The Skinny on the Beef

Anyone who has read the previous entry knows that I fancy Italian beef. While I have no Italian blood in me, I do appreciate the cuisine. I grew up in Chicago and there are hot dog joints everywhere. By "hot dog joint" I mean a place that serves Chicago dogs, burgers, Italian beef, Italian sausage, Polish sausage, fried fish sandwiches, grilled chicken breasts and the like all with French fries. I swear, you can't swing a dead cat and not hit one of those places. Madison, however, has only one such joint, the last time I counted. And, while there is more than one place to score Italian beef, all the stuff I've had is for shite. If anyone from Madtown is reading this and knows where to find a good Italian beef, please, for the love of Mary, let me know.

Here's what you do: get the beef and the gravy. (And by gravy here, I mean au jus, not the thickened stuff one would serve with a roast.) Heat the gravy. Then put in the beef. Remember, the object here is NOT to cook the beef. All you are doing is transferring the vital heat from the juices to the meat. Heat on low for a short time and serve. Put a generous helping of the meat in a bun of Italian bread. Throw on sauteed green pepper and onion plus giardinara, if you're so inclined. Some mozz makes a good addition as well. Don't forget to either give your sandwich a good douche of the gravy or put some in a bowl for dipping. When you take a bite, the juices should drip down your chin. BAM! You've got Italian beef.

While I'm at it, here's the stuff you'll need for a Chicago dog:

all-beef hot dogs (Vienna is the preferred brand in ChiTown)
minced onion
fresh tomato, sliced and quartered
yellow mustard
sweet pickle relish
Sport peppers
Celery salt
And you put all this on a poppy seed hot dog bun that has been steamed. This last bit is important. The buns must be soft and warm.

I don't mess around when it comes to my tubesteak.

Christ, I'm getting hungry! I keep having visions of the super pita BLT at that joint on Irving Park and Kostner(?)...