Another Classic: Chickie's Beef

--Got Beef? Italian Beef

Chickie's beef at 28th and Pulaski is a locals favorite that still remains deep under the radar. It also happens to be one of my favorites and the home of the best giardinara in the city. This is a beef shack that is relatively unknown to those who love themselves a good IB and I cant figure out why that is. They recently went under new ownership to a family of longtime customers and they have wrinkled out the kinks that come with starting a restaurant and are at full strength. The IB here is a favorite amongst Streets and Sans workers so you know its good. It is also on my starting five all Chicago-beef team. Now you really know its good.


The old beef shack at 26th and Pulaski (Chickie's)

I'm not saying Portillo's is awful but if you think they have the best beef in Chicago you haven't been to Chickie's or almost any of the other round-ups throughout this site. Most good beef stands are nowhere near downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. This means your going to need to venture out if you want to understand why the IB is king of all the regional sandwiches. Chickie's is a good place to start if you disagree with that statement. The beef at Chickie's is of course homemade and the beef is cooked and sliced perfectly but what puts them over the top is the gravy and hot peppers. The gravy has the deepest most rich beef flavor of all the stands around town and the homemade hot peppers are loaded with jalapeños and celery creating a neon color that is really, really pleasant to my eye. The fries are also the best set of fries served at any beef joint around town. They are very, very similar to the now gone Fazzio's in Lincoln Park (RIP) that was the place that made me love beef like PETA made Pamela Anderson love tofu.


Chickie's top notch fries


beef wit hot from Chickie's

Rating Scale 5/5

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

Score: 18/20

Chickie's
2839 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60623
(773) 277-2333

Previous Beef Scores: Johnnies, Novi's, Lil' Joe's, Frannie's, Carm's (L.I), Pop's, Al's, What's the beef, Max's, Duke's (North)