I'm still in Chicago, where the first day of spring brings with it snow, ice, hail and wind. I would perhaps worry what God was thinking if I were the mother of the bar mitzvah boy. The people here seems to be ready for this terrible weather, however, and the roads were quite passable. After touring around with the bar mitzvah mom's mom, we headed off to one of the greatest heart disease causing centers of Chicago, Mr. Beef. Mr. Beef is located at 666 North Orleans Street, Chicago, 60654 and their phone number is (312) 266-8251.
Mr. Beef is a dive, and proudly so. You can't even go to the bathroom there; if you have to go, well, you have to go to the restaurant next door. The place consists of two rooms; the first consists of a counter, a kitchen and the front door. There is an "elegant" dining room next to this, which consists of a long table, someone else's old newspapers, and life size statues of Jake and Elwood Blues.
As for what to eat: the answer is boiled, Italian style beef. Think cheese steak meat cooked in a liquidy sauce and piled onto an Italian roll. Ordering it makes you wise. If you add the hot pepper sauce, called giardiniera, you are a smart person. If you grab about 15 napkins, then you are a genius, because the sandwich, which is excellent, is also a goopy mess. Don't wear a suit.
If you want variety, they have a pretty good steak sandwich for $5.75, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, shakes and fries, all of which were fine. But unless you live on Orleans Street, I would stick with the beef.
