Mr. Beef • 1979

Joe Zucchero transformed a tiny River North sandwich stand into a Chicago icon after buying it in 1979, serving Italian beef sliced thin, piled high, and dunked deep into savory au jus with hot giardiniera or sweet peppers. When The Bear premiered in 2022, the show's creator Christopher Storer—a childhood friend of Zucchero's son Chris—immortalized the cramped, no-frills counter where lines now stretch out the door and sandwich sales have more than doubled.