Back in September we were in Chicago for an art exhibit and decided to lunch at Mr. Beef (now nationally & internationally known as being the basis for the show "The Bear"). Sadly we were met by this sign on the door.
I took one photo through the glass.
So we walked a few blocks to Portillos - the atmosphere was circus-like and chaotic but the beef sandwich was pretty, pretty good.
Afterward I walked back to Mr. Beef to take more photos and I found the door open with a couple of guys getting supplies. They let me pop in for a minute. Thanks, guys!
Then one of them offered to take my photo - very cool 😊
I poked around a little more outside and found some employee/owner names carved into the sidewalk.
Although I didn't get my beef sandwich I was pretty happy with getting inside for a minute.
The beef stand was opened in 1963 by Carl Bonavolanto and his brother in law, Tony Ozzauto. In 1979, Joe Zucchero purchased the business (and later the real estate), changed the recipe, and off they went.
Christopher Storer is the creator of the show "The Bear" and is a childhood friend of Chris Zucchero (Joe's son) and that's what brought Hollywood to Mr. Beef. The exterior and the pilot episode were filmed here (Chris Zucchero appears in 19 episodes, fyi, so look for him as Chi-Chi when you watch the show). Apparently, during the show's first season, customers would come in looking for Jeremy Allen White - hilarious 😀
When we returned in June, the line was just inside the restaurant so we took our place and waited with anticipation.
The walls are covered with photos of famous visitors and family.
The line snaked along and we were finally up. The options for the beef sandwich were hot, sweet, or juicy. If you order both hot and sweet, the sandwich is called a "Bear." If you want cheese for some reason, that is called a "Bear in a Blanket."
The old sign says Cash Only but they do take credit cards now for an additional fee.
We took our food and entered the Elegant Dining Room.
There was space available at the near end but as we sat down, a gentleman manning the room with Frank told us it was reserved for seniors. "But we are seniors!" "Oh, ok."
Finally, The Sandwich!
Ours was ordered "sweet" with hot peppers on the side. The beef was tender and juicy and served on French rolls from a local bakery, Liborio. The soft rolls had the perfect density to absorb the beef jus. Just writing about this makes me wish I had another one right now. 😊
We soaked it all up, both literally and figuratively, and would return in a heartbeat.
The restaurant is highly organized and efficient, and was much more enjoyable than our earlier Portillos visit. Thanks, Mr. Beef!
