What is Chicago-style Italian beef?
Born in Chicago's Italian-American neighborhoods, Italian beef became a local classic by turning slow-roasted beef, rich jus, and sturdy bread into one of the city's signature sandwiches.
The sandwich traces back to the 1930s, when families and cooks in Chicago often served thinly sliced roast beef at weddings, festivals, and neighborhood gatherings. To make the meat go further, it was sliced thin, simmered in seasoned juices, and piled onto a long Italian-style roll that could hold up to every drip.
Over time, ordering it dry, wet, or dipped became part of the tradition, along with toppings like sweet peppers or spicy Chicago-style giardiniera. Now serving Parma, Cleveland, and throughout surrounding Northeast Ohio communities at Au Jus, it is still made the authentic way: seasoned beef, fresh bread, and your choice of peppers, just like the sandwich that made Chicago famous.
