One thing I will never forget about my childhood, is how I seemed to be the only Vegas kid from Chicago. Teachers would go around asking students where they were born. California, Utah and Arizona seemed to be the most common answers, followed by Hawaii, Mississippi and Louisiana, and coming in third place was foreign countries (particularly Mexico and the Philippines). I was always the unicorn in these scenarios, I even remember a couple of times where students would look at me like "Chicago? What's that?" Nowadays, I seem to run into people from Chicago EVERYWHERE around this city. It kinda warms my heart up inside.
Okay, I know everyone is wondering what I was getting at with all of that. Well, a large community of migrants inevitably leads to them bringing the culture of their former locale with them. For many years now, a wide variety of Chicago-related businesses have been popping up all over the place, mostly food related. Just a year or two ago Garrett's Popcorn opened up a location here, and there was even a location of Harold's Chicken a while back (which has since closed) and now, we have Al's.
One thing I would always anticipate whenever a family member came back from a visit to Chicago (they rarely ever took me, but that's a different story entirely) was an Italian Beef from Al's. In all it's dripping wet, sweet and spicy glory. And while I have found good replications of Chicago style pizza, hot dogs and popcorn all around Vegas, I've had yet to find a good replication of an Italian Beef. As much as people praise Amore, I was disappointed with their version of it. Too dry and not even close to enough beef. Chicago Brewing Co. doesn't even have it last I checked. I had figured it was time to give up, until Al's opened.
It's in a building that's had many past lives (once upon a time it was a 50s style diner, and before Al's it was the Bollywood Grill, which holds the distinction as the first place I've ever had Indian food). The ambiance is bright, airy and with a lot of space (which is more than one can say for the original Al's Beef in Chicago) and Chicago sports memorabilia all over the walls. The prices may be steep to some, but with the way the meal fills you up, it's totally worth it.
I got a combo sandwich with italian sausage, provolone cheese and sweet and hot peppers. With a fries and a drink, it came out to be $11.00. Now, I was a bit confused with the "Dry, Regular, Wet or Dipped" thing. The last time I went to Chicago, all I remember was them asking me if I wanted it dry or dipped. Apparently, Dry means no juice at all (which is blasphemy), Regular means a little juice (must be for cowards), Wet means a lot of juice and Dipped means dipped in the gravy. I decided to just go on ahead and get mine Dipped. My mother on the other hand got hers wet. Upon receiving the sandwiches, we realized they both had the same amount of gravy. Makes the distinction seem even more pointless.
Now me personally, I LOVED the sandwich. It was just like how I remembered it. And the excess gravy went great with the fries. As for my mom, while she still enjoyed it, she kept on talking about how something was "off" about it. I personally didn't comprehend what she meant, but then again I didn't grow up down the street from the original Al's Beef like she did so what do I know?
The Final Verdict
Pros:
Delicious, filling and flavorful sandwich.
Friendly service.
Brings a little slice of "home" closer to home
Cons:
Confusing designation on the level of gravy
Could possibly be underwhelming to those who were born and raised in the Chi (I was just born there so I guess that could be why I don't entirely see where they're coming from)
Return Factor: 10/10. I'm always down for a good Italian Beef.