Little Joe's Homemade Beef and Sausage (Countryside, IL)

--Got Beef? Italian Beef


Lil' Joe's (Countryside, IL)

Its not often that I find a beef spot that I previously had no knowledge of but it happened this past year in Countryside, IL.

I found Lil' Joe's tucked into a strip of other business's hidden behind...you guessed it, one of those Al's beef/Nancy's pizza franchise's. The sign said "homemade beef since 1969" and the place looked like it hadnt changed much inside and that was all I needed to give it a try, that and the fact there were about 10 people eating in and taking out of Joe's while there was one person in the drive thru at Al's and no one inside. When I got a 2nd chance to go back to Joe's I was glad to taste it was no fluke. The first thing I thought when enjoying a Joe's IB was "this is what the beef's at Mr. Beef used to taste like". Its really a melt in your mouth type beef, very thin and very tender. The giardinara is not hot at all, so thats a small minus but it is loaded with celery, a small plus.

The meatball sandwich was also above average and worth getting again even though there were just two meatballs they were large. If LJ's was a little closer to me, they would see me in there often. Another big plus is this has to be the best place to get a beef and a beer, which they have on tap.


Beef with hot

Rating Scale 5/5

beef: 5
bread: 4
gravy: 5
hot peppers: 3

Score: 17/20

Little Joe's
20 E. Plainfield Road
Countryside, IL 60525
(708) 352-9696