Illinois has a bunch of official state symbols. The official state snack is popcorn, and pumpkin pie is the certified pie of Illinois. Just this summer via House resolution, Illinois added Italian beef as the state sandwich, thanks in part to the influential hit show The Bear‘s “extraordinary portrayal of Chicago’s Italian beef culture.” The book book Made in Chicago published by Illinois Press explores the iconic sandwich, which developed from immigrant ingenuity in Chicago’s Little Italy as a way to feed more people with less, slicing beef super thinly, putting it on bread, and dipping in gravy.
Italian beef is Chicago’s most defining sandwich and easily one of my favorite sandwiches—when done right. According to me, it shouldn’t be shredded beef because I don’t like that, but actually, it’s the law, too. The decree was quite specific: Illinois Italian beef includes “thinly sliced, seasoned roast beef piled high on a sturdy Italian roll dipped in rich beef au jus and topped with sweet peppers or spicy giardiniera.” So go on, get out of here with shredded stuff and weak jus because the resolution clearly says thinly sliced beef and expressly rich jus—them’s the facts.
From Italian restaurants to a Chicago-style food truck to a barbecue joint, here are five places to eat the state sandwich in town.
Baldarotta’s Porketta & Sicilian Sausage
Of course, Urbana’s Italian sandwich shop has a great Italian beef. At the Griggs Street restaurant, I ordered the Italian beef ($15.50), my go-to order at Baldarotta’s. This lightly toasted roll was packed with bottom round beef thinly sliced and soaked in roasting juices with a topping of housemade giardiniera and side cup bowl of jus. Chef Jordan Baldarotta’s beef was so yummy. Rubbed with fresh herbs seasoning and slow roasted with pepperoncini, banana peppers, and San Marzano tomatoes, then sliced thinly and tossed back in braising stock, this beef had serious infusion of Italian flavor. Hot giardiniera added a nice crunch and stinging spiciness that cut through beefy richness. The roll and paper-thin sliced beef sopped up that seriously rich jus—rich in flavor and rich in dip capability, far and away the biggest side in town. They also have roasted red peppers and an option to add cheese blend of provolone, mozzarella, asiago, and white cheddar…