Post by roman on Sept 4, 2015 19:47:19 GMT -6
After reading the comments about Italian Beef, I decided to post part of a book some guy from Streator wrote on Chicago neighborhoods. The style of the book was that the Streator guy would be taken around Chicago by a Chicago native and shown the sites. Oddly, enough the guy from Streator knew far more about Chicago than the local expert knew. The section below, without photos, was the entry on Italian Beef.
Italian Beef Sandwiches
"Today, you hear the following from your host: "You cannot get good Italian beef sandwiches outside of Chicago. They were invented here."
You cannot allow that to pass by without a brief quarrel so you say, " I agree that Chicago is the Italian beef capital, but you can get good Italian beef in Streator (This author's hometown). In fact, the old Trapp’s Tavern served great Italian beef. I have never been able to figure out why Streator, with a relatively small Italian population, has always had good Italian beef."
"Anyway, let's not argue. I will take you to a really great place for Italian beef, Mr. Beef's."
"Oh, you mean that touristy place in River North?"
Where else would you suggest?"
"That’s easy: Al’s on Taylor Street. That place practically invented Italian beef. The clientèle is interesting. Laborers, lawyers, and business people, all hang out there."
"Is that in Little Italy?"
"Little Italy is a good name for Taylor Street. Before Circle Campus displaced tens of thousands of Italians, the Italian neighborhood was not so little. Until the land-grab by the University of Illinois, the area between Taylor and Grand was home to nearly a hundred thousand Italians. Most of them moved directly west to those nearwest suburbs with the word 'park' in them: Elwood Park, Stone Park, Schiller Park, Franklin Park, etc. Fortunately, Al's has survived in the old neighborhood."
"Al’s, I don’t think I have ever been there before."
"Well, we can fill in that gap in your culinary experiences today. You know the origin of Chicago-style Italian beef, of course?"
"Well, it has been around a long time . . . ."
"Any place in Chicago serving decent Italian beef buys their beef from Scala’s Packing Company, a now fabled purveyor of meat. Pasquale Scala, an Italian immigrant, started the business just after WW I. By immigrant, I mean someone who came through the legal process followed in those days: Ellis Island, et. al.
"According to Pat Scala, the current head of the company, Chicago-style Italian beef grew out of the Depression. Then, as now, Italians liked to serve roast beef at wedding receptions. For obvious reasons, it was difficult during the Depression for a family to be able to buy a large portion of beef. Scala’s creative solution was to slice the beef very thin and juice it up with Italian seasonings. The result was a ‘French Dip’ with attitude.
"After we wolf down our sandwiches, we can walk across the street to Mario’s for some Italian Ices."
Italian Beef Sandwiches
"Today, you hear the following from your host: "You cannot get good Italian beef sandwiches outside of Chicago. They were invented here."
You cannot allow that to pass by without a brief quarrel so you say, " I agree that Chicago is the Italian beef capital, but you can get good Italian beef in Streator (This author's hometown). In fact, the old Trapp’s Tavern served great Italian beef. I have never been able to figure out why Streator, with a relatively small Italian population, has always had good Italian beef."
"Anyway, let's not argue. I will take you to a really great place for Italian beef, Mr. Beef's."
"Oh, you mean that touristy place in River North?"
Where else would you suggest?"
"That’s easy: Al’s on Taylor Street. That place practically invented Italian beef. The clientèle is interesting. Laborers, lawyers, and business people, all hang out there."
"Is that in Little Italy?"
"Little Italy is a good name for Taylor Street. Before Circle Campus displaced tens of thousands of Italians, the Italian neighborhood was not so little. Until the land-grab by the University of Illinois, the area between Taylor and Grand was home to nearly a hundred thousand Italians. Most of them moved directly west to those nearwest suburbs with the word 'park' in them: Elwood Park, Stone Park, Schiller Park, Franklin Park, etc. Fortunately, Al's has survived in the old neighborhood."
"Al’s, I don’t think I have ever been there before."
"Well, we can fill in that gap in your culinary experiences today. You know the origin of Chicago-style Italian beef, of course?"
"Well, it has been around a long time . . . ."
"Any place in Chicago serving decent Italian beef buys their beef from Scala’s Packing Company, a now fabled purveyor of meat. Pasquale Scala, an Italian immigrant, started the business just after WW I. By immigrant, I mean someone who came through the legal process followed in those days: Ellis Island, et. al.
"According to Pat Scala, the current head of the company, Chicago-style Italian beef grew out of the Depression. Then, as now, Italians liked to serve roast beef at wedding receptions. For obvious reasons, it was difficult during the Depression for a family to be able to buy a large portion of beef. Scala’s creative solution was to slice the beef very thin and juice it up with Italian seasonings. The result was a ‘French Dip’ with attitude.
"After we wolf down our sandwiches, we can walk across the street to Mario’s for some Italian Ices."
