which was a thigh with pickles and a maple chipotle mayo on a buttery bun. Outstanding. Better than HBFC.

Lots of cool looking things on the menu....breaded pork tenderloin, steak and potato, Detroit Coney dog, roast turkey breast with stuffing and cranberry and several more.

Finally after 11 years of living in the area we have a really good gourmet sandwich place.

JT's Genuine Sandwich Shop
3970 N. Elston
Chicago, IL 60618
Closed Sundays

This is great! I’ve been studying their concept and compiling a list.

I had heard a month or so ago that they were planning to open.

Maybe we can see a few of our other favorites popup?

Regional Favorites

Indiana, Iowa = Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwich
Wisconsin = Beer Bratwurst
Nebraska = Runza (Bierock)
Indiana = Zel’s Roast Beef (w/Peperoncini)
Iowa = Guinea Grinder
Michigan = Pasty’s
Ohio = Romanburger
Maine = Lobster Roll
Michigan, Ohio = Coney Dog
Toledo = Hungarian Hotdog
Philadelphia = Cheesesteak
Southern Illinois = Horseshoe
Iowa (Maid-Rite), Indiana = loose meat sandwich
Florida = Cubano
Chicago = Jim Shoo
Kentucky = Hot Brown Sandwich
Mexico = Sonoran Hotdog
New York = Push Cart and Coney Hotdogs

I actually have some business in the area soon and I am looking forward to visiting.

Hopefully they don’t go too far ‘Gourmet’ as many of these sandwiches are rather simple and common.

shakes wrote:New place just opened on Elston about 20 feet south of Irving Park. Featuring sandwiches from the Midwest, place is exactly what this neighborhood needs.

Thanks for posting, sounded interesting so went with the bride for lunch.

J.T.’s has an wide ranging selection of sandwiches. I dug my roast pork and broccoli rabe with provolone, bride enjoyed her chili. We split a tasty natural casing dog. Big selection, comfortable space, friendly sincere owner, lots of street parking. Can't wait to go back.

JT's Genuine Sandwich Shop, count me a fan!

Thank you very much for the report.
I hope the pork and rabe sandwich was as good as Dinic's in Philly!

chainey wrote:I hope the pork and rabe sandwich was as good as Dinic's in Philly!

JT's version was very good, not quite Dinic's or John's Roast Pork, both of which I've been, but really tasty and I scoured my plate for scraps when the sandwich was gone.

Chris, owner/chef, of JT's, mentioned he uses pork loin instead of shoulder as he buys pork loin to pound for the pork tenderloin and wants to minimize products for now, so, while by no means dry, and the meat was cooked perfectly, it could have been a little richer for my taste. The greens were great, the bride suggested he offer those as a stand-alone side dish.

The other thing I noticed JT's uses sliced provolone, Dinic's/John's chipped off pieces of aged provolone. Chris said he plans on using aged provolone in the future.

Let me point out the above are nits and picks, the sandwich was terrific, for one week in business the place was smooth, people looked happy, as were we, and they were pretty busy for a new joint mid-week lunch.

JT's has excellent attention to detail, I can't wait to go back.

JT's had been closed for the safety of the staff at the start of the lockdown, but they reopened May 1st with just Chris working by himself in the kitchen. He has an abbreviated schedule and menu and is only taking orders through their website for now.

We ordered yesterday and found the process to be very safe and easy. Chris has a table set up right outside their door with clear instructions to call when you arrive and stay a safe distance from the table. Then he brought out our order and placed it on the table for us to take away.

We had the breaded pork tenderloin, JT's special burger, and the regular fries. Fries stayed crisp and hot in the 10-15 minutes it took us to get them back home. Breaded pork was fried perfectly and the burger really hit the spot. We'll definitely be back again before (and after) this is all over.