Johnnie's Beef

Amazing food and service. They were SO EFFICIENT with preparing our food. If you come as an individual, you can be in and out with your food in 60 seconds. Very good prices as well. I highly recommend the tamales, which are cheap and delicious. I also recommend the Italian sausage sandwich.

After terrorizing the rotisserie chicken at Fresh Thyme Market, I jay walked directly across the street to hit the legendary Chicago institution that is Johnnie's Beef. I was only in Chicago for 4 days so I had to maximize my time. I hopped in a line that was down the block and took in my surroundings: Customers sitting on these benches outside that have likely been untouched since 2004, eating their sandwiches and drinking their Italian lemonades like they were in a 1980s fast food ad. Beautiful. As the line moved pretty quick, I noticed they had yellow jacket traps with 50+ yellow jackets in each bag. This is a slight tangent, but I've eaten 100+ rotisserie chickens outdoors this year, and when the summer came, wasps began to SWARM my birds. We've been in a 12 round war for the chickens all summer and I should have just invested in one of these traps. What a genius idea. After about 25+ minutes, I got to the front of the line and a wave of anxiety flooded my prefrontal cortex when I read a sign that said "Cash Only." I was cashless. I asked the employee where the nearest ATM was. He pointed across the street and said "when you get back, just come back to the front of the line I'll take care of you." Wow. NY has never seen this level of kindness. As I took a step towards the doors, I heard a ladies voice say "Oh I can just give you cash and you can venmo me if that's easier!" This had me BLUSHING. Even typing this back I'm getting all happy again. Her name was Annie, and I was shocked that someone could be so nice to a random stranger. Annie spotted me a $20 and I venmo'd her $25, because that's how my momma raised me. I told the employee it was my first time and asked him what the move was. "You should try the sausage and beef with hot peppers if you think you can handle it." I did that and a side of fries, and their legendary Italian lemonade which is essentially shaved ice. When in Rome. There were no seats, so I jay walked back across the street and ate it on a table right outside of Fresh Thyme Market. This legendary Chicago sandwich was good. Really good. I'm not going to sit here and say it was the best sandwich I've ever had, but I think what missed for me was the scoop gravy on top wasn't my favorite thing. It just sort of made it a bit too soggy. I want to note this is purely personal preference, and it was still 100% worth the wait, but just didn't "WOW" me. The Italian lemonade however was PHENOMENAL. It really gave me life back. I'm sitting here in Hawaii typing this up, reminiscing on this experience, and really wish I had another one right now. Fries were smacking too, and I love their branding. It's maximalist. It's soulfull. I'm so tired of these restaurants having this minimalist branding trying to be all chic and cool. Put some heart in your branding. Put some soul in there. Shoutout to Johnnie's Beef. A true must try when in Chicago... and shoutout to Annie for helping a random stranger. We need more Annies in this world. IG @johnny.novo Tiktok @jnov__ Substack @johnnynovo

Johnnie's in Elmwood Park never disappoints. The beef sandwich was absolutely delicious -- extra wet, fully baptized, and packed with flavor. The kind of juicy, messy goodness you want from a classic Chicago-style beef. The French fries were fresh, hot, and perfectly crisp, making the whole meal even better. Overall, a fantastic experience at a legendary establishment. If you're craving a true Italian beef done right, Johnnie's is the spot.

It's probably not the best Italian beef or shake in Chicago, but it's quick, damn good and not much more expensive than a Polish from Red Hots. Super juicy, probably didn't need the extra peppers, but they definitely add something. Extremely fast service, basically ready by the time I paid. After a long day of bike riding, hard to think of something I'd rather have. Note it is cash only though, but there's an ATM nearby

No frills, delicious, and fast. I ordered mine hot and wet with a Chocolate shake. The Giardiniera packs a punch, it is spicy even for a soulful white boy. Staff is super friendly. They work fast and crank out. $7 for a beef on a cold fall night can't be beat.

I've been to a lot of spots around the city and this is the best in Chicago from what I've tried. The meat is perfectly seasoned, tons of flavor. Get it wet and the meat is moist and tender. Even the bread is good.