Where’s the beef?!
Five places to celebrate the Italian beef sandwich in Orlando
When I met Doug Walters about a year ago, it was to talk Chicago dogs.
“But you need to try the Italian beef!” he said.
Somehow, I managed to stay on-mission, but I knew the day would come.
May 27 is National Italian Beef Day, which celebrates this Midwestern icon of a handheld. Lucky for Orlando, the Chi transplants behind Chicago Dog & Co. (1113 W. State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs; 407-335-4010; chicagodogandco.com) celebrate it all day, every day.
Walters, the general manager, says its easily as popular as the Chicago dog, but far more nuanced, as the famed tube steak is really all about assembling the correct ingredients and proper brands. “But everyone does their Italian beefs a little different.”
It’s an iconic sandwich that like many other beloved foods was born of modest means amid the immigrant population where the cheaper cuts of meat were slow-cooked and made tender, then shaved thin so they could feed more mouths.
Loaded into a fresh French roll, the beef is then piled with pickly giardiniera and/or sweet peppers. Some folks like cheese. Provolone and Swiss are most prevalent. Personal, too, is the application of the sandwich’s signature jus, a flavorful broth created during the cooking process.
“Everyone cooks it a little different,” says Walters, who puts 13 spices on a top round before it roasts to medium rare. “I let it cool in the fridge over night, then slice it paper thin. Then it goes back into the warm jus to finish the cooking process.”
Walters’ giardiniera, too, is its own animal. Instead of the classic carrot, celery, cauliflower, he swaps the latter two in favor of onion and green pepper, “which delivers the same crunch, but with more flavor.” He also makes his relish-style.
The bread is a make-orbreak component. And for Chicagoans, only two will do: Gonnella or Turano. Walters has used both, though they’re not easy to get in Orlando.
“I started with Turano, but switched to Gonnella during COVID because we had supply issues. Then I just fell in love with the flavor and stuck with it,” Walters says. “If you use the wrong bread on a beef, the whole sandwich is going to fall apart.”
Some folks like a beef “dry,” which means the only jus on it is the stuff that comes off the beef. Others go for “dipped,” which sees the ends of the sandwich soaked in broth. Then, there’s the most popular: dunked.
“You just take the whole sandwich with tongs and stick it in the jus,” says Walters, laughing. “Some people will ask you to hold it there until the bubbles stop.”
There’s a special lean required to eat this delicious, drowned, drip monster. The Chicago-legendary Al’s even has a name for it: The Italian Stance.
“It’s a messy, messy sandwich to eat,” says Walters. “But no one cares.”
Read on for more places to get your hands dirty.
Hinckley’s Fancy Meats
Roasted Creekstone Farms beef, and a broth made from the jus, are the stars of chef Matt Hinckley’s Italian beef sandwich ($15), which gets topped with a house giardiniera of cauliflower, celery, carrot, roasted red peppers and Castelvetrano olives before
its all tucked into an Olde Hearth Bread roll. Get this one while the getting’s good (today through Sunday and it’s over).
More info: Located inside East End Market, 3201 Corrine Drive in Orlando; 786-671-1023; hinckleymeats.com
Stasio’s Italian Deli & Market
Stasio’s is well known for sandwiches steeped in nostalgia (those New Jersey-inspired pork roll breakfast sandwiches are a prime example) but they’ve
never tackled any from Chicago until now.
“People ask us to do Italian beef all the time,” says co-owner Diana Palo, “and this is the first time we’re doing it.”
But you better run: It’s one-day only — today (May 27)! A National Italian Beef Day special made even more so by Stasio’s kicked-up giardiniera, a meld of pickled vegetables combined with their own marinated roasted peppers and long hots.
Grab it for $13.99 and if you like it wet, ask for extra jus — then take it outside, buddy!
If this one proves popular, you may see it back before too long.
More info: 2320 E. Robinson St. in Orlando; 407-277-7755; facebook. com/Stasios-Italiandeli-194418224503776
Willy’s Wieners
The Italian beef ($10.25) is among the delights listed on the “Willy’s Midwest Classics” section of this Kissimmee eatery’s menu, listed alongside classics including the Chicago dog and the Maxwell Street Polish. “People get it all different ways — dry, wet,
dunked,” says manager Darian Torres. Willy’s uses the rolls of Turano Baking Co., a Chicago staple for three generations running. “You can’t just go to Publix or Walmart for French bread on an Italian beef. Try it and it just falls apart. Turano’s stays intact.” The total dunk is the most popular among their customers. “They just love it.”
More info: 103A E. Dakin Ave. in Kissimmee; 407-2017916; willyswieners.com
Portillo’s
Some folks swear by Portillo’s which made big news when its Orlando outpost opened in June of last year. Its following borders on cultlike, which makes its location adjacent to Orlando’s still-newish White Castle fitting. Here you can grab one of their famous dogs alongside the Italian beef (small: $7.29; big: $9.29), which general manager Jesus Suarez says is truly authentic. “Our Italian Beef is slow-roasted for four hours in a special blend of seasonings that we’ve perfected over the past 50 years. We cut the beef into thin slices and serve it on freshly-baked French bread.” Here, too, customers preferences run the gamut, “but no Italian Beef sandwich is complete without adding either our homecooked sweet peppers, our spicy peppers...” Some enjoy a mix of the two.
More info: 7715 Palm Parkway in Orlando; 689-800-0102; portillos. com/location/orlando
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@ orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group or follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.