3 days Ago
The Chicago Italian Beef from Roasty’s, on Congress Street in Portland. Photo by Ray Routhier When I heard there was a new place in Portland serving Chicago Italian beef sandwiches, I yelled to no one in particular, “Yes chef!” I’m a big fan of the FX series “The Bear,” set in a Chicago eatery that specialized in Italian beef sandwiches, before becoming a more upscale restaurant. I’m also a big fan of roast beef sandwiches.
But I’d never had an Italian beef, so the series made me curious. And hungry. Then in November, a restaurant called Roasty’s opened on Congress Street in Portland.
The menu consists of regional specialty roast beef sandwiches, including the one seen on “The Bear.” The first thing I noticed on the Italian beef menu listing is that you can order it dry or wet. I was told wet means it’s dipped into the cooking juices, and that it would require lots of napkins.
I went with wet and I used at least a half dozen napkins. Totally worth it. The long roll was thick, and dipping it made it soft on the inside, though firm enough to hold the generous helping of sliced roast beef.
The sandwich was topped with pickled veggies – called giardinera – that included several kinds of peppers, carrots, cauliflower and a few other bits I couldn’t quite discern. The beef was tender and flavorful. The giardinera’s salty-sour flavor was a great compliment to the beef, and did not overwhelm it.
I ordered the standard, 5-ounce sandwich, for $14, which was plenty filling for me. But there’s also a “Beast” version, 8 ounces for $19. Roasty’s other regional specialty sandwiches provide several “try this” opportunities for roast beef lovers.
There’s a Boston 3-way (think Kelly’s on Revere Beach), a Los Angeles-style French dip, a Philly cheese steak, a New Jersey “Sloppy Joe,” and a beef on weck from Buffalo. Chicago Italian beef, $14, at Roasty’s, 642 Congress St., Portland; eatroastys.
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