Pops Italian Beef & Sausage Fore

Went there for the first time in a long time and ordered a cheese dog. It was a hot dog wrapped in a slice of American cheese. I went to complain and was told I should have asked if I wanted the gooey cheese and if I didn’t ask they assumed I just wanted the slice. So disappointed.

Took a risk on the $ 4 breaded steak sandwich. Well worth it! Friendly staff, fast service, good prices, and delicious food!

PROS: Their beef sandwiches with cheese, sweet peppers, and au jou are amazing. The place is always clean, and service is friendly, professional, and fast. The fries, hot dogs, and gyros are great, too.
CONS: I think the cheeseburger patties are skimpy (more bread than meat), and there should be healthy alternatives added to the menu, such as grilled chicken wraps and fresh sweet potato fries. Insert laugh now… anything fried isn’t healthy, but sweet potatoes are healthier than white potatoes.

I had high hopes for Pop’s having not had an opportunity to eat here before but having heard about it. Unfortunately, I found my expectations unmet. As I do with all new beef and dog stands, I ordered a beef with hot giardiniera. I also got a chili dog with cheese and onions and fries. First, the beef:
While the portion of beef in the sandwich was more than generous, probably twice as much as Portillo’s, the flavor was fairly bland, overwhelmed by a beef stock flavor instead of Italian herbs and spices that dominate a good Italian beef au jus. The other thing that put it off for me was that despite just ordering the sandwich without mentioning any level of wet, they had obviously dipped it. While I don’t mind a good dipped sandwich, depending on the au jus, this one was too messy and lacked good flavor. With the volume of beef otherwise in the sandwich, the whole experience was a gritty, bland mess for me. On the other hand, if you like a lot of meet and a really wet sandwich, this is for you.
The last comment is about the giardiniera, which I did not care for at all. It was just sliced jalapenos and celery, and while spicy, lacked the full flavor of giardiniera that has carrots and cauliflower. This was surprising to me because they appear to sell a house made mild giardiniera that looked good in the jars on display. Anyway, below average sandwich overall.
As for the chili cheese dog, the dog itself was good, but the chili was too tomato-​y for my taste, and lacked any chili flavor. It tasted more like a tomato soup with beans that a chili. Another big miss for me.
All of the above negatives make the really good fries of little consolation. But if you like, thin fries with crispy outside and creamy inside, with a few soft and floppy fries thrown in like I do, these are for you. Also, the fry oil does not overwhelm the flavor, and the fries are light and easy to eat.
But good fries don’t save the uninspired beef and chili dog for me.
Grades: Beef — C-​minus; Chili Dog — D; Fries — B; Atmosphere — C.
Overall, C-​Minus.

Everything here comes out of a steam table. Burgers are pre-​cooked then put in the steam table and reheated on the grill. Even the french fries are pre-​cooked then re-​dropped in the frier for 30 seconds when an order comes in.
They sacrifice so much just get orders fast.

Used to be better. Service could use improvement, and way too overpriced. Not bad if you’re in a pinch, but there are better Pop’s locations out there.

Horrible food the gyro was nothing but shredded meat and and full onion! Don’t go while they are busy the cooks don’t care about the quality of the food just give a shit of shoving it out to the customer!

This place is awesome! I have been wanting to try this place for quite some time and finally did! I tried their breaded steak sandwich… and my oh my was it AWESOME! (I think a bit better than Ricobene’s) They put the perfect amount of cheese, sweet peppers, and red sauce and the meat is still a little bit crispy along the edges. YUMMM! On another occasion I tried the meatball sandwich everything. (sweet and hot peppers and red sauce) REALLY GOOD TOO! The seasoned fries are pretty good too. The only thing that seems to be a bit over priced are the hot dogs, but who cares the rest of their menu is pretty reasonable!

Not sure why such the low ratings but I for one rank Pops a notch ahead of Portillos. Great beef, dogs, fries, and my ultimate favorite their homemade hot peppers. They have a great menu for everyone. My only wish is that they can somehow incorporate a drive-thru…wishful thinking! ;)

I hadn’t eaten all day on Sunday so I came here for a late lunch and ordered the chicken rings which we (my doctor and I) have now concluded gave me severe food poisoning. I haven’t been able to eat or drink anything since that meal without throwing it up and have been extremely sick for over 48 hours now. This used to be my one of my favorite places but after getting this sick off of their food, I can’t imagine how atrocious the quality of their food must be. Shockingly, I will not be going back and absolutely would not recommend unless you are looking to be violently sick for days to come. If that sounds good to you, then you’ve hit the jackpot. Otherwise, Portillo’s is just down the road and is much more reliable.

Another beef joint with sandwiches that have no taste. Ordered a beef with green peppers, the sandwich had no taste what so ever. Had to salt and pepper to choke it down. Also it was so wet half way through the bread broke apart, making it very hard to eat.
I will say that the staff seemed friendly enough. My only complaint would be that the tables got use a good cleaning, my arms kept sticking to the table.

An above average sandwich shop. A little overpriced for what you get. Over $ 11 for 2 hot dogs a 2 small drinks! Better the second time!!!

I’ve been here several times now. Can’t say the counter help was ever rude but they certainly are not very friendly or very welcoming with all the personality of a wet mop. But on to the food. The beef and Italian sausage are decent but not as good as the original Mr. Beef just west of wolf road on 143^rd. The hot dogs and polish are definitely not beef and look sort of grey which really kind of puts you off. Interesting, I asked if they had maxwell street Polish sandwiches which are grilled and served with mustard, grilled onions and sport peppers and told they did. What I received was a steamed grey polish mustard, no grilled onions 2 sport peppers 1 small sweet pickle ??? and a dill spear. So I would not recommend them. The corned beef was no Mannie’s Deli, but not bad. Fries are always good and crisp. The salads are overpriced and can be hit or miss. A better suggestion would be Portillo’s on 159^th and harlem for salads and hot dogs. The italian breaded steak was just ok, no where near the quality of the ones at Ricobene’s or any place in Bridgeport. In fairness this is the only location I have visited so maybe the other location are better.

It’s pops. Only go there if you don’t feel like driving far/​making dinner. It’s an easy place to run in and grab a hotdog/​beef and fries.

Coming from an employee at the original Pop’s Italian Beef & Sausage in Palos Heights, the one in Orland can’t compare. Every time I go in the employees are rude to the customers. The food quality wasn’t that great to deal with the poor customer service. If you have the time, and are willing for the drive go to the other Pop’s in Orland, Tinely, or even Palos.

Pop’s is probably the closest beef stand and maybe even food place to my house.
My family and I have been coming here since I can remember due to its convenient location. I don’t think I could count the number of beef sandwiches or burgers I’ve had from here.
I personally don’t think it’s anything really that special. I think Buona and Portillo’s make a superior beef sandwich, and also that recently Pop’s has started to skimp on quantity perhaps without even altering prices. It’s really a hit and a miss, sometimes the beef is juicy and flavorful, other times it’s pretty dry and meh.
Not really a hot dog guy but from what my folks say the dogs are pretty good. I’ve personally had the burgers many times, which are also not bad. The chicken sandwiches are decent, the salads OK, fries average, gyros are just mediocre too.
Nothing really «wows» me about Pop’s, perhaps it’s because I’ve eaten there so many times and have become too used to it.
The staff on the inside is just OK, too. Sometimes friendly and accommodating, other times pretty feisty and in-​your-​face, especially if there’s any issues with your order. Just the other night my mother ordered a Maxwell street polish and asked if it was grilled, they told her yes, but when she got home, of course, not grilled!
3 stars for convenient location by my house and hit or miss food that is usually alright.
I’ll have to try one of the other locations to compare 143^rd & Wolf to, based on the reviews they are a little different!

Rude customer service. They rip you off on the extras. Don’t fall for their text deals. That’s just to get you in the door.

Have been to other Pops and loved it. This one sucks!!! Fries were cold and tasted as they had been sitting around a long time… Hot dogs was luke warm and had a piece of black fuzz on the bun… Asked two employees if they could fill the ketchup dispenser and was given a blank stare then they went back to the conversation they were having… It was not refilled in the half of hour I was there.
Upon leaving, I asked to talk to the manager and nicely informed him of my experience. He asked what I wanted him to do about it? I said. nothing, just thought the review would help your business in the future. His comment was, «Are you wanting your money back or something? I told him, no just thought you may want to know… His reply was, OK then… and he walked away…
Save your money and drive a few miles to Rosie’s in Frankfort. Their food is wonderful and they at least act like they want customers!

I have been here many times in the past and with the family too.
The food is not that great at all. That’s sad because the Palos pops is great food.
The hot dogs are gross with stale buns, burgers taste like the gas from the grill and greasy gyros. They actually just mark the burgers on the grill then just throw them in some pan full of grease and who knows what. But what I really hate about this place. The PEOPLE that run the place. They are so rude never polite and nice, Just cold and rude. They never greet you, say hello, thank you or anything. If you don’t have customers you don’t work genius. They act like they are doing me a favor by giving this me swill.
I would love to eat here all the time, I am so close. But I drive all the way to Palos. The food rocks there and they love their customers.

I’m giving two stars for inconsistency and customer service issues. Some things, like soups and burgers can be good. Italian beefs are usually okay, but I got a beef and cheddar croissants, big mistake. They use the melted processed «uncheese» and the thing was sopping wet, not dipped, dripping wet. I actually dropped it, and au jus splashed all over my shirt.
I went up to the counter, told her my issue, and I got an eye roll. When explaining my dilemma to the cook, she kept pointing at me and looking annoyed.
While waiting, I filled my iced tea cup and saw it was nearly empty, flow out was minimal. Same employee was leaning against the counter, and I told her about the tea. She looked me dead in the eye, at the tea, rolled her eyes again and went to the side by the cooks. Awesome!