Top 5 Corned Beef Sandwiches in Chicago

Since Chicago doesn’t have near the competitive deli culture like they do in New York City, I realize wading into this subject isn’t fraught with nearly as much potential hate mail as I would receive if, say, I delved into Italian beef or pizza. But still, this holdover from a bygone era still gets my heart racing (literally, and figuratively), as it’s one of the iconic foods I ate as a kid. I can still taste the Lincoln Del’s matzo ball soup, tart, briny pickles and meaty, salty corned beef on rye bread; even though it was Minnesota – a galaxy away from the true deli all-stars of the East Coast – it gave me the basis for what would later become epiphanies in Montreal (Schwartz’s), New York (Katz’s and 2nd Ave. Deli) and Los Angeles (Langer’s).

These five all make their corned beef in-house, but clearly, there is wide variation among them. Sadly, none of them smoke it like they do at Schwartz’s, Mile End in Brooklyn or Caplansky’s in Toronto.

1. 2 Sparrows, 553 W. Diversey, (773) 234-2320

This new breakfast and lunch spot is hit-or-miss. I hate the goofy pop tarts and “doughnuts” (which are technically holes), but adore the shrimp and grits and the corned beef sandwich. They braise and brine their brisket in-house. The brine is more intense than your typical deli, and has 15 different spices that go into it, including: black peppercorns, salt, mustard seed, coriander, cinnamon and cloves.

The bread is a beer rye from Bleeding Heart Bakery, and the sandwich is served with housemade traditional sauce, (similar to a 1000 island) and housemade tater tots.

2. City Provisions, 1818 W. Wilson, (773) 293-2489

This is the deli of my Chicago dreams, featuring tons of locally-sourced, artisanal products. But when it comes to the corned beef, Cleetus Friedman does everything himself: he brines and boils beef that starts out as either a QR Ranch Brisket (in the winter) or one from Dietzler Farms (in the spring/summer).  There’s a “secret house recipe,” and the owners won’t go into detail. It’s served on Bennison Rye with Prairie Pure Swiss, a house “CP” sauce, housemade mustard and mayo, plus housemade pickles and chips.

3. 11 City Diner, 1112 S. Wabash, (312) 212-1112

Brad Rubin is the peripatetic owner and constant schmooze here, and he loves his corned beef as much as he does his mom. Typically served on seeded Jewish rye baked fresh every morning by an unnamed “local baker”, the brisket is brined in-house with a cure of water, salt, garlic and a blend of 14 spices. According to Rubin, the thing that sets their beef apart is a special holding process, which elevates the meat from simply “cook and serve.” 11 City’s custom-built steamer and very exact 3-4 step process for cooking, cooling and holding gives their beef a unique flavor profile.

As Rubin points out, ” Yesterday’s corned beef and pastrami is today’s corned beef and pastrami hash.”

4. Perry’s , 174 N. Franklin, (312) 372-7557
Cured “the standard way” according to the restaurant, but sweeter than Manny’s. It’s brined and roasted in-house, then thinly-sliced and piled high on rye, wheat, white challah, onion roll, or a Kaiser roll. You get to choose between mustard, mayo or Russian dressing. The sandwich includes a pickle and a side, such as macaroni salad, coleslaw or potato salad.

5. Manny’s , 1141 S. Jefferson, (312) 939-2855
No question, a Chicago legend. Every politician worth his kosher salt has dined here, and it is, in every sense, the restaurant for the Everyman. But the last few times I’ve been here, the corned beef has been either too chewy or too dry or too fatty, and the flavor has been more of a one-note (salty) than complex and meaty. All due respect to their Energizer bunny of a slicer (a much grayer-than-I-remember Gino), but I think the schtick of the slicing/plating/serving ritual is wearing thin, when there are so many other great smoked meat houses up and running these days (the aforementioned Caplansky’s and Mile End, for example, which are practically newborns compared to the age of this old-timer).

Their brisket is brined and prepared in-house, then steamed; the fat is trimmed after cooking. It’s served ever-so-simply, on your choice of bread (is there anything better than rye?) with plain or horseradish mustard if you like. A hearty dill pickle and a couple of potato pancakes complete the picture.