Italian Beef in Twin Cities????

I recently moved from Chicago to the Twin Cities and I'm dying for some of my italian favorites that were on every corner in Chicago but apparently hidden in the twin cities. I live in the sw suburbs but would drive as far as it takes to get a good italian beef sandwich and/or a real Chicago style hot dog. Does this place exist?

I also miss small italian deli/markets where we could get good italian imported meats, especially Volpi salami and italian beef by the pound with gravy (au-jus) in a container. I've been to Bon Giorno but they didn't carry Volpi and don't provide gravy (au-jus) with their beef. Does anyone have any other suggestions for us to try?

Thanks in advance.

[meanone]

OMG.....
Uncle Franky's in Nordeast Mpls. The BEST italian beef sando's in town. Don't forget to get the giardenere peppers. This place is to die FOR!!!! And I hear they are opening up a new shop in Plymouth! 728 Broadway. Hope this helps.

[Mill City Modern]

Uncle Franky's is my favorite weekend lunch spot.

I've heard good things about the newly opened "Slice of Chicago" in Midway (St. Paul). It's on the eastern end of that crummy strip mall on University near Snelling; the one that has the DMV, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Payless, etc in it.

As far as the Italian grocery goes, stop by Delmonico's on your way home from Uncle Franky's. They're in the same neighborhood. The address is 1112 Summer St NE. Great meats, homemade pasta and sauce, and I've heard that they make sandwiches as well, though I've never had one myself.

[Paz]

I went to "Slice Of Chicago" today for lunch. Before eating there the only Italian Beef I had was at Uncle Franky's.

After ordering a 6" Italian Beef with sausage, peppers and "cheese" I knew I was in trouble. It must have weighed 2 pounds. The thing was huge, greasy, spicy and tasty. For a side I ended up having a bottle of Tums. Was it worth it? Yes. Will I have another one soon? probably not. It's too big to have one more than once a month.

Gluttony, pure gluttony.

[chitown]

hands down, uncle frankys and joey ds, i think joey ds uses scalas an old chi town favorite and unclefrankys uses vienna beef maybe better, both use gonnella or turano bread and peppers both are awesome we need ten more. chicago foody

well the real thing does exist, growing up in chicago and moving here recently, 2 places were introduced to me both do a great job, joey ds and uncle frankys, both serve scala and vienaa, it seems as though both places have let me down but have excused them both due to the lack of certain products, ive gotten scala giardiner at both and vienna giardinar at both, these are both class acts, i think theres pizza at joey d and burgers at frankys, by the way frankys is a crazy hot spot at lunch, so if you like that environment go then, otherwise go in the odd hours, joey ds has a little more room, the guy in frankys, owns arestaurant downtown chicago so u know its the real thing, thanks joeys and frankys, u guys rock, il chowhnd

I went to Joey D's for the first time this weekend. I was hoping to get a beef but while waiting in line to place my order decided not to when I saw them preparing a beef for another order. The beef looked very over cooked and they were puting it into a sausage roll, not a wedge of french bread. Was also quite disappointed to see they don't have sweet peppers. We had hot dogs instead and they were done right. Nice to see we can get a true Chicago dog, still fanticizing about a real Italian beef though. I'll have to find time to check out Uncle Franky's soon. I smell a real opportunity for a chain in MN like the Portillo's chain in Chicago.

Thanks for the follow up! I agree. There are many opportunities here I think for some of the fast food places elsewhere. I'm still trying to find subs and Italian foccacia sandwiches like I used to get in Chicago. Although Potbelly has seemed to have spread here...maybe I need to try that and see if I still like them.

If you are looking for an Italian sub, Briano's in Eagan is not bad. A bit much on the bread and light on the meat but not bad considering it is smack in the middle of the land of the bland...lol

here's another vote for Uncle Franky's. Just beware that you will get a sandwich too large to hold, which is good, because if you could hold it, you'd just get scalded by the jus. Great sandwich. Great chowSpot.

Fellow chowhounds,

If you are hankering for a Chicago-style italian beef sandwich, get thee without delay to Uncle Franky's in Nordeast Minneapolis. I just finished my regular Tuesday lunch of italian beef, mozzarella, and hot peppers. Jay, the owner (who opened Erte and also owns a restaurant in Chicago - the name escapes me), was raised in Chicago and uses genuine Scala beef from Chi-town. (Vienna beef for the hot dog lovers amongst us, too.) The bun, also baked in Chicago, is lovingly dunked in the beef jus until it gets just the right degree of sogginess, then piled high with the mouth-watering beef, and topped your choice of peppers - sweet, hot or sport. As a nod to South Beach I am currently forgoing the bread and I still can't get enough of the italian beef sandwich. Seriously, this is as close to Chicago as your going to get here in Minnesota.

Also of note on the menu is the Nordeast Turkey with extra meat! Jay also has an all-you-can-eat hot dog deal for $9.99. And if you happen to be close by in the morning, the Geno sandwich is a decadent way to start your day.

Oh my gosh, all this talk about Uncle Franky's has me hankering for another one... Next Tuesday can't come soon enough.

Mark

Link: http://www.unclefrankys.com/

Avoid the Italian beef sandwich at Joey D's. About a year and a half ago after my first experience with Italian beef in Chicago I was hankering for an Italian beef sandwich here in the Twin Cities. I went to Joey D's. The sandwich was nothing like what I experienced in the Windy City. The meat was dry and tough and did not have much flavor. I think I ended up throwing half of it out.

Please report back if you find a great Italian beef sandwich here. I gave up after that poor experience.

Although I may get chastised for putting this info up, I figured I owed it to the Volpi fans. I'm fortunate enough to live about 25 miles from their store so I can easily enjoy the fine work they do there. They do have online ordering for those of you hankering for some fine salami, mortadella, etc.

Link: http://www.volpifoods.com/Volpi.htm

Broder's Deli has good imported salami. I don't know if they have the brand you're looking for, but what they do have is tasty!

Link: http://www.broders.com

Forgot to mention that I also like the dogs at Uncle Franky's. They actually have a cart at the Home Depot in Minneapolis, the only place I've eaten Uncle Franky's dogs.

I'd second the dogs at Joey D's. Definitely Chicago style (I'm from Chicago too). They also have Chicago style Italian beef sandwiches on their menu, but I have not tried them. There is also a place on Selby just east of Dale that has decent Chicago style dogs, and I believe they might also have Italian beef sandwiches on their menu. Again, haven't tried them. You might want to give Morelli's a call. They are over on the east side of St. Paul. They have a deli but don't know if they'll have what you're looking for. I'm a fan of their homemade frozen stuff, and their inexpensive and large containers of spices I use often. It might be worth it to check them out. Now if someone can tell me where to get those wonderful Italian deli sandwiches on foccacia like I could get in Chicago...neither Buon Giorno nor Cosetta's has had them.

In your search of Volpi, Talk to the counter workers at Buon Giorno... if they don't have it, the might be able to order it, and there may be other sanctions in place that change sporadically (as often happens when I am seeking out Bresaola, a kind of beef like proscuitto I fell in love with while living in Italy). Surdyk's also has a limited, but unique supply of cured meats (they have on occasion carried bresaola).

The Walkin' Dog in downtown Minneapolis (Northstar Building tucked away in a corner) did an excellent Chicago style hot dog when I worked down there three years ago. I haven't been back, but they're still there, same guy running it and people I've sent have reported back with positives. Choice of relishes (bright green or regular) and celery salt if you want it. They do a good malt there too.

Another place that I haven't been in a while but had a quality Chicago dog is the Wienery just south of the Cedar Ave/Riverside intersection.

A few months ago I was driving up a road in south Minneapolis and spotted one of those dingy looking grocery markets with "Chicago Beef" painted in that fluorescent lettering on the windows. I stopped in and it was actually solid even though there were so many peppers it almost destroyed my insides. Their technique was to dunk the entire roll into the vat of au jus, then fill -- it was kind of tough to eat while driving. Surprisingly good sandwich though -- maybe a South resident can chime in, otherwise I'll re-post once I remember the name and location. I might have to go drive around to find it -- it was on one of the main north-south roads like Nicollet Ave.

Brianno's does have Italian beef sandwiches but it's one of few things I haven't tried there yet. Thing is, I love their bread there but I'm not sure it's right for Italian beef -- it might take 10x the au jus to really saturate that stuff. I like the chewier kind like you get with a cheesesteak, not the hard crusted stuff that dries out the beef.

About the salami, even though Buon Giorno didn't have Volpi, did you try some of the others? That's about as impressive an array of salumi that you'll find in this town. I would be surprised if some of their stuff wasn't an acceptable fill-in until you could get back to Chicago.

What about Brianno's in Eagan? I don't know if they have what you are looking for, but it is a good bet. A word of caution about the website: the menu link made my computer sort of crash, so you are probably better off calling them.
Welcome to the Twin Cities.

Link: http://www.royalcliffineagan.com/bria...

For Italian beef, Cosseta's on W. 7th in St. Paul. Chicago dogs are big at Joey D's in Minneapols.

Cossetta's probably has the best Italian Beef.

Another option for Chicago Hot Dogs is Uncle Franky's in Northeast Minneapolis.

I also had a conversation with the owner of the St. Paul Bagelry, and he told me that they were doing Chicago Hot Dogs - he emphasised that they're doing them, "the real way" although I haven't tried them myself.