Where's the Beef?

Now that I've changed jobs, I have a whole different set of food carts to tempt me with their victuals. Previously I had worked just off the Square but now I labor on campus. Today I frequented the carts on Library Mall for the first time and got to sample one that I was really looking foward to - FIBs.

Regular readers know that I hail from the north side of Chicago and that I have a rather low opinion of the Italian beef in this town. I'd read that FIBs was opened by Chicago ex-pats so I had high expectations when I traipsed outside...

First things first. The price is fucking ridiculous. $6.50 for a beef?! This is at least a buck too much. But I did not let the price deter me as I had my mind & gullet set on one.

I was happy that the gentleman running the cart knew the beefy patois and my "Gimme a beef - wet with hots" was immediately comprehended.

Now, if I had brought my camera with me, those of you that know what Italian beef is would immediately notice that they skimped on the beef. The sandwich should be like a busty woman wearing a low-cut top - the meat should be spilling out of the bun. I mean, I was actually able to close the fucking thing around the filling. This runs contrary to all known laws of Italian beef physics.

About that bun - it wasn't a nice white Italian or French bread but rather a mini-baguette or something similar. The outside had the color of a pretzel. OK, I grant you that it had the requisite crusty exterior and soft, fluffy interior but it just struck me as wrong. Perhaps it was the only bread they could find in these parts that could handle being dipped in the gravy. Still, it just didn't look right.

So how did it taste?

The beef was pretty good. It was thin and tender and had the requisite herbs & spices but not enough of them. Just a little bit more seasoning and it'd hit the mark. I found the giardiniera to be quite tasty but the bread just tasted wrong. Not bad, just not right. However, I give it marks for holding together admirably under the strain of the gravy.

Overall, not a bad sandwich but much too expensive. I am going try the beef at The Dawg House next. Looking at their menu, I see that they too charge $6.50 for an Italian beef. WTF? And $3.75 for a Chicago dog?! Do they use kosher kobe beef dogs?