Beefathon V or is it VI (Rob - either way you need to release one of those two names to our use ), is tentatively scheduled for September 24. I suggest the Southwest side trip, which includes these places (not necessarily in that order, though):

Freddy's 1600 S 61st
Chickie's 2839 S Pulaski
Coppolino's 4455 W 55th
Parisi's 6216 W 63rd
Vince's 6217 W 63rd
Tony's 7007 S Pulaski
Duke's 8115 S Harlem

Need to check open hours, and see if there are any additions (there are a few must-eat spots in this vicinity, so we could add quite a few side trips), but first let's deal with the must: whos's in?

My calendar is marked.

I'm there.

Count me in

I'm always up for a Beefathon; assuming 9/24 remains open for me I'll be there.

Kman wrote:I'm always up for a Beefathon; assuming 9/24 remains open for me I'll be there.

my sentiments exactly (although I might add) seems like a long wait

I'm in.

Freddy's 1600 S 61st
Chickie's 2839 S Pulaski
Coppolino's 4455 W 55th
Parisi's 6216 W 63rd
Vince's 6217 W 63rd
Tony's 7007 S Pulaski
Duke's 8115 S Harlem

I’d strongly suggest removing Coppolino’s from the itinerary. I don’t know if I’ll bother writing anything more on the place but I finally tried an Italian beef there and it was terrible. Despite enthusiastic comments (from a single reviewer) on Metromix it’s a strong contender for the worst Italian beef I’ve had in years. I’m sorry for mentioning Coppolino’s in the first place.

Maybe it’s too far south but try not to miss Pop’s (10337 S Kedzie; photo here). It would be especially interesting to try Pop’s and Chickie’s, two less known but top tier places, on the same day. In addition to very good beef they both have a similar style of freshly made hot peppers.

I’ve been to all of these places except Duke’s. It seems to me a fairly strong lineup, especially if Pop’s is added.

ReneG's comments on Coppolino’s are enough for me. Let's delete it.

That leaves six places. I certainly would like to try Pop's, but I fear we would run into a time/capacity crunch. Also, it may not be fair to Pop's as our taste buds would be sated at the end of the Tour de Bouef.

Our experience has been that five places is about right, though it can be stretched to six. which would work well this time as Parisi's and Vince's are across the street from each other.

Let's go with six and save Pop's for a future Beefathon covering more of the South side.

It might make sense to save Pop's for a different beefathon that includes Marnell's in Chicago Heights. There is a Pop's in Homewood, a mere 15 minutes away from Marnell's, which I still firmly believe should be included in a future beefathon.

Suzy

Sounds good to me.

In his May 7th post on this thread, Dickson suggested a Far South grouping:

JJ Sausage 10500 S Western
Marnell's 849 Halsted Chicago Heights
Pete's 7843 S Stony Island
(can we get an Old Fashioned Donuts stop in here?)
Pop's 10337 S Kedzie

That can be the next beefathon after the SW tour.

Any change in plans? With no posts since Jul 18, 2005 will there still be one?

Just to make sure it gets on the Beefathon radar.... Strat's. Really good, house-made beef.

LAZ wrote:Just to make sure it gets on the Beefathon radar.... Strat's. Really good, house-made beef.

Is this the same Strat's that also has a location at Mannheim & Grand? If so, the beef is pretty good, as I remember, although I wouldn't put it in the same league as Johnnies or any of the top tier places.

stevez wrote:Is this the same Strat's that also has a location at Mannheim & Grand? If so, the beef is pretty good, as I remember, although I wouldn't put it in the same league as Johnnies or any of the top tier places.

Strat's Hamburgers
630/832-0435
231 E. North Ave., Villa Park
Also: 847/455-3040, 2906 N. Mannheim Road, Franklin Park

I didn't try the Franklin Park location, and, of course, I wasn't doing a side-by-side comparison. But I eat Johnnie's beef all the time and I'd have said that, while there were certainly differences in seasoning, what I ate in Villa Park, was nearly as good as good as Johnnie's -- very tender, juicy and beefy tasting (none of that dishraggy dryness you sometimes get), with excellent giardiniera. YMMV, which is why I suggest it as a beefathon stop.

Phil wrote:

Any change in plans? With no posts since Jul 18, 2005 will there still be one?

Yes, Beefathon V is on! The great Southwest beef quest will be Saturday, September 24th starting at 10:30 am at Chickie's.

Here's the route:

Chickie's 2839 S Pulaski Road, Chicago 773-277-2333
Freddy's Pizzeria, 1600 S 61st Ave, Cicero 708-863-9289
Parisi's 6216 W 63rd, Chicago (between Austin & Narragansett)
Vince's 6217 W 63rd, Chicago (obviously across the street from Parisi's)
Tony's Italian Beef, 7007 S Pulaski Road, Chicago 773-284-6787
Duke's 8115 S Harlem Ave, Bridgeview 708-599-0576

At ReneG's suggestion Coppolino's was dropped.

I called Chickie's and Freddy's, and they both are open by 10 am on Saturday so there should be no problem with starting at 10:30.

In case anyone wants to join midstream, we have found that the group averages about 45 minutes per beef place, including shlepping from one to another. That means we should finish around 3 pm.

I'll be out of town (and out of touch) most of next week, but look forward to seeing you on the 24th.

I'm hoping to make it for at least the early part of the day. See you at Chickies.

An ambitious itinerary. I look forward to it. Thanks, George!

Best,
Michael

I will be there with score sheets, tummy, and enthusiasm, since I know there are going to be at least two darned good spots on this trip.

Count me in as well.

George R wrote:Chickie's 2839 S Pulaski Road, Chicago 773-277-2333
Freddy's Pizzeria, 1600 S 61st Ave, Cicero 708-863-9289

George,

I'm in for Chickie's and Freddy's, then have to cut out.

Enjoy,
Gary

George R wrote:Tony's Italian Beef, 7007 S Pulaski Road, Chicago 773-284-6787
Duke's 8115 S Harlem Ave, Bridgeview 708-599-0576

I smell a Vito & Nick's detour.

Due to a nasty head cold that settled in this afternoon, I'm going to be unable to make it tomorrow. I hope you all have a great time.

Best,
Michael

Sory you can't make it Michael. See the rest of you tomorrow at Chickie's.

Everyone may feel free to call me on my cell phone - 630-399-9172 if anything comes up. I am ready for some beef.

eatchicago wrote:Due to a nasty head cold that settled in this afternoon, I'm going to be unable to make it tomorrow. I hope you all have a great time.

Best,
Michael

My nasty head cold MAY be over enough by tomorrow that I'm hoping to be able to attend - it's all up to Nyquill now.

Ok, I'll chime in here as an "outsider", one who grew up in the 'burbs but has now lived in SoCal for 20 years. By the way, we've got an excellent place here for italian beef and sauasage and hot dogs (Chicago's Best in Irvine, which truly does rival some of the best in Chicago), and Portillo's (which is MORE than serviceable IMHO and is darn good for a chain) is set to open here next week.

Peppers, giardinara...I don't like 'em, I don't want 'em on my sandwich. To me, the sandwich is the meat, bread, the "gravy" (and the optional sausage for the combo) and how the 3 (or 4) work together. Combine that with a size, price, value proposition and there's where you find your best italian beef. I like hearing about the peppers and giardinara (I like comments about fries and the place/atmosphere better, though), but I don't think they should factor into the ratings.

As for one more beefathon and then going on to the "finals" I think you guys are short-changing yourselves. I hate to say it, but there have got to be dozens, maybe more like hundreds of places, that could be deemed worthy of consideration and included in future beefathon's. In and around Downers Grove itself, my old stomping ground and home to my visits, there are at least a half-dozen I might suggest.

I applaud the quest and hope to join in at some point...maybe at Christmastime if we have one going on.

RSM Bob wrote:

As for one more beefathon and then going on to the "finals" I think you guys are short-changing yourselves. I hate to say it, but there have got to be dozens, maybe more like hundreds of places, that could be deemed worthy of consideration and included in future beefathon's.

I sympathize with your position and wish we had the time (and capacity) to sample every beef stand in Chicago and beyond. Unfortunately, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of such places so we have been forced exercise some sort of triage.

Places were chosen for Beefathons based on recommendations of LTHer's - now more than 1,000 members. Despite this, some places were found wanting. (Among the worst was one which declined precipitously between the time I ate there and recommended it, and the next Beefathon.)

I haven't made an exact count, but am sure we have gone to more than two dozen of the better beef stands. Before we're done, the number should be over 30.

Nevertheless, we welcome suggestions for more places to try, and I for one would not mind if we added yet another Beefathon for overlooked stands.

EVERYONE, if you know of a worthy beef stand we have missed please post. All comments and suggestions are welcome.

As for one more beefathon and then going on to the "finals" I think you guys are short-changing yourselves. I hate to say it, but there have got to be dozens, maybe more like hundreds of places, that could be deemed worthy of consideration and included in future beefathon's. In and around Downers Grove itself, my old stomping ground and home to my visits, there are at least a half-dozen I might suggest.

Not to be argumentative, but:

- Given your professed admiration for Portillo's Beef, I have to look on your preferences here with a tiny bit of doubt. You are alone in liking Portillo's, tho I admit that so long as the beef is cooked properly and the ingredients good, it does come down to individual taste preference. Having said that, of those hundreds of places, I am sure there are a lot that abuse and overcook their beef in some way. There is a lot of decent beef out there, but a lot of lousy, stringy, greasy, mushy, overcooked stuff, too. And in the 30 or so we have sampled so far, there are probably no more than 5 or 6 that anyone has considered memorable.

- We want names. Flip and I are more than willing (okay to speak for you, Flip?) to do a mini-suburban Beefathon to qualify some other contenders. DG being pretty much in my neck of the woods, I am not aware of a half-dozen good contenders, but when in an exploratory mood I do admit I am more likely to test a taco stand than a beef stand. So tell me where to go, please.

- I respect the purity of your approach to Italian Beef, tho I have a strong fondness for giardinera.

Darn, sometimes I REALLY wished I lived back there. Like I said I don't profess to know everything, but I have enjoyed checking out some of the places that you guys have sampled during multiple beefathon's. In fact, it was the mentions on CH about Johnnie's that got me to find it and check it out...it's now a regular stop every time we go back evenin though it's not exactly convenient to DG.

As for the "professed admiration for Portillo's Beef", I think I said it was More than serviceable and good for a chain. I'll stand be that. In today's market, mom & pop operations are harder to come by and they struggle to succeed (especially here in SoCal), and I try to frequent local operations when and where feasible. That being said, it also increases my respect for chain operations that DO do it right, and I think Portillo's is one of them.

Ok, gosh I know there are so many I'm going to forget, but here are a few that may be worth checking out in the DG area:

Teddy's - 63rd and Main (right in my old neighborhood!). Also a location on Plainfield Rd I think.
Maxwell's - 63rd and Woodward (Meadowbrook). Also another at 63rd and Cass
Johnny's - Ogden and Main in Westmont...my brother in law's favorite place for IB. Good italian ice.
Dan's Pizza - Maple Ave on the W side of DG. A hidden gem for thin crust pizza and IB.
Cozzi Corner - 75th and Lemont
And what about the places on Ogden...Gyros King at Main advertises IB but I've never been, and the place 1-2 blocks west (forget the name) across from the Jewel-Osco teardown. Also there is (or at least was) a decent beef-burger place on Belmont S of the tracks a few blocks. And I think Skuttlebutt's is still there as well right at the RR tracks. And another place i've been by but never tried is the one right next to Fannie May/Sara Lee on Ogden just W of Belmont (again, I forget the name).

Again, that just barely scratches the surface in the area. I do know there is only so much time and so much that can be done, but one of the joys is in discovering the new places that are good or better. It's too bad you need to go through the mediocre ones (or worse) to find them sometimes.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about these places if you've been.

Meanwhile, I've got one lone place about 10 miles from me here in SoCal, with Portillo's opening up next week about 25 miles away.