Be Careful What You Wish For
I have spent the last several years perfecting my Italian Beef Sandwich recipe – which I will not share. The ideal that I use is the sandwich that’s sold at a beef joint in Elmwood Park, IL. named Johnnie’s . Elmwood Park is an enclave of Italian Americans that is notorious for both great food and an infamous group of “citizens” that facilitate things like gambling and convenient personal loans. It really doesn’t get more Italian here in the states.
Anyhow, I usually make about 10 lbs of beef whenever I cook it. It’s kind of like an Italian version of the French Dip and I’ve never fed one to a beef loving Montanan who didn’t shower praises on it. Recently I fed a friend of mine and, afterwords, he asked me if I might do him the favor of making these for a tailgate party at a Griz game. Not thinking much about it I agreed. Thinking this food might have a commercial application I though it would be nice to see a reaction from people that might express raw opinions not fetter by friendship.
So, here we have it. In early November I’m supposed to feed the party which, I just found out, will be roughly 200 people. That means have have to roast (and slice paper thin) roughly 65 lbs beef, slice 200 rolls, make 5 – 6 gallons of “gravy” and a gallon of giardinera.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
I betcha’ the Bensonhurst neighborhood in the southern part of the NYC Borough of Brooklyn is more Italian than your Elmwood Park.
There may be more Italians there but I bet it’s not more Italian. I’ve been to Bensonhurst and it’s a big, culturally beautiful neighborhood of Italian-Americans. But it’s the same Italian-American culture that lives in Elmwood Park. After all, Chicago is “the second city.”
That isn’t the Northern Colorado game tomorrow is it?
Nevermind, I am apparently illiterate and the “early November” didn’t register on me…
lived in chicago 35 years and known the owners of johhnies and known the original and real recipe and am not sharing it.
This is a bit off topic, which I apologize for, but would you and your viewers mind voicing your opinion about the recent oil spill, you’re opinion greatly helps and I can’t thank you enough for taking a few seconds to give it. I left the link in the appropriate field, thank you!