It's St. Patrick's Day week and to celebrate were doing a roundup on a Lithuanian-American sandwich special. Huh? Well the Rueben sandwich does include corned beef which is something many Irish-Americans eat so why not right? It also includes toasted rye bread with melted Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and saurkraut. The exact origin of this now hugely popular sandwich is up for debate but I tend to believe the created in an Omaha, Nebraska restaurant side. But Omaha is a far car ride so I give you five options for one in Chicago. If you prefer corned beef hash check HERE.
______________________________________________________________
Edgebrook Coffee Shop
Popular lunch counter in the Edgebrook neighborhood
Hidden in the Northwest corner of the city is this top notch breakfast/lunch spot. The type of place every neighborhood would be so lucky to have. While everything is here is said to be quality its the corned beef dishes that have stuck out with me. Whether in hash form or via the Rueben sandwich, they're both special. What might be the best Rueben in the city is a near prefect example of one. Whether in the form of the locally sourced bread to the chunky tender cuts of corned beef on over to the excellent hash browns that come with it, it's all good.
Near Perfection
______________________________________________________________The Bagel
This one is dedicated to a good friend of mine. One of his favorite things to eat is a Rueben sandwich and one of his city favorites can be found at this Broadway deli open since the 50's. The Bagel does sandwiches NYC style by piling the meat high, the corned beef product is a thinly sliced variety that gets tucked in between perfectly toasted bread. A stellar sandwich if I may say so myself.
Big Boy
______________________________________________________________Harrington's Deli
Locals favorite in Portage Park
Located on Milwaukee Avenue in Jefferson Park in a small strip mall, this Irish deli does it all. Before entering you're immediately greeted with big displays of each day's specials. Stuff like Irish-style bangers and mash, corned beef and cabbage, and a regular Friday fish fry are just a few of the ever rotating weekly home cooked specials on the board. Regularly offered items include a really good Rueben sandwich made with some excellent rye bread. The corned beef is cooked in house and the total sum of this sandwich is a real winner. Not the biggest one ever but a really good one.
Small but Mighty
______________________________________________________________Li'l Guys Deli
Locals favorite in Bucktown
I'm a fan of the deep dish pizza from My Pie in Bucktown. Even better they sell it in slices. I get in there now and then for one and on a trip last year I saw a sign form the adjoining restaurant called Li'l Guys (a deli) and noticed it mentioned a homemade Reuben sandwich. Only available on weekends I took a mental note and eventually remembered to go try it on a Friday or Saturday. The baking of their own bread makes this one of the more unique options on this list. Its almost as if the bread is attached to the sandwich. Almost like a corned beef strudel so to say. I enjoyed it.
Homemade Rueben Special
______________________________________________________________The Corned Beef Factory
Newly Opened on Lake Street
Ex-cel Corned Beef is one of a few stand-overs left from a different era. They've been providing generations of Chicagoan's with their excellent product for some time now. However as the neighborhood switches from packing district to living area they needed to do something to get the locals in and opening a deli counter was their idea in doing so.
Sandwiches packaged to go
I'd driven by the new counter a few times and needed to complete this survey with stopping in. Its pretty plain inside with the menu being small. They have regular corned beef sandwiches as well as the Rueben and also an Italian beef, not much else. The Reuben is stacked high with thinly sliced lean meat, not my favorite style for it but still enjoyable. This sandwich was a monster and came with fresh house fried chips on the side. Nice addition to the area.
Large Sandwich
______________________________________________________________Edgebrook Coffee Shop
6322 N Central Ave
Chicago, IL 60646
(773) 792-1433
The Bagel
3107 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 477-0300
Harrington's Deli
5685 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60646
(773) 283-8388
Li'l Guys
2010 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 394-6904
The Corned Beef Factory
1009 W Lake St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 666-2535
No comments:
Post a Comment