Italian Beef

A shaft of muscular bread filled with thin-sliced beef in garlicky natural gravy, Italian Beef is the king of street food in Chicago but virtually nonexistent elsewhere. Many joints that serve it provide a chest-high counter for customers to stand, unwrap the butcher paper it comes packaged in, and ingest lunch. Italian beef shops rarely have menus and order-takers are famously brusque, so it is important to know the lingo before ordering. These are a few vital terms: Double dipped: a request for the entire sandwich to be momentarily submerged in gravy after it is assembled. Dry: a request for the server to pluck a heap of beef from the pan with tongs and let excess juice drip away before inserting it into the bread. Hot: spicy pickled-vegetable relish called giardiniera is applied. Sweet: a garnish of roasted red and or green peppers. Combo: add of a length of charcoal-cooked Italian sausage.