Max’s Italian Beef

I wont miss them there food was overpriced and I couldn’t stand them, they used that crappy red sauce for the Italian beef and it was garbage as well, they were getting over so long because they were the only restaurant for a long time there not anymore, they are gone now and thats what they get for ripping off there customers…

Sadly, Max’s has closed for good. :(
I shall miss their jumbo char dogs. I’ve enjoyed going here for years, so they be sorely missed.

I’ve been coming to max’s since I was a little one! my family’s apartment is literally a minute walk away. You can never go wrong with their Italian beef. I prefer it over portillos, Al’s, and Buona. You can never go wrong with a hot dog in a poppy seed bun. The burgers are pretty much the typical diner burger. The cheddar fries are my guilty pleasure. I get it every chance I get, especially on my cheat days (whoops)! The merkt’s cheese is definitely not the healthiest, but delicious. I know this sounds dramatic, but I can’t have any other cheese fries without comparing it to max’s. Nothing compares. Fries + merkt’s cheese = happiness.
If you do plan on making a trip to max’s, make sure you have cash! They do have an ATM inside, but nobody wants to get charged with a fee now.
Oh and another thing! They are now accepting online orders and if you get their app, I believe it’s called chow now?, or you can go on their website, you do get 20% off your first order!

Dirty tables. Hot inside. Women had such a thick accent could barely understand her. I witnessed her clean garbage off table but not wipe it. My italian sausage was still pink. Im sure their drinks used to be larger. The staff is friendly though.

I LOVE this place! The chili mac and ghetto fries are legendary. The owners Larry and Randee will do anything to make your experience better. During lent the pepper and egg sandwich is the best in Chicago. This is the best beef stand in all of Chicago!

This place is right around the corner from my house. The fries are really the best thing about Max’s, but I suggest requesting them crispy. We are not big Italian Beef people. I like a good burger, but I’ve tried Max’s several times and it just isn’t very good. Mainly, the patties are very thin, and just don’t taste high quality. There are also too many toppings and the whole thing just ends up ooozing everywhere and tastes very soggy. I also frequent Max’s for their tasty milkshakes. They are made the old fashioned way and taste delicious. The employees that work here are always very nice, they put up with my weird requests, like extra chocolate in my chocolate shake.

Great food, and great service. A true neighborhood staple. Bring some giardiniera home!

The MERKT’S infamous cheese all over their delicious French fries are to die for!
Friendly comfy atmosphere… this place puts AL’S beef to SHAME!
I’ve been going to Max’s for years…

Max’s left very little to be desired, the beef was not very flavorful, the milkshake for the quality was very over priced and basically chocolate milk, shake was runny. Service was lacking speed and the place was just ok as far as cleanliness. This place won the silver plate award… huh… I have not found the best beef in Chicago… YET!

Awesome fast food… DH and I split a yummy cheesy beef, one DS had a cheeseburger, other DS had a hot dog. Both reported they were excellent.
We all had an order of cheese fries: lots of cheese slathered on crispy fries, not bad, but actually too cheesy for my taste. I’ll now be eating nothing but salads for the next week to make up for the ridiculous amount of calories ingested here, but totally worth it!
We used a
certificate here without difficulty. Without it, lunch would’ve cost over $ 30. A little on the pricey side, but worth the occasional visit!

I always get a combo at a beef joint. I really like how the sausage and the beef compliment each other along with the beef juice and soggy bread.
So I walk in around 12:30 and the joint is empty… surely a bad sign. I get my combo and sit down to chow down and watch a little TV. I loaded it up with gardenia that was sitting at almost each table and dig in. That homemade sausage was not good but the beef portion was pretty good so 4 stars for the beef and 2 stars for the sausage…3 star average. Not worth going out of your way like I did.
Small parking lot for maybe 4 cars then it’s the really crowded street although when I was there a car was parked on the sidewalk.

I went here with a 5 for 10 Voucher Deal they posted. I paid online for it thinking that paying $ 5 bucks would give me $ 10 worth of food. So the coupon said!
I went in, ordered my food and the young man redeemed my coupon. I ordered a Zombie Burger (it came with fries) and Large lemondade. It came out to $ 11.14. Thinking that I was only over 1 buck, I waited for him to take off the 10 dollars. His manager only took off 5. Claiming that you purchase it on Unilocal and once you come into the restaurant they just take 5 dollars off your bill. That makes NO SENSE! What’s the purpose of it being a coupon if your still payimg full price?! Other than that, the food was great. I just believe the manager is a complete moron who obviously is false advertising.

Was looking for a good beef in the neighborhood. This wasn’t it. The young man at the counter was super friendly and efficient, no complaints there. The place is dirty though, & the beef is dry and crumbled in my mouth. I’ll pass.

Max’s has had its ups and downs with various opening and closing of different locations, but this original location, once famous for catching the police robbing the cash register, has great Beef, Italian Sausage and Charbroiled Hot Dogs and Polish. They will slather on the Merkt’s cheddar cheese on anything you like. I usually go polish with cheddar and fries with ketchup. There is such a thing as too much cheese. The «Ghetto Fries» are supposed to be very good, but there is too much going on in that basket for me.
Steve, the owner, is a nice guy and does his best to please. You can’t go wrong here. If only he would bring back the homemade pizza puffs!

Max’s was Italian Beef royalty back the days when Max still owned and ran this legendary spot. I remember when current owner Larry was max’s helper. It truly was one of the best beef sandwiches on the planet. But like most royal families, inbreeding and out of control ego’s have reduced Max’s to truly bizarre and pedestrian fare.
It just ain’t what it used to be.
As for the lab experiment known as Max’s giardinera peppers that adorn every table, I say don’t worry – nothing could possibly live in that jar of red death. You could stick your finger in it and it will still be safe to eat.
As for the Ghetto Fries – my goodness, what has happened to our civilization.

I didn’t realize how good Max’s was until I had italian beef somewhere else and it was completely bland. I even commented out loud: «this is nothing like Max’s. I miss their giardiniera.» Honestly, if you want some good delicious dive-​restaurant italian beef, this is the place to go! I’m craving it right now.

Living in W Rogers now for 6mo, it was FINALLY time to check out Max’s Italian Beef…
Except I wasn’t in a mood for a beef, I was in the mood for a burger.
Nice looking place, clean. TV on to Travel Chanel and Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Place has a decent sized menu, maybe a bit too big? When a joint is trying to please EVERYONE it can sometimes start to fall short on other things.
OK, so their burgers are ¼lb or ½lb and either «build your own» or go with one of the ULTIMATE Burgers.
I’m usually a Blue Cheese and Bacon burger guy… But I remembered the controversy about this place naming their fries Ghetto Fries… and I saw they has a Ghetto BURGER…
BBQ Sauce, Merket Cheddar Cheese, Onion, Italian Beef au Jus, Hot Giardinara
It was OK. Burger was pretty dry. Messy sandwich to eat as well as things started slopping out of quickly. Had to get a spoon so as to try to bring ingredients BACK to the burger.
Fries are SYSCO/​Industrial. Just edging to being over done.
Wish places would get back to CUTTING whole potatoes and dropping them into the fryer vs the frozen bag.
It’s an OK place. May come back to try the Beef Sammich, but certainly NOT the 3′ Challenger, that’s ridiculous.

My family has been going to this establishment for the last twenty or so years. Needless to say, my family are suckers for the Italian beef and sausages.
My family is quick o take me here every time I go visit Chicago. And anytime family comes to visit here in Las Vegas, we always make sure they bring us some of the Italian sausages. Their Ghetto Fries are great as well. Cheese, gravy, well done fries, plus more !
Their giardiniera is one of a kind. Unlike mos other places, it’s free and you get as much as you want. Though it may be too spicy for some.
Overall, definitely recommend this place if you’re in the area.

Italian Beef Crawl Stop #2: Max’s Italian Beef (12:52PM)
We were in for some multi-​generational goodness and stopped in for some Max’s. Friends who lived nearby told tales of the beef and one friend said his uncle moved to San Francisco and made sure to get a Max’s Italian Beef sandwich every time he came back to Chicago because it was his all-​time favorite. We packed Max’s to the brim and I took in the scene and enjoyed the old school diner feel to the place. We got a free round of beer at Max’s since we were such big Italian beef lovers.
The Italian beef sandwiches began to roll out in swift order and there were Italian beef sandwiches everywhere! Dry beefs, wet beefs, hot beefs, sweet beefs! It was a veritable tour de beef all with the delicious beef juice flowing into the bread. The peppers were in their own pails, home made peppered laced with spice to make the beef a perfect blend of juice and heat. We spooned out the peppers from the pail and loaded up our sandwiches with them. I was impressed by the beefitude but found the meat itself slightly dry but still with more than enough room to be delicious. The juice flavor, the bread, the peppers were all in the clutch so this beef is still one of the greatest you’ll find. There are no losers in the Italian Beef Crawl!!!

Took me like 4yrs of living by here, not catching them when they were open and so on, to finally try this place. I am now on a quest to find the best Italian beefs in town. There, of course, are more than just one. However, Max’s Italian Beef is not one of them. Oh, poo.
Have you seen my Italian Beef scoring card from another review? Yea, I’m asking like you should have already. That’s just how big my ego is. But let me help you out just in case you’re not «in the loop.»

Ok, so let’s proceed then with Max’s Score:
A. = Satisfactory
B. = Satisfactory
C. = Satisfactory
D. = Excellent
So, overall, the Italian Beef at minimum met my satisfaction. But then why just 2 stars? I can’t eat fried food and my side options were severely limited. I got a tamale, which are made by Tom Tom. It was yuck-​yuck. It tasted like dry pasty meat encased in undercooked grits. My only other non-​fried option outside of that was chili mac. With an Italian beef? Hell no! If this were just a quick food stop stand, I could be more forgiving. But it had a decent seating area w/​a TV which just makes a difference for me. If I’m sitting down to take my time to eat, I’d like a good side option.
Other reason just 2 stars? My sweet peppers, tasted like just regular green peppers. I may need to add a grading option for the peppers from now on. I was bamboozled.
Last reason. 1 Italian Beef, 1 little tamale, 1 small drink = $ 10.03. Geeeeeeeeeeez! For a satisfactory Italian Beef, a yucky tamale, usurper green peppers, and run-​of-​the-​mill pop.. .. high treason.