Max's Italian Beef

5754 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL - (773) 989-8200

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Posted By Michael Stern on 5/9/2005 4:33:00 AM

Max's was the first stop on the Roadfood 2005 tour, and while it is a perfectly decent example of a Chicago Italian beef shop, it would not make our list of the very best. It had been recommended by several people for its giardiniera, the spicy vegetable mélange that is one of the favored ways to garnish an Italian beef in this city. The giardiniera is indeed excellent. You help yourself to it from a bucket on the counter once you have received your beef from the server. The vegetables are cut small and they spend a lot of time marinating in a peppery oil; a little of this hot stuff goes a long way.

I asked for my beef "sweet" and "wet," which means it gets heaped with roasted peppers (that's the sweet part) and the server takes the whole sandwich and dips it into natural gravy, meaning that it becomes so juicy that it is virtually impossible to pick up and eat without major disintegration. There are plastic utensils, but they are no match for the muscular bread on which these sandwiches are made. Eating it is a matter of both fork and fingers. The beef itself was what disappointed me. It was dry and lacked the unctuous succulence of thin-sliced beef that has lolled in good, garlicky gravy for long enough to become nearly soft as hash.

While the French fries are OK, Max's does offer an interesting variation, known as ghetto fries. That's a cardboard trough of potatoes topped with barbecue sauce, raw onions, cheese, and giardiniera. The menu also includes a "cheesy beef" sandwich, which is pretty unusual in Chicago, Italian sausage (always a good match for beef), and even a chicken Vesuvio sandwich (Chicago's alone).

Scorecard

Overall: One of the Best - Worth a Trip

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"One Italian Beef, sweet and wet, with giardiniera on top"
Michael Stern

"This is the bucket from which you retrieve giardiniera to add heat and spice to your sandwich."
Michael Stern

"We don't know exactly what date this vintage Max's menu is from, but it probably pre-dates the original publication of Roadfood!"
Michael Stern

"We've listed this as a side dish, but Max's "ghetto fries" could also be a pretty hearty meatless meal."
Michael Stern

"Max's is a tiny place, but there are picnic tables outside for al fresco dining."
Michael Stern