Chickies Beef - Hillside

Came in today. Nothing special. Ordered the beef, with hot peppers, and dipped. The bread did hold up well and did not brake which is always a plus for me. Prices are on the steep side. $6 sandwiches and $6 pizzas w/ pop. It did lack a tiny bit of flavor but never a big fan of those hot peppers. Prefer giardiniera. Would I go back? Maybe. But not anytime soon. I did however like their menu options. A lot of my favorite things in one place. Might come back and try something else. Also another thing that caught my eye..the cannoli shake. Mmm. Sounds delicious. And the Italian ice was pretty good.

It's been about 5 years since I had a beef at Carm's, the predecessor to this restaurant on the corner of a strip mall in Hillside. I was interested to see how Chickie's would stack up against that strong competition. The short answer is pretty freakin' well. I remember enjoying Carm's, but I don't recall any specifics which would allow direct comparison. Suffice it to say that my beef from Chickie's today is among the best I've had (thought not quite at the level of Jonnie's, a few minutes to the northeast). The beef was juicy and nicely seasoned. The bun stood up to the beefy assault well without being overly chewy. Fries, which I ordered extra crispy, were plentiful and a steal at a buck and a half. The new owners didn't spend much to upgrade the decor from the previous tenant, but I'm cool with that. It has a retro appeal with vinyl white and red checkered vinyl tablecloths. Just think how quickly cloth tablecloths would get stained with the tasty beef gravy that soaks these sandwiches. I can respect practicality. My main niggle with Chickie's is the nature of the giardiniera. They are clearly not working from the Chicago style hot giardiniera playbook here. There isn't any diced carrot or cauliflower to be found instead you get an entirely green mixture of what seems to be peppers and celery. It wasn't bad, but I'd prefer something a little more traditional on my sandwich. By no means will it keep me from coming back, though. The quality of the beef itself was excellent.

I went here with extended family to try some local cuisine while we were visiting the area. We had folks from Denver, California and Canada and everyone enjoyed the food. The lady at the front seemed like a no-nonsense type of person. She was really nice though and told us that this is a family run restaurant for over 50 years!! Her mom Chicki who the store was named after was there visiting when we were there and seemed super sweet. Looks like they are known for the italian sausage and saw a guy come in and order 5 pounds! Some other folks who were dining there told us that the food was really good as well. Looks like this a neighborhood favorite. The hot dogs and italian sausage were pretty good and disappeared quickly. The fries were mehbut still gets 5 stars for the sandwiches, hot dog, history and the service.

Second time I've been in a week. The best beef I've had. Britney took good care of me. Amazing staff service. Highly Recommended!

I ordered a combo sandwich and the bread was too soggy, so I had to use a fork to eat it. They use fresh jalapeños instead of giardiniera, which I didn't like. The fresh-cut fries were tasty, but the cheese sauce I ordered was bland. Overall, nothing really stood out, but the pizza smelled delicious. If I go back, I might give the pizza a try.