Italian Steak Sandwiches

Hi there SouthKC, my name is Adam. My Uncle Sammy was the owner of Wimpy's. My family still has the recipe for the Italian steaks and we make them frequently for family gatherings. I am always flattered when I hear people remember Wimpy's as I grew up going there a lot as a child and have fond memories of it. It was a wonderful place to eat. Great food and fun. I miss it and him a lot. He passed away from cancer years ago. He was a good man. If you want to know more info feel free to hit me back.

Adley


Hi there SouthKC, my name is Adam. My Uncle Sammy was the owner of Wimpy's. My family still has the recipe for the Italian steaks and we make them frequently for family gatherings. I am always flattered when I hear people remember Wimpy's as I grew up going there a lot as a child and have fond memories of it. It was a wonderful place to eat. Great food and fun. I miss it and him a lot. He passed away from cancer years ago. He was a good man. If you want to know more info feel free to hit me back.

thanks!

wow, glad to see this thread alive and well. forgot how good the steaks were until i had one at Jims a couple months ago. and tamales ofcourse. might have to try and make some steaks to swerve out of the trailer this year. i also remember eating at dilkeldorfs, sp? back in the day. i saw alot of old kc places listed here. no one mentioned smacks.  

JCHGH2,
You had said that you worked at Whimpys.  I am trying to figure out what family owned it.  Do you remember?  Also, did they deep fry the Italian steak or use a griddle?  I have done both and can't figure it out.
 
Thanks!!

Adley,
My family is Italian and in fact Sammy knew my papa, Bennie Cerra, real well.  Everyone talks about going to Whimpy's for the Italian steaks.  I remember as a kid eating them and once I turned 16 my dad sending me there to get him one.  I would love to know as much as possible on how they are made and the recipe.

Hello to all from the KC northland!

Some places up here that carry Italian Steak Sandwiches:

LC's Hamburgers (NW Prairie View Rd) - $3.35
Italian Gardens To Go (NW Barry Rd) - $6.29
Leo's Pizza (NW Englewood Rd) - $4.50
Giovanni's Deli (NE Antioch Rd) - price unknown

Of those, I've only tried the ones from LC's and IGTG.  IGTG is like Fazoli's, a fast-food Italian drive-thru.  Their sandwich contained breaded steak, cheese, marinara, and lettuce.  Decent, not top-tier, but certainly better than what you'd expect from a tiny drive-thru with most of their stuff prepared and stored offsite.  If you want to try them out, hurry - they're closing on October 31 (supposedly moving to Overland Park in the future, but that doesn't seem definite).  

LC's is an old-time greaseburger joint, with a damned good core product, so it took some willpower to leap over to their non-burger menu.  Their version of an Italian Steak has breaded steak, cheese, lettuce - and barbecue sauce, like rmille41's recipe.  I honestly think that using barbecue sauce changes the taste of the sandwich so much that it can't really be evaluated alongside the more traditional formula.  They also use the same bun and patty shape as they do for their burgers, making this an atypical Italian Steak indeed. 

I haven't had Leo's Italian Steak, but I have had their pizza.  It's St. Louis-style, and the first good pizza I've had up in the northland.  (The best pizza I've had in all of KC is The Art of Pizza, on Baltimore Ave.)  They're actually a bit like LC's, in that their establishment feels like an awesome time-capsule.  If their Italian Steak is as good as their pizza, then I can't wait to try it.

Giovanni's Deli I didn't even know existed until I found it when Googling for a Popeye's.  No website that I could find, but reviewers indicate they have Italian Steaks.  Reason enough for me to go there!

Just went to KC last week to visit family and friends.  Had some Zardra's BBQ and found that Paul's Drive In on 1008 Osage Av., Kansas City, KS still has Italian Steak sandwiches.  Found out that Eaton's on Kansas Av. closed a few years ago.  They use to serve them on a hoagie bun but, Paul's puts them on a hambuger bun.  They still taste the same... fantastic!