Medha Imam: Fresh rolls of French bread
sliced down the middle,
loaded with thinly sliced marinated beef
that soaks into the bun,
topped with piles of sweet peppers
and giardiniera,
all laid across the beef,
soaked in a top-secret juice.
It's this classic combination of seasoned beef,
peppers, and a mouthwatering gravy
that makes the Italian beef sandwich
a legend in Chicago.
There are plenty of spots to get
an Italian beef in Chicago,
but Johnnie's in Elmwood Park
is full of customers lining up
to get their hands on its juicy sandwich
as soon as the doors open at 11.
Customer: I've been here since high school.
The flavor of Johnnie's beef
is different than anywhere else.
Customer: I've been in the neighborhood almost 30 years.
And I love their beef, and it's No. 1 beef in town.
Customer: There's no other beef in the world
that's better than Johnnie's.
Medha: There are a few ways
to order your beef from Johnnie's.
If you ask for juicy, the entire sandwich
gets dipped into a container of beefy juices,
making the bread soaking wet.
If you ask for it dry, then no gravy.
If you opt for dipped,
then your meat is lightly drenched in the juice.
Customer: They dip the bun in the juice
to make it even soggier.
Customer: Probably need to take a shower after this.
This is awesome.
Customer: I like it juicy.
Good flavor and everything.
Good.
Medha: Johnnie's beef starts off with roasting
300 pounds of a lean and tough cut of beef,
either top or round sirloin.
To simultaneously marinate the beef
and make its famous juice,
a special spice mix is poured
into the large vat of meat.
Frank Stompanato: It's a pretty simple process.
Adding the seasoning to the meat,
it's just gonna cook down.
Medha: And what's in the spices?
Frank: That's a secret.
Medha: You can't tell us?
Frank: No, no one knows this but three people, maybe.
Medha: I see a bit of oregano.
Frank: That's it. Medha: And hot peppers?
Frank: Some things are better left unsaid.
So now we're just gonna add water to it,
and it'll start cooking.
Medha: And who created the spice mix?
Frank: Johnnie. Came from his mother-in-law
way back in the day.
Medha: And then your son-in-law said
the recipe's under lock and key, forever.
Johnnie Arto: Forever.
Frank: So that's a secret.
Can't tell you.
Lock and key.
Customer: They won't give nobody the seasoning.
Frank: Well, that I can't disclose.
It's in a lock and key in a vault somewhere.
That's a secret.
Medha: Oh, so none of the employees season it?
Frank: Oh, absolutely not.
Customer: They will never do that.
They don't want nobody to know their flavor.
Frank: That's how secretive it is.
Just the process is more important than anything else.
Every day, the same way.
And we're ready to go.
Medha: The meat cooks in the gravy for a few hours
until it's tender and well seasoned.
It's cooled off in the fridge overnight
to ensure easy slicing.
The next morning, staff trim off the fat
and bring over the slabs to an automatic slicer.
Frank: The meat is sliced very thin.
As you can see, very thin.
You don't wanna go too thick. OK?
It's not a steak, it's a beef sandwich.
You want thin, very thin meat
that you can almost see through.
Medha: Once a pan is filled to the brim
with paper-thin slices of beef,
it's either refrigerated
or sent out to the front for assembly.
Frank: There's 15 pounds in each pan.
We cut 10, 12, 15 pans, depending.
You know, the weekend gets even busier.
Medha: The assembly of the sandwich
starts off with French bread
that's specially made for Johnnie's from Turano Bakery,
a local bread company in Chicago.
It is long, narrow in shape, and has a thin crust.
Frank: French bread holds our juice very well,
with the sandwich, with the peppers.
It doesn't make it fall apart.
That is the authentic way of making an Italian beef.
Without good bread, what's inside is nothing.
It's just an Italian beef sandwich, Johnnie-style.
Spoon of gravy, sweet peppers, right there.
Medha: And what is the juice made out of?
Frank: Can't tell you.
Medha: No? Frank: No.
Secret seasoning.
Medha: And then sweet peppers, that's the usual.
Frank: That's our usual, yep.
Medha: What about hot peppers, the giardiniera?
Frank: Hot peppers giardiniera right here.
It gives it a lot more flavor.
I mean, the seasoning enough is spicy.
That just makes it even better.
We have our own recipe that somebody
makes for us for our giardiniera.
But the sweet peppers are made in-house every day.
Medha: And if you want juicy,
do you dip the entire thing back in there?
Frank: Dip the entire thing back in there.
OK, now we're gonna go to juicy beef sweet.
Medha: Oh, my God.
I'm salivating.
This is beautiful.
Frank: And there you go.
There's a juicy beef sweet.
Medha: And what do you prefer?
Frank: That with hot peppers.
Juicy beef sweet and hot peppers.
The most common sandwich is a juicy beef with sweet peppers.
Customer: It's kind of like the soup kitchen
from "Seinfeld." You have to be very specific.
Jerry: Just follow the ordering procedure,
and you will be fine.
[audience laughing]
George: Medium turkey chili.
Customer: If you know anything about a hot-dog stand
or a beef stand in Chicago,
you don't say the word ketchup.
Medha: No, why not?
Customer: 'Cause it just doesn't go.
They'll give it to you on the side,
but you shouldn't be asking for it.
It's kind of an unspoken rule.
Medha: What about cheese?
Customer: Negative, no cheese.
Frank: Cheese is not an authentic way
of making a beef sandwich.
It's gonna hide all the flavor that we have in our juice,
and you don't wanna do that.
People love cheese,
but you're not gonna find it at Johnnie's.
Medha: Both the juicy and dry varieties of Johnnie's beef
have drawn tourists and celebrities
into the quaint storefront since 1961.
But it's the local community and surrounding neighbors
that keep the lines long
and the orders coming through.
Customer: I can smell it from my backyard,
so it's pretty irresistible.
Come and get it.
Customer: The line gets all the way out there
on Saturdays and Fridays, all the way down the alley.
Customer: There's always a line,
and I don't like waiting in line.
This is the only line I'll wait in.
Frank: It's an amazing place, it really is.
It really is nice to see people come in,
see people all the time, regular basis.
Their loyalty is nice, it really is.
Medha: It is amazing that you've memorized this recipe.
And it's nowhere.
Frank: It's not that difficult.
Medha: Yeah but, I mean,
then you have to show up to work every day.
Frank: Every day I have to be here.
Medha: Wow! Frank: Yes, yes.
And if I'm not, I will put it in the container
like I did for you guys today.
Medha: Right. Frank: In advance.
Medha: So you'd have to kill me if I ever found out.
Frank: Exactly. [Medha laughs]