Hank's Juicy Beef

I don't usually give the full five stars but I'll give it to Hank, a genuinely good guy who has pioneered Chicago food in New York, a city with a pretty distinct food identity of its own. My daughter and I were visiting from Seattle, a city that struggles to get anything beyond seafood right and we ate a LOT of great deli. Man cannot live by pastrami alone though and Italian beef is a favorite of both my daughter and myself so we hit Yelp to see if we could find some. Hank's Juicy Beef came well reviewed so we decided to give it a spin.

The restaurant was clean and comfortable. No need to copy the kitschy feel of Portillo's when your food can stand on its own. We ordered Chicago dogs and Italian Beef/Sausage combos. As we waited, we watched customers come and go. Every table was full, which usually is a solid quality indicator. Our food soon arrived and it was all spot on and delicious. If you ask my teenage daughter, she will tell you that this is her favorite thing she ate while we were in NY and she even asked me to bring her back one last time before we headed to the airport. The second time we went, Hank offered to "baptize" my combo for me since I forgot to ask the first time and that made it even better. I also opted for curly fries the second time rather than a second sandwich because I just couldn't eat that much even though I wanted to. They were fresh, well seasoned and the only fries I ate the whole trip. I'm glad because I doubt fries would have been better anywhere else. We'll definitely be back every time we get to NY.

If you don’t like the peppers (which I don’t), then it’s bland- even with their new sauces. I feel it’s missing something. I gave it a 3 star because for some reason I keep going back. By no means is it bad food, it’s good, but it’s not super tasty. Oh and a HUGE thing. The rice ends up tasting like their cardboard bowls they use. .... seriously I’ve moved it into a porcelain bowl bc it tastes weird

Hank's specializes in Chicago style thinly sliced roast beef sandwiches. The sandwiches are chock full of delicious roast beef with well chosen toppings. It makes for a warm filling wonderful lunch, or even dinner. Hint: if you buy a sandwich to go, get the juice on the side, so it does not leak into your bag or soak the bread.

This was my first time visiting New York, and I can honestly say that the beef sandwich I had here with the hot peppers was the best damn beef sandwich I've ever had in my life. Something about it was quite remarkable. It was perfect. Also, the pricing and personnel were awesome. Thanks again, see ya soon New York!

Visited Hank's twice in two days. On the second visit, I asked if they were able to do a larger sized sandwich. They definitely accommodated. Not only is the food incredible, but the service is prompt, polite, and fun. An aside, always good music as well.