Ricobene's
The prevailing narrative about Chicago food tends to focus on the three J's: Chicago-style hot dogs, deep-dish pizza, and Italian beef sandwiches. Why do they call these the three J's? They don't, they call you the three J's: JoMama, J.J. Jerkulator, and Joo Juan Jumpy-Ass Motherfucker!!! Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of pretty much all the classic Chicago junk food. But the famous shit from here tends to be all North Side favorites, and you never hear about the South Side classics that are just as beloved. Guess people be too busy scratchin' and survivin' and/or hangin' in and jivin' to bother with eatin' and food-bloggin'. Well, let's start rectifying that by celebrating some of the South Side's signature sandwiches. Like the Breaded Steak at Ricobene's.
Now, Ricobene's isn't the only place to get a good breaded steak sandwich, but theirs is fuckin' delicious. It's surprisingly light for such an obviously heavy sandwich – the steak is pounded thin and tender, the breading works well with the roll (so it's not an insane carb fest like that dry macaroni and cornmeal hero I once ate while preparing for an Ironman … I believe it was Ironman 2). I got the regular size ($8.99) , added mozzarella (.99) and giardenera (.59) , plus a can of Coke ($1.25) … $13.06 total, and pretty much inhaled it. What might set the Ricobene's breaded steak apart from others is that it is highly crave-able. I found myself thinking of it even several weeks later, while recovering from four angioplasties.
Review by Pumboo Dongo-Dohnoh, January 2020
More South Side Sandwiches: |
