Handheld Bites

When I visited Chicago, I had done extensive research to find the best places to eat. Doing research, I found out that Italian beef sandwiches are a thing, which I am not familiar with at all. There were a few popular places that came up and after reading reviews and checking out images, I decided I had to try Johnnie’s Beef. Johnnie’s Beef was actually the first place I ate at when I arrived in Chicago. I actually took the bus there (I didn’t rent a car)!

The place has an old school food joint vibe that is takeout and outdoor dining only. Once I entered the place, there was a line but it went by quickly. I placed my order of Italian Beef ($6.67) with sweet peppers ($0.70), fries ($2.14) and small italian ice ($1.96).

I was lucky to find a table outside and got ready to eat my meal. There was a class trip where they had lunch there too and they actually introduced themselves to me. Chatted and had fun convos with them. Must be nice to be young and not worry about bills…

The Italian beef which I requested to have it dipped in their soup/sauce, was pretty big and filled with a lot of meat. It tasted really good and juicy. It seems odd but it was uniquely delicious.

The fries reminded me of McDonald’s fries, thin and crispy and it was tasty. They served ketchup wrapped in wax paper, which was interesting.

The Italian ice, which was lemon flavored, definitely went well with the sandwich and fries. It was so good and even though it was “small”, it was mounting over the cup.

Johnnie’s Beef was definitely well worth the stop and I highly recommend this place especially if you have never tried Italian beef. Get the Italian ICE!! That is a must.