I’d been thinking about Italian beef sandwiches for a year and a half — ever since the debut in summer 2022 of the excellent if also incredibly stressful FX on Hulu comedy-drama series “The Bear.”
In the show’s first season, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (recent Golden Globe winner Jeremy Allen White) returns to Chicago to run his late brother’s Italian beef sandwich shop. Although the show put less of a spotlight on the Chicago food staple in 2023, when its second season dropped and the story shifted to Carmy and crew working to open a fine-dining establishment, that’s when my YouTube feed started, well, feeding me videos about how to make Italian beef.
I watched. I was tantalized. I … decided it was a little more work than I was willing to do.
However, somewhere along the line, I learned of Au Jus in Parma.
Opened in late 2022 by partners Jacob Kelly and Tiffany Ballog, the shop promises on its website “Authentic Chicago Style Italian Beef,” so I put a visit on my to-do list. (Kelly told Cleveland Scene around that time that “The Bear” led to a much higher demand than he was expecting.)
The opportunity arrived on a Saturday afternoon in December, when I met my buddy Dave at Au Jus for what by design, if not necessity, would be a ridiculously large lunch.
I arrived early, and when I saw how small the place appeared to be from the outside, it added to my fears it was more of a to-go, less of an order-in operation. Fortunately, with time to kill, I wandered into a bar a very short walk down Broadview Road, Copper Penny. As I enjoyed an IPA with grapefruit notes — a far cry from the other beers on tap, all mass-produced pilsners — I found out the place allows patrons to bring in food and was pretty sure we’d be coming back there.
And, yes, Au Jus does have only a small area for customers, with a few counter seats sharing space with a flatscreen boasting the menu and the ordering counter. (The area was bright and clean, by the way.)
Dave and I looked over the menu, friendly employees answered a few questions, and we were off, starting with, of course, a Large Italian Beef with Cheese ($14) with added Spicy Giardiniera (90 cents), which is a must if you’re going to be taken seriously.
I also wanted to try the Cuban ($11), as I’m always on the lookout for a great take on the sandwich in Northeast Ohio.
Lastly, I told Dave to pick something, and, as I suspected he would, he chose the delicious-sounding Pressed Sicilian ($13.50), getting no objection from me and allowing me to ask to have the olives held.
Not that we would need more food, but I thought it would be worth trying the Fresh Cut Fries ($3.99), choosing the Roasted Garlic Aioli (65 cents) from the choice of dippers, along with ketchup. And mostly to get the second component for sandwich dipping, I threw in an order of Bread and Au Jus ($1.80), knowing we would not need more bread.
With our bagged feast, we headed back to Copper Penny, grabbing a table off to the side and ordering a couple of drinks at the bar. The friendly bartender, understanding we’d be splitting up sandwiches — and possibly knowing the nearby Au Jus doesn’t cut them in half, brought us out a small cutting board and a knife. (This certainly is not a review of Copper Penny, but high marks for that all the same, and she took our trash when we were done. All of it was appreciated.)
So, without any further au jus, er, ado, how was the food? In a word: fine.
I wish I could say these were next-level sandwiches, that, dear reader, you should make, say, a 30-minute drive to Au Jus because the sandwiches are THAT good, but I can’t.
Now, that’s a really high bar, probably an unfair one.
Plus, it’s certainly possible I had unrealistic Italian beef expectations thanks to “The Bear,” but I found the big, delightfully soft baguette dominated the sandwich. I would have liked a different bread-to-beef ratio. The beef was tender and flavorful, though, and I noticed a little kick from the giardiniera. And I was happy to have the au jus, as I dipped liberally and all but ignored the extra bread.
The Cuban, meanwhile, brings together shredded pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard, and I still haven’t met a version of that sandwich I didn’t at least somewhat enjoy.
As with the Cuban, the Sicilian is from the Pressed Sandwiches section of the menu, and I appreciated both were denser affairs than the Italian Beef. The Sicilian boasts ham, pepperoni, salami, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, the mixed olives we held, capers, Italian dressing and lemon basil aioli. It pretty much was an Italian sub and was the least memorable of the three sandwiches. Again, though, no complaints.
Dave concurred with me that the Italian beef and Sicilian sandwiches boasted hot-and-fresh ingredients but that they simply weren’t as impressive as you’d hope. (He wisely took half the Cuban home without tasting it while we were hanging out.)
I love fresh-cut fries and Au Jus’ did meet those expectations. I would not steer you away from them — or that flavorful aioli.
Again, though, I don’t know that I could steer you to Au Jus, at least not on its own. Find yourself in the area and want to pick up something for a meal at home? By all means go for it.
And did I enjoy what turned out to be our little Au Jus-Copper Penny adventure? Immensely. Admittedly, though, I have trouble seeing many folks embracing that plan.
Then again, the third season of “The Bear” won’t be out for at least a few months, and a little Italian beef may help tide you over until then.
Reviews are based on one anonymous visit to a restaurant.
Au Jus
5875 Broadview Road Unit B
Parma
216-795-5063
Location: East side of Broadview Road, just north of Dawnwood Drive.
Type of restaurant: Take-out sandwich shop.
Hours: Noon to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Cuisine: Sandwiches and sides.
Vegetarian: Pressed Grilled Cheese and Mushroom and Swiss sandwiches.
Liquor and wine: No alcohol.
Online ordering: Through Toast.
Prices: Reasonable — sandwiches $10 to $17.50, $1 to $4.
Value: Good.
Ratings (of five):
Food: 3.5.
Atmosphere: 3.5.
Service: 4.
