Chicago Bottle Shop and Italian Beef Help Needed

If you are staying out of the city then Portillos is a winning option for a beef sandwich. Yes it's a chain, but it's a home run. There are so many of them that it gives you flexibility to focus on a bottle shop since you won't be too far from a Portillos in any direction

 

Buona Beef is my favorite- many locations- whatever you do make sure to get your beef wet/dipped/juicy- not the same experience when you order dry. Should be a Binnys Beverage depot near whatever beef stand you find

 

Portillo's is a good choice; if you're in the actual city, my personal favorite is Al's. Since you said you wanted to avoid the "downtown area" (I assume the Loop and surrounding neighborhoods), I would hit up the one on Clark St., and then drive south until you hit Binny's (I prefer the Lincoln Park location, but the Binny's on Clark is less than a mile from Al's): https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bin...7d5a3de0822391!2m2!1d-87.6540596!2d41.9437886

 

Go to the original Al's Beef on Taylor street in little Italy and get an Italian lemonade at Mario's directly across the street. They are right off of 290. Seriously. If you are going to stop at one place for a beef, that is hands down the best experience. There are many others beef places (Johnnies is my favorite beef) but for your first time I strongly recommend the Al's/Mario's combo.

 

Otherwise if that's out of the way, go to Johnnies in Arlington Heights. You can get an Italian ice there too and their beef is fantastic. It is off of 90, only one exit east of 290/53 and a couple minutes from the expressway.

 

This is a solid idea and should strike a good balance between convenience, experience, and keeping the others in the car happy. Johnnies is arguably one of the best beefs in the city. Sure this location lacks the charm of the original, but the beefs & italian ice are still great. Plus, there's got to be a Binny's or other liquor store nearby to grab any of the must-have Chicago releases.

 

I love Al's when I'm downtown and Buona is good too. But Portillo's is great, and with kids the "Portillo's Experience" with their fun atmosphere is the best choice (my kids are 14, 11, 8). Make sure to get a large cheese fries and onion rings too, and my kids would vote for the Chocolate Cake shake.
Your proposed route is good, and there are many Portillo's with a nearby Binny's too, so you can hit both before getting back onto the highway. (in Oak Lawn they are 9 blocks apart, in Willowbrook they are 4 blocks apart, in Oakbrook/Elmhurst they are 3mi apart, in Schaumburg they are 1.2mi apart).
In the Dells there are some good bottle shops to check out and their stock is usually updated on BeerMenus.com - always a good place to get Toppling Goliath beers. If you can, get to the Showboat Saloon in the Dells - all pints are $2.50 every day before 6pm...and you'll laugh when they are willing to pour you a pint of a 12% barleywine! I usually ask for 8oz glasses of 4 different beers - totally worth the $10!

 

Beer Temple and Al's Beef. Both on Elston, a mile off the expressway.

 

Oh yeah, good call! I forget about the Elston Al's, sometimes.

 

Johnnie's Beef in Arlington Heights. It's only a couple of minutes off of I-90.

 

There's a close Binny's to here too so you have choices for on the way there, and the way back!

 

Check out Mr. Beef on Orleans. I believe there is free parking there and the beef is fantastic. Right off the Ohio feeder ramp easy to get to. Then hit the Binny's on Grand. Again, free parking and close to the expressway.

 

It's no surprise to get so many different opinions on Italian beef. I think the Binny's/Portillo's combo mentioned is good if you're staying away from the city, but being a city guy, I would recommend doing the Beer Temple/Al's combo that was mentioned. I do love Mr. Beef as well, but I think I'd rather go to Beer Temple than the Binny's on Grand, and Al's is still tasty.

I had my first Buona Beef last week, and I think getting it fully dipped (I think they call it Baptized) is the way to go. I asked for mine regular dipped, and they only dip a portion of it and I thought it was too dry. I've heard many people claim Buona to be the best, but I'll have to try it again with a proper dip.

 

There's 2 I know of, one in Downers Grove and one in Darien, but Teddy's beef is just fantastic, and they have homemade Italian ice in the summer as well. The one in Darien is a couple miles north of I55 and there's a Binny's a few miles from there as well as a Whole Foods that has a good beer selection.

 

I would stay away from Portillo's personally. From a chain perspective, Buona or Al's are better options. However, my favorite beef is Susie's drive-thru on Montrose. It's 1 mile off I-94, open 24 hours. Make sure wherever you go that you get your beef dipped. I always do hot peppers but if you don't look your food hot, it will be too much. A beef dipped plain at Susie's is excellent as well...also, if you are driving from Michigan through Chicago on your way up, you can catch Beer Temple and then Susie's is < 10 min up I-94 in the right direction on your trip to the Dell's...$$$$$.

If you do go to Susie's, it's ca$h only and no questions allowed. Fries there are bomb as well.

 

Thought I should add, there's no indoor seating at Susie's (there are 3 stools inside and it's unlikely you'll get them depending on timing) and there's no bathroom. There are picnic tables outside to sit at. Depending on the weather (usually when it's been cold) that can be an issue depending on who you're with and the no bathroom piece can be a downside too, though typically only with the ladies (and I assume kids as well)...

 

what @Beanblossom said. Mr. Beef is the best beef downtown with the original Al's on Taylor being a close second. There is also an italian joint in the bottom of the sears tower, Venice cafe, that does an awesome combo, beef and sausage, but their giardiniera is a bit lacking.

 

Hit up Al's on Taylor and there is a bottle shop called Gentile's Bottle Shop on the corner of Racine and Taylor. It is literally walking distance. Not a huge place but more of a hidden gem so stuff that flys off the shelf at other places like Binny's...

 

This is my favorite thread title in a while, thank you