What's The Beef

Greeting us with a smile, the sign outside What's The Beef happily beckoned us to come inside and fulfill any appetite on one particular hungover Sunday. WTB serves up a multitude of beef products and even delivers to those living in the southwest corner of Lincoln Park. There is no parking lot, but a street spot was not hard to find.

The Italian Beef came in two sizes: the titular What's The Beef and the Big Beef. Mozzarella was offered as well as sweet peppers, giardiniera, and even red sauce. I was hungry as hell and ordered up a cheesy sweet Big Beef with fries. The Beef King approved.

WTB proudly makes their own Italian Beef. It's received raw, sliced, cooked, and seasoned on site. As I eagerly awaited my home-made Italian Beef, I took in the simple yet elegant ambiance of this Clybourn Corridor beef stand. The walls were plain except for a few Coke ads, Van Gough and Monet prints. An exposed brick wall provided a handsome contrast the the otherwise plain wall that featured the friendly Italian chef that had also greeted us outside and who suspiciously reminded me of the Italian American restauranteur from the Simpsons Luigi Risotto, (see photo comparison).


Taking our meal to the oversized picnic table in the middle of the room, we dug in and immediately experienced a roller coaster of mixed feeling towards the sandwich. My home-made beef high hopes feel short as the beef was dry and had little to no taste. The mediocre meat sat atop a Gonnella bread sandwich roll that would have held up well to a thorough dipping. However, upon asking to have our beefs dipped we were told they did not dip but instead would give us personal au jus cups. While the au jus was delicious it was not enough to fully moisten the chewy bread and the beef did not hold its taste.

The otherwise disappointing Italian beef was completely salvaged by the mozzarella and outstanding peppers. The amount of cheese was ample while the sweet peppers were literally the best I have ever had (and I have had my fair share of Italian beef sandwiches). The peppers were cut thin and tasted like none other that has graced any Italian Beef under my belt. The giardiniera was also quite delicious and had lots of heat. Complimenting our sandwiches were WTB's tasty fries. They were thick and hearty and I actually had trouble finishing them all after housing my Big Beef.

All in all, the home-made beef is nothing to write home about. Despite this, the fixings on the sandwich more than make up for that shortfall, allowing the sandwich to receive a solid review. If hunger strikes while driving down this section of Clybourn Avenue, or you find yourself rooted to your couch in Lincoln Park, What's The Beef provides a tasty meal however big your hunger may be.

Bathroom: Yes / Credit Cards: Yes / Soda: Coke Products / Refills: Free / TV: No

Beef: 7.4
Fries: 7.7
Location/Ambiance: 6.8


What's The Beef
1863 N. Clybourn
773-477-7200

BeefMan